Inside the blue gum grove, they were astonished to see Weari-Wyingga seated beside the other musicians playing one of the didgeridoos.   ‘That’s how they managed to pull Woo back into the grove after he almost broke free earlier!’ realised Garbarla.   ‘Weari-Wyingga gave the musicians added pull to drag the demon into the grove!’

With the return of Garbarla, Alex, and Roger, Weari-Wyingga explained what he intended: “To call Woo up into a didgeridoo, then seal both ends with ochre.”

“Will ochre hold it?” asked Garbarla.

Weari-Wyingga shrugged.   “No way to know till we try,” he pointed out.   “But ochre has been used by Aborigines in sacred rituals for many millennia because it is one of the purest, least polluted substances known.   If anything of this Earth can hold that demon into a didgeridoo, maybe ochre can.”

The next problem was who would risk sacrificing himself to try calling the demon right up into the didgeridoo.

“Me,” said Weari-Wyingga emphatically, unused to having his word questioned.   “At ninety-plus years of age, I have the least to lose.”

“But you aren’t as skilled at playing the calling tune as me,” protested Thomas Jabir.

The argument continued for another ten minutes.   But finally it was agreed that Thomas Jabir would make the attempt to call Woo up into his didgeridoo.

‘Well, here goes nothing!’ thought Garbarla as Thomas Jabir and the others began to play the calling tune for — they all hoped — one final time.

Fortunately the rain had died down to a trickle, so the misery of the watching men was not increased.

While Thomas Jabir played, Alex Jalburgul Gul and Roger Gardigardi knelt nervously beside him.   Each warrior clasped two large handfuls of rich ochre clay to attempt to plug the ends of the didgeridoo to seal the demon inside the wooden pipe.

‘Assuming Woo will even enter the didgeridoo!’ thought Garbarla.   ‘And assuming he doesn’t instantly zoom down the tube to disappear down Thomas Jabir’s throat, before the clay can be used to seal the didgeridoo,’ he realised, hesitant even to think it.   ‘Assuming the pure clay is the right substance to use to seal Woo into the instrument!’

For a moment it seemed the plan would fail simply because Woo ignored the calling tune this time.

‘Where can he be?’ wondered Garbarla.   Listening, he realised there was no sound of rustling from the blue gum grove — either coming or going — and wondered, ‘Has he finally managed to break the pull of the calling music to massacre the women and children back at the village?’

Then finally Woo re-emerged from the eucalyptus grove.   But not from in front of Thomas Jabir and the didgeridooists as before.   This time Woo broke through behind the musicians.   And also behind Garbarla and the other warriors, many of whom took off for the exit, despite shouted warnings from Weari-Wyingga.

“Woo-oo-oo!” shrilled the demon as it leapt from the trees toward them.

Even Garbarla instinctively ran to one side to escape the shrieking demon.   Although, like most of the others, he did not give in to his natural instincts to flee the grove in mid-corroboree.

“Woo-oo-oo!” shrieked Woo louder than ever before, as though determined to terrify away the Aborigines this time.

As he had over the last two days, Woo managed to partly resist the calling tune, pulling back against it even as inexorably he moved toward it — hopping in slo-mo as through bounding through a great pool of maple syrup.

Obviously having difficulty resisting the temptation to spin round, the musicians kept playing the soulful music.   And despite his howling “Woo-oo-oo!” in protest the demon continued slowly round the ceremonial fire until he stood before the five didgeridooists.

“Woo-oo-oo!” shrieked the demon in protest as it continued toward the five men.

‘It has to be drawn solely toward Thomas Jabir!’ thought Garbarla.   And as he thought it, the other musicians stopped playing to allow Thomas to capture the creature.

Instantly the demon broke free from the pull of the calling music.    For a second it propped as though to leap toward Thomas Jabir to bury its claws deep within his brain.   Then instead, howling in glee, it span round and kangaroo-hopped back toward the blue gum grove, scattering the watching Aborigines every which way.

“Start playing!   Start playing!” ordered Weari-Wyingga.   He and the other musicians began playing the calling tune again.

“Woo-oo-oo!” shrilled the demon in anger, stopped by the call of the music less than a metre from the eucalyptus trees.   For a second the demon struggled like a falling man desperately trying to claw across to a passing balcony just outside his reach.   But finally howling its rage he turned and bounded back toward the musicians.

Seeing what Weari-Wyingga had in mind, Garbarla, Alex Jalburgul Gul, Roger Gardigardi and a few other young men raced across to help.

While the musicians continued to play, Roger helped Thomas Jabir move his didgeridoo a few metres forward, closer to Woo.   Then Garbarla and the other warriors helped Weari-Wyingga and the other musicians to line up as close behind Thomas as possible.   So that, although all five didgeridooists would be playing, there would only be one instrument Woo could head toward.

“Now, where’s the clay?” asked Garbarla.

Looking startled, having obviously forgotten the ochre, Alex and Roger furiously looked around.   Sighting the round stones with the clay on them, they raced over to collect them.   Then, not a second too soon, they returned as Woo got within a metre of Thomas Jabir’s didgeridoo.

‘Here goes nothing!’ thought Garbarla as Woo bounded toward Thomas Jabir.

For a second it seemed the demon would manage to resist the allure of the music.   Then, shrieking “Woo-oo-oo!” again, it began to smoke and transform from its physical form into a yellowy mist, like a genie returning to its bottle in Arabian legends.

“Woo-oo-oo!” shrieked the demon one final time.   Then the mist began to swirl up the tip of the didgeridoo, like cigarette smoke in reverse, heading slowly up toward the Aboriginal musician.

‘Now comes the tricky part!’ thought Garbarla, as Alex and Roger poised, ready to seal the ends with the yellow ochre clay.

Garbarla half-expected Woo to materialise out the top of the didgeridoo to slaughter Thomas Jabir or disappear down his throat.   But, moving like two halves of one being, Alex and Roger leapt forward and rammed the clay into place, securely sealing Woo inside the didgeridoo.

THE END