CHILDREN'S STORY.

Northern Advocate, 15 August 1919, Page 4

CHILDREN'S STORY.

BATCHY JOHN

PART 11.

Last week, you remember, we left Batchy John fleeing for life on his raft of .kauri sapUngs iwhile the Maoris were preparing I'm- attack. We see him again paddling cautiously along by the mangroves he is none too soon, for the hakas have long ("cased, and now the sun has caug-ht die hilltops in a gulden lassoo.

The great chief Te IMui had planned to join forces with tl>e neighbouring »hiefs: on his way be was to kill all the white men; then the big chiefs and the armed men would together make a great onslaught —kill the Governor,' tear the Union Jack to pieces, and leave New Zealand free for the noble Maori. So -Te Kehu ordered .his .men to gather together the weapons—long spears, whale bones, stone weapons, and it was clone. The women mixod. pigeon oil with baked clay, and drew spirals, and whirligigs on the bodies of the warriors with t-his bright red paint;, and what with their barf bodies and their waist mats of flax, they looked well matched to their cruel Intentions. Te liehu with ,iis deeply tatooed face, large pigeoi- feathered mat thrown over his shoulders,* and his proud, upright beaming, looked every inch a. warrior. In his keen fierce eves dwelt the fires of war.

Xow Batchy John's hut was right in the path of the warriors on their way to join the ot'ier-tribes, so Te llehu.sent a body of his men ahead to make short work of John and his \vhare so that the rest of the. men might proceed On th<ur way without stopping; Te Rehu hin-self swung along with dignified steps, but soon (he men came tearing' back with the news that the pakeha was nowhere to be seen, but they had at least given themselves the statisfaetion of destroying the hut. The question now remained, where was John? "We must find him,' s-iid Te llehu, "it always brings bad luck to leave an enemy behind our backs. Go tell me if his raft is missing'!" he commanded. But the raft also had gone! "In the name of Alair, Father of New Zealand, he shall be found, and that immediately," said the chief, striking his stone club (patu) on a karaka tree. "Floil the canoe!"

Of course it did not please them that they had to turn out of their way for one single man. but if they left him behind it would bring- bad hick on the whole expedition.

"Rather than he should escape, may the God Tane Malmta (<<iod of the Fishes) swallow him wh.'.Je," muttered Te ftehn; "but oh, Kongo Matane (Father oj the Birds whisper the name of his .hiding place , " "Ka mate, ka mate te pakeha!" (Death, death, to the white man) came from the canoe. Poor John,, hearing the cry, prayed for safety. "Oh, to be us invisible as the flat-fish in the sand!*' ■Nearer and nearer ean:e the canoe, louder and louder the eiies. "Oh, for that stony farm in England!" John and his raft, were well hidden among the mangroves, but during these few awful m< ments, the thought came to hhn, ■'! should not be here where the cunoe perhaps' will come, but should make my way over to yonder island where the canoe cannot float." Being a good swimmer, he did not mind the distance, so he slipped into the wate"?, and was swinv ming across, when soun-thing happened! A large flock of sea-gulls whirled into the air from the sandy island to which John was' approaching. Round| and round; circling and wheeling, until the sky was full of uneasy birds, watching with swift eyes their nesting place below. The unlucky fellow had disturbed a colony of sea-gulls, the "xistence of which so near he had never even thought of.

But before John realised how these birds had given away his secret, jnad and triumphant cries of,

"Oh 1 , Eongo Matan° how good art thou," burst from Te llehu, "for surely those moving gulls are yoiu , answer to my entreaty! Surely, there shall we find the pakeha!" And he stood erect in the prjwy ,, pointing, and scanning his eye over the water. The paddles splashed; there was much laughter, for now the prize was near! John knew at last, his fate was sealed; there was no hope, he was discovered, and in the short time it would take the canoe to reach him, he would feel that greenstone patu on his head!

"Great are the Maori Oods , , great is their protection of the Maori! We appeal to You, and Your reply is here! Away with the pakeha, his God is not powerful!"

They could see Join crouching helplessly In the shallows no>y, but again the unexpected happened, and the paddles were motijuless while the men listened and lookvrt. Like an eagle appearing svi'lde.-ly from a blank sky, another canoe appeared, coming from the other side of the harbour. This canoe tarried the great Ngapo the Tohunga. Me was shouting to Te Relnv's canoe, requesting it should stop, for he Ivy] something im-

portant to say

Now John could not escape far, that his pursuers kniw. so they just left him in that wet and muddy plight while they paused lo h o ;a' what tidings Ngapo brought J'rom other tribes where he had been long absent,

Thus It was not only because Ngapo was a tapu (sacred) nvw., and therefore to be honoured and respected, that tlu'y held up the chase, «nd,,gave him their attention.

(To be concluded.)