CAPTAIN SHEEN, Adventurer. An Historical Romance of New Zealand.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 228, 23 September 1904, Page 6

CAPTAIN SHEEN, Adventurer. An Historical Romance of New Zealand.

By CHARLES OWEN.

CHAPTER XVn.-(Continued.) -Has the whelp gane gyte!" Stewart aaked. "Mutinous,." said Sheen; "the swab!" "I thocht there were a gey, queer S „■' yer e€a >" returned Stewart. "-!leant warning ihe beggars sure enough," said Sheen. Captain Stewart turned his face on mc, dark as gathering thunder. "Into irons wi , him," he suggested. "The creeshie swine. Hp isna' sib to Ronny, God be quid tae him." "No need of them, Jimmy," answered Sheen, "ltd be a fearful confession of weakness to use force to such a lamb. I can do anything I like with him. without force. Don't notice him; I'll see he don't warn 'em. Is the live cargo safely stowed below?" "Owre a hunner' o' them, the bonnie men, cuddled a thegither i , the hauld," said Stewart, "as sleek as pussy cats wi' steekit claws an' herts a , duntin' lood wi' bitter hate." , "Remember we won't have any of the enemy aboard without they are under the command of Tamaiharanui, warned Sheen. "Ye muckle gowk," cried Stewart. "I ken fine the ploy that's wantit. We'll ha'e a blythsome ti.Lie o't yet!" These wantonly brutal words won the applause of the human monster from whose grip I could not free myself. i The canoe by this was making for our larboard bow. Another minute it would be within hailing distance. At last the paddles ceased and a Maori greeting came across the intervening waters. Sheen answered it. Their leader stood up, the ° others holding "water with their paddles. "What does the pakeha want?" demanded the Maori. "Where is Tamaiharanui?" shouted Sheen. "He's away," answered the. Maori. "How far?" asked Sheen. "A day's jouruey," said the Maori. "What does the pa_keha want with Taniaiharanui f "To deal with him, for he harekeke," j said Sheen. "Will the Maoris fetch him?" | They consulted together. The murmur of their voices still reached us, although. I their words could no longer be distinguished. "We will come alongside and korero, , ' colled their leader at last. "No you won't,' , contradicted Sheen. "The pakeha ranijatira only talks with rangatiraa. Fetch Tamaiharanui; we will only deal with him. And-be quick about, it. or we won't wait." "Oh, too far," the speaker objected; "he's at vVaiuni." "All right," Sheen retorted, "we will go away." There was some minutes hesitation, spent in talking among, themselves. The-n the Maori spoke again. "Very well, Rangatira," he agreed, seeing that he had a determined man to deal with, " w e 'will send for him. In two days he will be here. You wait." The canoe turned for the shore. I tried to speak, but could not, my parched tongue cleaving to the roof of my mouth. My eyes sought Captain Sheen. His hard stare was fixed on mc, and a diabolical smile played about his mouth. He strode vigorously up to where I stood. "Curse your jaw," he cried; "I'll loose your tongue. It shall wag to some purpose! Hail them!" he commanded. "E hoa ma!"* I halloed. The Maoris in the canoe pulled up and waited. "Tell them Te Raupai-aha's at Kapiti, preparing a war party against Tarnaiharanui," said Sheen. "Have mercy. I can't," I pleaded. "Whfit does the pakeha want?" called the Maori from the canoe. "Answer him, you booby," said the Captain, exercising his power to the full. In spite of my most strenuous effort I could not hold my tongue. For the time being it was not mine, but his, and I was forced to cry: "Tell Tamaiharanui that we saw Te Rauparaha at Kapiti, fitting out a war party against him. - ' "He'll be down shortly," prompted Sheen. "He'll be down shortly," I shouted. ''Nei!''-j- returned the Maoris gratefully. After this expression, the canoe continued its way towards the shore. Stewart had watched us with a grin on his broad face. Sheen, with a rasping laugh like the sharpening of a saw, turned on his heel, remarking with a sneer: "What a good thing to know Maori, sonny!" and I was free, j As I leaned over the side, looking into the pure, blue waters of the sea, 1 con- j templated suicide. What right had I to live, the creature of Captain Sheen, having at times no power over my own actions, no control over my own will? And yet could I be held responsible ? How miserabL' I was, God only knows! But not responsible! No, not responsible! During the time of waiting that ensued, the Elizabeth rocked