44 
more lke the thin poles of immature lance- 
woods than anything else—entirely unlike 
the = sturdy-looking cordylines of the 
south. Akerawa siding passed, we next 
reach ‘Towail, where a rush is made 
for a cup of tea. It is, however, not 
a refreshment station, and as the house 
where the tea is precurable is a good 
few yards away and the train stops 
for only a few minutes, there is some risk 
of not getting back to the carriages in time 
unless you are amongst those who are 
fortunate enough to be first served. Our 
little party are not among the fortunate 
ones, and a warning “All aboard!’’ causes 
a hasty laying down of cups and a dash for 
the train, We shortly afterwards reach 
Marowaku station, the meeting-place of 
the Russell and Whangarei trains, the sur- 
rounding ridges showing green beside flank- 
ings of manuka and bracken, At 5.30 the 
sun disappeared in the west, but there was 
nothing in the shape of an attractive sunset 
sky. The carriage lamos were lighted and 
as nothing more of the country was to be 
seen, I settled down to a quiet read of 
Colonel Quaritch, V.C., not, however, be- 
fore seeing a dim vista of tall raupo swamp. 
with blackened tree trunks here and there 
standing up grim and svectre-like in the 
evening light. 
We had a long wait at a small station— 
Opalii—and as the shadows lengthened and 
the darkness deepened the time passed with- 
out weariness as I turned over page after 
page of Rider Haggard’s critical analysis 
of the characteristics of Edward Cossey and 
the passionate regard for him of beautiful 
Belle Quest. But the wait came to an end 
with the finish of the shunting that had 
been proceeding since the train stopped, 
and with a shriek from the engine we 
proceeded on our way. 
I cannot tell my readers anything about 
the country we passed through in the dark- 
ness until Kawakawa, in the Bay of Islands 
County, was reached. Our car was removed 
from the truck which conveyed it to Kawa- 
kawa,. and was carefully looked over and put 
under cover until morning. We started im- 
mediately after breakfast, our objective for 
the day being Kaitaia, a rising town In 
