,
Vincent. What is it?"

She held out the chain, and the explorer took it in his big brown hand.
He separated the image from the other charms with his forefinger, and
turned it over carelessly.

"That is a tiki," he said.

The explanation conveyed nothing to Caldew.

"I have never heard the word before," he said. "What is a tiki?"

"It is the Maori word for the creator of man, and is also taken to
represent an ancestor," Musard explained. "The Maoris are to some extent
ancestor worshippers, and adorn their pahs and temples with large wooden
images of immense size, supposed to represent some renowned fighting
ancestor. These images are worshipped as gods, and are believed to be
visited by the spirits, who ascend to converse with them by the hollow
roots of a pohutukawa tree, which descends into the Maori nether
regions. The smaller tikis, or, more strictly speaking, hei-tiki, such
as this, are carved as representations in miniature of the larger
images, and are worn as neck ornaments. They are supposed to render the
wearer immune from the wicked designs of evil spirits."

"From what material are they carved?" said Caldew, who had followed this
explanation attentively. "I have never seen anything resembling it. It
seems as clear and colourless as glass, but it emits a faint greenish
lustre, and there are black flecks in it."

"It is nephrite, or Maori greenstone," replied Musard. "London jewellers
term it New Zealand jade."

"Surely this stone is not jade?" said Caldew, in some surprise. "I have
seen New Zealand jade ornaments in London shops, but they were made from
a dull deep greenstone, not a bit like this stone, which is clear as
crystal, and has a lustre."

"There are different sorts of jade," replied Musard. "The present craze
of Society women is for Chinese pink jade and tourmalin. A good pink
jade necklace will readily bring a thousand pounds in Bond Street, and
it is going to be the fashionable jewel of the season. New Zealand
nephrite has not yet come into popular favour with English ladies, and
only the commoner dark green variety, which is frequently spurious, is
seen here. This image was made of the rarer kind of pounamu, as the
Maoris call it."

"It is very pretty," said Caldew. "Have you any more of it?" He
flattered himself that the assumption of carelessness in his tone was
not overdone.

"No," replied Musard. "It was the only piece of the rare kind I was ever
lucky enough to obtain."

"