Page:Rambles in Australia (IA ramblesinaustral00grewiala).pdf/336

 knees and nails into its throat, forcing it to let go, and was rescued by his friends, his whole chest horribly lacerated. He was taken ashore as quickly as possible, and eventually recovered; but the doctor, who was summoned to his aid, was so impressed with his marvellous escape from death, that in the interests of science rather than of his patient, he sent for a photographer and had the boy photographed as he was, before applying his medical ministrations. One photographer had the photographs made into picture post-cards. We could buy them, our informant said, when we reached Thursday Island. The proofs of this story are, unfortunately, incomplete. We hurried to the post-card shop, when we landed a few days later, but the photographer, who also sold stamps and string, sword-fish's fins, coral, and newspapers, said the post-cards were sold out. We asked to see the negative, but being busy with other customers, he excused himself from finding it. We were unable to inform the narrator of this missing link in his story, for he had left us to embark for New Guinea on a little boat, in which he would sleep on deck, and have his meals in the one cabin by the light of a swinging lamp. We were sorry to lose his amusing company.

It was during the passage between Cairns and