Vizetelly’s One Volume Novels.
XXX.
BABOE DALIMA;
OR,
THE OPIUM FIEND.
BY
T. H. PERELAER
TRANSLATED FROM THE DUTCH BY THE
Rev. E. J. VENNING, M.A.
LONDON:
VIZETELLY & CO., 16 HENRIETTA STREET,
COVENT GARDEN.
1888.
BABOE DALIMA;
OR, THE OPIUM FIEND.
CHAPTER I.
AT MOEARA TJATJING.
It was a terrible night in February 188–.
A violent storm from the north-west was raging along the northern coast of Java. The wind howled and roared as though a legion of fiends were holding Sabbath in the black mass of clouds which were driving along.
The waves of the Java sea were running mountain high, and came curling into the beach in monstrous billows topped with mighty crests of dazzling foam. These crests were brightly phosphorescent, and each breaker, as it came rolling in, for an instant shed a pale fantastic shower of sparks upon the black seething waters, leaving, the next instant, the blackness darker than before. The sea-coast on which our story opens formed here, as in so many other places in Java, an extensive marsh, the slimy clay of which the influence of the tropical sun had clothed with a most curious kind of vegetation.
Had it been day, the eye, as far as it could reach, would have rested upon thousands upon thousands of tree-tops, closely packed together, and rising about thirty feet from the soil. The stems of these trees did not reach the ground, but rested on knotty roots, which, like arches, grew out of the earth. These roots were divided, branching out in all directions, so that the trees might be likened to many-footed creatures, the supports or legs of each of which crossed and recrossed with those of its neighbour. Thus looking along the ground might be seen a kind of tangled network under a thick canopy of green, and that network again was entwined with gigantic creepers, hanging in festoons from the singular archways and climbing upwards into the tops of the trees.
By daylight, between those myriads of twisted roots forming, as it were, a gigantic labyrinth, there might have been seen a swarming mass of living things, unsightly and loathsome, which would have filled the beholder with wonder and disgust.
There, among thousands of other living beings, lay the sluggish alligator glaring at its prey with fixed and stony eye. There countless tortoises and “Mimis” were crawling and darting about in quest of food. There swarmed monstrous crabs and shrimps of all kinds, varying in size from that of the largest lobster to the almost microscopical sea-spider. All these in millions were wriggling in the filthy ooze which was formed of the detritus of this singular mangrove forest. In the mud which clung about the roots, these hideous creatures lived and teemed, not perhaps in a state of perfect concord, yet maintaining an armed kind of peace which did not prevent them from becoming allies whenever some unhappy victim, whose luckless star had cast upon that shore, had to be overpowered.
Close by the narrow strip of land, where, not only in storms but in all weathers, land and water seemed to strive for the mastery, there stood a small hut hidden away completely among a clump of “Saoe” trees. These trees grew there, the only ones of their kind amidst the gloomy forest of mangrove.
Surrounded by the dense foliage as by an impenetrable wall, the hut was completely invisible from the land. On the other side it commanded a wide view of the sea; but even there it was screened from observation by its position among the leaves.
We called it a hut,—it was, indeed, little more than a large sentry box, and it, most appropriately, bore the name of “djaga monjet” or monkey-perch. It was put together in a very primitive fashion, and was covered with “Kadjang” mats and “attaps,” both of these rough building materials obtained from the Nipah palm.
The “djaga monjet” was built in the morass on piles which raised it some considerable distance from the ground. Thus the waves which now and then threatened to swallow up the fore-shore altogether, could freely wash about under it, and break and divide against the firmly driven stakes. The trunk of a tree, with some rough steps clumsily cut into it, served as a ladder and gave access to the hut which, at the time this tale begins, was wrapped in the deepest darkness, but which yet was not tenantless.
Two voices might have been heard issuing from the doorway. The speakers fancied they were talking in a confidential whisper; but the blustering of the storm had gradually led them on to raise their voices, so that now they were yelling at each other rather than conversing.
That, however, was of very little consequence. At such an hour, and in such fearful weather, no human being would have dreamed of prowling about there. The most zealous coastguard’s man would have declined that duty.
The men in the hut were talking in Malay, but they might, without difficulty, have been recognised for Chinamen. Their guttural pronunciation, the difficulty with which they sounded the letter “r,” which with them indeed was spoken as “l,” and a certain lisping, weakly, altogether most unpleasant accent, put the matter beyond doubt.
Yes, they were two Chinamen who, sitting in that little watch-house, were eagerly, in the pitch dark night, scanning the angry sea before them.
“No,” said one of them, after a considerable interval of silence—“No, there is nothing whatever to be seen. In such weather, it would be simply tempting fate. You may be quite sure that the Kiem Ping Hin is snugly lying at anchor at Poeloe Karabab. She would never think of starting in such a storm.”
“You may be right,” replied the other, “but the master’s orders were most positive. We are posted here on purpose to help the men of the Kiem Ping Hin to get their cargo safe ashore.”
“That is true enough, Than Khan, and we shall get our pay, I daresay; but, for all that, you cannot deny that she cannot possibly come in to-night. Just hark how the wind howls, hear how the breakers roar—our perch is shaking like a reed. How would you like to be out on such a night as this?”
“I,” cried Than Khan, “not for all the money in the world. But still we know the old Arab Awal Boep Said—he is a tough old sea-dog, and no weather will—”
“Look out!” cried the other; “there, just there! You see that big curling wave yonder! Look, you can just see it by the light of the foam. Yes, by Kong! A ‘djoekoeng!’ ”
“You are right, Liem King,” replied Than Khan, “it is a ‘djoekoeng’ ” (a boat made of a hollowed tree-stem). “There were two persons in her, both Javanese—I fancied a man and a woman.”
“Yes,” said Liem King; “the man was rowing hard, the woman seemed frightened, she had her hands up to her face.”
“The ‘djoekoeng,’ ” shouted Than Khan, “was heading for the shore; but she can never get through the breakers.”
“I am not so sure of that,” replied Liem King. “She was making straight for Moeara Tjatjing, if she can only keep that course, she may pull through.”
“Why,” said Than Khan, “in such a sea as this, no boat can live, she must be swamped. A rare feast for the boajas, eh?”
“That ‘djoekoeng,’ ” said Liem King, “will get through safe enough. I made her out to be a surf boat, and you know it takes a good deal to upset them.”
“No doubt,” said Than Khan, “for all that, I am glad enough I am not in her.”
“Look out,” shouted the other. “Look, there she is again, yes, she is making for the Moeara. If she can get behind the ‘bow-nets’ she is safe enough.”
“If she can get under the lee of the bow-nets, perhaps, but, but—”
“Another boat,” exclaimed Liem King. “There are white men in her.”
The words were no sooner uttered than two, three, four sharp reports were heard. They were rifle-shots fired from the boat, upon the occupants of the “djoekoeng.” With what result who could tell? For a single instant only, the faint gleam of some gigantic breaker had revealed the two boats to the pair of spies. The next moment all was deep darkness again, and, gaze as intently as they would, not even their sharp eyes could discover anything further.
