They offered me a meal of tea and damper, and pressed me to stay the night with them, but I declined their hospitality.

I gratefully accepted a pair of trousers, but declined the offer of a pair of boots, feeling certain that I could not yet bear these on my feet.

My rough benefactors told me that I should find many other camps to the south and west; so I wandered off into the bush again and spent the night alone.
My next move was in the direction of Mount Margaret; and along the road which I traversed I came across an interesting variety of picks, shovels, and other mining tools, which had evidently been discarded by disappointed prospectors.

I decided not to enter this town but to go round it; then I continued my tramp alone towards Coolgardie and thence to Southern Cross.
After working for some time in the last-named town (my impressions of "civilisation" would make another whole book), I made my way to Perth, the capital of Western Australia.

In Perth I was advised that it would be better for me to go to Melbourne, as I would stand a much better chance there of getting a ship on which I might work my passage to Europe.