A FIGHT TO A FINISH.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1686, 22 June 1904, Page 8

A FIGHT TO A FINISH.

A STORY OF TUB MAORI WAR.

BY OWEN HALT/.

[Ali, Rights Reserved.^

CHAPTER* XVIII.

;>5 THE STOCKADE AT O'RAKAIX. It was only five days after I had shut up my glass and turned away from Ropata’s challenge I came in sight of the pah once more. We were showing the. leading files’' of tfie For- . tiethi Regiment the way, and when we came fairly in sight of the jplac-e we halted for a few minutes to give them time to come up. It was the first time Dick had seen the pah himself, and it was my report that had been forwarded v' :: on to headquarters. The day I discovered the pah Dick had been unlucky enough to come upon a swamp that ran up to the very edge of the hill, and so prevented him from getting round, and though he was disappointed he wouldn’t run the risk of losing men in a skirmish by going back. He examined it now for some minutes through his glass without speaking. “Yes, Jack,” he said at last, looking round at me, “you were quite right; that’s something like a pah. It won’t be as easy to take that as it was to Storm Rangiriri.” '“No";- but of course we’ll take it ■ somehow, 'Dick. We’ll find Ropata inside this time, too; he’d never clear out after giving us., that challenge.” “WelLit’s a fine position, Jack, whoever chose it. I’m afraid it’ll cost a lot of men to storm a breach at the 'top of that long slope; and I shouldn’t wonder if we’d want ladders, too, when we get there; I wonder whether the other side’s any easier?” ■ “Worse, most likely, Dick,” I said, as I fumed my glass on the stockade once mere. “You know the swamp you . -..came on lies on that side, so it’s sure to he lew ground.” My eyes wandered as I spoke over the side of the fortification nearest us, and it certainly looked formidable with anything I had seen ” before.. The long line of bristling timbers that formed the stockade looked V as if each of them had been the trunk of a tree, and not a very small tree either; and then the upward slope, where every scrap of fern had been burned off, looked bare and exposed to the fire of the garrison. Yes, I wondered as X looked at it how we should set about it. By this time the Fortieth men were not far behind us; and we started to - feel our way round.the hill to the opposite side, where the Fortieth were to take position. We met with no opposition, and as we never came nearer than fully three hundred yards of the pah the Maoris did not waste a shot on us. The marching was all the easier owing to the clearance made by the fires, which had evidently been lighted * to prevent anybody creeping up the slopes concealed" by the growth of vegetation, but though it was easy it was hardly pleasant. The ashes lay thick on the ground, and crunched under foot,-hut every gust of wind blew them in clouds into our eyes,, and it was a A relief when-we came on a strip of land where the fires had spared the tall l ferns, even though the labour of making our way through - them was ser- . ious. - , At last we reached\the other side,

and . came in full sight', of the swamp that had stopped Dick and his men when j they had tried to get round the hill oh the day we saw'" it first. As I had expected, the slope was shorter and steeper on that side, and the swamp ; ~ came to within five or six hundred yards of the stockade, which seemed to look down on us as we made our way round the foot of the hill. The officer in command of the regiment, who was riding aTongside Dick, shrugged his shoulders as he looked at it. .“Yes. Leslie,” he said, “I suppose this must he our position; I wish the v general had sent us anywhere else, • though; it would be serious, as you say, to climb that slope and storm a breach at. the top; but what is even worse, there won’t be a breach on this 'side at all.” Dick looked at it doubtfully. “I suppose it could /be done,” he said; hbut there must be better places on the other side.” “I should say so ; did you hear which regiment was to take position on the side opposite this?” “One of the staff said the Second Waikato' 'Militia were to follow you, and then the Fourteenth, so I suppose it would be the Fourteenth, if he was right.’! . ‘ ' 2 • - ' “Just like our luck, We got'all the .kicks - at Rangiriri. and now we shan't stand a chance of getting any of the halfpence here.” Dick laughed. “Well, colonel,” he said, “I am not so sure about the halfpence, but it looks’, as if the kicks would be at least as plentiful here as '•.they were at Rangiriri.” .1 looked about me,, and it struck mo that- Dick ;>vas likely to be right. My

eyes wandered from the strong-looking pnlisado on the top of the hill to the swamp, which stretched away almost as far as wo could soo, a _ wide soa of rushes that waved slowly in tho breeze, with a low island rising hero and there in the middle, crownod with a few dis-mal-looking trees-. Tho oclgo of the swamp couldn’t have been moro than two hundred yards from the spot where we were standing, and it looked as if the ground sloped upwards all the way, till it reached tho stockade at the top.’ Our men had been halted, and wo stood watching the companies of the Fortieth Regiment as they came up one after another, , followed by about a dozen baggage waggons, Avhich were halted between us and the edge of the swamp. e T hope'we’ve not got to keep those fellows company on this side, Dick.” I remarked when the- colonel had turned away to give directions where his tent should be set'up. “He wasn’t far wrong, I should sa.y; they won’t try to do any attacking on this side, but by the look of things I should say the mosquitoes will give them a pretty lively time.” Dick laughed. “Yes,’ he said, “they mayn’t have much to do in daylight, but even the colonel won’t he in need of a job after dark if he tries to sleep where they’re going to put up that tent.”

We had nothing to do hut wait for orders, and our men took it easy enough, sitting in little groups among the ferns —for on this side the fire had only come about half-way down the slope—but after awhile both Dick and I began to grow impatient. “I wish I knew whereabouts they mean to plant the guns, Dick, 5 I said at last. “I hate hanging about all day watching these fellows. I think the must have forgotten all about us.”

