The Tale of Timber Town

of the Mer

es are brown, his teeth are pearly white; and, when he smiles, those brown eyes sparkle

Day was breaking; yet he could see nothing but the flying scud and the dim outline of the sh

ering with the rawness of the morning;

in his own language. "There's

went back into the hut. "Tahuna," he cried,

ts, sat up, and said in Maori,

t out into the

a north-east gale. We had better go bac

o the crest of the rocky, wooded cliff under which the Maoris stood. The sea lay exposed, grey and foaming; but it was

eye-he had but one. Tahuna ran to the hut, and called

with regular features and an abundance of long black hair; the latter was not more than eighteen years old, of a lighter complexion, full-figured, and with a good-nature

tell the people to come and help. We three,"-he pointed

u. I shall stay, and help." She ran along the beach to t

ut, "A rope! A rope! A rope!" But his voice did

th spray, shouted together

ore," said the chief, "we would

the surf which broke over her, the only dry place on her being the fore-top, which was crowded with sailors

a is a sheep, in the water. We must go to them. Now, remember: when you

knees. The others followed his example; the gir

the next wave dashed them back upon the beach. Three times they tried to strike out from the shore, but each time they were washe

the rocks at the bottom. Then when the big wave passes, swim a few s

lan," said Enoko

great breaker, the four heads disappeared; the wave swept over the spot where they had dived, but bore no struggling brown bodies with it. Then again, but further out to sea, the

d swam independently of one another; diving

watched the swimmers, raised a shou

el at one end of the reef, and the women followed in their wake. They were swimming on their sides, but all their strength and skill seemed of little avail in bringing them any nearer to their goal. But suddenly Amiria dived beneath the great billows, and when her tangled, wet mane re

shouted the Maoris. Their voices barely reached the ship, but the sailors well knew for what the swimmers risked their lives. Already a man had unrove the fore-signal-halyards, the sailors raised a shout

t, they turned on their backs and floated, each holding tigh

foam was a matter of life or death to the swimmers. They were grasped by the great seas and were hurled

beach, and laid her, panting, on the stones; then he went back to look for the others. His wife, with wonderful fortune, was carried uninjured to his very feet, but Enoko was struggling in the back-wash which was drawing him into a great oncoming sea. Forge

k, shaped like a roughly-squared pillar, stood upright from the beach. To this she made fast the line, on which she pulled hard and

d the rock, Tahuna tied the end of the life-line about his

ast the reef on which the ship lay, across the wild stretch of deep water, over the second and more perilous reef, and into the middle of the breakers of the beach. There he lost his hold, but Tahuna dashed into the surf, and seized him. The ch

aist. After she had rescued four men, Enoko came to himself and relieved her; and Amiria, not to be outdon

aoris arrived from the pa with blankets, food, and drink. Soon the newcomers had lighted a fire in a sh

said to Tahuna, "Weren't you one o

the chief in broken English.

women we saw

id Tahuna. "They

d like to see them. I sh

man, whose limbs she was chafing beside the fire. When the chief called to his wife and the girl, Amiria rose, and placing her Englishman in the charge of a big M

you're the girl we saw in the water," said he. "Pleased to meet you, mis

nd from her pretty mouth bubbled th

, as his wife approached, "but th

smiling the genero

never would ha' believed a man, let alone a woman, could ha' swum in such a sea. An' you're Natives of the country?-a fine race, a fine race." As they stood, talking, rain had commenced to drive in from the sea. The captain surveyed the miserable scene for a moment or two;