'We ar~ on your t~ack. Try ~~~~~~scape ~nd meet us. Y~~rs—M. Cra~sto~n.'
Here and there the pencilled letters were obliterated; but the meaning was clear enough. The question was—had Te Karearea driven back, or annihilated the relief force? And this, of course, Paeroa could not tell.
'I wonder what was in the note which Te Karearea took,' said George.
'Paeroa has made a mistake,' commented Terence. 'Colonel Cranstoun is not white-haired, unless he has changed since I saw him.'
'Well, there is no use worrying over a mistake,' said George.
'Oh, of course not,' agreed Terence, looking curiously at his friend. He had his own idea as to the identity of the writer of the missing note, and thought that George's ignorance was bliss, in so far as it saved him from much anxiety.
Briefly, Paeroa's story was that, on the march to rejoin the main body, he had stolen away at the risk of his life, worked round to the rear of the Arawa contingent, and presented himself at the British camp, where he found Colonel Cranstoun and others, to whom he told the story of George's adventures as far as he knew them. He was ignorant of the capture of Terence, so he could not remove the impression which existed that the Irishman had been killed while endeavouring to deliver Captain Westrupp's note. Promising to do all he could for George, Paeroa departed with two short letters in his care. He failed, as we know, to communicate with George on the day of the fight with the Arawas; but, just before the skirmish, while plotting with Kawainga to deliver the letters unobserved, the two were suddenly overpowered by a strong guard of Hau-haus, and conveyed to the pah. There they were kept in close confinement, and eventually transferred to the cave under the waterfall, Sounding Sea being appointed their gaoler. The mean and vicious Hau-hau had amplified the chief's instructions, and gratified his own malevolent nature by inflicting upon the prisoners as many hardships as he dared, short of actually murdering them, so that their existence since the departure of Te Karearea had been wretched indeed.
'What is to be done now?' queried George, when Paeroa's story had come to an end.
Terence drew his revolver and turned to face Sounding Sea. 'Let him know, George,' he said grimly, 'that, unless he tells the whole truth, there will be a new arrival in Reinga within a minute.'
'Stop!' shrieked Sounding Sea in English. 'I will tell all. I was to keep these two here until Te Karearea's return. I have cared for them and fed them. Mercy, great lords!'