Page:Adventures of Kimble Bent.djvu/177

Rh is filled, then man is happy and satisfied' (Ka ki te puku, ka ora te tangata). Now, rise up and grasp your weapons, for I wish to see you dance the haka and the tutu-waewae of war."

When the men were assembled on the parade ground, in their dancing costume of a scanty waistmat, Titokowaru cried in a loud voice and prophesied, saying:

"Kaore e tu te ra, kaore e titaha te ra, ka tupono tatou kia to tatou whanaunga"—of which the meaning is, "The sun will not have reached its zenith, the sun will not have declined, before we have joined issue with our relatives"—the white soldiers.

"Then," says Tutangé, "we danced our haka with the fire of coming battle in our hearts, and we hardened our nerves for the fight. For we knew that Titoko was a true and powerful prophet (poropiti whai-mana, tino kaha), and we believed that that day would see blood shed again around Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu."

Tutangé Waionui, who was now to distinguish himself as a daring young warrior, was but a boy. He was not more than fifteen or sixteen years old, but was a strong, athletic youngster, full of fire and courage, and as agile as a monkey. He was of the momo rangatira, or "blue blood" of Taranaki, tracing a direct descent through a line of high chiefs and priests from Turi, the great sailor who navigated his long mat-winged canoe Aotea to the black iron-sand