James and me come to be like a well-oiled machine, so when we out on a raid, most times we don’t even have to speak. Know each other minds. Work out a set of hand signals we use when we need to be extra quiet. Now all of a sudden, with Barra clinging to us like flies, things start to go wrong. I should have followed me mind, found a way to do away with him, because he is too careless. Is because of him the constables find the cave.

Early morning, I leave the cave to head to the river to get water for the billy. James and me have a careful, well-planned routine. When we leave we always take a different route, cover up our tracks. And we never come directly back to the cave, we always checking and double-checking to make sure we not being followed. Leave one musket in the cave, take the other one with us. After I fill the billy, I decide to have a wash, walk further up the river, to a little closed-in rock pool. Making me way there, I overhear sounds coming from further along the sand bank. Spot a const able and three policemen as them scramble up the rocks and, just in time, I drop down in a hollow out of sight. James, I must warn James. I track back round, get as close to the cave as I can without being seen. But there is Barra, standing right outside in plain sight. I give the danger signal, a crow cawing. Barra turn, run inside. Too late. The law men seen him and they scrambling up surrounding the entrance. Gunshots fired from inside the cave, the policemen return fire. All of a sudden the gunshots stop and the policemen rush inside. I stay hidden, planning to hold them up once they come outside. Next thing, James come running out the cave, a policeman following after, shooting, but the shot misses and James jumps down into the ravine, disappears into the bush. I don’t wait to see what happening to Barra, just take off to meet James at a special spot we know, hidden deep inside a gully. We spend the day in hiding, hungry, tired, thirsty, till the bush take on the yellow glow of sunset. Normally we don’t move after dark, too dangerous, but with the law on the lookout for us, we walk through the night, trying to put lots of distance between us and them policemen. And with every mile we cover, our spirits ebb, lower and lower.

We finally rid of Barra, true, but thanks to him, James and me is out in the open. That cave was protection, but we bring Barra into it and we no longer protected. It also mean all our supplies gone too and we have to start again with nothing.