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His name was Kara-Tete, meaning "the irascible" in the native tongue. Kai-Koumou treated him with a certain tone of respect, and by the fineness of his tattoo, it was easy to perceive that Kara-Tete held a lofty position in the tribe, but a keen observer would have guessed the feeling of rivalry that existed between these two chiefs.
"First the larder of Kara-Tete and then fire out of the ground! Upon my word, this mountain is a paradise! I propose that we found a colony, and cultivate the soil and settle here for life! We shall be the Robinsons of Maunganamu. We should want for nothing." "If it is solid ground," said John Mangles. "Well! it is not a thing of yesterday," said Paganel.
The Kai-Koumou drew near; suddenly the wretched victim rose; but a violent blow from a "MERE," a kind of club brandished by the chief, struck her to the ground; she fell senseless. Horrible yells followed; a hundred arms threatened the terror-stricken captives. But no one moved, for the funeral ceremonies were not yet over. The wife of Kara-Tete had joined her husband.
An evil smile relaxed his lips for a moment; then he controlled himself, and in a voice of ill-concealed anger: "Do you hope to deceive Kai-Koumou with lying words, accursed Pakeka? Can not the eyes of Kai-Koumou read hearts?" And pointing to Lady Helena: "That is your wife?" he said. "No! mine!" exclaimed Kara-Tete.
Of his adventures all that could be extracted from him at this time was as follows: After the murder of Kara-Tete, Paganel took advantage, like Robert, of the commotion among the natives, and got out of the inclosure.
The night was cold; but happily Kara-Tete had been furnished with his best night gear, and the party wrapped themselves each in a warm flax mantle, and protected by native superstition, slept quietly inside the inclosure, on the warm ground, still violating with the violence of the internal ebullition. NEXT day, February 17th, the sun's first rays awoke the sleepers of the Maunganamu.
The corpses of Kara-Tete and his wife were raised, the limbs were bent, and laid against the stomach according to the Maori usage; then came the funeral, not the final interment, but a burial until the moment when the earth had destroyed the flesh and nothing remained but the skeleton.
"And your companions?" said Kai-Koumou. "My companions are English like myself. We are shipwrecked travelers, but it may be important to state that we have taken no part in the war." "That matters little!" was the brutal answer of Kara-Tete. "Every Englishman is an enemy. Your people invaded our island! They robbed our fields! they burned our villages!" "They were wrong!" said Glenarvan, quietly.
"An excellent idea, Paganel; well conceived," said the Major. "You understand," replied the geographer, "we are to pretend to fall victims to the flames of the Maori Pluto, and to disappear spiritually into the tomb of Kara-Tete. And stay there three, four, even five days if necessary that is to say, till the savages are convinced that we have perished, and abandon their watch."
Although Glenarvan did not conceal from himself the probability that Kai-Koumou had given up all idea of exchange, the Major still cherished a spark of hope. "Who knows," said he, as he reminded Glenarvan of the effect produced on the chief by the death of Kara-Tete "who knows but that Kai-Koumou, in his heart, is very much obliged to you?"
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