OVER THE MOUNTAINS
EIGHT hundred and nineteen men, armed and provisioned, were on hand at
daybreak the next morning. Aelani made a stirring speech, telling them
that Ii was dead, and that Aa was preparing to invade Kohala to
slaughter all the men and give their wives and _kuleanas_ to
strangers. And Kaanaana told them of their new _moi_, rainbow-covered
and heaven-born.
The spearmen raised a great shout and cried: "His word is as the word
of Ku, and we will follow Kaanaana, our high-chief, where spears are
thickest, even unto death!"
Hiwa accompanied them. When Kaanaana privately remonstrated, she
replied: "Hardships and hunger and thirst are heaven with you, my
lover, and so are wounds and death; but without you, all the world is
hell to me. What mortal man can do and suffer, that surely can I,
daughter of the gods. Moreover, if the chiefs do not see me, whom they
know, they will say that Aelani, whom they do not know, is but an
impostor. My love, I must go with you."
So she went to the war, and was ever by Kaanaana's side, save at
meals, which their religion forbade. Although Ii was now dead,
Kaanaana did not seek to be Hiwa's husband, for he loved her too
unselfishly to wish her to demean herself, being goddess-born, by
marriage to a mortal. And she did not propose marriage to him, which
would have been her place by custom, she being the higher of rank,
because she would not involve him in the wrath of Ku. She counted the
coming days of suffering and battle as precious--every moment, because
they were spent with him, for she knew that as soon as they were over
she must leave him and die on the altar of Ku.
Aelani marched with elastic steps at the head of his little army. He
ate plain fish and _poi_ like the meanest soldier, drank tepid but
precious water as sparingly, and bore the withering midday heat of the
lava-flows and the cold night winds of the mountains as if they were
the eternal June of the lowlands. So also did Hiwa and Kaanaana,
knowing that where leaders share all hardships cheerfully their
followers do not lose heart.
On the evening of the second day they had crossed the mountains, and
were within half a dozen miles of Waipio. They could not take the
enemy entirely unawares, for those fleeing before them had carried the
news. Nor were they in a condition to fight that night, for they were
utterly exhausted. Nearly fifty had dropped of fatigue by the way, and
three, falling over a precipice, had been dashed to pieces on the
rocks a thousand feet below. The little army camped in a wood hard by
and slept till morning.
Hiwa slept two hours. Then she awoke Kaanaana with a kiss and said: "I
have wakened you, my love, that you might not awake later and miss me
from your side. I am going to the enemy. Our scouts, as you know,
report the gleam of spears on the heights of Kukuihaele. It is Kaaahu
and his thousand men come to the help of Aa. Our men are outnumbered
three to one, and so worn out they can hardly stand. Some of them are
dying of fatigue, and some have already died."
"And you, my love," interrupted Kaanaana, "will also die unless you
sleep this night."
"No," replied Hiwa, "I shall not die of fatigue, nor yet of
spear-thrust from mortal man. I shall live until our son is
unquestioned _moi_. A goddess gave me life, and only through a god
shall it be taken from me. My fate is unalterable. It is in the hands
of Ku. _Pau!_ My love, you know that your spearmen, exhausted as they
are, cannot fight two thousand men. They will be slaughtered like
swine in to-morrow's battle, and our cause will be lost unless I put
fresh fear in the hearts of the enemy."
Kaanaana made no further objection, knowing that her words were true,
and that, unless she succeeded in her mission, they must all die
together. When she had gone, although his heart was heavy on her
account, he turned over and slept soundly that he might have strength
for the morrow's battle. So Hiwa went forth and descended the heights
to the Waipio River, which, even at that distance from the sea, was
then deep enough for swimming. The water and the change of motion
greatly refreshed her bruised and bleeding feet and aching limbs. She
passed the hostile sentinels, swimming noiselessly under water, and
kept on down the river to the midst of Aa's army.
Then Aa's spearmen, sleeping on their arms, were awakened by a
well-known voice proceeding from the water, and it said:--"Listen! The
Spirit of Hiwa bids you save your lives. Why should you die? Behold,
the rightful _moi kane_, _Aelani_, The Pledge from Heaven, The Chosen
of the Gods, cometh to his own! Ku thundered at his birth, and the
rainbow covered him; therefore none shall be able to stand before him.
Yet he is just and merciful. He will slay those who are taken with
arms in their hands, fighting against him. He will spare those who
stand aloof. But Aa shall die a pig's death, and his bones shall be
put to shame."
Then Hiwa swam down-stream under water so softly that not a splash was
heard or a ripple seen, and an hour past midnight the same voice and
words were heard on the heights of Kukuihaele.
At dawn Kaanaana awoke and looked upon Hiwa sleeping at his side. She
was covered with blood, and great, ragged rents were torn in her
flesh, for she had slipped and fallen while descending from the
heights of Kukuihaele in the darkness of the night. Her eyes were
sunken, her face was gaunt with toil and pain, and she slept like one
dead. Kaanaana forbade all noise in that part of the camp, and made it
silent as the grave, so that Hiwa might sleep until the men were ready
to go forth to battle. Then he awoke her gently, and she arose and
took her place beside him at the head of the warriors, armed as a
warrior, and so she marched to the fight.