Maori and Settler: A Story of The New Zealand War

"But what do they talk about, Jack?"

Jack shook his head. "Jack no hear talkee. Men come to hut and talk with father. Other Maoris on land steal in and talk too, but no talk before Jack; always turn him out or send him on errand. But Jack hear sometimes a word, and think that trouble come. Young master better not go far away by himself, and tell two white men to keep close to hut. Perhaps nothing come, but better to be on guard."

"Very well, Jack; I am obliged to you for the warning. I will tell the Grimstones not to go out to the outlying clearings, but to occupy themselves with what they can find to do near home."

Jack nodded. "That best, Master Wilfrid, but no talk too much with me. If my people thought I speak to you then trouble come to Jack."

Wilfrid nodded, and without saying anything to his father and mother told the Grimstones to keep near the house. "After you have done shooting of a morning," he said, "instead of bringing your guns into the house as usual take them down with you to the place where you are at work, so that they will be handy in case of necessity. Most likely there is no danger whatever; but I have heard a rumour that some people from Waikato have come into this neighbourhood, and if so no doubt they are trying to get the tribes here to join the Hau-Haus. I do not think that there is much chance of their succeeding, for the natives have always been very friendly, and there has been no dispute about land or any other grievance; but when one knows how suddenly they have risen in other places, it is better to take precautions."

After breakfast on the morning when his father and mother had started, Wilfrid strolled out on to the verandah, and stood for some little time hesitating what he should do. The Grimstones had just started to look up some cattle in one of the distant clearings, one of the native hands having reported the evening before two of the animals were missing.

"I will go not far till they come back," he said to himself. "The garden wants hoeing. Weeds grow as fast here as they do at home. That will be just the job for me." He was about to turn to enter the house, when he saw four natives emerge from the trees and make towards him.

"Marion," he said through the open door, "get the guns down from the rack, and see that they are capped and ready. There are four natives coming towards the house. I daresay they are friendly, and are probably only on the way down the river to look for work, still as we are alone you cannot be too careful."

Hearing Marion reply "All right, Wilfrid!" the lad leant against the door in a careless attitude, and awaited the coming of the natives. As they approached he saw they were all strangers to him, although he knew most of the natives in the neighbourhood by sight, for these not infrequently came in to barter a pig or a sheep for tobacco, sugar, or other things necessary to them. The natives as they came up gave the usual salutation of good-day, to which Wilfrid replied.

"We are hungry," a tall Maori, who by his dress appeared to be a chief, said.

"I will get you something to eat," Wilfrid answered.

The Maoris would have followed into the house, but he stopped and said sharply, "We do not allow strangers in the house. Those we know are free to enter and depart as they choose, but I have not seen any of you before. If you will sit down on that bench outside I will bring you food."

"Shuffle about and make a noise," he said to Marion as she got the dish from the cupboard. "They cannot know who are inside, and if they mean mischief – and honestly I do not like their looks – they will be more likely to try it on if they think that I am alone."

The Maoris took the food in silence, and as they ate it Wilfrid was amused to hear Marion stamping heavily about inside, and occasionally speaking as if to her father. He could see that the men were listening, and they exchanged words in a low tone with each other.

Presently the leader of the party said, "Drink!" Wilfrid went in and brought out a pitcher of water. "Gin!" the chief said shortly. "I have no gin to give you," Wilfrid replied; "we do not keep spirits."

The natives rose to their feet. "We will come in and see," the leader said.

"No you won't!" Wilfrid said firmly. "I have given you what food there is in the house, and you are welcome to it; but strangers don't come into the house unless they are invited."

The native laid his hand on Wilfrid's shoulder to push him aside, but four months of chopping and digging had hardened every muscle in the lad's body. He did not move an inch, but jerked the Maori's hand off his shoulder.

With an exclamation of anger the native drew a heavy knobbed stick from the girdle round his waist, but before he could raise it to strike another figure appeared at the door. Marion held a gun in her hand which she raised to her shoulder. "Drop that," she said in a clear ringing voice, "or I fire!"

Taken by surprise, and seeing the rifle pointed full at his head, the chief instantly dropped his club. At the same instant Wilfrid sprang to the door, exclaiming "Go in, Marion!" and before the natives had recovered from their surprise the door was shut and barred.

They had not been deceived by Marion's attempt to personate a man, and their sharp ears had told them while eating their meal that there was but one person in the house, and that it was a girl. They knew that there was no other about, having watched the house for some time, and had therefore anticipated that the work of murder and plunder would be accomplished without difficulty. The instant the door was closed they bounded away at the top of their speed to the shelter of the bush, expecting every moment to hear the report of a rifle behind them; but the Renshaws had not thought of firing.

"Well done, Marion!" Wilfrid exclaimed as soon as the door was fastened. "I was on the point of springing upon him when I heard your voice behind me; I think that I could have tripped him backwards, but if I had done so the others would have been upon me with their clubs. Now, let us close and fasten the shutters, though I do not think we need have any fear of their coming back. In each case we have heard of they have always fallen on the settlers suddenly and killed them before they had time for resistance, and I do not think there is a chance of their trying to attack us now that they know we are ready for them. I expect that they were passing down to some of their people below, and seeing, as they thought, a defenceless hut, thought it would be an easy business to plunder it and knock on the head anyone they might find here. Now that they have failed they will probably go on their journey again."

"I was horribly frightened, Wilfrid," Marion said when they joined each other in the sitting-room after making all the fastenings secure.

"You did not look frightened a bit, Marion; and you certainly gave that fellow a tremendous scare. Didn't he drop his club sharp? And now, what do you think we had better do? The first thing is to get the Grimstones in. Those fellows may have been watching for some time and saw them go out."

"But they have got their guns with them, Wilfrid. The natives would surely not think of attacking two men with guns when they have nothing but their clubs."