Thus a quarter of an hour passed away, when suddenly Than Khan exclaimed, “A steamer!”
Sure enough, far out at sea, shone the well-known green and red lights, and, high above them, the white light at the mast-head.
“The guard-ship!” cried Liem King.
“No doubt of it,” said the other, “it must be the Matamata. Well, all I can say is that if the Kiem Ping Hin has left her anchorage she is not showing any lights; she has got away safe enough by this time.”
“Come, I think we may be off home to the Kampong; no smugglers will come ashore to-night, you may be sure.”
For a while longer did the two Celestials keep watching the steamer’s movements. First she showed her three lights plainly enough, she was therefore making straight for the land. After a time, however, all of a sudden, her green light disappeared, leaving for a while the red light only visible. Presently that also went out and only the white top-mast light remained visible, and, as it seemed stationary, our Chinamen concluded that the steamer had anchored or was perhaps moving with her head to the wind.
Said Than Khan at length, “It is no use staying here; while that cursed Matamata is about they will not be able to get anything ashore. Come, let us be going.”
“All right,” replied Liem King; “but I vote we first go and have a look at the Tjatjing, we may just possibly get to know something about the ‘djoekoeng.’ ”
So our two worthies clambered down the rough log which, as we have shown, stood as a ladder against the hut; the wind howling, meanwhile, as furiously as ever.
In a few steps they came upon a kind of pathway for which they had to grope with their feet in the deep darkness. They found it; and as every now and then a wave would come washing over it, the two Chinamen had to splash on in the brine. That, however, did not greatly interfere with their progress. They knew the road well, and even had the weather been rougher, they would have got along without much hesitation. They had, in fact, not very far to go. In a few minutes they reached the small river Tjatjing which close by emptied itself into the Java Sea.
At the spot where the Chinamen came upon the stream it made a kind of bend or elbow as if, just before losing itself in the ocean, it had thought better of it and was trying to retrace its course. At that bend the mangrove roots retired a little from the shore, leaving a pretty wide open space from which the prospect over the river would have been quite clear; but the darkness was so intense that even Than Khan’s ferret eyes could make out nothing.
“If the ‘djoekoeng’ has reached the Moeara at all,” roared Than Khan in the ear of his companion, “she must have come ashore here. They cannot possibly have got her further up the Tjatjing, there is not water enough and the marsh-weed completely chokes it up.”
“Hush,” said Liem King; “I hear something.”
He was right. In spite of the awful noise of the tempest a low moaning sound could just be heard.
Both pricked their ears, took their bearings; and softly, with stealthy tread they sneaked forward in the direction of the sound. Presently, they almost stumbled over a boat which lay on the beach with its stern half under water.
“The ‘djoekoeng,’ ” muttered Than Khan.
Directed by the moaning sound they groped along the boat which was but a hollowed tree. Its bamboo sail-wings were lying close by smashed all to pieces by the wind and water; and a few steps further on they discovered two human beings lying prostrate in the rank grass.
“Who is there?” called Liem King as he cautiously drew nearer.
“It is I,” replied a very feeble voice in answer to the challenge.
“I? who is I?” asked the Chinaman.
“I, Ardjan,” was the answer.
“What?” cried Liem King, “Ardjan of the Kiem Ping Hin.”
A faint cry at these words issued from the lips of one of the castaways.
“Silence,” whispered the other Chinaman.
Both then bent forward over the figure which had given the name of Ardjan; but in that thick darkness it was impossible to distinguish anything.
One of them pulled a dark lantern out of his pocket, struck a match and, with some trouble, managed to procure a light. As soon as he had recognised the features he cried out:
“By ——! it is Ardjan! What in the world are you doing here?”
“I have fallen overboard,” was the reply.
“Indeed you have? with that ‘djoekoeng?’ ” sneered Liem King.
“I found her in the water as I was swimming about,” was the reply.
“And that woman?” continued Liem King; “how about her? Did you pick her up also floating about? Who is she?”
“She is Moenah, my sister,” faintly said Ardjan.
“Ah! your sister,” exclaimed Than Khan with a low, dirty laugh. “I daresay she also managed to tumble overboard?”
With these words he threw the light of the lantern full on the face of the so-called sister. The uncertain gleam revealed the well-shaped form of a beautiful Javanese maiden of sixteen who, in her confusion, strove to conceal her face under a veil, which, like all the rest of her clothing, was dripping wet.
“Hallo!” cried Than Khan as he roughly tore the veil from the girl’s face, “what have we here? Dalima! the little ‘baboe’ of His Excellency the Resident.”
At these words the maiden cowered down in the most abject terror. The two Chinamen exchanged a few hasty words in whispers in which the name Lim Ho could be distinguished. That name seemed to have an extraordinary effect upon the poor girl. When she heard it her face became the very picture of terror.
This Lim Ho was one of the sons of the great opium farmer at Santjoemeh and the man was madly in love with the poor little Javanese girl. He had offered her large sums of money, he had tempted her with costly gifts, but all in vain. He had addressed himself to her father, a poor peasant in the “dessa” of Kaligaweh close by the principal township, again without success. Then the wretch had sworn that, at any price, the girl should be his, even if to possess her he might have to commit a crime. He was a kind of scoundrel who would stick at nothing.
At the mention of that hateful name the girl recoiled and shrunk together in terror. She knew the man, and now she also knew the two rascals into whose power she had thus been thrown.
The two Chinamen kept on whispering to each other; they spoke in Chinese of which language neither Ardjan nor Dalima knew a single word.
Before, however, the former had time to collect his thoughts or his energies, the scoundrels were upon him. They tied up his hands and feet with a thin rope which Liem King drew out of the capacious pocket of his baggy trousers. Before he had time to defend himself Ardjan found himself helpless, tied up in the shape of a hoop. But even had there been time to resist, the poor fellow could have done nothing. He was quite unarmed, he had not had time even to snatch up his dagger-knife, and the frightful exertion of rowing the “djoekoeng” through the breakers had so completely fagged him out, that, when the men came upon him, he was lying panting for breath on the beach and quite incapable of further exertion. The low moaning sound which had guided the Chinamen to him was the sound of his gasping and panting for breath as he lay on the shore.
Having firmly secured Ardjan, the Chinamen took hold of Dalima and pinioned her also, ordering her to keep perfectly quiet and threatening to kill her should she disobey.
It was a good thing for Dalima that her captors could not see the expression on her face as they uttered their threatening warning. There passed over the girl’s features an expression of contempt which would have given them food for reflection; and might have induced them to make quite sure of their fair prisoner. But of this they saw nothing, and, thinking the girl safe enough, they turned to her companion. His arms were tied behind him and fastened to his feet which had also been tightly bound. Liem King now took up a stout bamboo stick which had formed part of the rigging of the surf boat, and having passed it under Ardjan’s arms they each took hold of one end of the bamboo, and put it on their shoulders, and then, with their living burden thus helplessly dangling between them they ran at a slow trot up the path, along which, a few minutes before, they had groped their way. At every jolt the poor Javanese uttered a cry of anguish. It was torture indeed that they made Ardjan endure. The whole weight of his body, bent in the most constrained attitude, was bearing upon his arms, and the whippy motion of the pliable stick made every movement almost unendurable as the Chinamen jogged slowly along. The bones of the arms upon which, as a sack, the entire body was hanging seemed at every moment about to snap, and the limbs felt as if every jog must wrench them from their sockets.
