THE LURE OF THE OPAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19215, 2 January 1926, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE LURE OF THE OPAL.

BY F. C. ATTWGOD. •

CHAPTER L Down in the southern portion of the gumfielda, among desolate-looking hills which were once clothed wit2i kauri forest, but which the ever-reenrring fires have swept of everything save the quickspringing fern, is a solitary nnvisited grave, enclosed with a rough fence that catches the eye of the occasional traveller.' It was evening as Parsons and I came down the valley on the way to join the rest of our survey party at the mouth of the river, trnd we speculated idly as fco what manner of man or woman had been consigned to a last resting place so apart and alone. Gregarious even in death, our species, of whatsoever tribe or race, commonly seeks the company of its fellows in its hist long vigil. Some ten chain further down the riv-jr we caught sight of a thin column of smoke ascending from a clump of tea-tree and here we found a ranpo-thatched whare, apparently the last survivor of what had been a considerable village. It being now high water we decided to wait till the ebb left us smooth walking down the beach for the remainder of our journey. Approaching the whare, we were greeted from within by its sole occupant, a tall old Maori of venerable aspect, who. with the genial hospitality characteristic of his race at once invited us in and seated as by the fire. Here he regaled us with the best of his fare and an animated disquisition on a variety of somewhat unlookedfor topics, among them the impregnability of Maori fortifications in the event of a hostile invasion of the shores.

Taking advantage of a momentary lull in the harangue, I ventured to allude to the grave on the hilltop. The old Maori became grave and abstracted, and for a space seemed to have forgotten our presence, while his thoughts travelled over the events of bygone days. Then he turned the whole flood of his eloquence upon this new theme; and. stripped of the imagery that enlivened its first narration and rendered into plain English, this is the storv he told.

"Many years ago, when I played with the other boys of the tribe down by the river hank, Hari Hamona, otherwise Harry Hammond, came among us from the north. He dwelt in this very wharo, set apart for him by the old chief Eruera. In those days the people of onr tribe were many and lived in plenty, for the

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knmera and the potato grew prolilcally in the valley. As time went on the old chief and the pakeha became as father and son for had not the latter twice assisted, with clear head and strong arm, at the repelling of the fierce Taraia and his band 1 It was the pakeha who had built the new storehouse, and two large punts or barges for conveying shellfish from the coast. "He taught the Maori how to use sawn kanri from the hillside, for Hari Hamona had great skill with the axe and the saw, and other tools which he had brought with him from his own land.

In return my people showed him where to find the kauri gum, which they thought of no value;, for it was then plentiful in the country. The pakeha soon had heaps of it along the river bank, whence he would put it on board a schooner that sometimes called at the Heads.

Now, old Eruera had a daughter named Oneone, whose beauty was such that it kindled the Same of love in the breasts of all r.he youths in the tnbe; but she returned not their amorous glances, for to her there was but one man, and he the tall, fair-headed pakeha that dwelt among them. As for Hari Hamona it wax as if the fires of love had already burned within him. burned themselves out. for as he vatched his heaps of gum grow higher, ho seemed content to live and work, and sought no other happiness. One summer night, when the evening repast was over, old and young were gathered round the log fires, the old wafiines comfortably settled on their mats to talk the night through, as is their wont, the youth of the tribe laughing and talking or joining in some familar chant, as fancy took them. Hari was there chatting carelessly with the assembled damsels, for they were all equally fair to him; and Oneone sat nearby eyeing him regardfully, but with somewhat heavy heart, when one Hurunui approached her, and proffered, as a gift of love if his eyes spoke truly, some small fragments of stone, studded with lustrous spots.

The girl looked them over with a kind of dubious curiosity, and then, as if possessed of a sudden fear, let them drop with a sbarp cry: " They are the eyes of the dead, and should be tapu! What you say, Hari Hamona ?"

The pakeha now took up the stones, and was soon examining them with great interest. " Where did you find these Hurunui ? They are opals."

" I know not," replied the other. '* It was a great way from here. I did not mark the spot." For a long time Hari sat there with the stones in his hand, holding them this way and that, observing their changing colours and internal lustre; but brighter than the gems glowed the eyes of Oneono and of Hurunui, hers with slighted love, his with suppressed hate. For of all those smitten with the charms of the fair Oneone, he burned most with the desire for possession, and already could he see that night, as he marked her gaze bent upon Hari Hamona, that as long as this pakeha remained among them, his own suit would be hopeless. At length Hari looked up, and asked again, " Are there any more where you found these, Hurunui ? Do not you think you could find the place again ?" " I say that I did not mark the spot. I picked up the stones thinking their beauty would please a woman; for what man would prize such playthings ? However, if the pakeha wishes for some more, there is the bush. Let him search."