"No, they certainly would not think of doing that, Marion. But the chances are that they have got guns, and that they left them in the bush when they sallied out, as they wanted to look peaceful and take us by surprise."

"I did not think of that, Wilfrid. Yes, perhaps they have guns. Well, you know, it has always been agreed that in case of danger three shots should be fired as a warning to those who might be out. If we fire and they hear it they will hurry back."

"Yes, but they might be shot as they make their way down to the house; that is what I am afraid of."

Marion was silent for a minute. "Do you know where they have gone to, Wilfrid?"

"They have gone in the first place to the clearing with those two big trees standing in the centre, but I cannot say where they may go to afterwards, for they had to look for four or five of the cattle that had strayed away."

"I can slip out from the window in the men's room and get into the bush and work round to the clearing, Wilfrid, and fire three shots there; that would bring them to me at once. You see, the natives couldn't cross the clearing here without your having them under your gun."

"No, Marion," Wilfrid said decidedly; "that is not to be thought of. If they saw you going they could work up through the bush on their side to the top of the clearing, and then follow you. No; I think I will fire the three shots. We have talked it over several times, you know, and the Grimstones have been told that if they heard the alarm they must make their way cautiously to the top of the clearing and see what is going on before they venture to make for the house. As soon as I see them I can shout to them to keep to the bush on their left till they get opposite the house. Everything is so still that one can hear a shout a long way, and I feel sure I could make them understand as far off as the end of the clearing. It isn't as if we were sure that these fellows were still hanging about ready to attack us; the probabilities are all the other way. They would have murdered us if they could have taken us by surprise, but that is a different thing altogether to making an attack now they know we are armed and ready."

Taking three of the rifles, Wilfrid opened one of the shutters at the back of the house and fired them, with an interval of about five seconds between each shot, then he stood at the window and watched the upper end of the glade. "Dear me!" he exclaimed suddenly, "I am sorry we fired."

"Why?" Marion asked in surprise.

"Because Mr. Atherton is sure to hear it if he is at home, and will come hurrying over; and if these fellows are still there he may come right into the middle of them."

"I do not think he would do that, Wilfrid," Marion said, after thinking for a moment or two. "Mr. Atherton is not like the Grimstones. He has been in all sorts of adventures, and though I am sure he will come to our help as soon as he can, I think he would take every precaution. He would know that the natives will be likely to come from above, and therefore be between him and us, and would come along carefully so as not to be surprised."

"I hope so, I am sure," Wilfrid said; "for he is an awfully good fellow. Still, as you say, he is sure to keep his eyes opened, and unless they surprise him I should back him against the four of them."

In a quarter of an hour they heard a shout from the edge of the clearing. "There are the Allens!" Wilfrid exclaimed as he leapt to the door. "I forgot about them, although of course they are nearer than Mr. Atherton. All right!" he shouted; "you can come on." The two Allens ran across the open space between the wood and the house.

"What is it, Wilfrid?" they exclaimed as they came up. "You fired the alarm-signal, did you not?" Both were breathless with the speed at which they had run. They had been engaged in felling when they heard the shot, and had thrown down their axes, run into the hut for their guns, and made for The Glade at the top of their speed. In a few words Wilfrid explained what had happened, and that there was every reason to believe that four hostile neighbours were lurking in the bush on the opposite side of the glade. The Allens at once volunteered to go up to the head of the clearing to warn the Grimstones. Returning to the point where they had left the forest, they made their way among the trees until they reached the upper end of the clearing; then they sat down and listened. In a few minutes they heard the sound of breaking twigs. "Here come the men," the elder Allen said; "the Maoris would come along noiselessly." Two or three minutes later the Grimstones came up at a run, accompanied by their two dogs.

"This way," James Allen said.

"What is it, sir?" Bob Grimstone gasped. "We were a long way in the woods when we thought we heard three shots. We were not quite sure about it, but we started back as fast as we could come. There is nothing wrong, I hope?"

"Fortunately nothing has happened," James Allen replied; "but four strange Maoris came up to the house, and would certainly have murdered Mr. Wilfrid and his sister if they had not been prepared for them. Whether they are in the bush now or not I do not know; but we have come up to warn you not to go up the clearing, as, if they are there, they might pick you off as you did so. We must come down under shelter of the trees till we are opposite the house."

In ten minutes they reached the house. Just as they did so Mr. Atherton appeared at the edge of the wood which they had just left.

"Thank God you are all safe!" he said as he strolled up to the house. "Your three shots gave me a fright; but as I heard no more I was relieved, for the signal told that you had not been taken by surprise, and as there was no more firing it was clear they had drawn off."

"But how did you get to that side of the clearing, Mr. Atherton?"

"I followed the wood till within a few hundred yards of the clearing, as I made sure if there were hostile natives about they would be at the edge of the bush. Then I got down into the river and waded along the edge. The bank in front here was not high enough to hide me, though I stooped as much as I could; but I reckoned that all eyes would be fixed on the house, and it was not likely I should be noticed. And now, what is it all about? I am sure you would not have fired the signal unless there had been good cause for the alarm." Wilfrid related what had taken place.

"Well done, Miss Marion!" Mr. Atherton said when he had finished. "It was lucky for your brother that you did not go with your father and mother this morning.

"It was lucky," Wilfrid agreed; "but at the same time, if I had been quite alone I should have closed the shutters and door as they came up, and kept indoors. I only ventured to meet them outside because I knew that Marion had a gun ready to hand to me the moment I wanted it."

"Yes; but you see there was not time to hand you the gun, Wilfrid, as it turned out, and you would have been knocked on the head to a certainty if your sister had not come to your rescue."

"That I certainly should; and I know that I owe Marion my life. What do you think we had better do now?"