With the Dyaks of Borneo

ate Str

and push on with a few followers. To you, John, I leave the post of commander during my absence, with instructions to remain here in hiding till I return or send for you. You will place scouts all round, and keep a most careful watch, for were you to be seen by any stray native the news would buzz t

tswain, touching his cap. "Right, sir! and I'll obey so long as all goes we

soner for long. He would have me killed at once, and it is that fact which will make me fight all the harder in case I am a

ATES' S

or sea Dyak come suddenly up while huntin' in de forest, and see de white man? Den him runee for him

well above his head, made as if to sever his nec

o choppee de head of de pirate leader. Velly fine, but massa must havee plenty care. Suppose you go like

r anxiously, for he thought much of the young Englishman who had

t of de stockade," he added eagerly. "Besides, Li

the Sarebus river, the Chinaman again dragged his sword from his belt, and, clearing a wide patch of sandy ground fr

s completed he followed each line with the utmost attention, and, not satisfied with that, transferred the drawing to a scrap of crinkled and dirt

t hand, and that would put them on their guard and ruin our plans. Besides, there is no doubt that it would mean the destruction of the tribe who have selected me as leader, for our numbers are ridiculously small when c

't any knowing when we may drop on some of these covies, and the sight of me would send 'em howling, jest the same a

de China boy, and him done same ting often and often. Plenty dye wid de Dyaks, and if massa and his

ng rapidly lame. Indeed, he knew that it would require more than a week of careful walking to harden the skin sufficiently to allow t

d I am sure that it would never do for us to go barefoote

tswain. "They're clever enough at that sort of thing, and I ain't a doubt but what they'll be able to

lenty fine sandal velly soon. Leave it to

t for granted that we have made a wide detour, in which case they will have sent men towards the mountains, the line which we should have taken had it been our object and intention to avoid this river on which they have their s

, massa. But Li go see at onc

over his master's wants, for his chin was on his breast and his face lined with wrinkles. But, like all of his country, his wits were sharp, and as he went he had al

, producing a gourd filled with an oily liquid of reddish-brown colour. "Dey need not fear dat dis am poison, f

couple of smooth boulders till it was as pliable and soft as any brush, the Chinaman set about the work of transforming them from clear-complexioned Englishmen to the colour of Dyaks. Twice did he go over the surface of their bodies, and then, standing some paces away, he inspected them critica

pe detection at some distance, for if the enemy actually come within a few paces of either of us it will be a case of fighting, for they

f de pirates and wish to enter. Den if he stay behind de oders, and not seem to have de lead, one of de warriors speakee to d

ple of the loin-cloths worn by the natives, and also two gaudy handkerchiefs to bind about their heads. Within them were wrapped tw

Den dey velly silent, so dat massa and him friend can comee plenty near to de pirate without making noise

tted to the operation of having them coloured reddish-brown with the stain, and

ay that if I had any choice in the matter I would rather not chew anything, and least of all the b

y, this here betel's worse than anythin'. But as yer say, it's for the b

sgust, and set to work to chew it with an air of resignation which called a smil

aid in engaging tones. "Me wishee to see how de mouths look, a

ed their mouths and smiled, so as to show their coloured teeth. Then they walked up and down the c

at length. "Dey Dyaks now in eberyting but de tongue, and hi

tre. John, take command of the camp and of the tribe while I am gone. Li, you can come with me as far as the

Had it not been for the fear that some of the enemy might be in the neighbourhood, hunting the forest for game, the tribesmen would have shouted their farewell to their leader, and would have accompanied him some distance on his journey. As it was, however, they remained in the camp, and at once set about placing themselves in a position of defence. As for Tyler, marching at the head of his little band, he could not help but be gratified by the willing obedience which each of the warriors gave him. That his change in costume had won him still more of their esteem was evident also, for they realize

be the case close to the rivers, we will hunt for a boat and borrow it. But then we should be more easily seen, and my aim and object is to remain unobserved

n. "Dey are below de forts, but sometimes, no one knowee w

and other trees, and will be chained to the banks by means of enormous posts. Very well, if the boom itself is too strong for us, we must hack the posts to pieces. But the weight of the fleet

home de ships am dere also. But me tink dat all de me

You and I will walk together, and they ca

ees on either hand, quickly became lost to view. Nor was it possible to hear them, as a general rule, so silent were they in their movements. At

wide bed of the water-way which is known as the Sarebus. There will our leader come upon the pirates, and at that spot he will see that they have a town and many forts. I myself was there in the early

ting the words. "We will halt when we come to the

ributary emerged into a larger one, which in its turn discharged its contents into the main channel. And now each one pr

, de big place of de pirates, where all de gold and riches go, and where de slaves am kept. Me knowee him velly well, for it am dere dat Chi

nt at the sight of the stockades before him. "But let us get to some more advantageous point from which we can look down upon this place whic

boat of any description ferried across the water, the party of scouts pressed on, led by the cunning Chinaman, and at length arrived at

hold for some minutes. "The huts seem for the most part to be empty, and so far I have seen only women and a few old m

Him gone into de forest, p'r'aps, to find de white men and deir Dyak friends, or him at sea looking out fo