But neither Liem King nor Than Khan paid the slightest heed to Ardjan’s shrieks, they kept quietly trotting along. In vain did the wretched man entreat them to kill him and so put him out of the misery he was enduring. In vain, seeing his prayers unheeded, did he hurl the most offensive epithets at the heads of his tormentors, hoping thus to provoke them to rage and goad them on to take summary vengeance. To all Ardjan’s entreaties and insults, the Chinamen replied only with derisive laughter, and the “Aso tjina” (Chinese dog) repeated again and again, Than Khan, who had one hand free, repaid with a tremendous blow with his fist, the effect of which was only to increase the agony of the sufferer.
In a few minutes, however, which to Ardjan seemed an age of torture, the “djaga monjet” was reached. The ropes which tied Ardjan’s feet were then untied, leaving his arms only closely pinioned. The Chinamen then ordered him to climb up the rough steps and enforced their command by pricking him with the points of their daggers. The Javanese knew well that the faintest show of resistance might cost him his life, and now that the torture of dangling on the bamboo was no longer felt, he began to take a more cheerful view of life. So he passively did as he was told, and in a few moments he was at the top and inside the hut. There the two brutes once again tied him up securely, and, in order to make even an effort of flight impossible, they fastened his hands tightly on his chest and forced the bamboo cane through the bend of the elbows which were sticking out behind his back. Thus trussed up, as it were, the least movement on the part of Ardjan occasioned the most unbearable pain to his bruised and swollen limbs. Then, they laid him down on his back on the floor of the hut, and to make assurance doubly sure, they lashed him to one of the principal posts of the small building.
Having made all safe, the Chinamen went off to fetch Dalima. What they intended to do with the girl was a matter of dispute between them. Liem King proposed that they should settle by a cast of the dice which of them should possess her; but Than Khan, who was of a more practical and covetous turn of mind, explained to his companion that a good round sum of money might be got out of the son of the rich opium farmer if they delivered her into his hands. They were still debating the question when they reached the Tjatjing, where they had left their victim lying on the grass. There they soon found out that they need not have argued the matter at all; for though they searched the whole place with the utmost minuteness, they could find no trace of Dalima. Yes, they did find a trace; for behind a clump of undergrowth close to the spot where they had left the girl, they discovered the coil of rope with which they had bound her. She had, evidently, somehow or other found means to get her wrists to her mouth, and had succeeded in gnawing through the cords. Once her hands were free it was mere child’s play to untie her feet and legs.
“Devil take her!” exclaimed Liem King, “that tit-bit is lost to us.”
“Indeed she is,” sighed Than Khan; “we have allowed a nice little sum to slip through our fingers. Lim Ho would have paid well for her.”
“Now, I think,” said Liem King, “the best thing will be not to breathe a word about her to the Company.”
“Oh, of course, not a single word,” assented Than Khan; “now that she has got away that would be most dangerous.”
“But what,” asked the other, “had we better do now with Ardjan? I think we had better let him go, too. He is sure to let out all about Dalima.”
“No fear,” rejoined Than Khan, “he won’t dare to do that. Should he utter a single word about the girl Lim Ho would have him clubbed to death.”
“Well,” said Liem King, pensively, “for all that I think the safest plan is to let him go.”
“H’m,” said the other, “why so? You know as well as I do that he ought to be on board the Kiem Ping Hin. Now, how on earth did he manage to get here in that ‘djoekoeng?’ Take my word for it, there is some mystery about that. Very likely it may be important to the Company to get to the bottom of that. Ah,” added he, with a deep sigh of disappointment, “I only wish we had tied up that wretched girl a little more securely.”
“Oh, no, don’t say so!” cried Liem King, “you would have bruised those darling little wrists and dainty ankles.”
“Bah!” cried Than Khan. “What nonsense, I wish we had her here; now she is off. Where can she have got to?”
“Yes,” replied Liem King, “that is the question, where to look for her. But come along, let us hurry back or else we may find the other bird flown too. There is something, you know, that tells me we have made a good catch in him.”
So the two rascals got back to the hut, and found Ardjan lying there quietly enough, just as they left him. He had not been able to stir hand or foot. As soon as he saw that the Chinamen came back alone his eye brightened.
“Where is Dalima?” he exclaimed, most anxiously.
The Chinamen made no answer.
“Has she got away?” he asked again.
Than Khan shook his head. It was enough, there was something so doleful in that gesture that Ardjan did not, for a moment, doubt. Dalima had escaped. Now he could breathe more freely. If only he had been equally fortunate. He had tried all he could to get rid of these accursed ropes; but, alas! his arms hurt him so frightfully he thought they were broken, and he had to give up the attempt in despair. Where might the dear girl be now? He felt but little anxiety on that score. She had managed, perhaps, to run to Kaligaweh, where her parents lived—the distance was not great—she must, by this time, be close to the dessa. Perhaps, she had taken the way to Santjoemeh, where lived the family of the Resident, as she was in his service as nurse. In that case, she would have a long journey before her, and she could not reach it before daybreak. If only then she could at once tell her whole story—then, yes, who knows, then he might even yet be rescued.
But all such reflections were roughly interrupted by Liem King, who asked him, “Where did you come from on so wild a night as this?”
“I?” said Ardjan, “why, I have come from Santjoemeh, to be sure. I intended to take Dalima to her father at Kaligaweh. The nor’-wester drove us out to sea, I rowed with might and main to get to the Moeara Tjatjing.”
“What do you mean?” grinned Than Khan. “What business had you at the Moeara? Oh, now I see, you wanted, no doubt, to pay us a visit here! That is it—is it not?”
Ardjan trembled inwardly; but he replied calmly enough:
“I could not get as far as Sepoetran, and found myself drifting out to sea, so I was compelled to make for the nearest land.”
“But they have been after you,” exclaimed Than Khan. “You have been fired at.”
“So I have,” said Ardjan. “It must have been a boat of that wretched Matamata, they must have taken me for a smuggler.”
“Have you any stuff with you?” asked Than Khan. There was no reply to that question. Had these Chinamen known in what position he really was, they never would have asked him such a question as that.
“But,” continued Liem King, “you are mate of the Kiem Ping Hin. How is it you are not on board of her?”
For a moment the Javanese did not know what to answer, then he said:
“Captain Awal Boep Said has given me leave to spend two days on shore.”
“You go and tell your grandmother that tale, it won’t do for us. What! just at this time, when there is so much work on hand?” cried Than Khan.
“Well,” said Ardjan, “it is true, nevertheless.”
“Very good,” replied Than Khan, “the Company will soon get to know all about that.”
After these words there was silence.
