"Move to intercept them before they can get into the pah."
"And is there time for the march?"
"Barely. Don't be surprised if we have the order to start at daylight. I went back on their trail for the rest of that day, and found that they had only made one halt, having come right through from Maungatautari. Just at nightfall I picked up the tracks of Taranui, and got to his camp, in a cave that I knew all about."
"Then you compared notes?"
"Yes. He says it will be the biggest fight of the war; that Waka Nene and Patuone were on the march, with every warrior of the Ngapuhi and the Rarawa. Mannering and Waterton were with them, also Erena. Taranui said she never leaves her father. There were many other women, which makes me think that it is a more serious affair than usual."
"Why should that be?" asked Massinger, heroically concealing his personal interest in this phase of the expedition.
"Because they do not care to leave them at home. They have a notion that in case of defeat the Waikatos might double back and raid their villages."
"What an absurd idea! Surely they can't imagine that, with the forces at our command, such a thing could be possible!"
"Such things have happened in old days," said Slyde. "Defeated tribe suffered horrors unspeakable. Ngapuhis felt no hesitation in inflicting when they were uppermost. Tribal custom. No grounds of complaint if they receive same in turn."
"Fortunately, there's no slavery now; otherwise," said Warwick, "one could hardly describe the condition of a conquered tribe. The missionaries may be thanked for that. I have heard tales that would make your hair stand on end."