61 
and ecmplete the tour so rudely interrupted 
by the disaster to our car, On this under- 
standing we embarked that evening on the 
Wairoa and ran smoothly down to Helens- 
ville, passing deserted wharves, where once 
scores of schooners lay waiting their turn to 
load the precious kauri. All were tired alter 
the long run in the fresh air, and quickly 
found sleep in the comfortable deck cabins 
of the Wairoa; perhaps, before sleep over- 
took us, some of us had a vision of the 
future not so far distant—when these 
crumbling wharves would again be crowded, 
not with schooners feeding on the quick 
destruction of the, kauri forests, but with 
liners loading the steadily increasing pro- 
duct of the dairy herds of this rich district. 
CS, DZS 
