The king said to the woman, “You see that this is a fine-looking young man, and you are trying to save him.”
The woman was vexed, and insisted that this was truly the rat-shooter.
Then the king said: “Perhaps we should try him against Mainele. They may shoot here in this house.” This was the house called the Hale-noa (Free-for-all-the-family). The king gave the law of the contest. “You may each shoot like the arrows on your hands [the ten fingers] and five more—fifteen in all.” [[169]]
Pikoi was afraid of this contest. Mainele had his own weapons, while Pikoi had nothing, but he looked around and saw his father, Alala, who now knew him. The father had the tapa bundle of bows and arrows. The woman recognized him, and called, “Behold the man who has the bow and arrow for this boy.”
Pikoi told Mainele to shoot at some rats under the doorway. He pointed them out one after the other until twelve had been killed.
Pikoi said: “There is one more. His body cannot be seen, but his whiskers are by the edge of the stone step.”
Mainele denied that any rat was there, and refused to shoot.
The king commanded Pikoi not to shoot at any rat under the door, but to kill real rats, as Mainele had done.
Pikoi took his bow, bent it, and drew it out until it stretched from one side of the house to the other. The arrow was very long. He called to his opponent to point out rats.
Mainele could not point out any. Nor could the king see one around the house.