The Chinamen wrapped themselves up in a kind of rug or mat, and sat down cross-legged on the floor, with their heads bent forwards on their breast, and thus they seemed to be falling into a doze. Ardjan, still fastened up in the most painful way to the bamboo stick, had to lie on his back. It was pitch dark in the hut; the door and the shutters were closed to exclude, as much as possible, the cold morning air. But, when every now and then the Javanese turned his head to the right or left, he could, through the chinks of the lath floor, see that day was breaking. A greyish light began to appear under the hut, and thus Ardjan could see the filthy mud in which a number of crawling things, such as sea-eels, marsh-snakes, iguanas, and water-lizards were swarming. They were in quest of the miscellaneous offal which they were wont to find under the “djaga monjet.”
For a while all was quiet, when suddenly the report of a gun shook the hut. The sound startled both the Chinamen to their feet. It was evidently a signal. Than Khan rushed to the door, and threw it open. It was then broad daylight, the sun was just about to rise, and was bathing the eastern horizon in a flood of the richest purple.
CHAPTER II.
IN THE DJAGA MONJET.
For a moment or two, Than Khan stood rubbing his eyes, the sudden glare of light almost blinded him after the darkness of the hut. As soon as he became somewhat accustomed to the morning light, he perceived that a great change had taken place in nature. The wind which had been howling so dismally all night long had now fallen considerably, and the thick black clouds were breaking up, while patches of clear blue sky were becoming visible on all sides. The eastern horizon was perfectly cloudless, and the sun rising in full glory was bathing all he touched in the purest gold. It was a magnificent spectacle, certainly, that morning of calm after the night of storm; but neither Than Khan nor his companion seemed to pay the slightest heed to these beauties of nature. The two Celestials were not troubling their minds about the sun; they were eagerly scanning the surface of the sea, and that not for the purpose of admiring the stately roll of the long breakers; they were looking out for something quite different.
Yonder, at a considerable distance from the shore, they could just see a ship dancing on the waves. They could make her out with the naked eye to be a schooner-brig, which, under shortened sail, was lying close to the wind, and was evidently purposely keeping away from the land. She had some kind of signal flying; but what it was they could not make out. Liem King then produced a ship’s telescope, which was kept stowed away under the “attaps” in a corner of the roof, and which had long since lost its original colour, being thickly covered with a coating of dirt and dust.
The Chinaman handled the glass as one who was familiar with its use, and, after looking for awhile, he turned to his mate, and said: “The letters T.F.N.W. on a red ground. That must be the Kiem Ping Hin. She ought to have come in last night, and—”
“She is trying to anchor, I suppose,” said Than Khan.
“No, she is not,” replied Liem King; “she is only trying to keep out of the smuggling radius.”
“Well,” cried Than Khan, “that’s cool enough anyhow. Why! only last night we had the Matamata here.”
“Why,” said the other, “she is safe enough. Where she is now lying the steamer could not get at her, and, what’s more, she is flying the British ensign. Under those colours no one will dare to meddle with her. The Dutch are frightened to death of the English.”
After looking through his glass at the schooner for a few moments longer Liem King exclaimed: “They are lowering the boat!”
“Then one of us,” said Than Khan, “will have to run to the landing place at the Tjatjing.”
“Very well, you go,” said Liem King.
“No, you,” said the other.
“Why should we not both go together?” asked Liem King.
“Certainly not,” rejoined Than Khan. “Would you,” he asked as he pointed to Ardjan, “leave this fellow here alone and unwatched?”
“Perhaps you are right,” assented the other, “let us toss up for it.”
“All right,” replied Than Khan, “I don’t mind.”
One of them then produced some white pebbles about the size of beans among which there were a few black ones. With a certain amount of dexterity he flung them upon a wooden board which seemed made for the purpose. Liem King counted the throw to see how many black ones were lying together.
It was Than Khan’s turn next.
“I have won,” he exclaimed. “You see I have seven black together. You had but five.”
“Very good,” said Liem King. “I shall go.”
“But mind,” said the other, “not a word about Dalima!”
“You trust me,” was the answer.
A strange scornful smile passed over Ardjan’s features.
Than Khan sat down cross-legged in the doorway of the hut, placing himself in such a manner that while he had a clear view of the bay before him, he could at the same time watch every movement Ardjan might attempt to make.
Not a single action on board the schooner escaped the Chinaman’s watchful eye.
He saw the smuggler lower her boat, he then saw five or six Chinese get into her. The little craft, rowed by a Javanese crew, then put off and got under weigh. It soon got into the seething breakers and as Than Khan watched the tremendous exertions of the rowers, he could not help admiring the cool steady way in which the helmsman kept her head firmly to the waves.
“That must be Lim Ho himself,” he muttered.
Ardjan shuddered at the mention of that name. “Lim Ho!” he exclaimed, his voice betraying his terror.
“Yes,” said Than Khan, “in a few minutes they will all be here.”
Just then the boat was getting into the Moeara. He was right, the light craft manned by eight stout rowers was flying through the water and had got clear of the dangerous surf.
Once under the lee of the bow-nets and fairly in the bay, the boat was in comparatively smooth water and darted into the mouth of the Tjatjing.
Liem King stood at the landing place waiting to receive his countrymen and he began at once to lead the way to the little watch-house.
The five Chinamen had no sooner stepped ashore than the Javanese crew began to make all possible haste to unload the boat.
A number of small tins and barrels lay piled up in the bottom and these they brought to land and most carefully stowed away, hiding them in the sand under the bushes which grew hard by.
“Jolly stuff that black butter,” said one of the fellows, as he pointed to the barrels.
The small casks looked as if they had just come out of some Dutch farmhouse. They were all sealed with green wax and bore the well-known stamp of Van der Leeuw.
“I wish I could get hold of a couple of taël of that butter,” said another of the crew with a laugh.
“Well,” said another, “you can be off presently to the opium den of Babah Tjoa Tjong Ling and there you can get as much as you like of it. You will find it easy enough to get rid of your hardly earned wages.”
In a few minutes all the tins and barrels were safely stowed away and then the Javanese crew followed the steps of their Chinese masters to the “djaga monjet.”
When the five Chinamen had entered the little hut, the examination of Ardjan, who was still lying on the floor in the same painful position, was commenced at once.
On the way to the hut Liem King had told his master as much as he deemed prudent about Ardjan’s capture; but not a word did he breathe about Dalima.
Lim Ho listened with attention to his report. This Lim Ho was a tall, powerfully-built Chinaman. He was the chief of that band of smugglers, about five-and-twenty years of age. He had a wan yellow complexion, and a false, evil look in his slanting eyes.
When he heard it was Ardjan, the mate, who had been caught, he could not repress a smile of satisfaction.
As soon as Liem King had made his report, he asked in a tone of assumed indifference:
“Was the fellow alone when you came upon him?”
“Oh yes, quite alone,” readily replied Liem King.
Lim Ho showed that he was greatly disappointed at the news.
“He came ashore in a ‘djoekoeng,’ I think you told me?” he asked.
“He did, sir,” replied Liem King.
“Could the ‘djoekoeng’ have turned over at sea?” continued Lim Ho.
“Very likely,” replied the wily Chinaman.
