Page:Adventures of Kimble Bent.djvu/163

Rh Titokowaru glared at his white man, then he went to the door of the council-house and called to the people in the marae to enter.

When they were all in the big wharé, Titokowaru ordered them to close the door and the sliding-window.

In the gloom of the praying-house the people sat in terrible silence, and the white men trembled for their heads.

Titokowaru, fearfully stern and menacing, addressed the pakehas.

"Whakarongo mai! Listen to me. If you persist in saying that you wish to return to the white men, it will be your death! I will kill you both with my tomahawk, now, in this house, unless you promise that you will never leave the Maoris! I will slay you, and your bodies will be cooked in the hangi!"

"Ringiringi," in real fear of his life, made answer that he would remain with the Hauhaus if Titoko would protect him, for he dreaded some of the chief's fiercer followers. "Kingi," too, hastened to give the required promise—a promise which he, unlike his fellow-pakeha, broke at the first opportunity.

When the people had left the Wharé-kura, Titoko spoke to "Ringiringi" in a more friendly and reassuring tone, saying that he wished the pakeha to remain with him in the pa, and that, in order to assure his life against the wilder spirits in the tribes