It was a grand sight, and a stranger to the scene might have imagined
that a little army was about to set off, for the conquest of some petty
king, instead of to attack the striped tiger in his stronghold.
The two parties from the steamer and the island were ashore before
daybreak, to find an imposing gathering of the sultan's people coming
down to meet them. There were over thirty elephants, large and small,
with their attendants, and the beasts were furnished with showy cloths
under their rattan basket howdahs.
The sultan was there in English dress; and his chiefs made a gaudy
muster, wearing showy silken sarongs and bajus, as if it were to be a
review day instead of a hunting trip, while the following, to the extent
of several hundreds, were all armed with spear and kris. Here and there
a showily clad Malay was seen to be armed with a gun or rifle, but for
the most part their means of offence were confined to the native
weapons.
The meeting was most cordial; but the sultan and his followers seemed
somewhat taken aback to see the various officers in rough sporting
costume, and the soldiers and sailors in anything but stiff, ordinary
trim.
One thing, however, had been rigidly adhered to. Every man was
well-armed, and carried a good supply of ball cartridge.
The sun was shining brightly, when at last the hunting-party was duly
marshalled, and moved off right through the jungle by a well-beaten
path, one which took them straight away from the river; and very
effective the procession looked, with the great lumbering elephants
moving so silently along, the gaily-dressed Malays forming bright
patches of colour amidst the clean white duck frocks and trousers of the
sailors, and the dull grey of the soldiers' linen tunics. There was, of
course, fraternisation, and a disposition on the part of the Malays to
freely mix with the Englishmen then; but the order had been that a
certain amount of formation was to be maintained, so that, if necessary,
the men might be ready to gather at any time round their officers. Not
that any difficulty was apprehended, but it was felt to be better to
keep up discipline, even when only engaged upon a shooting-trip, though
every act that might be interpreted by the Malays into a want of
confidence, was carefully avoided.
The morning was sufficiently young as yet to enable a good march to be
made without difficulty; but as the sun began to make his power felt
wherever there was an opening amidst the trees, a halt was called in a
beautiful park-like patch of ground, with huge spreading trees
sufficient to shelter double their number. Here a capital lunch was
served by the sultan's cooks, one that no doubt an English _chef_ would
have looked upon with contempt, but which, after a long morning tramp
through the steaming heat of the jungle, was delightful.
Every one was in excellent spirits, the sultan having set aside a great
deal of his formality, and smiling apparently with pleasure as he gazed
around at the gratified countenances of his guests.
Then followed a siesta while the sun was at its greatest height, Doctor
Bolter impressing upon all the officers that a quiet rest during the
heat of the day was the one thing needful to make them bear the exertion
of the journey; and then, as soon as he saw every one following his
advice, he arranged his puggaree around his pith helmet, put some
cartridges in his pocket, and went off into the jungle to shoot
specimens, with no little success.
Ten miles were got over that evening, and then camp was pitched on the
edge of an opening, close by a curious rounded mountain, which towered
up in front of the setting sun, looking massive and grand, with its
smooth outline thrown up, as it were, against the saffron sky.
The scene was lovely in the extreme, and every touch given by the
hunting-party seemed to add thereto, for white tents sprang up like
magic against the dark green foliage; fires began to twinkle here and
there; the large mess tent, that had been carried by one of the
elephants, was well lit with lamps; and a white cloth spread with ample
provisions and no few luxuries, ornamented by the freshly-cut flowers
which grew in profusion, as if waiting to be cut by the servants, added
no little to the brightness of the interior.
Outside all was apparently picturesque confusion, though in reality
everything was in due order, from the men's tents to the ranging of the
elephants, who, relieved of their loads, were quietly lifting up great
bunches of grass and tucking them into their capacious jaws. Over all
rose a loud hum of many voices, and soon to this was added the click of
knives and forks from the English mess and the rattle of plates.
Amongst the Malays great leaves did duty for the latter, and all was
quieter.
Later on, watch was set, the sultan and his officers smiling gravely at
the precautions taken by the English, assuming though that it was
against the wild beasts of the jungle, and hastening to assure all
concerned that they need have no fear, for no tiger would approach so
busy a camp, especially as there were fires burning, which would be kept
up all night.
"Let them think it's the tigers, and that we are afraid of them, if they
like," said the doctor; "but I wouldn't slacken discipline in the
slightest degree. Keep everything going just as if we were going
through an enemy's country."
"I support that motion," said the resident quietly.
"But why?" said Captain Horton. "Surely we may relax a little now."
"No, Doctor Bolter is right," said the major, nodding. "It's a
nuisance, Horton, of course, but you would not let your ship go without
a good watch being set?"
"Well--no," said the captain thoughtfully, "I suppose not. We should
keep that up even if we were in dock. Thank goodness, though! I have
not any watch to keep to-night, for I'm tired as a dog."
"It has been a tiring day," said Major Sandars. "I wonder how Smithers
is getting on. I hope he's taking care of the ladies."
"Yes," said Mr Linton gravely, "I hope he is taking care of the
ladies."
"They're in good hands," said Captain Horton. "Johnson is a sternish
fellow, and," he added laughing, "if any dangerous parties go near the
island, Mr Midshipman Roberts will blow them right out of the water."
"Yes," said Major Sandars, indulging in a low chuckle, "he and Mr
Ensign Long between them would be a match for all the rajahs on the
river."
Mr Linton was the only one who did not smile, for just then, like a
foreboding cloud, the dark thought came across his mind that it would be
very, very terrible if advantage were taken by the Malays, of the
absence of so large a portion of the force; and try how he would to
sleep that night, the thought kept intruding, that after all they were
doing wrong in trusting themselves with the Malay sultan, who might,
under his assumption of hospitality, be hatching some nefarious scheme
against them all.
Through the thin canvas walls of the tent he could hear the low
breathing of some of his friends, the snort of some elephant, and close
by him there was the monotonous hum of the mosquitoes, trying hard to
find a way through the fine gauze of the net; now and then came too an
impatient muttering of a sleeper, or the distant cry of some creature in
the jungle.
The only solacing thing he heard in the heat of those weary sleepless
hours was the steady beat of some sentry's pace, and the click of his
arms as he changed his piece from shoulder to shoulder.
He was the only unquiet one, for the others fell asleep almost on the
instant, and several of them gave loud signs of their peaceful
occupation.
At last Mr Linton could bear it no longer, and rising, he went softly
to the tent door and peeped out, to pause there, wondering at the beauty
of the scene, as the moon was just peering down over the jungle trees,
and filling the camp with silvery light and black shadows. What was
that glint of some arm?
He smiled at his uneasiness directly after, for there was the sharp
steady beat of feet, a sergeant's guard came out of the black shadow,
and he saw them relieve sentry, the glint he had seen being the
moonbeams playing upon the soldier's piece.
He went back and lay down once more, feeling relieved, and falling off
into a restful sleep, little thinking how that deadly peril was indeed
hovering round the island he had left, and that he and his companions
were going to march on and on, not to encounter tigers alone, but men
even more cruel in their nature, and quite as free from remorse when
dealing with those whom they looked upon as dogs.