“When Than Khan and myself found the ‘djoekoeng,’ ” he continued, “Ardjan was lying exhausted and wet through on the beach—he looked as if he had been washing about in the water, and the bamboos of the rigging were smashed to pieces.”
“All right,” said Lim Ho superciliously, “we shall hear all about that presently.”
As he entered the hut, he did not deign so much as to cast a look at Ardjan; but abruptly asked him:
“What made you run away?”
“I was homesick,” was the reply, “I was heartily sick of the ship and wanted to get back to the ‘dessa.’ ”
“Indeed!” sneered Lim Ho. “And that was the reason, I suppose, why you took Dalima with you?”
Ardjan kept silence; Liem King and Than Khan were growing as pale as death.
“Where was the girl drowned?” suddenly asked Lim Ho.
“Drowned,” shouted Ardjan, “you say drowned. Have they drowned her, then?”
“Have they drowned her?” said Lim Ho in a mocking tone of voice. “Was not the ‘djoekoeng’ upset when the pair of you tried to run away in her? Where did that take place? perhaps Dalima may somehow have been able to get out.”
“Able to get out,” repeated Ardjan. “But the ‘djoekoeng’ did not turn over at all,” he exclaimed. “We both of us got ashore. She was terribly frightened at the storm to be sure, but quite unhurt, and I was completely exhausted with rowing.”
“But,” roared Lim Ho, “what has become of her, then?”
“That, I cannot tell you,” replied Ardjan, “you must ask Liem King and Than Khan.”
These two worthies stood trembling with apprehension.
“Did you fellows hear that?” shouted Lim Ho in a towering passion. “Did you hear that? I am waiting for you—what is your answer?”
“I do not know what has become of the girl,” stammered Than Khan.
“She has, very likely, been devoured by a crocodile, for all I know,” added Liem King.
“Did she get to land? Yes or no?” roared Lim Ho, while in his impatience he stamped about the little hut, shaking it to its foundations.
“She did,” replied Ardjan. “Those two scoundrels first tied me up, and then they bound Dalima’s arms and legs. They brought me in here, and after that they went out in quest of Dalima. But all I know is they came back without her.”
Lim Ho’s piercing eyes were watching the two Chinamen as Ardjan was speaking.
“I have no doubt,” Liem King again ventured to say, “that some crocodile has carried her off.”
“Or maybe,” said Than Khan, “a tiger has got hold of her.”
Lim Ho applied a small whistle to his lips. He blew a shrill piercing note, and at the summons one of the Javanese crew at once presented himself at the door of the hut.
“Call your mates,” ordered Lim Ho. In an instant the whole boat’s crew was present.
“Tie me up those scoundrels,” cried Lim Ho, “make them fast,” he said, as he pointed to Liem King and Than Khan. “Tie them up, and securely too, do you hear me!”
The men readily obeyed, it was the work of an instant. Nothing in this world gave these fellows greater delight than to be allowed to lay their hands upon a Chinaman. They set to work as roughly, as brutally as they could. The knots were tied and they hauled upon the ropes with a will. The wretched victims groaned with the pain.
Oh! if ever it should come to an outbreak, then woe to the Celestials in Java, they would find but little mercy. Who knows—were such a catastrophe to take place they might not be the only race to suffer. There are others who might get into trouble too!
When both the Chinese spies were firmly secured, Lim Ho called to his men.
“Now, my lads, now for a hunt! A girl—little Dalima—has escaped from us and we must get her back. Five hundred ‘ringgiets’ six dollars to the man who finds her and brings her in!”
With a ringing cheer the boat’s crew dashed from the hut.
When they had left, Lim Ho ordered one of his followers to hand him his pipe. He filled the small bowl with the slender bamboo stem with extremely fine-cut tobacco, then he lit the pipe and began to blow the smoke from his nostrils. Thereupon he took a seat on the only chair the hut contained. It was a rough and clumsy piece of furniture, cut out of the wood with a clasp-knife. The other Chinamen sat down cross-legged on the floor, while their captain once again turned to Ardjan.
“Come now,” said he, “just you tell us how you managed to get Dalima out of the Kiem Ping Hin. You knew well enough, did you not, that I wanted the girl? But, look you, no lies! No lies, mind you! Your life is in my hands; you are aware of that, I hope.”
Ardjan could but utter a deep sigh. He begged that his hands might be slackened if but a little. “To be trussed up like this,” said he, “is unbearable torture.”
“No, no,” laughed Lim Ho. “First let us hear what you have to say, then we shall see what we can do for you.”
Nevertheless he gave the order to remove the bamboo cane which had so long tortured the poor Javanese, and as soon as that was removed the Chinaman said:
“Now, speak up, I am listening to you!”
“You are aware,” began Ardjan, “that I am mate on board the Kiem Ping Hin. Yesterday afternoon we were lying at anchor behind Poeloe Kalajan which is not far from Santjoemeh, when a ‘djoekoeng’ rowed up to us in which a couple of your countrymen were seated. At first I thought that they came alongside to take off some of the smuggled opium with which the schooner is partly loaded. I, therefore, threw them a rope and helped them up the ship’s side. But, instead of coming to fetch anything off, they brought something aboard with them. It was a heavy sack which they carefully hoisted on deck, and which had something of the appearance of a human form. However, that was no business of mine, it was not the first time that I had seen that kind of thing going on. I even lent a hand at carrying the load into the captain’s cabin, and I laughed and joked with the Chinamen at the fun Awal Boep Said was going to have.
“When, shortly after, the captain came on board, I told him of the bit of good luck that had befallen him, and I fancied he would be mightily pleased. Not a bit of it, instead of at once rushing down into his cabin, he quietly remained on deck, simply ordering me to keep a sharp look out as he was expecting some friends. And, true enough, a few hours later you, Lim Ho, came on board with two of your followers. You reached the schooner just in time. Night was rapidly falling, and a north-westerly storm was blowing up. No sooner were you aboard than it began to blow furiously. The moment I saw you, an unpleasant feeling came over me, and quite involuntarily my thoughts at once flew to the sack which I had helped to get aboard, and which then was lying on the bed in the cabin. I longed to get away down below to have a look; but the captain, who was watching the storm that was brewing, ordered the men to the braces and had a second anchor brought out. I had, of course, to take my share of duty and could not leave the deck.
“When, an hour or so after, I got to the cabin, I found you there stretched out on a couch. You were hard at it smoking opium, your pipe was in your hand, and with evident satisfaction you were swallowing down the smoke.—
“I knew well enough what all this meant. A man whose senses are dulled and deadened by habitual excess, must find something to rouse him. I knew that you had some little pigeon in your clutches, and that you were seeking to recruit by opium your exhausted powers. Your object was to get the greatest possible amount of enjoyment out of your victim—You know the properties of opium, and how to make use of it.
“Now all this did not concern me, I merely chuckled—I thought, that’s a common thing enough! I remember a hadji telling me that opium is a gift of Ngahebi Mohammed, and the ever-blessed in Paradise use it to renew their strength and thus are for ever beloved by the houris.
