Part 4 (2/2)
”I am glad of that, for I own that I had doubts whether we should hear any more of him.”
”You come from the chief Ha.s.san?” the captain, who had been working at the Malay language, with the interpreter, since he had arrived at the mouth of the river, asked in that tongue. The man's face brightened.
”Yes, my lord,” he said.
”Is he well?”
”The chief is quite well.”
”I wish I knew enough to question him without Soh Hay's interference, but I shall only make a mess of it, and, perhaps, get a wrong idea altogether of his message. Now, Soh Hay,” he broke off as the interpreter entered, ”you will ask this man the questions exactly as I put them, and tell me his answer word for word. It may be of importance.
Now ask him first what message he brings from his chief to the officers.”
The question was put, and the native, speaking slowly and quietly, and evidently repeating a lesson that he had learned by heart, said, ”The chief sends his greeting to his three friends, Harry, d.i.c.k, and Doctor, also to Captain. He is well in body; he is cured, and can throw a spear and lead his men to battle. He has sent four messengers one after another, but none have returned with an answer; they have no doubt been krised. Now he sends me.”
”Tell him that no messenger has arrived until now,” the captain said, when this was interpreted to him.
The man nodded. ”All krised. I travel at night, hide in trees all day, float down at night in shadow of bushes, and have got through safe.
Chief Ha.s.san says not been able to come down. Other chiefs very angry because English wars.h.i.+p come. Send message to Ha.s.san to join them. When he say no, they threaten to kill him and destroy tribe when wars.h.i.+p go away. Two of Rajah Sehi's prahus go up and down river; stop all boats.
Sehi send message to all chiefs; say that English war boat here. English come take his country, and after they done that take the countries of the others; make themselves kings of the river. He ask them to join him in killing English, every man, then he would have no more quarrel with them, no trouble trade any more; be good friends with all neighbors.
Some chiefs say one thing, some another. Some more afraid of rajah than of English; some think better have English here than rajah.
”Ha.s.san says must take great care. Sehi very treacherous; attack when they do not expect it. He thinks his prahus can easily take English s.h.i.+p; but Ha.s.san says Sehi wants the other chiefs to aid, so that if the English send up more s.h.i.+ps, then, can all join him in fighting them.
Ha.s.san says he will do what he can. He has eight war canoes, but no good against prahus--they run at canoes, and cut them in half; but will come to help if English attack. He does not know where prahus are. Begs Captain to attack these first; it is they that make Sehi master of the river. If they destroyed, other chiefs not afraid of Sehi, and he might get some of them to join against him. Ha.s.san said tell Harry, and d.i.c.k, and Doctor he does not forget their kindness, and will do what he can to watch over them. Such is Ha.s.san's message.”
”Ask him when he is going back to his chief,” the captain said.
”He go now,” the interpreter said, after asking the question. ”He get as far as he can before morning. He sure many eyes watch s.h.i.+p night and day to see that no message comes, or any word of what rajah is doing. He float down stream in sampan some distance, then paddle to opposite bank, then keep in shadow of bushes up the river, and hide away till night comes again.”
”Very well, then, tell him that he is to thank his master for sending us warning; that we had already found out that what he told us before he went away was true, and that Sehi is a very bad man. Say that we are not afraid of prahus, and will make short work of them when we get a chance.
Tell him we will take great care, and not let ourselves be surprised, and that when we have finished with this fellow here, the s.h.i.+p will come as far up the river as she can go, and show the chiefs that the English have no evil intentions against them, and will send his three friends with a strong boat party to pay him a visit. By the way, ask the man if he knows this part of the country.”
”Yes, Captain; he says that he has been since his boyhood a boatman, and has worked for some years with a trader, who used to go up the creeks, and trade with the villagers.”
”Ask him if he knows a creek that turns off from the river four or five miles above this; it is a very small one, but it leads into a pool on which is a large village.”
The man nodded at once, when the question was put, then spoke for a minute or two.
”He says, Captain, that he knows the pool and village; but he has never been up the small creek that you speak of. Did not know that a boat could get through. He has been there by a large creek that runs into the other branch of the river, the one that turns off twelve miles below this; from that river it is an hour's paddle in a sampan to the pool.”
”How should we know the entrance?” the captain asked.
”Entrance difficult to find,” the native replied; ”strip of land runs out from both sides, covered with trees. One goes a little beyond the other, so that anyone who did not know it would pa.s.s the entrance without noticing it. It is just wide enough for a large craft to go in and out. There is a village stands a hundred yards below the entrance; it would be known by a big tree that grows before a large house close to the bank. The water is deep on that side. You have only, after pa.s.sing the village, to keep close in sh.o.r.e, and you will then see the entrance to the creek. It is called Alligator Creek, because, more than any place, it swarms with these creatures.”
”Thank you,” the captain said. ”Will you tell the chief that I say you have rendered me a valuable service?”
He opened a case in which he kept presents intended for the chiefs, and took out a brace of handsome pistols, a powder flask, and a bullet mold.
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