131. Monday, 23 August 1948. As expected George and Van arrived in camp shortly after 1 P.M. and as I expected a scene of great ac- tivity ensued, marred only by one thing. They had brought in a number of specimens and, like wise men, did not unpack them. The rest of us were very busy and everything was well in xxx hand but for the one thing. The truck did not arrive. That leaves us in something of an impasse which cannot be simplified un- til tomorrow. In all probability the truck will arrive some time in the morning and everything will go well. They did not undertake to be here to- night. But, on the other hand, in order to get us back tomorrow, they should have been here tonight. Possibly they will come rolling in after I have closed this entry. But old Herb Thompson admits that his memory is failing and we know that nobody wants to drive out here and get us. I shall simply have to leave the whole thing in abeyance until tomorrow. And, with that subject removed from the agenda, what do I write about next. Having no idea, probably the best thing to do would be to go to bed but it is barely 8 P.M. yet. I have done nearly an hour of night hunting but have got what I want and do not want to open up fresh containers now, so that is out. I have packed all I can until the morning so there is nothing in that line. Ever since his horse was bitten and stung by hornets, the horse-boy has been burning the long grass which covers the slopes of the dividing range. They were smoking when we came in last night and Len told him not to do it. So when he took his nags out to get George this morning, what did he do. He set fire to what remained of the grass. I have a book; I think I shall read it. Tuesday, 24 August 1948. The paragraph with which yesterday's entry was opened would apply just as well today except that the day was spent not in packing but in waiting, and in waiting fruitlessly. No truck has yet arrived and a full day has been lost thereby. We allowed a spare day on the journey down to Laura and this is it. We shall still require one clear day at Coen to do our packing and get things ready to be shipped out from there, but we have been liberal in our time allowance for the jour- ney and there is another day available there, should we need it. But it will be taken at the cost of collecting. Moreton went in with the horse-boy this morning and was given a note to our Coen agent, whose job it was to have the truck here either last night or this morning. To be on the safe side, Len and I will walk in to Coen Air- port tomorrow, a distance of about fourteen miles, from where we can tele- phone in and not only find out what has gone wrong but also, we trust, be able to right it. We shall start about dawn so that we can travel before the heat of the day sets in; for myself I would much rather be doing something, even walking fourteen miles, than just sit here, but my hope of getting work done and letters ready to go out by Thursday's plane has gone a-glimmering. To add to the unpleasantness of our position, the sky has clouded over and we have had a little rain, the first since arriving at Coen. Of course all our tents and shelters were dismantled this morning, and only one lamp. mine, is available, though I don't know why the others can't unpack their lamps as I did; it would be much simpler for everybody. In view of tomorrow's long walk, unless we meet the truck somewhere on the road, I shall close up and turn in very early tonight. The walk will not be too bad but there is no water for the last seven miles and we shall be pretty dry,