“But yet, I could not get rid of that strange feeling that told me all was not well. I could not get rid of my anxious curiosity. Dalima has long ago been promised to me by her parents. She is to be my wife as soon as I can get together a few more ‘ringgiets’ which will enable me to purchase a yoke of oxen. The day on which I can get them together, is to be my wedding-day.
“But Lim Ho,” and at these words the voice of the Javanese began to hiss and assume an almost threatening tone, “but Lim Ho, I know also that you covet the maiden,—I know what treasures you have offered her—I know what sums you have offered her parents as the price of her virtue, and of her innocence.
“I made up my mind—I must see who was there in the cabin.—Oh! I had not, at that time, the least suspicion that it was Dalima! She had rejected all your advances with the utmost contempt. Her father had even threatened to kreese you. How could the ‘baboe’ of the Ioean Resident have come into your power?—You see it was impossible!”
“Yes, yes, as you say it was quite impossible,” said Lim Ho with a grin, excited by the story of Ardjan. “I say, Ong Kwat, just tell us how the girl came into your hands!”
“No need of that,” resumed Ardjan, “I know all about it. Dalima told me the whole story in the ‘djoekoeng.’ Yesterday she was out for a walk with her master’s youngest child in the lane behind the Residence. The boy in his play, flung his ball into a ditch by the side of the road. A Chinaman happened to be passing at the time and Dalima requested him to fetch the toy out of the water. He did so at her request; but instead of returning the ball to the child he pitched it as far as he could into the garden. The boy ran off eagerly to fetch it, and Dalima was looking after the child, when suddenly the Chinaman flung himself upon her, gagged her, and before she could utter a single cry threw a sack over her head. Thus muffled he dragged her to the end of the lane, and put her into a ‘djoekoeng’ which was lying in the ditch. The boat at once put off, and in an hour’s time was alongside the Kiem Ping Hin.”
“Just so!” exclaimed Lim Ho. “Now, Ong Kwat, is not that just about how you managed it?”
The man thus addressed grinned, nodded his head and added, “Yes, master, for four whole days I had been on the prowl for that catch.”
“Now, Ardjan,” resumed Lim Ho, “you may go on again; but mind you, no lies.”
The Javanese continued: “As I entered the cabin I gave a hasty look round. You, Lim Ho, were partially unconscious, still smoking opium. You had not got to that stage when the drug excites the passions to madness. Your attendant was intent upon kneading the ‘mandat’ balls. There was no one in the cabin but you two, so I ventured to creep in, and, by the light of the lamp that was burning there, I saw—Dalima.
“With one bound I was at her side, in an instant I had severed the ropes which tied her, and in another moment I had dragged her out of the cabin. Thereupon I flew forward, got some clothes which I happened to have by me, and in a few seconds was back again with them. Dalima slipped them on, and thus partially disguised I hid her under a heap of sails which happened to be lying in the stern.
“Meanwhile the storm was raging in all its fury, and I have no doubt that it was chiefly owing to the noise of the wind that we had been able to get clear of the cabin unperceived. Captain Awal Boep Said, like a good Mussulman, was telling his beads, and from time to time uttered an ‘Allah achbar’ (God is great), or a ‘Bismillah’ (God be praised). The other men were all taking shelter in the forecastle, and your servants were lying sea-sick in their bunks.
“Of these favourable circumstances I made the best use I could. The ‘djoekoeng,’ in which Dalima had come alongside, was still lying there dancing on the waves. I took hold of the painter and drew the boat up to the side. The girl slid down into her along a rope which was hanging over the ship’s side. I followed her, seized upon a paddle and then I cast her adrift, and the storm soon drove us far from the Kiem Ping Hin.
“I was in hopes that I might succeed in reaching that part of the beach which lies nearest to the Resident’s house; but when the ‘djoekoeng’ got under the Poeloe Kalajan the wind got hold of her and we had to drift at the mercy of the waves.
“Then I managed to set the wings which were lying in the bottom of the boat. Without them we must certainly have capsized and been drowned. I kept on rowing with all my might; for I knew that once we were driven past the cape there would be an end of us. At length—at length—I managed to struggle through the breakers. One more effort and we were safe at the Moeara Tjatjing! The moment danger was over I fell down utterly exhausted, and, before I had time to recover Than Khan and Liem King had discovered us. They pinioned us both, Dalima and me. Me they carried off to this hut; what has become of the girl I don’t know. I have not seen or heard of her since. Now then, Lim Ho,” said he in conclusion, “that is the whole truth.”
For a short time silence was preserved, Lim Ho seemed to reflect on what he had heard, and no one in the hut ventured to disturb his reflections.
At length he spoke, turning to Than Khan and Liem King, and said:
“Well, what have you to say to all that?” Neither of them answered a word.
“Do you intend to answer, yes or no?” roared Lim Ho in a furious passion, as he dealt Than Khan, who lay bound on the floor, a heavy kick in the side.
“The Javanese lies,” cried the Chinaman, writhing with pain. “We have seen nothing of the girl!”
“He probably got her off into the woods,” added Liem King, “before we came up.”
“I would gladly have given my life for Dalima,” cried Ardjan, “but I was lying on the beach utterly prostrate; I could not defend her, sir, I could not defend myself. I am telling you the truth. These two scoundrels must know what they have done with her!”
Lim Ho muttered a few words to himself and appeared to be thinking what he would do next, when voices were heard outside the hut, the voices of the boat’s crew who had been hunting for Dalima, and were now returning with the tidings that their search had been fruitless, and that they had nowhere been able to find the girl.
Ardjan’s face gleamed with satisfaction as he heard it, and he at once grew calmer.
“Unless,” said one of the Javanese boatmen, holding up a coil of rope, “you call this a trace of her. I found this close by the spot where we landed.”
Lim Ho fixed his eye upon the two wretched spies. They held their peace, that silent proof effectually closed their mouths.
“These are,” said Ardjan, in a much quieter tone of voice than that in which he had spoken before, “these are the cords with which they bound Dalima’s wrists and ankles. I recognise them perfectly.”
Lim Ho hereupon uttered but two words; but they were words which caused Ardjan and Liem King and Than Khan to shudder with terror. In most abject terms they prayed for mercy. But Lim Ho remained deaf to all their entreaties, he scarcely deigned to cast a look at them; but now and then in his cold rage he would deal a savage kick at the body of one or the other of the prostrate Chinamen.
In a few abrupt words he gave his orders to the Javanese crew. Whatever his commands might be, his men were but too ready to carry them out. A couple of them at once left the hut while the others set Ardjan and the two Chinamen upon their legs and prepared to take them out of the cabin.
“Oh, sir, have pity, have mercy upon us!” Than Khan exclaimed in truly piteous accents.
“Where is Dalima?” was the furious rejoinder.
“We don’t know where she is!” cried both the Chinamen.
“And you!” shouted Lim Ho turning to Ardjan; “do you know what has become of her?”
“I know nothing about it,” was the reply. “I think that most probably she may have got back to the Residence.”
“Have mercy, have mercy!” shrieked Liem King.
“What? mercy on such brutes as you?” scornfully said Lim Ho.
“But,” they asked; “what harm have we done?”