peacefully at her anchorage, with all the appearance of an honest trader, giving no hint of the ambushed tiends she cradled. The chiefs remained in the confinement of the cabin, with the portholes towards the shore securely blocked, and, though upwards of a hundred excited warriors lay concealed, incredible as it may seeni, they maintained the utmost si'oace. The tenacity of revenge that could induce such unanimous self-constramt was so great that if Te Rauparaha hud been obliged to wait a year for the accomplishment of his purpose, ne would have waited patiently, for he never swerved in the pursuit of a fixed resolve. His impbieable hatred -vas only typical ol the spirit that possessed his ruthless followers. At length, on the third day. some natives were seen to put off in a canoe "which paddled swiftly towards us. We were all tliree on deck. Sheen was the first to speak. "What arc yon <roin°: to do now, Caspar?" he asked, bitingly. "Can't you let mc aJone, you brute?" I groaned. ''No. my amiable partner, T can't." he said. "The indispensable Mirrimy! Wo'd like to spare the dpar boy; but he'll have the blood of hundreds of nig-

gers on his tender conscience before nightfall." "Through no consent of mine," I exclaimed. "God knows I'd willingly prevent it now, if I could." "You might have warned them," he insinuated. "Yes, if it hadn't been for you," I flung at him. He tittered softly, with an evil leer, and turned away like one possessed. The consciousness of my impotence maddened mc. I longed to escape, but could not. Where could I go? Nowhere! 1 could only resolve neither to see nor hear. Burying my throbbing head in my hands, I leaned over the opposite side and clenched my teetih in the agony of suspense. I would not see the canoe arrive. Sheen and Stewart were talking together. Then I heard the swish of paddles and the confusion of exchanged greetings in friendly tones. I dared not lift my head to look. I could not i have endured the sight of the chief wh6 was so soon to meet his doom. What availed it to know whether he was a good or bad man, judged by heathen standards, to know the faces of the people who accompanied him? The dread of his impending fate was more than I could bear already. It riveted my attention. I heard the dull thud of their feet t upon the deck; I heard the welcome of Stewart and Sheen; the laughter that ensued; and then, its tones piercing my neart, a woman's voice. The call was irresistible. Breaking my resolve, I turned shuddering in the direction of the speakeT. There were two women and a man I every inch a chief, as I had expected j All three were grouped round Sheer land Stewart; Tamaiharanui addressim: • them in the courteous manner that distinguished him. He was of the grand old type, when the white man with his attendant curses was unknown. The woman beside him and nearest mc was an ordinary Maori wahine, stout an-1 short of stature. The other, a girl about sixteen years old, who etoo<! 'sideways towards mc, turned coquet- ■ : ishly as I moved and our eyes met. i Her sudden appearance, amid those hor I rible preparations, seemed a bright vi sion. and. as I gazed at her, she smiled. That smile has never faded. At that supreme moment it appealed 'to everj atom of manb-ood within mc. There on the deck of that infernal brig, with its living freight of fierce re lentless foes, she shone like the daystar of some better life. Hope revived; the fetters fell from mc. Once more I met Sheen's eyes. They glowered at mc with all their "old, baleful fire; but they had no power. I was free! I wa9 free to follow my own conscience; free to control my will; free to pursue the right and regret the wrong. If it had only come twp days earlier I might have saved Tamaiharanui, and 'with him the beautiful Nga Roimata, for whose fate I trembled. Was it even now too late? Striding across the deck, I stood besidf the Maori, face to face with Captain Sheen. "Tamaiharanui —" I began. Quick as thought the Captain realised my new freedom. With his intuitive sjrasp of changed conditions, he fell back upon force, his favourite weapon, the application of which he had boasted' to Stewart was a confession of weakness, but which he still thought better than failure and defeat. Before I could utter the word treachery, already on my lips, with Te Rauparaha's name behind it, he sprang at mc like a tiger. Down we went together and he pinioned mc to the deck, pressing, one great hand upon my mouth. "Jimmy! Quick! Rope!" he