Allan and the Ice Gods (29 page)

they are not far off. I think that they will attack you and that you

must make ready at once. That is all I have to say to you.”

“What do they come for?” asked Wi, amazed.

“I do not know,” answered Laleela, “but they looked thin and hungry.

Perhaps they seek food.”

“What must we do?” asked Wi again.

“Fight them, I suppose,” said Laleela; “fight them and drive them

off.”

Now Wi looked bemused, for this thought of folk fighting against each

other was strange to him. He had never heard of such a thing, because

the tribe, until Laleela came, believed themselves to be alone in the

world and therefore had no need of defence against other men. Then Pag

spoke, saying:

“Chief, you have fought wild beasts and killed them; you fought Henga

and killed him. Well, it seems that this is what you and all of us

must do against this people who attack us. If Laleela is right, either

they will kill us, or we must kill them.”

“Yes, yes, it is so,” said Wi, still bemused, then added, “Let Wini-wini summon all the tribe and bid them bring their weapons with them.

Yes, and let others go with him, that they may hear more quickly.”

So certain of those who had gathered there on the beach departed,

running their hardest. When they had gone, Wi turned to Pag and asked:

“What shall we do, Pag?”

“Do you seek counsel of me while Laleela stands there?” answered Pag

bitterly.

“Laleela, a woman, has played her part,” said Wi. “Now men must play

theirs.”

“It always comes to that in the end,” said Pag.

“What can we do?” asked Wi.

“I don’t know,” answered Pag. “Yet low tide draws on, and at low tide

there is but one entrance to this bay, through the gap in the rocks

yonder. These strangers will not know this, and if they come on

presently, their boats will be stranded, or only a few of them will

get through the gap. These we must fight, also any who remain upon the

reef. But what do I know of fighting, who am but a dwarf? There is

Moananga your brother, one who is strong and tall and brave. Let him

be captain and manage the fighting, but do you, Wi, keep behind it to

look after the people, who will want you; or, if need be, to fight any

of these strangers who get on shore.”

“Let it be so,” said Wi. “Moananga, I make you captain. Do your best

and I will do my best behind you.”

“I obey you,” said Moananga simply. “If I am killed and you live, look

after Tana and see that she does not starve.”

Just then, summoned by the furious trumpetings of Wini-wini and by

rumours that flew from mouth to mouth, the people began to run up,

each of them armed in a fashion, some with stone axes, some with

flint-headed spears and knives, some with stakes hardened in the fire,

or with slings.

Wi addressed them, telling them that devils who came from the north

floating on the sea, were about to attack them, and that they must

fight them unless they wished to be killed with their wives and

children; also that Moananga would direct them. Then there arose a

great noise, for the women who had run up with the men began to wail

and cling to them, till in the end these were driven away. After this

Hou the Unstable began to argue loudly, saying that Laleela was a

liar; that there were no men in boats and that therefore there was no

need for all this making ready. Also Whaka, the Bird-of-Ill-Omen,

declared that, if there were such men, there was no use trying to

fight against them, because, if they did, they would all be killed,

since men in boats must be very strong and clever. So the only thing

to do was to run away at once and hide in the woods.

This counsel seemed to move many; indeed, some departed at once.

Noting this, Wi went up to Whaka and knocked him down with a blow of

his fist. Also he strove to serve Hou in the same way, but seeing him

come, Hou escaped. After this, he called out that the next man who ran

he would catch and brain with his ax, whereon all the rest stayed

where they were. Still Hou went on talking from a distance, till

presently there was a shout—for there on the misty surface of the sea

appeared a great number of large canoes, manned, some of them, by as

many as eight or ten paddlers. These canoes rowed on toward the bay,

knowing nothing of the falling tide or of the reef of rocks. So it

happened that presently six or eight of them struck these rocks upon

which waves broke, and then overturned, throwing the men in them into

the water, where some were drowned. But the most of them reached the

rocks to the right and stood upon them, jabbering in loud voices to

their companions in the other boats outside the reef, who jabbered

back to them.

At length these men paddled forward gently, which, the sea being calm,

they could do well enough, not to the gap where those boats that went

first had been overturned, but to the rocks upon its right side, on

which many of them landed, leaving some in each canoe to hold on to

the seaweed that grew upon the rocks. When they had gathered there to

the number of a hundred or more, they began to talk, waving their long

arms and pointing to the shore with the spears they carried that

seemed to be tipped with walrus ivory or white stone.

Wi, watching them from the beach, said to Pag at his side:

“Surely these strangers are terrible. See how tall and strong they

are, and behold their skins covered with fur and their red hair and

beards. I think that they are not men but devils. Only devils could

look like that and travel about without women or children.”

“If so,” answered Pag, “they are very hungry devils, for that big

fellow who seems to be their chief, opens his mouth and points down

it, also at his stomach, and then waves his hand toward the shore,

telling the others thus that there they will find food. Likewise, they

are devils who can drown,” and he nodded toward the corpses of one or

two of them who had been in those canoes that were overset, which

corpses now were rolling to and fro in the shallow water. “For the

rest,” he added after a pause, “wives can always be stolen,” and he

glanced toward the women of the tribe, who were gathered in little

companies behind them, all talking together at once, or screaming and

beating their breasts, while the children clung to them terrified.

“Yes,” said Wi. Then he thought for a moment and called certain men to

him.

“Go,” he said, “to Urk the Aged, and bid him lead the women, the

children, and the old people to the woods and hide them there, for how

this business will end, I do not know, and they will be better far

away.”