“I will tell you what you have done,” sneered Lim Ho. “You have had Dalima in your power and you have been pleased to let her go. That’s what you have done and you shall suffer for it. And you!” he hissed out in fury, as he turned to Ardjan, “you have dared to carry the girl away. Oh, you shall pay for it!”
“But she is my bride,” pleaded the wretched man.
“Your bride, indeed,” said Lim Ho with concentrated rage. “Your bride? Do you think a pretty girl like Dalima is destined to be the bride of a Javanese dog like you? But it was last night that you carried her off from the Kiem Ping Hin. Might you perhaps in that ‘djoekoeng’—”
A disgusting leer of disappointed passion passed over the features of Lim Ho as he uttered the half finished question.
“No, no, by Allah!” fiercely exclaimed the Javanese. “Dalima is as pure as the white flower of which she bears the name. But,” added he in a calmer mood, “you know better than that. You know that in such weather as we had last night I had very little time for trifling and love-making.”
“That’s lucky for you,” cried Lim Ho; “had you so much as touched her too freely I would this very moment drive my kreese into you. As it is, I will simply punish you for having run away. I will consent to forget that Dalima is anything to you. But,” he added with an odious smile, “you seem to forget that the matter is somewhat serious for you. You ran away, remember, to give the coastguard notice of the arrival and of the movements of the Kiem Ping Hin—”
“That is not true,” hastily interrupted Ardjan.
“That, you see, amounts to treachery—treachery to the Company,” continued Lim Ho without taking the slightest notice of Ardjan’s indignant denial. “It’s a serious matter as you know.”
“I tell you it is all a lie,” cried the wretched Javanese, driven to despair by the other’s manner. “It is all a lie. I ran away to save Dalima from your filthy clutches; you may drive your dagger into me for that, but I am no traitor.”
“I tell you again,” replied Lim Ho with perfect calmness, “that your intention was to betray the secrets of the Company. You know the laws of the Company, do you not? I will therefore give you the same punishment as to those two scoundrels. I will then have you put on board the Kiem Ping Hin; not as her mate; oh, no, but simply as a slave; and you will be put ashore at Poeloe Bali and there you will have to remain on pain of death. You will remain there, I say, as long as ever the Company shall see fit.”
“Oh no!” wildly cried Ardjan, “not that, anything but that; rather kill me at once. I have not played the spy; I am no traitor. I will not, I cannot live away from Dalima!”
The face of Lim Ho plainly showed the bitter hatred he felt towards his rival—a hatred the more intense because he knew that Ardjan possessed the fair young girl’s heart.
He did not, however, vouchsafe any further reply; but gave a sign to the boatmen.
With blows and kicks they drove the prisoners before them down the rough steps. They revelled in the brutality which they were allowed to show to these unhappy wretches.
With their hands tightly bound behind their backs the three were half driven, half pushed down, and being quite unable to steady themselves they tumbled down into the filthy mud beneath and grovelled there amidst the shouts of laughter of their tormentors until they were again roughly put on their feet.
Lim Ho and his pig-tailed companions heartily joined in the merriment and thus encouraged the rough sailors in their unmerciful handling of the miserable captives.
CHAPTER III.
HOEKOEM KAMADOOG—THE VAN GULPENDAM FAMILY.
Nothing could be more strange, and indeed awful, than the contrast between the fair face of nature and the hideous cruelty which man was about to perpetrate on that little sequestered spot on the north coast of Java.
The storm which had been raging furiously during the night had now fallen to a fresh yet warm breeze. The leaves of the singular forest of mangrove were softly rustling in the wind, and the waves, which a few hours ago were madly dashing on the shore, now were quietly running up the beach with pleasant and melodious murmurs. Indeed, the prospect from the hut over the little bay of the Moeara Tjatjing, enclosed by its two headlands, was picturesque in the extreme. Under the bright beams of the early morning sun, the intense blue of the sea was glittering with indescribable purity and brilliancy, the surface of the ocean was still heaving, the waves still were following each other as in pursuit, here and there a breaker might still be seen topped by a snow-white cap of foam; but there was nothing angry in the scene. The bosom of Amphitrite still heaved, but all fierce and angry passions seemed to have died away. At some little distance from the land the schooner Kiem Ping Hin was dancing on the water, rising and falling gracefully, while the British ensign floated at the peak.
Just in front of the hut, in which took place the stormy scenes we have described in the former chapters, and close by the small group of “Saoe” trees we have mentioned, there stood a clump of “Niboeng” palms. Straight and smooth as candles were their stems, and high up in the air their feathery tops were waving to the breeze. On all sides, excepting on that of the sea, the mangrove wood, with its maze of tangled roots, surrounded the hut as with an impenetrable wall.
The bay to which Lim Ho and his attendants had dragged their unhappy prisoners was thus perfectly lonely, closely screened from every human eye.
As soon as they had arrived at the spot, Lim Ho made a signal to his men. In an instant the prisoners had their clothes torn from their bodies, and stark naked they were firmly lashed to the smooth stems of three palm trees. The ropes, which had already served to confine the limbs of Dalima, now were used to tie Ardjan and the two Chinese spies to the trunks of these trees, which, to them, were to become stakes at which they were destined to endure the most excruciating agony. The victims knew well what was in store for them, and kept anxiously looking round to see what would happen; their eyes, however, glaring around with wild terror, could not, at once, discover what they sought, and what they were every moment dreading to see. Although the tropical sun was burning down on their backs, yet they were trembling in every limb, as if shivering with cold; their hands were fastened high up above their heads, and the ropes were passed round their loins and knee-joints. Thus they could not make the slightest movement without extreme pain, for the ropes being plaited of “Iemoetoe” were hard, rough, and prickly.
Suddenly Than Khan uttered a startled cry, he had been anxiously looking round, and he now saw a couple of sailors coming up from the wood, each carefully bearing a bundle of leaves. The wretched man knew at a glance that the hour of torture was at hand. The leaves which the sailors bore well deserve description. They were broad and heart-shaped, and were attached to twigs resembling brushwood. The edges of the leaves were roughly jagged like the teeth of a saw, and their upper and under surfaces were covered with white hairy down. They were leaves of the “Kamadoog,” the devil thistle, the most terrible plant perhaps which the earth produces. With infinite precaution—a precaution which needs no explanation—the Javanese sailors made, of these leafy twigs, three broom-like scourges, around the handles of which they carefully wrapped some grass and bits of rag. When he saw his men thus armed, Lim Ho gave the signal to begin. Three sailors stepped up to the victims, and with the twigs began to strike their backs, their loins, their thighs, and the calves of their legs. Then was enacted a hideous, but most curious scene. It was not, properly speaking, any scourging at all, the blows which they inflicted were as light as possible; they rather flipped or stroked the flesh of their victims, and it looked as if they were engaged in simply driving away insects or troublesome flies from the naked bodies. Now and then, one or other of them would give a somewhat harder flip, as if some obstinate fly refused to be dislodged from the spot. But the features of the unfortunate wretches, who were suffering this apparently playful scourging, were in horrible contrast with the seeming gentleness of the treatment. The faces of Ardjan and of his companions in misfortune were actually distorted with terror, their eyes were starting from the sockets. Wherever those dreadful leaves lightly fell on the skin, the body at once shrunk away in pain, the limbs began to quiver, the muscles began to work up and to stiffen in knots, as if drawn together by violent cramp. But still that gentle flicking and stroking went on. The sufferers began to writhe and twist about their bodies in intolerable anguish. Still the heartless executioners went on with their hideous task. The miserable victims panted for breath, a low, most pitiful moaning escaped from their lips; they gnashed their teeth with agony, they bit their lips until the blood came; but all to no purpose—nothing could bring them relief.