cried. In a flash it was brought and I was bound securely, then gagged by a rope wound about my head and forced between my teeth. The strangers stood by in astonishment and I caught a pitying glance in the girl's lustrous, deep, brown eye 3. "What has he done?" asked Tamaiharanui. "Among the pakehas," said Sheen, "a does not speak, unbidden, to a rangatira. He is a slave," pointing to mc, "and he spoke to the Great Chief. For that he is bound." TheTe was a dissatisfied look on the Chief's face. "The customs of the pakeha vary," he said. "Whale catchers who have visited Tamaiharanui before have not been so strict." "Whale catchers are often only slaves themselves," interposed Stewart, in mixed Scots and Maori. "Come down into the belly of the big waka," said Sheen. "The pakeha would offer the rangatira food and waipiro." He nudged Stewart, who led the way, the Maoris following. Sheen let them pass and grasped mc by the arm. "You're coining too," he bullied. "I'll be quits with you, you sneaking hound. , * you yelping traitor, or my name's not Dan Sheen. I never met my match yet, missionary or mutineer. Down you go! It'll mend, your manners! Teach you to see and hear and say naught. Come along my pet, we'll finish your educatiori"for you in the seminary for polishing off young ladies." With the gag in my mouth and pinioned, I was dragged down the companion and bundled headlong into the presence of that historic group. CHAPTER XVm. Tamaiharanui bore himself proudly. : Stretched to his full height he stared into the malicious eyes of Te Rauparaha, unmoved by their triumphant gleam. The latter was supported on either side Iby Rangihaeata and Te Pehi'3 son. I Nga Roimata clung to her mother, who , j faced her husband's foes, courageous as himself. I bit vainly on the rope in my mouth and made-a desperate effort to get free of the coils that bound mc. ■ Not a sound broke the silence. After the first astonished moment, Tamaiha- • nui. with lightning glance, saw that I escape was hopeless, and awaited the attack of his enemies with calm and silent dignity. Te Rauparaha was the first to speak. "Te koura unuhanga a TamaJ" he exr ulted, "Aiero rua—ngakau rua." , "The dog is caught!" said Rangihaeata. At the same moment Te Hiko, son of ' Te Peoi. stepped forward and tore Tamaiharanufs lips apart, with such force j that the blood dropped from his mouth, and hung in beads down the kiwi mat which was fastened, over his left 1 shoulder. * The crayfish pulled out of his hole after loiifr pulling by Tainu. Double tongue! Double heart!

"Teeth that devoured the *r* h of my father 1" he taunted. "Cursed 1 mouth of a shark! shall be ripped open by the tooth of a snark, and your children shall be the slaves of my people!" Te Hiko's eyes burned with brutality and lust as he fixed them on the weeping Nga Roimata. I strained at my bonds, and writhed till every muscle gave out. "Has the pakeha, taura? v Te Rauparaha asked Stewart. The brute left the cabin, returning immediately with a set of irons. Instructed by the two white scoundrels, the Maoris placed these on the unresisting Tamaiharanui. They then threw him on the ca>bin floor and •went on deck, leaving the four of us, his wife Te Wh.e. Nga Roimata and myself, imprisoned. I signed to Te Whe, and she understood. With eager fingers ehe undid the ropes that bound and gagged mc. To examine the irons on Tamaiharanui was the work of a moment, but, just as I expected, we were powerless to aid him without tools. "I tried to warn you, that's why they bound mc," I said. "The belly of the waka is filled with your enemies from Kapiti." Tamaiharanui uttered a deep groan as he looked on the tearful faces of his wife and child, and foresaw their fate. "Leave the bonds," he said, stoically, surveying himself, bound hand and foot. "Leave the badges of the slave. Te Rauparaha has conquered." I turned to the cabin portholes. Open to seaward, they were so small there was no hope of exit that way. As the chief already realised, even if we got —.c irons off, escape* was impossible. At this moment a Maori voice, between us xnd the shore, hailed the brig, showing ■'•he canoes were near. It penetrated to the cabin, followed by Sheen's answer. "He kokonga whare kitea."t mur mured Tamaiharanui; "but not the Heart of the pakeha. That is truly a larker place." He ended in a deep guttural growl. "Aue! Aue !"