Free A Canoe In the Mist by Elsie Locke Page B

had made codes so they could write secrets in their letters. Guide Sophia would tell Lillian when Mattie’s piece of whareátua became a jewel, and whether the spell worked for another girl to find it. If it was an English girl, Mattie might even learn where she lived.
    Bewitched by the Maori music and rhythm, Mattie had got Kanea to teach her in the intervals at school, with an equally fascinated circle of other children watching or joining in. She had learned two easy action songs and two poi dances, after a fashion, and put English words to them while memorising the Maori. And she had packed away a pair of pois with a red pattern woven into the flax—a gift from Sophia, who had made them with her own hands.
    ‘Hang them on your bedroom wall and you will never forget us,’ said Sophia. ‘They will speak to you of our happy days together.’

10
Moon, Earth and Mountain
    B y evening the sky was clear and the air cold and still. This was the night for the conjunction of the moon with the planet Mars; and Edwin and Mr Hensley went happily up the hill, to join Mr Haszard and the two surveyors. Mattie and her mother stayed cosy in an upstairs room with the best window, through which Bridget and Mr McRae took a peep from time to time. Lillian was sent to bed, but never to sleep during the long slow movement of the moon towards the planet. The moon was in the first quarter, and Mars brilliant. The whole sky, now that she was looking at it so intently, was beautiful.
    Lillian tried to imagine the millions of miles that separated the two in reality, according to Mr Haszard; but she couldn’t. They looked like close companions. She let her gaze wander among the stars and when she looked back again, it seemed as if Mars, not the moon, was onthe move. If only she could share this peaceful watching with Mattie!
    Her mother was in the kitchen, ironing. Now and again the thud of the iron sounded through the quiet night, marking the time as they edged up closer, Mars and the moon. Then, quite suddenly, the red planet appeared to glow more proudly before it disappeared. But did it really disappear? Or only skim across the left horn of the moon? Oh, thought Lillian, if only we had a telescope!
    She struggled with her sleepiness until Mars stood clear again; and then she slid down under the blankets. Over in the Rotomahana Hotel an equally contented Mattie was getting into bed, while below her the rattling of doors and the chatter of voices signalled the return of her father and Edwin.
    ‘And how does that compare with what you’d seen in Newcastle upon Tyne?’ inquired Mr McRae as he served them hot coffee, knowing very well what the answer would be.
    ‘We’d hardly see the moon for the pall of smoke, let alone the planet,’ said Edwin. ‘It was perfect, and the lake gleamed so peacefully under its guardian mountains. You’ve chosen a well-favoured land, Joe McRae.’
    ‘Mars was a bonus before we leave tomorrow,’ said Mr Hensley. ‘That was another experience I never expected to have.’
    ‘Satisfaction all around,’ said Mr McRae. ‘That’s what Ilike to see. It makes a good end to my day.’
    In the deep of the night, Lillian awoke. Her need for sleep was fighting with a force far stronger. Her bed was shaking. Earthquake! Of course, it was an earthquake, her very first. She was the only child in the school who hadn’t been in one before.
    Bone tired she lay there full of curiosity and waited for it to stop. She’d been told if things weren’t falling off the shelves it was only a tremor. Nothing was falling, but doors were rattling wildly and there was a steady rumbling sound, and the tremor didn’t stop.
    She was wide awake now. Mattie! Oh, Mattie would be terrified! Lillian groped for her clothes in the dim light that filtered through from the moon. A sharp jolt showed that it was more than a tremor. Her mother came to the door in her nightdress, carrying a lamp.
    ‘Oh good, you’re getting up,’ she said,