“Have mercy, sir,” they moaned with the piteous wail of a dying child.
But Lim Ho had no mercy to show his wretched victims, he waved his hand to the executioners, who, at that sign, entirely changed their mode of operation, and now the gentle fanning was replaced by a severe downright flogging. The blows, laid on with the full strength of the sailors, rained down upon the bare bodies of the tortured wretches, their skin resounded under the pattering of the leaves, which, less barbarous than the men who wielded them, began to tear and fly from their stems.
As soon as that flogging commenced, the prisoners no longer moaned, they roared, they yelled, they howled with anguish. It was the cry of a wild beast wounded to death, which gathers up its remaining strength for one dying roar.
The limbs of the miserable men now not only shrank and writhed; but with the convulsive energy which only such extremity of torture could lend, they clasped with their legs the smooth trunks of the trees, they seemed to try and sink into them and bury themselves in the wood. It was an awful spectacle, and yet, strange to say, no wounds could be seen, no contusions, no livid spots even; nothing at all in fact to account for such unheard-of suffering. The skin only looked somewhat puffy, somewhat red and inflamed, and covered with very small blisters. The wounds which the bodies of the victims bore were serious enough, it is true; but they had nothing to do with the leaves of the terrible nettle. In their almost superhuman efforts to burst their bonds, and in their frantic contortions, the sufferers had forced the ropes into the flesh, and here and there the strands had cut their way to the bone, so that streams of blood were pouring along their arms, along their thighs and loins, and were forming broad red spots on the soft slippery soil. That anguish must have been acute enough in itself; but it was nothing compared to the torture occasioned by the leaves of the devil-thistle.
At length the instruments of torture had become well nigh stripped, there was left in fact only the bare twigs, on which here and there a few tattered leaves were still dangling, the poisonous leaves lay scattered in all directions, faded, torn, and shapeless about the feet of the sufferers. But, even then, Lim Ho did not think of causing the torture to cease, he seemed to be bent on utterly destroying his victims. He ordered the men to stop for a few moments. It was not because he felt any pity. Not at all, he merely caused the half dead bodies to be sprinkled with salt water, which, if possible, augmented the torments they endured. The monster was, in fact, on the point of resuming his inhuman flogging, when suddenly a cry was raised, “The police, the police!”
In furious haste Lim Ho and his assistants flew up to the tortured Chinamen. In a moment they had severed the cords which bound them to the trees, and the next instant they were dragging the wretches who were curling and twisting in their agony along the rough path which led to the landing-place where their boat lay moored. Two of Lim Ho’s men would have performed the same office for Ardjan, but the shouts of the rescuing party became louder every instant, the men were stricken with panic, took to their heels, and with all speed rejoined their retreating comrades.
They got to the boat just in time, for they had no sooner got into her, before five or six policemen led on by Dalima and closely followed by a crowd of people came to the spot.
“Allah,” exclaimed the young girl as she caught sight of Ardjan, who was still tied up to the tree, moaning with pain, and whose almost lifeless body was hanging like a sack in the somewhat slackened ropes; “Allah, what in the world have they done to him!”
In a moment the unfortunate man was surrounded, his bonds were severed, and he was laid down gently on a mat which somebody had run to fetch from the little watch-house. But he could not utter a word. He yelled with pain, and rolled about on the ground writhing like a crushed worm.
“Oh, my God!” he moaned most piteously, “I am in pain! in pain!”
“Where is the pain?” cried Dalima, as she sat crouching down beside him.
“It is the kamadoog,” the sufferer managed to say between his sobs of anguish.
“The kamadoog!” cried the bystanders in horror.
It was plain enough now. One of the spectators had taken up a few torn leaves, and at once recognised the terrible nettle. Every man in the crowd turned pale with horror. And truly the kamadoog is a dreadful plant. The slightest contact with its formidable leaves occasions a violent itching, painful as a severe burn; and, when used as an instrument of torture, it causes the most intolerable suffering, for at least seven days; it makes the limbs stiffen, and produces a burning fever, which not unfrequently ends in the most painful death.
“Has anyone here any ‘sirihkalk?’ ” (chalk made of sea-shells) cried Dalima.
Some few of the bystanders had with them the “sirih,” which they are fond of chewing. They unwrapped the sirih-leaf in which were the pinang-nut, the chalk, and the tobacco, which form this highly-prized chew, and gave the chalk to the girl, who hastened to anoint the sufferer with the paste-like alkali. But, unfortunately, so great was the surface which had been exposed to the stroke of the hairy leaves, that the supply of “sirih-chalk” was altogether inadequate, and only a very small portion of the blisters could be treated with the remedy. Dalima was in despair. There was nothing else for it but to carry Ardjan into the hut, which afforded a shelter from the burning sun. Then some of the men hurried away to fetch a supply of oil and chalk, which they hoped would mitigate the pain, and check the fever. By evening, if all were well, Ardjan might perhaps have so far recovered as to bear the fatigue of being moved to more convenient quarters.
While these remedies were being applied to poor Ardjan, the boat in which Lim Ho had put off, was being rowed past the djaga monjet, and was getting out of the little bay. The policemen stood on the shore calling to the crew to come back; but no one took the slightest notice of their summons, and, as they had no firearms with them to enforce obedience, the only reply they got was a derisive cheer, and a shout of defiance.
As he rowed by the djaga monjet, Lim Ho had plainly recognised Dalima, who, actively employed in assisting her tortured lover, was running about, in and out, here and there.
The sight of her literally maddened the brutal Chinaman; he was on the point of ordering his boat’s crew to return and row to land. But, in another instant, he came to himself, and recovered his reason. It would indeed have been the act of a madman to try and carry off the girl just then. He knew that he could place great dependence upon the power of his gold; but yet, in full daylight, in the very face of all those people, he felt he could hardly try its influence upon the native police. So he could only shake his fist in impotent rage, and the word to return remained unspoken.
The boat swiftly glided out of the Moeara Tjatjing, and at once made for the Kiem Ping Hin, which was already loosening her sails, and waiting impatiently for the return of her boat’s crew. As they mounted the deck, Captain Awal Boep Said came up to report to Lim Ho that the smoke of a steamer could just be seen on the horizon. “Probably,” he added, “it is the Matamata, she was here yesterday.”
“Those white blockheads,” muttered Lim Ho, with a scornful laugh. “At night they have their coloured lights up, and we can tell them miles away. By day they take care to send up a cloud of smoke which no one can mistake. I will bet they have not discovered us yet, while we have had our eye on her ever so long ago.”