The Last Day
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The Last Day.
The third morning dawned in the haze that presaged a hot day. Tupotahi now proposed
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Railwayman: “Wonderful smoke this National Tobacco. I believe it is the healthiest tobacco on the market.“
Man behind the Counter: “Yes, I smoke it myself. Apart from the fact that the tobacco is one hundred per cent. in quality, it is produced by a company that is one hundred per cent. New Zealand. I believe that company pays hundreds of thousands to the Government in freight and taxes and employs over a thousand workers. Why, dash it all, the more we smoke the better for the country; and the loyal way the company sticks to the Railways in fares and freight, helps to keep the railwaymen in their jobs.”
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to Rewi: “Let us charge out before it is day. If we go now we may fight our way through the soldiers.” Rewi smiled grimly, and bade Tupotahi consult the other chiefs. “We shall remain here,” they declared; “we shall fight on.”
The morning haze swept away; the roar of the Armstrongs and the crack of rifles and carbines answered the bang of the Maori shotguns. It is recorded that forty thousand rounds of Enfield ammunition were fired by the troops in the siege. (No wonder we youngsters found bullets in the ground turned up by the plough, and explored the scarred old peach trees with our pocket knives for bits of lead.) The Maoris were of necessity far more sparing of their powder and lead; still they made the troops keep close to cover. But the sap, the artillery and the hand-grenades spelled the doom of Orākau. The end was near.
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