Some time later, as Hari wended his way. thoughtfullv toward his whare Hurunui cried after him:

" Ehoa, pr/.eha! Hari Hamona, stop a moment. Do j'ou still wish to know where the glittering stone is found ?" " See here, Hurunui, if you can find the place, you shall have my best axe, »ie one vou have so often asked for."

" I have bethought me of the spot, and can lead you to it. The stone is there in great plenty. It is a long way off in yonder hills, but if we start at sunrise we shall be there before noon."

" Good," said Hari, " let us start at daybreak. The days are long, and there will be plenty of time to return before nightfall." " Ah," muttered Hurunui, as the other left him, " it will indeed be a long day if it sees your return!"

CHAPTER 11. Xext morning, while the wakeful tuis welcomed in the first grey streaks of dawn the Maori and the pakeha left the sleeping settlement and took the path leading up the spur to the bush-clad heights beyond. The Maori carried his axe, his companion a mattock and a small kit of provisions. For some miles the track led through stretches of fern and tea-tres, and along barren ridges, until, reaching higher ground it entered the bush and was soon overshadowed by spreading P^pg a a:l( l rustling ta-.va. Here the track was less distinct, being traceable mainly by the worn surface of projecting roots; and in some places, indeed, where an extra fall of leaves had occurred, or a tree had fallen, it seemed to the pakeha to be wholly obliterated. His dusky companion, however,,, would continue on unhesitatingly and take up the track again with a certainty that seemed little short of miraculous. Once, when they had crossed a stony creek, and gone some little way among the trees, they heard a slight splash be-

hind them, as if someone followed. Hurunui paused and listened, and then retraced his steps to the creek, hut finding no trace of living creature, he rejoined his companion, saying, "It must have been a loose stone rolling mto the wales-, or a twig falling from a tree." " No doubt," returned the other, " no creature, man or dog, could have followed as so far unseen."

And so they continued on their way in silence for many miles further, the Maori in the lead following the tortuous windings of the track as if he had trodden it daily since his boyhood. At last, when the sua was high in the sky, they emerged on a stony windswept ridge, overlooking on every side a sea of rolling forest. " This is the spot," said the Maori briefly. " Search there"— nomting to a low cliff a few yards along the ridge—" arid von will find in plenty the stones you wish for." _ The pakeha went to the spot indicated, where a siliceous formation cropped out near the fringe of the bush. It was indeed the identical store he was in search of, and with the aid of his mattock the ardent prospector had no difficulty in procuring even richer specimens than those placed in his hand ths night before. A smile of grim satisfaction played on Hurunui's dusky 'matures as he watched his companion, now wholly engrossed in inspecting the rocky face. " Pakeha," he said presently, "I am going into the bush to fed a bee tree that I know of. It is a big rata, and may take me some time, so by the time I come back you will have as much stone as you can carry. Bui, do not. in tile meantime, try to find your way back alone, for you would certainly be lost."

"Very well, my friend," returned the other. " you will find me here when you return," and the Maori shouldered his newly-acquired axe and was soon out of sight. Hari Hamona applied himself to his task and was intent upon the examination o! a heap of loose stones when a sharp sound of snapping twigs close behind him caused him to look round with a start.

"What, you here. Onoone!" he exclaimed in astonishment, as the chief's daughter stood before him. "I 3:t possible you have, followed us nnsee.ll since davbreak ?"

"Fear nothing for me, brave Oneone," said Hari, at length, "even if Hurunui would play me false, ho cannot return just yet. Wait but a little while longer, and we will return together." The girl assented. "I have come to warn you, Hari," she said. " You must not wait here for Huruntii's return. He is a traitor, and would betray you into the hands of our enemy Taraia, Hasten with me back to the settlement; there is danger in every moment we tarry here." The pakeha looked incredulous. What! The simple, outspoken Hurunui, a traitor ? And yet, why not ? Thoughts of some illdefined connection between opals and bad luck crossed his minril, and, in a moment, all manner of tragic endings suggested themselves; but he thrust such fancies asidq impatiently. " When," he asked himself, "did earth ever yield up her treasures to the faint-hearted ?"

The girl, when she saw that she could not move him, drew off in the direction the departing Maori had taken and stationed herself some distance up the hill. The heat of noon had passed, and the tuis in the dark gullies were already heralding the approach of evening, and still Hari Hamona worked unceasingly at tho obdurate rock. Ah, you pakehas, what great labours yon perform, and that without ceasing, for your desire for many tilings is great! Suddenly a cry of (error broke the stillness of the bush, and starting up, the white man saw Oneone speeding down tho track, pursued not far behind by a fleetfooted Maori. Daiihing toward them, Hari was in time to intercept the pursuer, and with a blow of his fist fell him to the ground. A moment more and the pakeha was surrounded and overpowered by a scoro of savages, armed with muskets. Then came one with a countenance pre-eminent, even in that company, for relentless cruelty and treachery—the dreaded Taraia himself.

