A CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2383, 26 December 1908, Page 4

A CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY.

(Bv “Dccrfoot.”)

“Oh! .there’s not much to do at all in this slow hole!” said young Dick Glover, with an impatient stamp of the foot. “I never found anywhere to go or anything to do on a holiday except wander about -the old town and count the flagstones on the footpaths. Anyhow, what say you to a trip to Picton for the regatta-'” “What’s the joy in Picton?” cried Billy Boon. Biliy had a particular “down” on Picton for some inexplicable reason, but we supposed he once was very thick with a Picton damsel who had since repented of her rashness and given him the “run.” Be that as it may, Picton was ruled out of the question for a holiday trip. “How about the Sunday School picnic on Boxing Day;-"’ timidly suggested Dick; “there’s heaps of fun to be got there. Rounders, fill the gap, dr-oi' liaiidkerchief, and so' on, to play with tlie girls.” "Oh, Dick! lam really ashamed of you for ever suggesting such a thing as a Sunday School picnic. We’re not kids now, and we _ don’t want .to appear such; and as for the girls—you know that I am positively afraid of a girl. I'm sure I would get no fun out of it,” said Charlie Frazer, who had charge of a school about twenty miles from Blenheim. ‘’No: I say let’s go for a pig-hunt. There’s whips of jxirk down at White’s Bay. Let’s go and bag some oi that.”

“Capital idea,” chirped the others. “You make all arrangements, Charlie, and we’ll go.” "Right oh! Meet you 4 a.m. at mv diggings, and off we go. So long.” • * * * *

Our destination was reached about 7 a.m., when, after crossing the shoulder of a hill, a delightfully pret_ ty bay opened to view. Formerly a. staff of opwators were stationed here to attend to the cable which lands here, but now the house presented a desolate appearance, and it is only when tlie cable goes wrong that the valley is again_jllled with laughter and song. \Ye were not long in getting to work oh the supply of food we had brought, and *after breakfast at once set out. at a sharp pace, into the bush, and set our finding dogs in motion. The dogs had been away for about fifteen minutes, so we sat down to rest till we should hear news of them. We were not destined to wait long. Away in tin*, bush a faint barking readied us, and every ear was doing its_ utmost to locate the spot, whic-li is by no means an.easy matter in heavily bushed country, where the gullies run at all angles and in all directions- However,-Charlie had been at the* game before—it is even whispered that he did more pig-hunting than school-teaching—and we set off at a trot, being careful to keep the "holders’’ to heel, and after climbing a pretty stiff ridge, caught sight cy our quarry. x Backed iuto a large tree* aud grinding a pair of beautiful tusks, was a fine specimen of the wild boar, but one glance was enough for him! and with a prolonged* grunting he broke away and charged furiously down bill through the fern aud undergrowth. After many a fall and many a bruise we came up with him again, and this time managed to got the "holders” at work. At a word from Charlie the two clogs .dashed in. each taking an ear, and holding on for their life. Hideous squeals now filled the gully and echoed and re-echoed from peak to peak, but poor piggy did not improve his position by his hideous noise. "Veil, Hoys," cried Charlie, "who's going to kill?” "1 will!” yelled little Biliv Boon, as he made ready his Snider, and cautiously began to get behind the liolsv brute for a shot. "Here! no shooting allowed!” cried die kid-spanker. "I said. "Who’s going to kill?” and the killer 'uses knife, not lead.” P°° r Billy subsided. Fancy little billy going up and cutting that boar's throat! \\ hv, the pig was as lar"o as he—almost. Mel!, volunteers having failed, tho eld hand had to perform'Yhe deed of blood.

Me hold our breath, fer we had never seen a pig killed in that way bet ore. As Charlie drew near we closed our eyes to shut out the sight (as wo thought) of him dying bleeding on the ground with the pig’s tusits goring his side4^ A sharp command go Lion, 10by! opened our eves just in time to see Charlie spring back, as the war made a sudden rush forward, galloped down the hill for a few > aids, but only a lew, for just at the foot of a huge tree we came upon the body of the dead animal, with a hunting knife in his throat. But though the story is so simply told, poor Charlie will carry the remembrance of that day while there is breath in his bodv, for on his arm is a jagged scar. In the struggle with the foe the infuriated beast "got to work with his tusk, and that Lead is to be seen to-day in Charlie’s study, and on the tusk is a dark stain—the blood of the killer.

W ell, to cut 51 long story short, wo traversed a good many miles through bush and over creeps, sometimes walking, but more often sliding, captured three more pigs, one of which Charlie again cruelly murdered in his ruthless fashion, and of the' other two Dick shot one and poor Billy the other. But Billy was no nervous that the first three shots did not take any effect beyond producing a grunt from the patient, long-suffering beast, and in the end Charlie had to knife him to put hnu out of pain,