A MATTER OF TOUCH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20519, 21 March 1930, Page 5

A MATTER OF TOUCH.

A NEW ZEALAND STORY.

BY DESMOND R. SHIRES.,

It is five hundred years and more ago since the incidents of this story took place; the exact location of the " Riri 0 To Atua" has been forgotten, therefore it is impossible to-day to name the river on which it occurred. In all probability it was the Waikato, but then again ifc may not now exist, so, in order to avoid any chance of controversy, it will be best to call it " Waipuke Haruru " —The Thundering Flood " —which was then its Maori name.

At the " Riri OTo Atua—" The Fnry of the Gods"—the Waipuke Haruru hurled toinpestouously along between three-hundred-foot cliffs of weather-worn rock, swopt sharply to the right, and wont thundering down in a cataract as high and steep as the cliffs to a'seething cauldron below. After this the stream ran strong and deep for almost a mile, then, turning abruptly again to the right and spreading out over a wide stretch of shingle, it flowed on into a broad, picturesque lake. Above, at the point where the Waipuke Haruru first entered the Riri 0 Te Atua, almost at tho edge of tho northern cliff, was the Rawhiti pa. It was not like the usual Maori stronghold; as a matter of fact it had not been built by them, but by the Morion, whom they had conquered some thirty odd years before; the huts were uncarved, less substantial, and their general arrangement irregular; they had not troubled to rebuild the place, merely adding a stout palisado against chance invaders and erecting kokis, or sentry posts, at the corners. On this, the morning of a certain day in midsummer—it would be about the year 1407—there was great excitement witliirf. A week previously, Kahore, a rangatira, or lesser chief, son of the ariki, Okawa Rawhiti, and therefore heirapparent to the rulership of tho tribe, had fallen from ono of the kokis and broken his neck. For six days the mournful tangi had been kept up continually, and now, on the seventh, the dead man's property had been gathered together for distribution among his relatives. Okawa Rawhiti, as his father and master of ceremonies, bad the apportioning of it. There were two small canoes, two paddles, a quantity of shark-gut fishing tackle and bone hooks, four wives (there had been eight, but the others had strangled themselves in order to accompany their lord and master on his journey to the World of Night), one daughter, one spear, and a carved war-club. The weapons, the canoes, paddles and fishing tackle, the old chief kept for himself, the wives were no longer young; two of them had come with his son,across the great Pacific Ocean, from distant Hawaiki, thirty years before, the other two were women of the conquered Moriori; he had no use for them, he had an harem of his own. Still no one seemed to want them . they could work in his kumara patch. Now came the daughter. Up till this the tribesmen had had no opportunity of securing anything worthy of acceptance; and they were mightily disappointed; but when he called out, " Who lays claim to Tutumoa?" there was a general pressing forward.

Out into the circular space about the chief stepped Tangata-Ngoi—The Strong Man "—a great giant of a man, nearly seven feet high, broad shouldered, muscular armed, with long shaggy hair and beard, and small, close-set eyes that sparkled redly as he glared his challenge at those about him. For an instant it seemed that none would dispute his claim, for the throng cringed back, their eves fixed upon the great menacing rata club that he alone was strong enough to wield. But there was one who was unafraid, one who might well have been the first to cower, this was Eingaringa-Uira

—" Lightning Hand " —a small man, though long armed and deep chested. He carried only, a slender spear of hardwood and looked no match for Tangata-Ngoi and Ei3 club, yet the giant hesitated. Though with one blow he could crush this dwarf to the ground he knew thai it would be no easy matter to land such a blow. Not for nothing was RingaringaUira called "Lightning Hand"; none were as quick as he with a spear nor so swift upon their feet cither; well he knew that while he was raising his ponderous club the little man could dart in, plunge his spear into his heart, and dance away again unscathed. Both these men had great manas, but up till now they had never met in combat. Tangata had an uneasy feeling that did they fight it would be he and not the dwarf that would bo at the disadvantage. _ Still ho was no coward; he was not afraid to die, but he did not wish his name to lose its fame. However, ho was not asked to put his courage to the test, for Okawa Rawhiti held up his hand for them to de-

