Under pretence that he had been detailed by Te Karearea to see to their comfort, Sounding Sea came to their hut at bed-time every night. This night was no exception, for his sly face peered round the door, and he inquired, humbly enough, if the Pakeha lords desired his services. To throw him off his guard, George ordered him to bring a basket of food, as they proposed to go for an early ramble in the bush on the morrow. When the Maori returned with this, the friends were snoring on their mats; so he placed it in a corner and withdrew, satisfied. Five minutes later Terence stole across to Sounding Sea's _whare_, and returned almost immediately. 'There,' he said, with a gleeful chuckle, and thrust a revolver and a handful of cartridges upon his astonished friend. 'Kapua Mangu's mantle must have fallen on you, you magician,' cried George, overjoyed. 'Where--how----?' 'It occurred to me that Sounding Sea, not being very courageous, would have made provision for defending himself in case of a row with us,' explained Terence; 'so I went to see. The fellow has a regular arsenal there. I have brought away three revolvers and any number of cartridges.' He hid one of them under his mat, along with a reserve of ammunition. Then, having loaded their weapons, the friends stole out on the track of the spy. In a few minutes they stood upon the three-foot ledge outside the _pah_, where a pale, watery moon gave them light enough to see what they were about. And this was as well; for movement, at the best, was dangerous, and a slip might have been fatal. 'I thought as much,' exclaimed Terence, after poking about in the grass. 'This explains our gentleman's nocturnal trips, and I shouldn't wonder if we were on the track of Paeroa.' Lying on their faces, peering into the awful depths of the cañon, they could see a strong flax ladder, securely fastened to a couple of stout pegs, driven into the ground between them. By means of a gentle tug they ascertained that the lower end of the ladder was free, and, before George could anticipate him, Terence swung himself over. 'I'll jerk three times when I reach the bottom,' he said. 'Steady the thing for me.' Presently the signal came, and George joined his friend, who was standing upon a narrow ledge about fifty feet below. 'Here we are,' said Terence in greeting. 'This ledge runs in both directions. Ah, this is the way. Look.' A tangle of creepers, recently disturbed, guided them, and they moved cautiously along the ledge, which sloped very gradually downwards, until they stood some twenty feet above the river, in full view of a fine waterfall. Thereafter was nothing but sheer cliff to the broken water below. Then while they looked about, puzzled, Terence suddenly dragged George down behind a shrub, and they saw a wondrous sight.