Singularly enough, shortly after this exciting episode the smiling azure of the sea began to darken, and as the shadow crept nearer, and Neptune's white horses left their stables in the deep and galloped upon the crests of the waves, a light breeze began to tickle the cheeks of the sails and to hum among the cordage; so that presently the bo'sun's cheerful pipe shrilled along the deck, and the sailors, bounding aloft or hauling upon the sheets, soon made all snug for the run. The amazement of the Maoris, who had overheard and jeered at George's promise to their chief, may be imagined, and the venturesome prophet's reputation was then and there established among them. Whatever he thought of the matter, Te Karearea kept his opinion to himself, and, waving aside those who would have babbled of it, wrapped himself in his mat and paced the deck in grave meditation. When George had changed into a blue pilot-cloth suit, which had belonged to Captain Varsall, he hurried on deck to look for old Te Kaihuia, whom he found reclining upon a mat in a sunny corner. 'A narrow escape, O venerable friend!' began the young man, smiling down upon the shrivelled figure. 'You have looked through the gates of Reinga.' The old Maori smiled back into the frank, good-tempered face, and motioning George to a mat beside him, intimated his desire to perform the _hongi_, or pressing together of noses, to which George submitted with a good grace and, when the ceremony was over, prepared to withdraw. But the old man begged him to remain, as he had something further to say. With the greatest gravity Te Kaihuia drew a parcel from beneath his mat, and with trembling fingers unrolled the half-dozen layers of native cloth which formed the wrapping. Then with an air of reverence almost amounting to awe, he drew out a greenstone _mere_,[1] or club, of most perfect shape and colour, which he held up to the admiring gaze of the Englishman. [1] Pronounced almost as the English word 'merry.' 'What a beautiful--what a magnificent piece of greenstone!' exclaimed George in genuine delight. Then, as Te Kaihuia regarded the weapon with a look of mingled veneration and affection: 'Is it an heirloom--the _mere_ of your ancestors?' 'You are right, Hortoni,' replied the veteran. 'Far back in the misty past, approaching the time when the Maori first set foot in Te Ika A Maui,[2] this _mere_ belonged, according to tradition, to my ancestor, Te Turi.[3] After him, it was handed down from father to son through many generations.' [2] The north island of New Zealand. Literally, 'The Fish of Maui.' [3] Maori names were frequently bestowed on account of physical or mental peculiarities, or of real or fancied resemblance to natural objects. Te Turi means The Obstinate, or Stubborn, One. 'Then your ancestor, Te Turi, was one of the earliest settlers in New Zealand?' 'He was, Hortoni, having come with Ngahue from Hawaiki.'[4]