“Not much fear of that, Jack, but no doubt he’s busy ; we’ll have him round here „ presently, I daresay. But look here, Jack —I see you are miserable for want of something to do; ' you go round and report that we have shown the .Fortieth men the way round here, and are waiting now for orders.' They cafV guess all that without telling, of course, hut it’ll give you something l , to do, and perhaps we’ll get orders to move on all the sooner.”

I was only too glad of the chance, and in a minute I was off to find the headquarters staff. The hour that had passed since we had marched round the shoulder of the hill had been long enough to enable the rest of the forces to come up, and I passed one regiment after another taking up position so as entirely to surround'the pah. Ncfoody seemed to know where the battery was to be planted, and indeed it was not till I had passed the place where I had first come in sight of the staff on the higher ground that stretched from the pah to the edge of the little wooded ride. .1 hurried up the slope, and reached the top just in time to see the gun fired to ascertain the range of the bristling line of tree trunks that stood up clear and sharp against the sky. The staff, a little group- of mounted men,was halted a few yards behind the gun, watching the first shot as it struck the ground at the foot of the stockade, throwing -up a shower of earth where it fell.

“Three hundred and fifty yards, as near as may be, sir,” the officer in charge of the gun said, looking round -at the general as I came up.

“Good. That will do. 'Get' the battery in position as quickly as possible; we must be ready to begin by daybreak. both here and on the other face. Any working parties you need will be supplied by the Seventieth men, who will also see. you are not interfered with from the pah.” He was turning his horse’s, head away when I came forward and saluted. “Ah,” he said, “an officer of Leslie’s Rangers, are you not?” “Yes, sir,” I said, and gave him Dick’s message.

j “Good; tell Captain Leslie to bring his men round here —you can show him the way.” He rode on, followed by the rest of the staff, leaving me to carry his orders.

The sun had gone down by the time we got round to the place assigned for our position, and by that time the battery of six guns had been got into position, and all ready to open fire on the pah ift the morning. The Rangers were thrown out fifty or . sixty yards in front of the cannon in case of any attempt being made by the Maoris during the night, and we had barely time to bring wood enough for three camp fires from the bush that lay two or three hundred yards to the rear before it grew dark. We were glad of the fires, however, for the nights began to grow chillly, and Dick and I, and one or two officers of the artillery corps, sat talking for some time among the scrub around the. fire nearest to the stockade. The question that was discussed was how soon it would he possible to make an assault, and on this. there was a difference of opinion. The artillery officers were sure a practicable breach could be made in a very few hours, and they could see no reason why the breaches shouldn’t be ready for storming by the following evening; both

Dick and I thought differently, for both of us could remember what had happened at Rangiriri. “Well, I don’t, mind betting a fiver,” the artillery captain said, by way of closing the discussion, “that we open a good road through that stockade by dinner-time to-morrow; you fellows will only have to go in and win.” “Just so,” Dick said quietly. “We saw a good many go in and lose at Rangiriri on the same terms. I’ll give you another twenty-fours hours, and then it’ll be none too easy.” The captain laughed rather scornfully. “Oh, yes/ I know,” he said, as he rose to go, “you fellows who were at Rangiriri always bring that up, as if there never had been any other place; however, if you won’t bet on it we’ll have to let you see.” “You can’t tell these fellows anything, Jack,” Dick said with a grim laugh, as he wrapped himself in a blanket, and prepared to lie down; “but all the same they’ll make no practicable breach as easily as they fancy.” They did their best, however, and we were hardly roused by the bugles next morning before we got a message that they were ready to commence firing. We had nothing particular to do hut to wait and watch during the whole morning. The artillery men were on their mettle, and to do them justice they made excellent practice. The roar of the guns either on our side or on the other .face of the pah seemed to ,be incessant, and not a shot appeared to go wide of its mark. We were near enough to see and hear, and the crash of each loud report was echoed back with a dull smashing sound, as the shells struck the palisading, before they exploded with a crack and a roar which seemed as if it must carry all before

it. Both Dick and S stood and watched the progress of the bombardment through our glasses for hours with an 1 interest that didn’t flag for a minute, but we soon saw that we had been right. Do as they would, the field batteries could make very little impression on the heavy tree trunks that formed the palisade this time. It was not till, after the first hour or two of disappointment, when they began to concentrate all their fire on one spot that they' began to make any impression, and even then it was slow. It was well on in the afternoon when the general came up, and stood for some time observing the place critically through his glass from a point just behind the spot where our men had been withdrawn a little behind the battery. At last he turned to Dick, who was standing near him.

“Ah, Captain Leslie,” lie said, “you were with General Cameron at R-angi-riri, were you not? How does this compare with that, do you think?” “Much stronger every way, general, ’ Dick. said quietly. “You mean the stockade is much stronger, I suppose; oh, yes, I can see that plainly. The breach was completed at Rangiriri in less time Than we have t been battering this, and yet we have made but little impression on it. He spoke as if he had been disappointed and annoyed, but # when he stoppped Dick went on again. j “Yes of course, it is stronger m that way, but that was hardly what I meant, sir, after all. Of pom-se, it is only a matter of a few hours more or less till a breach will be made; but it seems to mo the pah is a great deal stronger in other ways than Rangiriri VVaS * CTo be Continued.) L