The Luminaries

slowly. ‘But before they arrived, I saw one man on foot.’
    ‘One man alone—well! You’re all right, aren’t you, Ted?’ said Balfour, suddenly very excited. ‘Yes—by golly, you’re all right!’
    ‘I was not alarmed,’ Tauwhare continued, ‘because I did not know that Crosbie Wells died that night. I did not know he was dead until the morning.’
    ‘One man—entering the cottage, alone!’ said Balfour. He began to pace. ‘And
before
Lauderback!
Before
Lauderback arrives!’
    ‘Do you wish to know his name?’
    Balfour wheeled on his foot. ‘You know who it was?’ He was almost shouting. ‘Yes, good Lord! Tell me!’
    ‘We will trade,’ said Tauwhare immediately. ‘I will set my price; you will counter. One pound.’
    ‘Trade?’ said Balfour.
    ‘One pound,’ said Tauwhare.
    ‘Hang tight,’ said Balfour. ‘You saw a man go into Wells’s cottage on the day of his death—the very day of his death, two weeks ago? You really saw somebody do that? And you know—without a shadow of a doubt—who that man was?’
    ‘I know the name,’ said Tauwhare. ‘I know the man. No cheating.’
    ‘No cheating,’ agreed Balfour. ‘But before I pay—I want to make sure that you do really know him, you see. I want to make sure you’re not taking me for a ride. Big man, was it? Very dark hair?’
    Tauwhare folded his arms. ‘Fair play,’ he said. ‘No cheating.’
    ‘Of course it’s fair play,’ said Balfour. ‘Of course it is.’
    ‘We will trade. I have set my price at one pound. Now you counter.’
    ‘Heavy—was he heavy? Thick-set? I’m just making sure, you see. I’m making sure you’re on the level. Then I’ll start trading.
You
might be cheating
me
.’
    ‘One pound,’ said Tauwhare stubbornly.
    ‘It was Francis Carver, wasn’t it, Ted? Isn’t that right? It was Francis Carver—the sea captain? Captain Carver?’
    Balfour was guessing—but it was a good guess. A wounded look passed over Tauwhare’s face, and he exhaled audibly.
    ‘I said no cheating,’ he said, in a tone of reproof.
    ‘I wasn’t cheating, Ted,’ said Balfour. ‘I just knew it already, you see. I’d only forgotten. Of course Carver made a trip up to Crosbie Wells’s cottage that day. That was him, wasn’t it—Captain Carver, the man you saw? You can tell me—it’s not a secret, because I already know.’
    He searched the man’s face, making sure.
    Tauwhare’s jaw was rigidly set. Under his breath he muttered, ‘
Ki
te tuohu koe, me maunga teitei.’
    ‘Well, Ted, you’ve done me a d—ned good turn here, and I won’t forget it,’ said Balfour. By now he was thoroughly saturated. ‘And you know—if I ever need something done, I’ll come to you, won’t I? And you’ll get your coin some other way.’
    Tauwhare lifted his chin. ‘You need Maori,’ he said. He did not phrase it as a question. ‘You need Maori, you come to me. I do not do odd jobs. But you need language, and I will teach you many things.’
    He did not mention that his skill was as a carver. He had never sold
pounamu.
He would not sell
pounamu.
For one could not put a price upon a treasure, just as one could not purchase
mana,
and one could not make a bargain with a god. Gold was not a treasure—this Tauwhare knew. Gold was like all capital in that it had no memory: its drift was always onward, away from the past.
    ‘All right—but you’ll shake, won’t you?’ Balfour seized Tauwhare’s dry hand in his wet one, and shook it vigorously. ‘There’s a good man, Ted—there’s a good man.’
    But Tauwhare was still looking severely displeased, and he withdrew his hand from Balfour’s grip as soon as he was able. Balfour felt a twinge of regret. It would not do to make an enemy of the fellow—not with so much of this business yet unsolved, he thought. There was a chance that Tauwhare’s testimony might have to be called upon at a later time; there was a chance that he knew somethingabout the relations, whatever they were, between Crosbie Wells and Francis Carver—or between those two men and Lauderback, come to think of it. Yes: it would be useful, to keep the man appeased. Balfour reached into his pocket. Surely he had something small, some token. They were fond of tokens. His fingers found a shilling and a sixpence. He pulled the sixpence out.
    ‘Here,’ he said. ‘You can have this, if you tell me some Maori. Just like you taught Crosbie Wells. Eh, Ted? Then we’ll have done business, just as you