With a howl of terror Te Karearea reeled away from the thing upon the ground. '_Ngara! Tuatara!_' he screeched, and turned to flee from the spot. CHAPTER XIV MAGIC, BLACK AND WHITE The gods of the old religion were good enough for Kapua Mangu, who detested the blasphemous absurdities of Hau-hauism, and he had brought Te Karearea, the backslider, to the underground haunt--known, he believed, only to himself--partly to convince him that the arms of these same old gods were still powerful, and partly for another reason. Actuated by the first of these motives, he had produced his very strongest card at the outset of the interview, and flung at the chief the dried body of a _tuatara_, a large and harmless lizard, indigenous to New Zealand. Yet this was quite enough to overthrow the nerve of a strong, clever man, and render him weak and impotent from actual fear. For in such terror do the Maoris hold all lizards, that the mere pronunciation of the word _Ngara_, a generic term for the whole race, makes the bravest warrior tremble. The deep-voiced command of Kapua Mangu arrested the flight of the chief, and, as if the sight of the demon on the ground were not sufficient, the old man, with pointing finger, asked in a terrifying screech: 'Where, O Hawk of the Mountain, where is the _mere_ of TUMATAUENGA?' Te Karearea started, but before he could reply, the venerable mystic flung his arms above his head and chanted in his fine, sonorous voice the race-old prophecy of the greenstone club:-- 'Behold! In the days to come a strange, strong race Shall contend with the Maori. Ah! Then shall the days be full of evil and danger For the house of Te Turi. 'And behold! In those days of unrest and contention One of the House of Te Turi shall give to one of the strong, strange race The _mere_ of TUMATAUENGA. Aue! Aue! Alas for the House of Te Turi. Aue! Aue! Then shall the doom and the end Of the House of Te Turi be nigh! 'But behold! If the stranger cleave to the race of the Maori, If he give back of his own free will to one of the House of Te Turi The _mere_ of TUMATAUENGA, Then shall the House of Te Turi arise again from the dust. Only thus shall the doom be averted!' 'All this thou knewest, O Hawk of the Mountain! All this I spake in thine ear, O son of the dead and gone White Mist!' declaimed the old wizard. 'Guile, not force, must win the _mere_ of TUMATAUENGA from the Pakeha to whom Te Kaihuia gave it. Yet, if he resign the weapon of his own free will, even though he lay it aside but for a moment, and thou hast the wit to seize it, then it is thine.' His voice sank suddenly to an ordinary tone. 'But doubtless, so astute a man as Te Karearea, knowing all this, has already acted upon it. Say then, O friend,' he concluded mildly, 'where is the _mere_ of TUMATAUENGA?'