'Did you hear a shot just now?' returned George, eyeing him.
'I heard it. One of my fools was firing at a parrot, or, perhaps, a pig.'
'In the eyes of your "fool" I stood for one or the other,' said George, still staring at the chief. 'That shot was aimed at me; but, as the trigger was pulled, I stooped to pick up something I had dropped.'
'No one would dare,' Te Karearea cried stormily.
'The man fired to kill,' insisted George. 'Mura saw him and knocked him down, and is even now taking him to be judged by you.'
'Ha! Then Mura saved your life?'
George met him eye to eye. 'Nay, O Hawk,' he said quietly; 'I owe my life, under God's providence, to the mere of TUMATAUENGA.'
Te Karearea started violently. 'Again!' he muttered. 'Again!' Then: 'Come with me, Hortoni, and we will deal with this breaker of laws.'
'Mura's hand has already fallen heavily upon him,' said George, as they moved away. He did not notice Paeroa, who peered from behind a tree near the fork, and immediately darted into the bush. But Te Karearea's keen eyes saw him, though he said not a word to George.
They reached the camp just as Terence emerged from the bush with his prisoner. At once there was a rush of the new arrivals towards their comrade, whose appearance was deplorable, for his nose had bled freely, and his eyes were almost closed. The Maoris hung back for a moment as Terence levelled his rifle, and Te Karearea, taking advantage of the pause, sprang to meet them, crying: 'Back, dogs, or I will loose upon you the mere of TUMATAUENGA!'