As they passed an immense jumble of logs and broken boughs, George dropped the heads into the midst of it. 'This place may be useful to us by and by,' he said, 'and if those two return and find them lying about, they will smell a rat.' Terence burst into a sputtering laugh. 'I thought I should have died when you squatted on your hocks and went hopping down on the chief. And the face of his mightiness! Oh, oh, oh! I shall never forget it.' 'Steady, old fellow!' cautioned George, with a responsive grin. 'It's an ill wind that blows nobody good, and the chief's scare has proved our salvation.' Closely following Te Karearea's line of flight, they soon passed through a hole into the midst of some thick bushes. Then the cool night air blew in their faces, and overhead blazed the myriad stars of the southern sky. They were in the upper world once more. But what was their surprise when the black mass of the stockade surrounding the _pah_ loomed in front of them, some forty rods away. There was no doubt of it; for far below them, across the river, they could see the twinkling fires of the bivouac in the forest, while in the intense stillness the splash and scurry of the leaping water in the cañon came plainly to their ears. 'It is clear that we were all kept off the hill to-night in order that our ancient friend might introduce the chief unobserved into the secret haunt we have just left,' said Terence. 'And little did they dream that they would have an audience,' put in George. 'I know a good deal more about things than I did an hour ago. Let us go down and camp on the flat. There are worse beds than the heart of a flax-bush, and we shall be well concealed in case they are hunting for us. We are sure to have been missed from the bivouac.' 'Let us take the bearings of this opening before we go,' suggested Terence. 'How are we facing? Ah! there's the Southern Cross.' 'This rock is a good guide,' said George. 'The bushes hide the opening very completely, and I dare say it can be further disguised. I wonder if many people know of it.' 'I should think not, and I am sure that the hole by which we entered is not commonly known,' replied Terence. 'We must do our best to find it again.' They found the track and descended the hill to the plain, hiding themselves as quickly as possible among the flax-bushes near the river road. Then George said: 'I will tell you to-morrow all that passed between Te Karearea and Kapua Mangu, and why I am regarded as such a valuable asset. Why, the chief's very existence appears to depend upon his success in making a Pakeha-Maori of me.' 'Tell all about it,' pleaded Terence. 'You cormorant! Haven't you had excitement enough for one night? Not a word--oh, just one. If I lay the greenstone club aside, even for a moment, and you are by, call my attention to it at once, please. Otherwise things may happen.'