" Peace! Peace!" he cried. *'Tho Moriori arc poor warriors, but they are still more numerous than w6 in this neighbourhood, therefore I cannot afford to let my two greatest toas kill tacli

other. Peace, I say, peace! The dwarf and the regarded each other measuringly: both still held the weapons ready. The assembled warnois who had pressed forward again when Lightning Iland had taken up. langata s challenge, scowled at tho chief and muttered disapprovingly. A voice from thb

rear shouted out. " Who takes the woman, then. I vote her to Ringaringa-Uira . , . no would have won easily. Tangata swung round. <( " You lie!" he thundered. Come hpre and ..." lle shook his club, threateningly. The man did not come "You lio!" he thundered i a gam. I would have slain the miserable little lizard with one blow. The girl is mine. Ringaringa-Uira came a step toward him, his spear pointing nonchalantly at the 'ground. " That will be so when you have killed me. Come now; just one blow." The giant took a step back; the crowd jeered. " Peace, I say." cried the ariki again. " If you must decide by contest let me think of a way* A fight with club and spear would be the death of both of you. Peace! Let me think. In dead silence the warriors waited. The roar of the mighty cataract around the bend, half a mile below, came ominously loud to their ears. Suddenly the chief threw up his arm iu a gesture of triumph. "I have it," ho cried. "You shall have your battlo; a battle worthy of such men as you. Take up those canoes." he waved at the canoes that had belonged to his late son. Two warriors lifted each. "Go with them to the landingplaco above you. " You," he turned hack to the would-be combatants, " drop your weapons; take up a paddle each, and go with the men. In the canoes you shall race from the landiug to the stunted mahoe tree at the water's edge in the gorge of the Kiri 0 Te Atua; there you \yill leave them and climb up the cUff that 110 human foot has yet conquer 3d. At the top shall stand Tutu* moa; she shall be given to the one who touches hec first*"

(COPTRIGET.)

Though the warriors applauded loudly to Tangata and Ringaringa his plai sounded a much more likely way of bring ing about both their deaths than would have been a straight-out fight. Still the ariki's word was law; they might criticise but they dare not disobej Therefore, they turned and went off to gether without arguing, some of the men following to see the start, whih the rest, with the chief and Tutumoj in the midst, made for the finish* To the watchers on the ~ cliff-top it seemed ages ere the two canoes cam< - shooting into view down the long' sweep of foam-crested water into the gorge. In reality is was a brief fifteen minutes. A chorus of encouraging shouts greeted them. Ringaringa was in the lead, the bows of Tangata's canoe, on the lee side, > being level with his stern. Some wondered at this, for Tangata was far the better paddler and should easily have outdistanced his opponent on the long run down stream. Nevertheless, none foresaw the scurvy trick no was aljoufc to play. As Ringaringa-Una, fighting his way across the strong-running current, shot in under tli<j overhanging boughs of the stunted malice, the only herbage on the whole cliff-face, Tangata's long arms shot out and witii a tremendous stroke lie sent the nose- of his canoe crashing into -the other's side. For several second it rocked madly upon tho waters, almost throwing the little spearsman out. He had stood up to grasp the mahoe trunk and swing himself ashore. By - a miracle he recovered his balance, but by then ljis little craft, bobbing like a cork among the swirling edides, was back again in midstream and a good twenty yards below the tree With a superhuman effort he swung its bows again toward the bank and fought his way upstream. An angry murmur had broken from those above as they witnessed Tangata s treachery, and now they cheered the little spearsman on. But the giant had a forty foot start, and, hauling himself up by main strength, was .increasing it every second. Ringaringa threw himself onto the mahoe and set off in pursuit taking the same track as his rival moving with an agility that soon ate into his lead. • The start, however, proved too long. When Tangata was within threo feet of the top E.ingaringa-Uira was still twenty feet below. The warriors shouted^ to him to make a last desperate effort, but knowing it to be useless he paused to recover his breath. And in that instant the unexpected happened. A scream echoed above him; he looked up. With the certainty of triumph before him, Tangata had thrown caution to the winds, and, grasping ,a coarse tussock of grass with both han„ds, endeavoured to pull himself over the edge. Alas! A cr-r-r-rack! and the grass gave away beneath his weight. As he felt himself falling he had screamed. To Ringaringa, looking up, ho seemed to slide slowly at first, tlieu, gathering speed, come burling down. But it was not so much Tangata that riveted his attention as the horror-stricken expression on Tutumou's face as she stared over the cliff-i:dege. The little spearsman s , brain worked quickly. Of course, Tutumoa loved Tangata; Tangata t,he amazon of strength. How could she prefer him, a dwarf, to such as he? His thoughts . were swift, his actions swifter. He dug his toes and the his left hand into the weather-worn crevices in the rock, and, as the giant camediurling past him, shot out his right, catching lus raised arm. The jar and strain were terrific; his muscles cracked, but ne held on long enough for. Tangata; to secure a foothold, and then, losing his grip, he shrieked, but he did not hear.

