THE CANOE BUILDER.
By M.D.
The fight had gone hardly with the tribe of Ruariki. Dazed and badly wounded, he realised that he had become separated from his party, and stood alone on the banks of the little creek. He stooped and drank thirstily, letting the water run over bleeding arms and chest.. To his ears came the faint rustling ot fallen leaves, and ho sprang to his feet to meet the tracking enemy. From the bushes two men burst upon him, and raising his mere, lie swayed from weakness and sank to the ground ere he could strike a, blow in his own defence. Even as he looked into the face of death,
a shout from behind him arrested the final thrust of his enemies and his last recollection was the covering of his body by a softly-falling cloak. The blood-lust died from the faces of his opponents. "Is it well done, E Te Wharau ? " asked tho elder oi the two warriors, whose aristocratic face and proud bearing proclaimed him of the highest rank. "It is well done," retorted the man whose cloak covered Ruariki. " Knowest thou that this is Ruariki, the canoe tohunga 1 Well thou knowest that we have nono like him in our iwi, since both our greatest canoe builders have this day travelled the broad path of Tane, and our canoe itself become the victim of the finger of Mahuika, and lies a blackened log upon the river bank ! " Doubt still clouded the face of the chief. " Thinkcst thou that he will labour for us as a slave, for Ruariki is an ariki of his own people, and perchance would rather die the death of a warrior, as he is entitled to do." " Pride is as the hairs of a man's head, yet life is sweet, and youth finds the path to Rarohenga hard to tread. Come, let us bear him back to the pa, that his wounds may receive attention." The first thing that Ruariki next remembered was tho sound of a gentle voice singing a chant. He turned his head upon the sleeping mat, and saw the form of a young girl who sat beside him, waving a nikau leaf to cool his fever. " It is well, 0 Great One, that you have turned back from the dread Tahekeroa, back to the land of light," she said. The man moved restlessly. " Better to die as a warrior than to live as a slave among an inferior people," he said haughtily. " No so, 0 Great One," answered Hinetui hurriedly. " From the land of Po there is no return, but. while life is yet with thee", there may arise the opportunity I to go back to thine own tribe." " And be ever more a member of the tutau, I. who am a rangatira!" Ruariki replied bitterly. " Life is sweet," insisted the girl. " I will now call the tohunga, that he may heal thy wotinds." The man lay still for a while. Should he die and keep his mana, or should he live on, and, by becoming a slave to his enemies, forever lose his high caste ? What had life to offer to hira under these conditions ? The form of the young girl impinged upon his consciousness. Her obvious eagerness for his recovery, her beauty and seeming gentleness, appealed to him. Life, after all, might yet hold a sweetness greater than that of high rank. So has woman ever turned the destinies of man, sometimes leading him to the highest heavens, and sometimes drawing him downward, never to rise again. The wounds of the young man healed rapidly once his decision was made. He was treated with kindness and even respect by his enemies, for the war had been an inter-tribal one, and he was a distant relative of theirs. At last, when he was quite recovered, he went with many'others to the tapu place in the, forest, where a huge war canoe lay nearly completed. It had to be deserted when the call to arms came • to the tribe, and their building experts had been slain, and no others of the tribe seemed to have the requisite knowledge to complete the important work. The place wnere the huge totara tree had been felled was a day's journey from the pa, and upon the banks of a mighty river. The sacred tapu rites were performed upon the workmen by the tohunga that accompanied them. No cooked food must be taken near the place, and no*woman must look upon it or upon the builders, or evil would surely befall. To Hinetui, left, behind at the pa, the days seemed long. Unconditionally, she had given her heart to the stranger, and had felt that under his reserve he was not indifferent to her. Week after week slipped by and the canoe drew near to completion, but the impatience and longing of the girl became insupportable. For herself she must see how Ruariki fared, and when the opportunity rame. with all her cunning she made use of it. A party of the tribe intended visiting a neighbour three of four days travel away, and Hinetui agreed to make one of them. When, however, they had gone a half-day's journey into the bush, she feigned sickness, and said she would go back alone to the pa. As no one could well be spared to accompany her and tho j times were quiet, she was allowed to re- j tire. The girl had no intention of returning to her iiome. She skirted the fort and set off along the banks of tho river to where she had concealed a small dugout. In this she embarked and under cover of night paddled down until she had passed the clearing where the war canoe was being built. As Hine Titama, the Dawn Maid, rose above the mists of tho valley, the girl hid her craft below the building sito under the overhanging bushes. Already the skids were in place for the launching of the canoe, the work* was nearly finished, and the spirits of the workers rose. Doubtless, thanks to the good work of the tohunga who had made many incantations to the gods, there had ! been no hitch in their progress; all was well. That day and the day after, Hinetui lay hidden' in the bush above the place of working. She had intended but to gladden her eyes with the sight of the lover who held "all the chambers of her heart, but the sight only bred the longing for speech, and the impulse became overmastering. Reckoning not the cost, tho girl slipped through tho trees to the river. She haa marked where, after his work was completed, Ruariki sat, alone upon the bank, his brooding eyes turned ever downward toward fjic homo of his own people. His sorrow and loneliness had given her a plan, and this she determined to put into execution. A faint rustling in the shrubs at his side drew the ma.i's attention. Softly a voice spoke his name. Startled, he peered into the shadows, thinking he dreamed, or that some atua called nim. He hastily murmured a charm, and in a low voice, asked who spoke. " It is I, Hinetui," whispered the voice. " 0, Maiden of the Tui," cried Ruariki in anguish. " Hast thou passed upon the broad path of Tane that thy spirit calls me ? Shall I never more see theo in the flesh? To what end then, that I have lost mv mana and become a slave to an inferior people, if I may never meet thee save in the land of Po ? Far better that I should have died from ihe wounds of a warrior than from those of grief! " His evident pain at the thought of losing her emboldened the girl to reveal herself. " Nay, 0 bravo son of Tu, my spirit still abides upon tho bosom of papa. Feel my hand, it is Hinetui herself who calls to" thee." And sho touched him lightly upon the arm. Joy at their reunion made the man forgetful for awhile of all that it portended. Suddenly, he thrust the girl from him. " Nay, what hast thou done. 0 rash one! Well, thou knowest that lam tapu, and that the gods will bring evil upon me for the touch of woman! Hast cast thin* unclean eyes upon the canoe also ? "
A NEW ZEALAND STORY.
