THE STORY OF TE MANGO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2647, 7 December 1904, Page 52

THE STORY OF TE MANGO.

By Isobel M. D. Mahoney.

(For the Witness.) Te Mango, the shark, usually lived out j beyond the river bar, under the lee of the i island, and where there was a plenitude of fish at all times. But this summer t was unusually hot, and one fine evening Te Mango was tempted to "drift in with the high tide. | At the mouth the river was rather narrow, but immediately above it widened out. Te Mango swam gently along the bottom, past gravelly river fiats and graceful clumps of weeds, all astir with the j motion of the water. Here and there the ! slime-covered piles of little wooden jetties ! ran far out into the water, and far up through the shifting glitter of green there ; were the strange, wavering forms of boats, i ' Now andi then, from his course along the j bank, Te Mango would see shoals of mullet ! all leaping and playing near the surface, I and out in midstream the stately slow ! motion, of cod. In the dark places along : under the big pier lurked great evil-look- j ing conger eels, and in the little quiet | eddies were fat speckled trout. Te Mango drifted on and on, and after a while he rose to , quite near the top, until a strange, long thing, watering 61 outline, glided over him and) rubbed his back, sending him down to the .bottom again, f or Te Mango,' like all -his kind, was the most timid hi r fish. - Soon he rose again, 1 and circled round 'and round '.one tof the strange things,. whldlr, except '-for the cease- , less rocking caiisedjjby the tide ,l 'was quite, ' stationary.- Through the now> dim light "Te k Mango heard voices from above, - • i "I wonder if we'll have any luck toj night?" "I've got one!" Then ...there was a swift motion through the water, and a big, fat cod was dtawn up and hoisted out. In a few seconds there was a slight splash, and down came the fresh-baited line.. Te Mango turned lazily "6y<?r, and took the small flounder in his 'mouth,' but ~ to his surprise it was quickly jerked out and up to the top, and he heard'- the"voi'ce again. ; "I " had one on that time, but he's got off." ■--.--••, •" Te Mango sailed on with a slow and -graceful motion, for he was king, of .these waters. On and) on he went, past gi'een, sedgy banks and summer cottages.,. jpasb little-, cleanings at- thy water's edge, on which -were tents, and presently lie came to the gorge where the river flowed silent and strong, and with many a curve,, between cliff»; and scaurs, all densely clothed with bush. Night fell, and with the turn of the tide Te Mango drifted back to the' mouth ; but he did not go out- to sea again, for he had discovered 1 a new feeding-ground. • • • • • All, summer. Te Mango haunted/ the river. Sometimes for days he stayed out near the mouth, where the porpoises rolled and played eternally. Th-sn the fishers were glad, for Te Mango frightened away all the cod> and other fish. He also- hadi a trick of snatching their fresh bait, and taking it away, hook and all, for hooks were a matter of indifference to Te Mango. The summer glided on, and deepened into .autumn, .and the , still .days , when all the birds in the bush were silent, and nothing was to be heard save the eternal call of the sea. The summer 'people had" mostly all gone back to town, but a few still remained, who sailed and boated and fished their days away. One evening Te Mango, watchful for prey, was lying near the big pier. Above him- the water was thick with jellyfish 'floating in on the top of the tide. There were very few boats out, .as the evening was chilly and the sea was moaning ceaselessly. Out from the mouth the breakers were thundering on Monorata, the island, and farther out still the last rays of sunlight shone on the- heaving swell, and it looked: like the lights of a ship far out at sea. " Presently over the oily swell of the incoming tide a boat glided, her keel cutting the water noiselessly, her oars dipped and feathered with scarce a sound except the rattle of the rowlocks. .She stopped in inid-stieam, and with a splash the big stone which served as an anchor was let oub. She swung round with the tide, and lay stern up-stream, gently rocking on the oily swell. Then the lines were thrown out, and the fishers waited eagerly, for they were after big game to-night. On the bottom lay a big flounder, a lpng, thin, but strong line reaching from it ujp "to the boat two fathoms abor6 Te Mango, • who had grown wary of late, lay for a long time motionless, his small and" wicked eye fixed on the bait. The^i lie crept up and around it, and at last took it tentatively and gently into his jaws, letting ifc go again at once. Still, there was no sign ! of, danger, so lie slowly took the whole bait Into his mouth, and attempted to swal- ( low it. There was a. quick, sharp jerk on tjig line* and Wig Uj^ gro^er-licok was

caught firaily into his jaw. Then, war began. - Te Mango, in his efforts tc escape, darted, with lightning-like rapidity across stream and back again, dragging the line right under the boat, and heeling her overtill her gunwale touched the Avater, but being a good boat, and broad in the beam, she righted herself :n a second. For a few minutes Te Mango was abls to skirmish for a hundred yards round the boat, and then he found, as his strength failed, that his ' circuit • was becoming smaller, and' in a moment he was being drawn steadily up, up, through the green water to the side' of the boat. But still he made a brave tight, lashing the water with his tail and drenching the fishers. His head was right out now, and with a hoarse cry a fisherman leaned ovor, and, raising his hatchet, aimed it at the blunt snout. The blow descended, but the axe which gashed Te Mango's" snout also cub the line, and Te Mango, with the iron .hook firmly fixed in his upper jaw, turned and swam blindly on,^ out the 1 mouth, through the breakers, past- Monorata. grim and dark, and far out to sea towards the moonrise, and the river ioYk saw him no more.