He was certain Chilbi had not fired that shot. He hadn’t left the native with any firearms or even a single pinch of gunpowder. The shot had come from someone else. There were white men up on the plateau, and white men meant horses. If he was able to steal a horse from them, he could go back and retrieve the gold.

Whoever was up on the escarpment would be making camp for the night, waiting for first light before attempting the descent. He considered climbing back onto the plateau and setting up an ambush, but it had been a long and tiring day just climbing down to where he was. There was no way he could reach the rim before sunrise. The men up there must be chasing him. There was no other reason for them being there. Somehow a pursuit party had picked up his trail and followed him into the mountains of the Jannjirra.

If they are chasing me, they will catch up tomorrow. Then we shall see if I can’t get my hands on a horse or two.

Through crisp, clear air, Toby could see the silvery surface of a river as it snaked through the valley. In several places the waters were disrupted by a white bar where the river tumbled through rapids. Wild forest continued unbroken on either bank, a dense blanket of green that stretched as far as the eye could see. The far wall of the valley was capped by two hundred feet of sheer cliff face, the rock taking on an orange hue in the dawn light. Ahead of him, a spur dropped steeply, a tree and boulder-strewn ramp that would eventually take them down to the river.

McTavish twisted nervously in his saddle, eyeing the shadows in the surrounding bush. They were all nervous since Paddy’s blunder with the musket last night. Finally, the sergeant’s gaze settled on Barraworn where he squatted on the ground.

‘Well?’

Barraworn’s fingertips traced the outline of a boot print in the soil.

‘White fella come this way, boss.’

‘What about the other one?’ Toby asked.

The tracker frowned and moved back and forth across the spoor, searching for any sign of the Aborigine following Anderson.

‘No black fella tracks here, boss. Plenty up there,’ he added pointing back towards the top of the escarpment. ‘I can go back up and track him from there.’

‘No. Stay with the white fella tracks. He’s the one we want.’

Even as he spoke, Toby could not help but let his gaze search the surrounding bush. It was disconcerting to know that the Aborigine may now be behind them. But there was nothing to be done about it. They could waste hours trying to find out where he’d gone. Their time would be better spent following Anderson, especially now he knew they were up here. He looked to where Paddy sat forlornly at the tail end of their little column. His brother had stayed out of the way when they broke camp that morning. He knew Paddy was embarrassed and hurting following the discharge of the musket, but there was nothing he could do about it now.