(@ary1, $num) = read_data(\@tmpary, $tmpsclr);

##</code><code>##

($ary1ref, $num) = read_data(...);
@ary1 = @$ary1ref;      # silly, but gets the point across
# ... later ...
sub read_data
{
    # ...
    return \@retary, $count;
}