$ wailed Te Wlr'Alas our people are beilrayed; the decks .f the waka will be red; Te Rauparahii as truly conquered!" She sheltered her face with her hands, n a gesture of despair, while the gr-.ce "ul Nga Roimata nestled fearfully to her -ide. In my endeavour to offer consolaion I broke the agony of silence that ?nsued. "Your daughter?" I asked. "Taku hei piripiri," he answered, in heartrending tones, "taku hei mokiraoki, taku hei tawhiri. taku katitarainea. •** "My God!" I cried, in anguish. "Can ' not save her?" As he grasped the meaning of my words, his fine eyes kindled, then soft•ned into supreme tenderness. "There is one refuge for the fatherT es3," he said; "there is peace with the spirits of our ancestors. Nga Roimata, *o to thy mother! There shall be no Ilavery for thee. Better, far better, .he short lullaby that precedes the. everlasting slumber." "We shall ne'er see again the hills of \karoa," she lamented. A death cry on the deck overhead, accompanied by a yeil of triumph, broke on our ears, sending a shiver to my heart. It was followed by another, and mother, in quick succession. «Aue !" moaned the distraught ■woman. "Listen," exclaimed the chief. Then he deliberately turned to his trembling wife. "Ec kui."t he commanded. i-et her spirit go to her ancestors!" "What do you mean?" I demanded. "Nga Roimata shall never be the my enemies," he said proudly. 'Her beauty shall not be a feast for i's Rauparaha." "You will not kill her," I cried, aplealingly. "Peace, pakeha," he answered, v you re the friend of Tamaiharanui." As I gazed upon that girlish figure, uy mind revolted at the thought that Te Rauparaha's rude hand should even her. Moreover there were the ither chiefs to be reckoned with. No ndignity they could subject her to would be too great for the satisfaction it their revengeful lust. She would be it the mercy of that relentless horde spon the brig. In the ghastly carnage hat had just begun, what would be hamate? The, frightful din above us increased, dying shriek on shriek, the seufle of vigorous feet and the heavy thuds as men fell lifeless, or grappled together in the deck. This girl had brought re'ease to mc. Her singular beauty had in some mysterious way broken the power of Sheen's malevolence. And I could not save heT! There was only -mc escape. Her maiden honour could vet be saved by death. This much was •ertain! In face of it what right had 1 'o interfere?

Tamaiharanui had turned his ipon us. The mother calmly approach•d Nga Roimata, a determined look upm her dark face. Transfixed with horror, I stood astare. A streak of sunshine peeped through the porthole. It seemed a mockery! In the girl's sweet eyes there lurked the fear of death ami with a low pained cry she cringed back, as if seeking an escape. There was no wavering in the steadfast purpose of Te VVhe, no softness on her pale face as, unrelenting, she stretched out her quivering fingers and circled the shapely throat. The rest must remain untold. When all was over, and I had steadied myself sufficiently, I ventured to'lift my head from my hands. Tamaiharanui stood like a rock, with tight lips and downcast eyes, while the agonised mother cast herself beside the lifeless body, uttering wail .on wail over the livid and distorted features of my once beautiful Nga Roimata. "Aue ! Aue ! Aue ! Aue !" she wailed, tearing her breasts with her nails. 'VMy child! My child! I have clasped thee like the rata vine, and. it is well! My sweetvoiced huia! Sleep in peace! We will follow thee on the ebbing tide, the swiftly ebbing tide of death. Aue ! Aue ! It is best, it is best!" I heard steps on the companion, a booted tread followed by the pad-pad of bare feet. Then the barred cabin door was unfastened, and the blackguard face of Captain Sheen appeared. \ He was followed by the exultant Te Hiko and Te Rauparaha. Sheen took in- the situation at a glance. I was free, with the ropes that had bound mc lying on i the floor. Beside mc lay the body of, I the strangled Nga Roimata, from which Te Whe had raised herself to her knees. "Good God!" he gasped, agape with astonishment. "Come, in! Are you afraid?" I challenged. "You treacherous dog, disgracing the race that bred you! ■ Come in!" Tp T?anparnha stood on the lower t The corner of a whare may be searched. $ The wail of the Maori—untranslatable. * Part of a 'Maori love sons equivalent to: "My necklace of scented moss, my necklace of fragrant fern, my necklace of odourous shrubs, my sweet smelling necklet Taramen." Tarawea ia a spear grass, acephrlla sgnarrosa. t Old woman.

