A Fortunate Life (Puffin story books) by Facey A B

Author:Facey, A B [Facey, A B]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780857970077
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 1985-07-01T04:00:00+00:00

Ten

Daylight finally came. There were no cattle and I couldn’t see any tracks; it was still raining and there was running water everywhere. I tied Dinnertime to a bush and climbed up to the top of a high ironstone hill. All I could see from the top was mountainous country in all directions. I was lost. I was also cold, wet and hungry, and very frightened.

I scrambled down to my pony and climbed on her back. I had been told that if you get lost while on horseback, you should give the horse its head and it will take you home. This theory was no good with Dinnertime—she only took me where there was plenty of feed. I let her eat as much as she wanted and walked for a time to get the warmth back into my legs and body. Then I rode to the top of some other high hills, but still to no avail.

I kept Dinnie going and going until we came to a gorge with large granite boulders on each side. There were large caves under the boulders, big enough for a horse to walk into. Now it was getting late and I decided to camp there for the night. I unsaddled Dinnie, and tethered her near the cave. Thank goodness I had the tether rope, because without Dinnie all would be lost for me. But Dinnie pawed the ground and came inside the cave and lay down to rest. Some of my fear left me at this, and after a while I went to sleep.

When I woke it was daylight and still raining. The gorge had water running through it like a little river. The sun was completely hidden; I was unable to tell north from south, or east from west. After giving Dinnie a longer tether rope so she could reach some grass, I sat thinking what to do. I thought, if the grass is good for Dinnie, it is good enough for me. I put some in my mouth and chewed it. The juice tasted nice but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t swallow the grass. At least I had no water troubles. It would be terrible to be lost like this with no water.

When Dinnie stopped eating, I saddled her up and rode all the rest of that day towards what I thought was the west. I rode up high hills and peaks along valleys, but saw only kangaroos by the hundreds, a few emus and a few wild horses. Not a sign of a track.

The rain stopped just before dark. The wind stopped too and everything was still and quiet. All I could hear was a dingo howling and another answering in the distance. I came across a thick patch of scrub and decided to camp there for the night. I broke off a pile of scrub and made a place to lie down. I tethered Dinnie and spent my second night alone.

In the morning the sky was clear. I waited for the sun, looking to where I expected it to rise.

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