iwa wished to make the secret entrance to the crater known to kaanaana, and they both thought it should not be disclosed to any one else. so he accompanied her on her return, the night after her arrival, having first given orders that no one should follow them under pain of death.
they found aelani awake. “keike,” said hiwa, “this is your father. his spearmen await your commands.”
then kaanaana kneeled before his son and kissed his feet. but aelani raised him from the ground and put his arms about him and kissed him.
“my father,” he said, “i love you because [72] my mother loves you better than her own life, and has talked to me about you every day since i was a little child. while the homage due the moi cannot be omitted in public, between us three i am not a god among men, but only your son.”
then kaanaana embraced aelani, and the two ate together, hiwa sitting not far off, for it was contrary to the commands of ku for men and women to eat together. after the moi and his father had eaten by themselves, and hiwa had eaten by herself, aelani slept in the grass hut, and hiwa and kaanaana slept under the great koa tree, for the moon had gone behind the mountains, and it was not safe to attempt taking the fisherman’s boat through the passage in pitchy darkness.
it was easy, however, in daylight, for there were three of them and a calm sea. so they set forth early in the morning and went to niulii. but there were fishermen from waipio fishing opposite the cliff who fled home in terror, and reported that they had seen the spirit of hiwa issuing from the depths of the sea, and with her the lord of kohala and a young man whom they knew [73] not, and that the three had a boat provided by the god of the ocean, exceeding light and swift, in which they sped down the coast. the tale was taken straightway to aa, and it greatly troubled him.
meanwhile rumors had gone forth through all of kohala round about niulii, and, when aelani arrived, wearing the royal mamo, thousands of people had assembled to do him homage. they were cooking a great feast for him in an umu or underground oven of hot stones—fatted dog and pig which he had never tasted, and taro and bread-fruit, and many kinds of lawalu fish. also they had prepared many kinds of delicate raw fish, flavored with kukui nuts, and crabs and shrimps and mosses. there were also fruits and berries, both from the lowlands and from the mountains. neither was there any lack of awa that all might drink and be merry.
but aelani, as soon as he had received the homage of the people, called a council of war, for time was precious, and the thought that manoa was in the power of his enemy was like a hot coal in his breast.
[74] it was only a dozen miles from niulii to waipio by water; but kaanaana had not war canoes wherewith to fight aa on the sea, neither had he canoes of any kind to carry a sufficient force of fighting men. therefore, an attack on the coast side would have been madness; but the saw-teeth were impassable, and the trail around them was long and difficult.
“my lord of kohala,” inquired aelani, “how many spearmen can you have at daylight to-morrow morning, with provisions to cross the mountains?”
“not more than eight hundred,” replied kaanaana. “but i will have five thousand on the fourth day.”
“eight hundred to-morrow,” said aelani, “are better than five thousand on the fourth day. if aa depends on kaaahu, lord of honokaa, he leans on a fern that will sway back and forth as the wind blows. yet the ahupuaa of honokaa is the nearest of the great lordships, and the only one from which aa can muster many spears before the fourth day. we should strike before any of the great chiefs can come to his help from the [75] south, for we are few at best, and only a small part of the kingdom.”
kaanaana fell upon his knees and bowed his head to the ground. “child of the gods,” he said, “shall i speak my manao?”
“rise and speak!” exclaimed aelani. “thou art the greatest and wisest of my nobles. thy moi will ever listen to thy manao.”
“my manao is that the great chiefs will not hasten from the south. they do not love aa, and will stand aloof if they dare, or side with us if we seem the stronger. moreover, aa has twelve hundred fighting men at waipio, and kaaahu can bring him a thousand more before we can get there. our way is over steep and difficult mountains, among sharp rocks and utter desolation, where mice would die of hunger and thirst, and even lizards cannot live. our spearmen, exhausted with the journey, must fight men strong with rest and sleep. if we start to-morrow, we shall also be greatly outnumbered, and if we lose the battle not one of us will ever return. if we wait till the fourth day, and only one or two chiefs come against [76] us from the south, we can meet aa with equal numbers. yet it shall be as the moi kane says. his word is as the word of ku.”
“kaanaana, lord of kohala,” said aelani, “i thank thee for honest counsel, and i would also have the lesser chiefs freely speak their manao.”
thereupon the lesser chiefs fell upon their knees and bowed their heads to the earth, and the foremost of them spoke for all and said: “the way is most difficult, and eight hundred spearmen are not many, yet what the child of the gods says that we will do, whether it be life or death. his word is as the word of ku.”
then hiwa spoke, as was her right in the royal councils, being equal in birth and rank to the moi kane himself, although not in power. and she said: “the lord of kohala is the wisest and greatest of the nobles. he and the lesser chiefs have spoken well; but fear now dwells in the heart of aa and in the hearts of his followers. my manao is to strike before it passeth away, that the hearts of the chiefs in the south may also become like white wax of cocoanuts, and [77] that they may turn from him in the beginning.”
“as hiwa hath said, so be it!” exclaimed aelani. “we march to-morrow at break of day. the thunderbolt is swifter than the thunder.”
instantly fast runners were sent forth to summon the spearmen and get supplies of food. then aelani ate and drank, and the chiefs were merry, but aelani’s merriment was feigned, for he greatly feared for manoa’s safety, and was impatient for battle because she was in the power of his enemy.