Tyler thoughtfully, after another long interval during whi

ay for sure. If ships to be found in plenty

n would, I fear, be too big an undertaking. Li once said that there were other places on this river, and as they must be lower down it is probable that they would at once take the alarm, and their prahus would put out into the river to stop our escape. No, silence is what we must aim at, and a dark night would be

lays at sea looking along de coast in case de white man and him friends come dat way. Oders go into de forest and li

bamboo, strongly erected and placed in most advantageous positions, so that the Sarebus was commanded for some hundreds of yards. In the rear there were other forts, but of less strength and importance, for attack from that direction could not be very dangerous, seeing that the forest was there of the densest, and would almost forbid the approach of an enemy. Stretchi

ver I have little doubt that they would swing one of the booms aside for a time until all the prahus had passed through, and would then close it again. Well, nothing is stirring, and for the time we must be content to remain where we are and keep watch. If their fleet was here now I should call up all the tribe and let them lie in the forest while I told them off to the different boats. Then as so

and the Dyaks who lay beside him; for of a sudden, while staring at the stronghold before them ea

and we tink dat de pirates come. Li him say dat de prahus am using de sweeps, and dat dere am many

prahu came into sight, her decks loaded with dusky pirates, while, above, an immense spread of sail flapped loosely against her masts. On either side projected some twenty long sweeps, and, propelled by these, she was coming up the stream at a wonderful rate. In an instant Tyler recognized her as the vessel which had lain in the harbour of Singapore, and the one to which Hanns

test notion that we are watching him at this moment. Wait, my friend, and I will show you that an English lad ca

occasion their progress was slower, though it seemed that they were employing a similar number of sweeps. But closer inspection soon

l be able to see. Perhaps they have been making a raid upon some of the neighbourin

high bulwarks and tapering masts, which seemed to strike against the trees which overhung the river. On her deck were some ten of the Malays, with long poles in their hands with which to propel her

e last is easy to reply to," he said bitterly. "Hanns and his rascals will have killed them without mercy, and will have thrown them overboard. But a European vessel! That must be a prize indeed, a

pirits, for they shouted to one another, and as the walls of the fort were lined with their women and children, they answered their cries of welcome with thunderous shouts of joy and triumph. Then, as the leading prahu came opposite the first of the stockades, and withi

terpreted by Li Sung. "When we have had a meal we will see to that beggarly Englishman who is journeying this way, and I shall hope to hear from the men whom we s

ockade, and later on was seen to enter the largest of the huts which lay inside. By now the remaining prahus had reached their moorings, and at once a busy scene ensued, the men dropping into their sampans, which the majority of the vessels had in tow, and taking the ropes to the barrels and kegs which floated on the surface of the river with an anchor or a heavy

citement with which he was filled. "Or better, perhaps they will send off a large party to join those who have gon

tell. Dey carry fifty to eighty on board,

at their moorings, and, thanks to the fact that all had come well round t

the pirates to deal with, and we are only to be counted as about three hundred. The numbers are dreadfully against us, and were it not for the fact that we hope to take them

plenty fine numbers to fight them, and de Dyaks show dem dat dey have something to punish dem for. Wait a little bitee, mass

over each one again and count them on his fingers, while his slit-like eye

ship, and dey feel dat dey am rich. Wait, and massa see dat dey go to deir homes and make jolly. To-night dey dance and sing, and de women

n encouraging smile, and snored heav

e river. Dey go to Paddi like de ghosts, and only de night know. Den massa give one little signal, and ebery man of de tribe creep and run dis way and dat into de huts. Take velly little tim

naman forgot for the moment his accustomed tranquillity. His usually impassive features became wrinkled

h ways. Fight openly, if at all, is our motto, and it is one which I will carry out to the letter. There shall be no massacre, but if necessary we will fight them for the prahus, and do our best to beat them handsomely. As to their being overcome by wine to-night, I hope that that may be the case, for it will help us greatly. We will wait till they are quiet and will then steal upon their boats. If we are cautious and organize the movement well we shall be able to embark all the woman and children and each member of the tribe without making

Chinaman lying there in perplexity, wondering

asked himself. "Was it possible that the sight of all these pirates had brought fear into his heart, so that he refused the only course open to brave men?" For long did Li Sung ponder over the matter till he was bound to confess that he was bewildered. Indeed, a very little consideration had shown him that the Englishman, who alone had attacked the mias,

taking his pigtail in his hand and twisting it into a knot. "If not fall on de pirate when him

hem fairly and handsomely, and once we join our friends we will throw our lot in with theirs and will help them to exterminate these rascals. But I think that it is almost time that we were moving

p us. De Malays still on board, and dey have shouted for anoder sampan. Perhaps dey bring de ba

round with the stream sufficiently to allow the name painted the

the more reason why I should take her fro

burden over and returned to the companion ladder which led to the cabin, only to repeat the same movement. Then two of their number swung themselves into the boat and began t

head so far between the leaves that Li Sung placed a warning hand up

massa," broke in the Chinaman, "while

yler and his followers watched with staring eyes as the sampan was rowed to the shore. They saw a little girl of some seven years of age lifted from the boat, and gazed with saddened faces as sh

nd in such determined tones that the Chinaman

nd went off through the jungle, his brow deeply furrowed