"Get down, Robert," said Glenarvan.
At this moment Lady Helena, who had risen, seized her husband's arm.
"Edward," said she, in a firm voice, "neither Mary Grant nor I shall fall alive into the hands of those savages!"
And, so saying, she presented to her husband a loaded revolver.
"A weapon!" exclaimed Glenarvan, whose eyes suddenly brightened.
"Yes. The Maoris do not search their female prisoners; but this weapon is for us, Edward, not for them."
"Glenarvan," said MacNabb quickly, "hide the revolver. It is not time yet."
The weapon was immediately concealed in his clothes. The mat that closed the entrance of the hut was raised. A native appeared. He made a sign to the captives to follow him. Glenarvan and his companions passed through the pah, and stopped before Kai-Koumou.
Around him were assembled the principal warriors of his tribe, among whom was seen the chief whose canoe had first joined Kai-Koumou on the river. He was a man of about forty, robust, and of fierce and cruel aspect. His name was Kara-Tété, which means in the native language "The Irascible." Kai-Koumou treated him with some respect, and from the delicacy of his tattooing it was evident that he occupied a high rank in his tribe. An observer, however, would have detected a rivalry between the two chiefs. The major, indeed, perceived that Kara-Tété's influence surpassed that of Kai-Koumou. They both ruled the powerful tribes of the Waikato with equal rank; and, during this interview, although Kai-Koumou smiled, his eyes betrayed a deep hostility.