Hurunui, too, was of their number, a strange look on his face as he watched one of hb adopted comrades emerging from the bush dragging the captured Oneone. "Hear me, 0 great Taraia," ho cried, turning to tho chief, "here at your mercy is the hated pakc-ha whom I have dalivered unto you. Kill him, therefore, and be satisfied, and liberate this maiden; for she was given to me by old Eruera to be my wife. But the chief had already seen tho wondrous beauty of Oneojie, therefore the words of Hurunui, and the short friendship that is ever accorded tho traitor, were as straws thrown into the, mountain stream. "Be calm, honest friend," ha replied, mockingly. "I will not harm her. But, I, too, desire a wife, and you would not thwart the wishes of your chief, Hurunui ?"

Dark were the thoughts of the betrayer, as the speaker approached the shrinking girl. "Save me, Hari!" she cried, struggling, "save mc from the man who slew my brothers!" Hari started up, but his hands wero bound, and the muskets of his captors upon him. "What," cried Taraia, with a shrewd glance at him, "has the maid two lovers ? What shall we do with the pakeha?"

Now the followers of Taraia were loth to slay their captive, having heard from afar of the cunning of his hands, and the wisdom of his counsels; and had not they themselves felt of the strength of his arm ? It was good, therefore, that they -keep him among their tribe, that their power wax great because of tho might of tho pakeha.

As Hurunui listened to these deliberations, a great rage boiled up within him, at the thought of losing his revenge as well as his love. "Listen to me, Taraia," he exclaimed, "what is this you would do ? Would you sps.ro the life of this pakeha, for whose blood vou have so long thirsted, and beneath whose hand your own tribesmen have i'allen ? Think you, he will forget the old chief Eruera, and live with you in content ? Nay, be not deceived, for he would work you evi : rather than good. The wonder; men saj he has worked are nothing, and his strength no greater than ours, nay, less. I, myself, could slay him single-handed." Then wily Taraia. saw a way to be rid of one of his i'air captive's lovers, he cared not which.

"Let it be as yon wish, valiant Hurunui," said he. "Take this mere and kill him; and let the pakeha also have a mere, that he may die fighting."

A great shout of delight went tip froro the assembled savages at these words, though they knew Hurunui to have grea skill with the mere, they had no fear of the issue, so great was their faith in the might of the little-known pakeha. They also acclaimed the craft and humour of their chief, who would pay a debt by killing his creditor. They hastened to loose the captive's bonds, and having pla.ced in his hands a greenst-one mere or battle-axe, similar to the other, drew off expectantly to watch the encounter.

For a moment the Maori stood sullen and irresolute, for his courage misgave him as he looked upon the long sinewy arm and clear passionless grey eye of the pakeha. Then, roused to action by the taunt-s and yells of the savage bystanders, he resolved to face the inevitable, and approached to within two paces of his Antagonist. He paused a moment, then made a sudden leap upon his seemingly unresisting foe, aiming a desperate blow at his head. The pakeha, however, was not to be taken unawares, for ere the blow could fall he had stepped back out of reach of the other's arm. On came the Maori again with a rush, his mere cutting the air like flashes of green ligh;i as he dealt blow after blow at his agile adversary. Hari gave ground, leaping now to the right, now to the left, ever making way for his heavier and more muscular assailant. Up and down that stony ridge the battle raged, the Maori determined to force the fighting, the other biding his time, but careful to avoid the scrub that bordered the natural arena.

At length the Maori gathered himself for a final effort, for his strength was beginning ;o flag, and 'his breath to come short and labouring. Not so the pakeha. Though lighter of build than his swarthy adversary, he was deep of chest, with muscles hard as steel. Now he began to

make use of his longer reach, wounding the Maori on the arm. Then all men saw that Hurunui was lighting for his life, while death looked him betiveeii the eves, making the beads of perspiration glisten on his brow. Again and again he rushed, but it was near the end now. That pakeha surely had corce of fighting chiefs of old. He knew when to close, and when to strike. And when ho did strike it, was with a terrible blow, and Hurunui, the Maori, went down before it, aud lay un the ground with a cloven skull. So thus ended the battle;, and the onlookers approached with expressions of satisfaction; nevertheless, they again bound the victor, securing him fast, as a

man of great might, who, lik3 Samson, might bu:*st his bonds. Bat escape was iar from his thoughts, unless he could also free his faiiow-captivs.