‘Haere mai, kia karia ano ko koe.’ Ka rere atu a Miha ki te tiki kiu mana. Ka timata ratau ki te purei ‘snooker’. Nawai ra, kua ki atu ia, ‘Pohehe au e haere ana korua ki te rapu mahi i te “wharf”.' ‘Mo apopo ka haere maua.’ ‘Kati hei aha. He mahi tonu ta korua.’ ‘Na wai i ki.’ ‘I haere au ki te korero ki to tatau pahi. He tangata pai tera. Kahore tatau i panaia.’ ‘Nel Nahau pea i rupahu atu i te mate pea tatau, he aha ranei?’ ‘Naku i korero atu to tatau raruraru, te mea e kaha rawa te haurangi.’ ‘E hoa, kare te Pakeha e pirangi ki te haurangi.’ ‘Pena ano taku whakaaro. Engari he rereke tenei tangata. I kata ke a ia, kua ki mai, katahi ano tetahi o ana kaimahi ka korero tika ki a ia. Na reira pea, na te mea ranei he hunga kaha tatau ki te mahi.’ Ka kata ratau, no te mea he pai tonu ki a ratau ta ratau mahi, e kore e tino pirangi ki te haere ano ki tetahi atu. Kua mama nga whakaaro inaianei, ka hoki ano ratau ki ta ratau ‘snooker’. Kare he painga o Miha raua ko Peta. Tangetange ana i a Whai. Ka ki a Peta, ‘Kei te mate kai au. E Miha mahau tatau e haute, me haere tatau ki te kai, ki te papara-kauta ranei.’ Kua whakahoki atu a Miha, ‘Kare au mo te hoko kai ma korua, e hoko kai ana au mo te kainga. Na tatau hoki me o tatau hoa haurangi i kai nga kai. Na reira e tika ana ma tatau e whakaki nga kapata.’ ‘Kua pau ke ra a maua moni!’ ‘Hei aha. Maku e hoko inaianei, ma korua e whakahoki mai ta korua taha moni ki a au. Haere mai, kai kati nga toa.’ Kua pouri haere inaianei. Katahi ano te hunga nei ka makere atu i te pahi e haere atu ana ki te kainga. Kiki tonu o ratau ringa i te taonga. ‘E Whai, kia pai to haere, kia makere i a koe nga heki na.’ ‘Turituri e ta. Pehea koe. Kei te tautau haere ke o totiti, Akuni ka riro i te kuri na.’ Kei te kata ano ratau. Ka whakahua a Peta, ‘Mohio korua, he hunga tino koretake tatau. Katahi ano tatau ka whakaaro mo Hinerau raua ko Heta. Te pai o nga tokorua nei ki a tatau. Kaua koe e wareware, e Whai, ki te hoatu he moni mo to noho.’ ‘Me koe hoki e ta.’ ‘Ae.’ ‘Me mutu hoki te tango kaho pia.’ ‘I’m making mincemeat of him,' grinned Whai. ‘Come on, let me thrash you too.’ Miha reached for a cue and they lined up the balls for a game of snooker. They concentrated on the game for a while, then Miha said casually, ‘I though you blokes were going to get a job at the wharf.’ ‘Tomorrow will do,’ said Peta. ‘Well forget about it,’ said Miha, ‘you’ve still got your old jobs.' ‘Who said?’ Peta and Whai were surprised. ‘I went to see the boss. He's a pretty good bloke. Anyway he didn't sack us.' ‘You don’t say. Did you lie that we were sick or something?' ‘No,’ laughed Miha, ‘I told him we had been on a binge.’ ‘Gwan, but the Pakeha doesn’t put up with a pack of drunks.' ‘That's what I thought. But this bloke is different. He laughed when I told him why we didn't turn up, and said it was the first time one of his employees had told him the truth. Maybe that's why, or maybe it's because we're all such hard workers.' They laughed and felt pleased, for each one of them enjoyed their work and did not really want to change. Feeling very relieved, they returned to their game. Miha and Peta had no hope against Whai's skill. He thrashed them both thoroughly. ‘Gee I’m hungry,' said Peta as they walked out on to the street. ‘You shout, Miha. What about a feed or a few beers?’ ‘I’m not buying you wasters anything. I'm going to buy some food for the house. We and our mates ate everything in the house, so it's only right that we should fill the cupboards again.' ‘But we’ve got no money,' complained Whai. ‘So what,’ exclaimed Miha, ‘I’ll buy the stuff. You can pay me your share of the expenses later. Let's hurry before the shops close.' It was almost dark when the three climbed off the bus and walked on home. They walked awkwardly, loaded down with all the parcels they were carrying. ‘Hey Whai, take it easy,’ said Peta. ‘You might drop those eggs and break them.’ ‘Shut up man. What about yourself. Your sausages are hanging out. That dog might have a go at them.’ They laughed and felt the closeness of easy companionship.