Chapter 3

The rising water in Little Lake Constance had pressed the underground residents to relocate to higher ground. That meant that my trowel uncovered a vast network of new galleries. I even hit one egg chamber and pillaged it. I also hit a burrow that had been raided by Myrmecia -- the bulldog ant.

A young boy summoned me for grub around 17:00. "Ferd got a goanna," he said. When we returned to the settlement I saw that it was a Spencer's monitor, about 120 cm. long.

"Ferd must be handy," I commented to James.

"He is our best lizard hunter. He got a large perentie a few weeks ago. Knocked it out of a tree. Needed help to drag it here. I usually don't see 'em."

"Numbats flee them, not hunt them." We both laughed. "And we won't need 'Johnson's Antidote'."

"Aha! I've read Banjo Patterson, too."

"But I'm not 'the Scientific person hurried off with utmost speed, / Tested Johnson's drug and found it was a deadly poison-weed.'" [Banjo Patterson, "Johnson's Antidote."]

"How was your hunt?"

"Quite successful, though not edible."

"May I ask some questions?"

"Of course."

"You know that Sammy went to Brisbane. [I nodded] He is fascinated by what you are doing. Is there a way he could come to you and work in the Museum?"

"I am sure there is. In fact, I am sure that either the Federal Government or that of NSW would be eager. The carpet python would help here. I have two questions now."

"Proceed."

"First, can you give me the satphone number, so that I can communicate when I'm in Sydney? Second, may I spend time tomorrow with Sammy?"

"I'll give you the number in a moment. How would it be if Sammy went on walkabout to the gibber with you?"

"That would be perfect."

James nodded. He then raised his voice again: "Sammy! Paper and pencil!"

The equinoctial sun was just over the trees the next morning when Sammy and I set out.

"Sammy."

"Boss?"

"You graduated from Brisbane?"

"The University of Queensland. Yes."

"What subject?"

"English Literature."

"So tell me why the native boy act?"

"We make sure the Europeans ignore us. They see what they expect and so we encourage them in their mis-apprehensions."

"And you did not know me, so I get treated that way."

"Precisely."

"Do you know Jimmy? Headman of a band near Cunnamulla?"

"We went to a corroboree with them last year."

"My wife treated him when he had dengue. When I was a boy, my best friend was Jacky, Jimmy's friend. Jacky and I called Jimmy a 'Kalchut'."

Sammy started to laugh. "We do the same."

"I guessed so. You know where it's from?"

"Upfield. The mystery where the bone is pointed at Bony."

"Good. Now I want to go an hour or so out into the gibber and do some collecting. James said you're interested in learning more. We'll talk about that. But no more silliness, OK?"

"Fine. It's a kid's game."

"And insulting to me."

"Yeah. It's not a good idea to both play tricks and ask favours."

We walked silently for a while. Then I pointed towards a small mound. "See that?"

"The hill?"

"Yes. That's the nest of Melophorus, a honey-ant. And there's a dragon lizard on top, waiting for lunch." I reached into my case. "I'll try to get a few ants, too. Later on I can see exactly what kind they are. The lizard's probably Ctenophorus maculosus, though this a bit out of his range." I fell right back into a pedagogic role. Sammy just watched as I scooped three ants into the vial, capped it, and then labeled it.

"Let's head for those flat stones over there." When we had gone about 10 meters, I took my knife and said: "Watch this." I flipped a grey-brown object. There was a flurry of motion.

"What was that?"

"Trap-door spider. They are members of the family Ctenizidae, and are medium-sized spiders that construct burrows with a cork-like trapdoor made of soil, vegetation and silk. That wasn't really a stone. The spider went back down the tunnel and will build a new lid. It takes most of a day."

"Wow."

"Some trapdoors can give you a nasty bite, but they aren't fatal."

I gathered a few more ants and some springtails that were dining on the remnants of a grasshopper.

Sammy was watching the ground. "There's really a lot here."

"Yes. We have to learn how to see the animals. When Sturt came through here, over 150 years ago, he wrote of how bare and barren it was. Leichhardt wrote much the same about the area north-east of here. But it's not bare and barren. It's really quite well populated. Snakes, lizards, frogs, birds, insects, and arachnids."

"Arachnids?"

"Spiders and scorpions. Eight legs. Insects have six legs."

"You know a lot."

"I've been collecting ants and other things for over 50 years. And there's lots more. There are over six thousand kinds of ants in Australia. Let's walk over there and see what we can see. And you can tell me what you're interested in."

We walked and chatted for a while. Then something caught my eye. "What's that, Sammy?"

He looked up. "Message from camp. Father-of-python wanted."

"Can we get there quickly?"

"Under an hour if you don't stop to pick up anything."

"Let's go."

It was well under an hour. James was standing with several men facing three Europeans, red-faced, overweight.

"Hello," I said. "What's up?"

"These three," James gestured, "Had a campfire near the lake. One was smoking. The woman threw a beer tin into the lake."