(COPTRIGHT.)
His fierceness dismayed Hinetui for a second, and then she rallied all her cunning to the saving of her happiness. " I have made many incantations over thee," she whispered. " Fear not for thyself. As for the canoe, is it not the canoe of an alien people, and should be doomed by the atuas of thy tribe to destruction! Thou knowest that I am of thy race, captured in my childhood; what have we to do with the works of these people ? Under the bushes below, I have a canoe hidden. Come, let us return to our own. If the war vessel is destroyed by the breaking of the tapu, doubtless it will redound to thy credit !" The man was too confused to analyse very carefully this lino of reasoning. Tho nostalgia for his own country, that had been becoming stronger and stronger since his return to health, made his conversion easy. Hurriedly they completed their plans for the following night. He must go back to the others, lest he be missed. All the day, tho girl silently and secretly collected what stores of food she could for their journey, and placed them in the small river canoe that she had brought with her. All the day, Ruariki worked at tho building of the war vessel now so near completion tlmt she could have been launched at any time. Beautiful she was in every line, and the heart of tho artist in him thrilled to the sight of her. And she was doomed ! The tapu was broken, tho protection of the gods was withdrawn from her, and none but he was aware of it. At the evening meal, after the completion of the day's work, Ruariki concealed a portion of the cooked food about his person, believing he did this unobserved. Unfortunately, one of the others, le Kaliu, a man who had ever been jealous of the stranger, saw his action, but instead of denouncing him openly, lay in wait to see for what reason this had been done. When the camp was all asleep, with the exception of the watchman, singing his chants to the listening ears of the forest, Ruariki stole from the place, and after him, equally Bilently, came Te Kahu. The shortest way to where the girl lay hidden was past the great war vessel, and as Ruariki reached the sito a loud voice called out behind him: "Death, death to the traitor! Ruariki would break the tapu! He has cooked food upon his person and is taking it to the canoe! Death, death to the traitor!" As soon as the cry first smote upon his ears, Ruariki started to run. Hearing the hubbub, Hinetui pushed the light canoe down into the river, and held it there. As her lover broko through the bushes, she leapt to her place, and waited, paddle in hand, that no time might Le lost. The infuriated builders, roused by Te Kahu's cries, rushed to the river's brink and there beheld the fugitives. Mad with rage at the attempt to destroy all the labour of years, they turned to the toliunga for guidance. " Launch the canoe, launch the canoe!" ho yelled. " How better could it be baptised than in pursuit of the enemy who would remove it from the protection of the gods?" The men hesitated; such a procedure was without precedent. But the tohunga called them on, and blind with rage at seeing their prey escaping, the men obeyed. Like a swan, the huge vessel took the water. The tohunga stood in the prow, intoning fierce incantations, his wild eyes searching the moonlit water for their quarry, while the rowers bent to their paddles, keeping perfect unison under the direction of their time-keeper. The river was swift and dangerous, but both Ruariki and Hinetui were experienced in the handling of the tiny dugout. In spite, however, of their long start, and the undermanning of the larger carioe, the latter soon came into sight, and, propelled by those lusty arms, gained rapidly upon them. Ahead lay some rapids", and Hinetui gazed eagerly behind her. " Guide thou our craft," she said. " Fear not. the tapu is broken, our enemies are doomed. Give me a hair from thy head, quickly." The man plucked one out and gave it to the girl. Earnestly, she muttered over it a potent spell, and raising her arm, cast it with all her strength in the direction of tho faster vessel. Then she took her seat, and paddle in hand, helped to steer through the surging waters. The way was treacherous, and all their attention was. needed. Sometimes it seemed that nothing but a miracle saved them from capsizing. Hinetui often had to bale vigorously to prevent being swamped. But Ruariki had lived upon tho river all his life, and was an expert in the handling'of their frail vessel. At last, the canoe shot out into the sweep of smooth water, and they turned to see what had become of their enemies. At that instant, a terrified shouC rang in their ears. Before even she had reached the rapids, the front of the vessel suddenly reared on end; there was a screeching. grinding sound as she struck the hidden snag which tore a huge hole in her keel. The force of the impact flung the tohunga into the rushing white waters of the rapids, the doomed craft rocked violently as her crew leapt or were hurled into the boiling flood, none of uiern to survive the cruel waters or jagged, tearing rocks. Appalled, the man and girl watched tho tragedy, powerless to help, even had the spirit moved them. For awhile they rested, drifting down stream, and then bent once more to their paddles. " The taniwha has taken them," Ruariki murmured, muttering charms under his breath to the gods of the river. " Great are the powers of tapu," said Hinetui composedly. " Light of my eyes, and husband of my bosom, let us eat!"
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20982, 19 September 1931, Page 21
Word Count
2,394THE CANOE BUILDER. New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20982, 19 September 1931, Page 21
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