Page:Ballads, Stevenson, 1890.djvu/29

 And the elders stared and debated, and wondered and passed the jest,

But whenever a guest came by eagerly questioned the guest;

And little by little, from one to another, the word went round:

"In all the borders of Paea the victual rots on the ground,

And swine are plenty as rats. And now, when they fare to the sea,

The men of the Námunu-úra glean from under the tree

And load the canoe to the gunwale with all that is toothsome to eat;

And all day long on the sea the jaws are crushing the meat,

The steersman eats at the helm, the rowers munch at the oar,

And at length, when their bellies are full, overboard with the store!"

Now was the word made true, and soon as the bait was bare,

All the pigs of Taiárapu raised their snouts in the air.

Songs were recited, and kinship was counted, and tales were told

How war had severed of late but peace had cemented of old

The clans of the island, "To war," said they, "now set we an end,

And hie to the Námunu-úra even as a friend to a friend."

So judged, and a day was named; and soon as the morning broke,

Canoes were thrust in the sea and the houses emptied of folk.

Strong blew the wind of the south, the wind that gathers the clan;

Along all the line of the reef the clamorous surges ran;

And the clouds were piled on the top of the island mountain-high,

A mountain throned on a mountain. The fleet of canoes swept by

In the midst, on the green lagoon, with a crew released from care,

Sailing an even water, breathing a summer air, 17