“Do not ask me why he came?” I answered; “and I shot him for reasons best known to myself.” I turned my head away to say that.
“Don’t be angry with me,” she pleaded. “I have told you many things. I heard Tiki say that he came to steal ‘the little maiden’—he meant me, of course. Is that why you shot him?”
“Oh! Tiki said that, did he?” I asked quickly, and waited for an answer.
“Yes, but Te Makawawa, when he first arrived and saw the huge body, looked at the face a long while, shook his head at what Tiki said, and muttered to himself something about the ancient magic of Ngaraki. Then he walked up and down, gesticulating wildly and singing a chant about Ngaraki the Terrible. He stopped in the middle of it abruptly, walked to where I was standing, scanned my face as if it puzzled him, and, shaking his head, slowly walked away. Now what do you make of it?”
“I don’t make anything of it,” I said shiftily, for I saw that if I was not careful she would drag the whole story from me. “I know the man came and threatened you and I shot him. What have they done with him?”
“Te Makawawa and Tiki and the slaves took him to a mud swamp over there and sank him in it. Then the old chief sang another long, wild chant about Ngaraki, Hinauri, and the Vile Tohungas.”
I saw she was thinking of something at the back of her words as she said this. After a pause she resumed, speaking very slowly: “Do you know that when I looked at the dead man’s face I had a feeling that he was like the man in my dream who cried ‘Degrade the pure one! Whose is the task? Mine! Mine!’ There is something strange in it all, Wanaki.”
My eyes met hers, and we stood looking at each other until at last I said: “Miss Grey; there is something very strange in it; but if I were to attempt to explain it in any way, I should only make it more mysterious. In the meantime we have much to think of. You will probably see your mother to-day.”
At this moment Grey awoke and staggered to his feet yawning.
“Ah! Warnock,” he said, coming towards me; “you’re awake at last. None the worse, eh? By Jove, that was a good shot of yours—right through his heart. What did the fellow want?”