wished to win. Yet he did not dare to utter his love, for Hine Moa was looked on as a family treasure to be kept sacredly separate until she could mate with some powerful noble. The fair one was not untouched in heart; the handsome presence and silent devotion of her lover filled her with many tender thoughts, although for a long time neither dared to allow the passion they felt to declare itself in words. At last Tu sent (in the native manner) a secret messenger to tell his princess of the passion which was consuming him, and when the message was told, the maiden said, “Ah, then we have each thought alike.” After this declaration Tu built himself a little tower just above the lake, and in this tower he and his friend Tiki used to make music in the summer evenings; Tu with his flute and Tiki with a trumpet of wood. Over the quiet water the melody would steal to Hine Moa, and then she would say softly to herself, “My darling is thinking of me and sending his sweet voice to touch my heart.” So she was comforted.
One night, in the house wherein the young men of the tribe gathered together, conversation was going on as to the chance which each man had of gaining the hand of Hine Moa. One said that he had the best chance, others dis-
