huia te noho mai ra i roto i taua iwi te titiro mai ra ki a Ponga e mahi nei i te mahi, a, wairangi noa ai te ngakau o te wahine ra, heoti ano ko te ngakau o te kotiro ra kua mate noa ake ana mahara, kua whakaarorangi noa ake te ngakau ki a Ponga, heoti ano rapea, ka kowhana i roto i te wahine ra te ngakau mate ki a Ponga hei tane mana, ka tingia a ia e te hinengaro kakapa, ka whana ake kia tata a ia ki a Ponga, me pehea i te wehi kei kitea a ia e te iwi, kei kiia kua tutua te tamahine o te tangata nui o Nga-iwi. Ka mutu te haka, ka haere noa atu te iwi whenua ki o ratou kainga, otira ko Ponga kua tino hiahia rawa atu ki te kotiro ra. Ahiahi po kau ano, ka tae te ope ra ki a ratou mea i mahia mai ra i Awhitu, e tuku ana tenei ki tana whanaunga, e tuku ana tenei ki tana whanaunga, a, ko aua uri ariki ra ko nga mea i taua ope nei i tuakana nga tupuna ki o Ponga tupuna, ka tukua a ratou nei hinu kakara, me nga remu huia, me nga hou toroa, me nga ipu taramea ki te tino rangatira o taua pa nei, o Maungawhau, he mea koa, i tonoa taua tira ariki nei e te tangata whenua kia moe i te whare o te matua o Puhihuia, ko Ponga ma ia, i moe i te whare mo te manuwhiri. Ka moe nei te iwi whenua, me te hokowhitu o te tira tamariki nei, ko te moe ia o Ponga he moe whakatorouka kau tana, he wawata hoki nana, e pehea ai e tata atu ai a ia ki a Puhihuia. Ka mahi nei a Ponga, ka rapu tikanga mana e na ai te mate o tana ngakau aroha ki te kotiro ra, a, te kitea e ia te whakaaro, te mea hoki koa i takoto a ia kia moe, a, takoto nei, takoto nei, te moe kau ake, ka ara a ia, ka puta ki waho ki te marae noho ai, he aranga nona, he whakatikanga ano hoki to tana mokai, a, ka puta a ia ki waho, ka noho, me te haere atu ano tana ropa i muri i a ia; noho ana, a, noho ana, ka ki atu a Ponga, ara koa he pouri te po, ‘Ko wai tenei?’ Ka ki atu te ropa ra, ‘Ko au, ko to kaitonotono’. Ka ki atu a Ponga, ‘Hei nati te kore o te hiamoe i a au i te whare ra’. Ka mea atu te mokai ra, ‘He hahaka nou, he ruhi nou i te pukanatanga. E moe te mata hi aua, e ara te mata hi tuna’. Ka mea atu a Ponga, ‘Ae ra, ko te kore koa o te mahara ki nga mea o Awhitu’. Ka mea atu te ropa, ‘Ki te aha ianei?’ Ka mea atu a Ponga, ‘Ki nga mea o mua, kei te noho tupato au i a au, he mea hoki ko nga mate o te pa nei kiano i ea’. the same time, and seeing Ponga (whom at first he did not recognise) sitting in the courtyard, he went towards him and sat down near to him. Ponga asked, ‘Who is this?’ The slave answered, ‘It is I, your slave, whom you have at your command’. Ponga said, ‘How strange that I am not able to sleep in that house!’ The attendant said, ‘You have over-tired yourself in the haka, and in making grimaces: but, as the proverb says, ‘He who fishes for the sprat can sleep, but the eel-fisher must keep awake!’ Ponga said, ‘Yes; but it is also strange that I have lost all thought of Awhitu matters.’ ‘But,’ said the attendant, ‘to what do you refer?’ Ponga said, ‘Remembering the deeds of past times, I feel that I must be cautious in my conduct. The evils which in days gone by came on the people of this pa through the actions of our tribe have not been avenged.’ ‘Yes,’ said the slave, ‘that is true; but we came here as guests, and we are all quite young. What can rats do?’ Ponga said, ‘That is true; but the old proverb says, “Though the mokoroa grub be a little thing, it can cause the great koroi tree to fall”.’ The slave said, ‘Yes; but we came here for amusement and are relatives of our hosts, and we count on the fact that peace is made between the two tribes.’ ‘Yes,’ said Ponga, ‘provided that all of us keep our hands away from the things which do not belong to us. If we did not do this the consequences would be bad for all of us.’ The slave said, ‘Yes, that is so, but only you, the chiefs of high birth, dare to touch the sacred things in this pa. Men such as I am would not venture to act in such a way.’ Ponga asked, ‘Do you mean, to touch and take away—to steal property?’ ‘Not quite that’, the slave said, ‘Property is property; but there is also such a thing as sacredness in property that has life.’ Ponga asked, ‘Do you refer to Puhihuia?’ He answered, ‘Can it be hidden that the eyes of you, the noble of birth, glistened and flashed when looking at that young woman, especially when she made grimaces in the dance?’ Ponga said, ‘Friend, you speak the truth; I have become quite bewildered. Let us return to our home, lest evil befall me. I can see that those of our party who are my seniors in rank Continued on page 37