steps of the companion, Te TBfc- q immediately behind him. "Fiend incarnate!" I.stormed, impelled beyond all bounds by the scene I had just witnessed. "You shall give an account for this villainy to the Justice of your country." Sheen's face set like a flint. It confessed no feelings. The pitiable form upon the floor, the suffering man in irons, the poor bereft woman with the dark face —in which grief was tending to madness —were to him only pawns in the game of life, and affected him no more. That such misery did not appeal to the enemies of Tamaiharanui was not to be wondered at. In a European the callousness was damnable. This thought brought my Uncle Ronald's warning words to mind and, therewith came the recollection of the English home where I had left my mother. Did she still pray for mc, night and morning,- and was there a barrier be- : tween those prayers and Heaven's an- • swer—the barrier of my own folly and weakness. At any rate, henceforth, my will was to be my own and I would die rather than lift a finger in support of Sheen's nefarious schemes. I was equally determined that he and Stewart should be informed against and brought to justice. That was my firm resolve, but i knew, even as I spoke, that I was a fool to give it utterance. "So you're loose, you yapping whelp," he said, stepping into the cabin. "Is that your handiwork?" he snarled, , pointing to the body of the dead girl! j With native intuition the Maori wainan understood the question. "Aue ! Aue !" she wailed. Then Te Rauparaha strode past, ignoring the wailing woman, and faced Tamaiharanui. In one hand he carried a large fishhook to which was fastened a length of strong cord. Te Hiko fol- , lowed him like his shadow. "Eater of Te Pehi!" cried Te Rauparaha. "Shark of the land!" Tamaiharanui made no answer, but looked into his enemy's eyes with calm \ indifference; a look in which there was not even a hint of the despair he must have felt. Sheen's attention was divert- i from mc by the action of the chiefs, j "The wise one is trapped," Te Rauparaha taunted; "the cunning bird ■is i.aken in a snare; the 6hy fish is netted! Ugh! 1 came many times to Akaroa, i but Tamaiharanui took refuse in distant pahs, behind the shelter of the ] palhsades, in the darkness of his whare i But now I have him! Mine is he niio-a vy-hiti!* How shall Te Rauparaha fittingly revenge himself on such a one?" -To this there was no reply. ' ! "Come, Te Hiko," said Te Rauparaha, "help mc hook this fish." Together they got the hook through ' the loose skin of the chiefs throat and fastened the cord to the roof of the cabin, so tightly that the chin was drawn up as far as it would go. Stretched to his full height, in this manner, he endured excruciating torture, but 'no sound escaped his lips, and he did not afford them their looked for gratification of seeing him suffer. "The devils!" even Sheen admitted. "So are we to stand idly by and see it done?" I said. "Well, after all, he's only a savage," ! he reflected. "The deck's black with 'em. Ha! Ha! How they rolled 'em over. Like playing ninepins, only more exciting. Bah! I care nought for savages!"

"That's evident enough!" . "And less for mutineers!" "Anyhow your power over mc i* gone!" Hie eyes blazed with pent-up rage. "There's always force, bear in mind," he said. "A confession of weakness?" I enquired, derisively. "There's a yard-arm and a rope," he threatened. "You're not captain!" "Stewart" is!" "You're twin devils," I rejoined; "six of one and half a dozen of the other." "Well soon order your goings, anyway," he said. "Wait till we get rid of these stowaways. They might hand over extra flax for a white slave." "That's the threat you used to Coulished," I retorted. "It's a whip that has no sting for mc. I'd he flayed alive before I'd move for you." ■ "Coulished was an angel to yon," he • said. "He was open to reason and tried to oblige. All the same I hope you'll enjoy the play that's been prepared for your pleasure aboard this brig. Only I'd advise you, as a friend, not to come up on deck if you want to keep your breakfast down." With this, he turned, and mounted the companion. I could hardly stay in the cabin and see the brutal torturing of the Maori chief; much less witness the heaps of slain above. The massacre, for such it was, continued I throughout the day. All who came j aboard were killed instantly. Then, leaving the brig, Te Rauparaha and the Ngatitoa made a raid upon the pah, Takapuneke, when upwards of a hundred were butchered. Apera Puhenui, Paurini and other leading men among the Ngaitahu tribe were slain, either on the brig or while resisting the over- , whelming attack up the shore. What followed I need not describe. Others have written. What good purpose could be served by an eye-witness recalling those horrors from their graves I after the lapse of years. No further punishment can be visited upon the guilty. Te Rauparaha, Te Hiko, and i the Ngatitoa. in some measure must Ibe forgiven. It was the custom of their race to be reA T en<red, to eat their enemies, to torture those they hated, and jto rejoice in their death. Tamfuhara- ! nui, in like circumstances, would have been equally ferocious. Even to regard it as a blot upon the greatness of Tβ i Rauparaha's character would be manifestly unfair. Let a veil be drawn over the horrors of that unforgotten day. He . who would read of them must search the ecant records relating to the brig j Elizabeth and her ghastly and treacherous errand. Here I leave it, to rosurae ' the narrative of her doings when we were once more anchored off Kapiti, with only Tamaiharanui and his wife, of all Te Rauparaha's captives, left alive. (To be continued dairy.) * The hand quick at reaching out (obscure).