for the rush of wind past his ears S3 lie tore through space deafened him. Fortunately, just here the river, curviuo- sharply outward, had undermined the face so that the cliff fell sheer into deep water. With a tremendous splash ho went; in, sinking down, down into the swiftly moving depth. Instantly he fought his way back to the "surface, then let himself be born by the current; indeed, he could do no other, it was impossible to resist it. As lie swept round the bluff,-out of sight-.of the watchers on the cliff, the roar of the- rapidly approaching catarast grew to a bramuumbling thunder. Once before a man had gone over; he was a-far-famed paddler and had boasted that he would take his canoe through the .gorge and over the fall. A huge crowd had gathered, upon the cliffs to watch, and they had seen him disappear round the bluff—that was the last of him—nest, day a battered, unrecognisable corpse, had been washed up in the shallows be-. low. , i. •" The distance now to. the head of the fall was not great. Dark, shadowy rock 3 flashed past in' the silver-dappled water about him, then suddenly' he was shot out into mid-air and went hurling down three hundred feet into the seething whirlpool at its foot. The weight of the falling water forced him to the bottom, but here he was caught by the counter current and came lip again behind the cataract. Had he attempted to swim to the bank, he would have htid to pass beneath it, and, in so doing, been battered to death; but, rest- . ing there an instant in the opaque gloom,barred by that wall of water, in-, stinct once more came to his aid. It prompted him to dive again, and h§ I did. . r,: ' Even then, swimming well below the surface, the crushing weight was almost more than he could bear; had he not been caught when he was by the outgoing flow it is likely he would have been killed after all. But fortune favoured., him; suddenly, the pressure lessened, he rose again to the surface, and a moment later, half unconscious, went sailing down-i stream. The last thing he remembered, was dragging himself .up on to a. low shingle spit at the shallows, then oblivion overwhelmed him .

Fully thirty-six hours, elapsed ere ha opened his eyes again, but when he. did so tt v.-as to find himself lying comfort-, ably upon a pile of mats in his own whare. As he moved someone came to-; ward him, and sitting up he saw.to hisj amazement that it was Tutumoa. " Why are you here ?" he asked sharply. " Why are you not with Ta-. ngata-Ngoi, who won you ?" " Nay. Tangata failed," she answered softly, sitting down by his side. " What ? Did not he reach the cliff-, top?" ,

"Ao! But Okawa Eawhiti said that the winner should be he who first touched me. When I saw you fall I slipped away, thinking that, should you perhaps survive, I might find you at the shallows* I did; and—and—" she lowered her eyes, blushing furiously. "You see—you touched me first."