The men went, and there followed much screaming and confusion. Some of

the women began to run toward the woods; others would not move; while

others threw their arms about their husbands and tried to drag these

away with them.

“Unless this wailing stops, soon the hearts of the men will melt like

blubber over a fire,” said Pag. “Look. Some of them are creeping away

to the women.”

“Go you and drive them to the woods,” said Wi.

“Nay,” answered Pag, “I who never liked the company of women overmuch

stay where I am.”

Now Wi took another counsel. Seeing Aaka standing at a distance

between the women and the men, or most of them, whom Moananga was

marshalling as best he might, he called to her. She heard and came to

him, for Aaka did not lack courage.

“Wife,” he said, “those red devils are going to attack us, and we must

kill them or be killed.”

“That I know,” answered Aaka calmly.

“It is best,” went on Wi, looking down and speaking in a rapid voice,

“that the women should not see the fighting. I ask you, therefore, to

lead them all to the woods and hide them away, together with the old

people and children and those who have run there already. Afterward

you can return.”

“What is the use of returning to find our men dead? It is better that

we should stay here and die with them.”

“You would not die, Aaka. Those Red Wanderers may want wives. At

least, you would not die at once, though in the end they might kill

and eat you. Therefore I command you to go.”

“Surely the Witch-from-the-Sea who guided the Wanderers to attack us

should go also before she works more treachery,” answered Aaka.

“She did not guide them; she fled before them,” exclaimed Wi angrily.

“Still, take her with you if you will, and Foh also. Only drive back

any men. Go now, I command you.”

“I obey,” said Aaka, “but know, Husband, that, although we have grown

away from each other, if you die, I die also, because once we were

close together.”

“I thank you,” answered Wi. “Yet, if that should happen, I say—live

on, rule the tribe, and build it up afresh.”

“Of what use are women without men?” replied Aaka, shrugging her

shoulders.

Then she turned to walk away, and as she went, Wi saw her wipe her

eyes with the back of her hand. She reached the women and cried out

something to them in a fierce voice, repeating it again and again,

till presently they began to move away with the aged, dragging the

children by the hand or carrying them, so that at last the tumult died

and the sad company vanished among the first of the trees.

All this while the Red-Beards had been jabbering together, making

their plans. At last these seemed to be settled, for by the help of

their boats a number of them crossed the mouth of the bay and gathered

upon the line of rocks to the left that now, at low tide, also stood

bare above the water. Others, too, in some of the boats set themselves

in order between these jaws of rock, as though preparing to paddle

toward the shore.

Pag noted this and cried out exultingly:

“That they cannot do, for their boats will overset upon the reefs that

lie beneath the waves, and they will be drowned in the deep holes

between, like those fellows,” and he pointed to the bodies rolling

about in the surf.

But such was not the purpose of the red-haired men, as presently he

was to learn.

As he spoke Wi heard the crunching of little shells in the sand behind

him and looked round to see who came. Behold, it was Laleela, clad in

her blue cloak and holding a spear in her hand.

“Why are you here?” he asked angrily. “Why have you not gone to the

woods with the other women?”

“Your orders were to the tribe,” she replied in a quiet voice. “I am

not of the tribe, so I hid in a hut till all were gone. Be not wrath,

Chief,” she went on, in a gentle voice, “for I, who have seen other

tribes and their fightings, may be able to give good counsel.”

Now he began to speak angry words to her and bid her begone, of which,

standing at his side, she took no heed but only stared out at the sea.

Then, suddenly, with a cry of “I thought it!” she leapt in front of

Wi, whose face was shoreward, and next instant staggered back, falling

into his arms as he turned. He stared at her, as did Pag, and lo! they

saw that in her cloak stood a little spear with feathers on it which

had struck her just above the breast.

“Pull it out, Pag,” she said, recovering her feet. “It is an arrow,

which other peoples use, and well was it for me that this cloak is so

good and thick.”

“Had you not sprung in front of me, that little spear would have

pierced me,” exclaimed Wi, staring at her.

“It was by a chance,” answered Laleela with a smile.

“You lie,” said Wi, at which she only smiled again and drew the cloak

more closely about her. Aye, while Pag pulled she still smiled, though

he noted that her lips turned pale and twitched. At length the arrow

came out, and he noted something else: namely, that on its bone barb

there was blood and a little piece of flesh, though, being wise, of

this he said nothing.

“Lie down, Chief,” said Laleela, “there, behind that rock; and you

also, Pag, for so you will be safer. I also will lie down,” and she

did so. “Now hearken to me,” she went on. “Those Red-Beards, or some

of them, have bows and arrows, as we have just learned, and their plan

is to shoot at you from the boats until the tide is quite low, and

then to climb along both lines of rock and attack you.”

At this moment Moananga came up and was also made to lie down.

“Perhaps,” said Wi, “and if so, we had better draw out of the reach of

the little spears.”

“That is what they want you to do,” answered Laleela, “for then they

will climb along the lines of rock quietly and without hurt. I have

another counsel, if it pleases you to hear it.”

“What is it?” said Wi and Moananga together.

“This, Chief: You and all the people know those rocks and where the

deep water holes are between them, since from childhood you have

gathered shellfish there. Now, divide your men into two companies, and

do you command one while Moananga commands the other. Clamber along

those rocks to the right and left with the companies and attack the

Red-Beards on them, for, when they see you coming so boldly, some of

them will get into the boats. The others you must fight and kill; nor