"Oh yes; he is the rajah or prince of the country."
"Yes; but I thought all this belonged to the Queen."
"Well, I suppose it does, but our prince here thinks he is as important
a person as the queen of England, and does exactly as he likes."
"Oh!"
"You must recollect that we are a very very long way from Singapore
here, and, excepting what he has been told of England and her power, the
rajah knows very little about our country, and laughs at my father as if
he were telling him romances when he talks of our army and ships of
war."
"He must be awfully conceited, then."
"He is," said the girl laughing. "I believe he thinks he is the
greatest monarch upon earth."
"Then you are the only English people here?"
"Oh no. We have Mr and Mrs Braine and their son, and Mr and Mrs
Greig."
"Who are they?"
"Mr Braine is a gentleman papa recommended to the rajah. He wanted
some one to advise him and help him to introduce English customs, and to
drill his army. Mr Greig is a merchant who lives here to purchase the
produce of the country to send down to Singapore. You will see them, I
daresay, for they are sure to come in as soon as they know that you are
here."
"It all seems very funny. I thought we were coming into quite a wild
place where there were elephants and tigers, and great snakes and birds
that we could collect."
"Well, it could not be much more wild," said the girl, smiling.
"Directly you get past our house the dense jungle begins. We are
completely shut in by it, except in the front here by the river. Wild?
You will hear the tigers as soon as it is dark."
"But I shall not be here," said Ned, laughing.
"I think you will," said the girl, looking at him curiously.
"Oh no; my uncle has quite made up his mind about what he intends to do,
and nothing can change him."
"Indeed! We shall see. Here we are."
They had been passing through the place with its houses dotted about in
the most irregular fashion, just as the builders had felt disposed to
plant them, and now came upon an attractive-looking bungalow similar in
character to the others, and like them raised on bamboo piles seven or
eight feet from the ground, but with numberless little additions such as
would be made by an Englishman. Notably a high rustic fence enclosing a
large garden planted liberally with tropic shrubs and flowers, and a
broad flight of steps leading up to a great open verandah which ran
nearly along the whole of the front, and over which the attap roof was
brought to rest on clusters of bamboo formed into pillars, up which ran
and twined in profuse growth passion-flowers and other creepers.
"What a delightful place!" cried Ned. "Why, it's quite a treat to see a
good garden. Look at the fruit!"
"Mamma is very proud of the garden, and--"
"Come along, squire," said the doctor, from the head of the steps.
"Welcome to the Fernery."
Murray was already seated at a well-spread table, upon which a couple of
Malayan women, in neat cotton sarongs woven into an attractive plaid,
were placing plates and dishes, and they greeted the newcomers with a
look of surprise and a smile.
"There, gentlemen," said the doctor, "you could not have arrived at a
more opportune time, but you must excuse all shortcomings. We keep up
old English customs as well as we can, and can give you coffee and eggs.
No fried bacon, squire," he added laughingly to Ned. "You are where
our genial useful old friend the pig is an abomination. Why, it's five
years since I've tasted a sausage, or a bit of ham. But we can give you
a curry of which I am proud. Eh, my dear?"
"Mr Murray will let a hearty English welcome make up for anything
lacking," said the doctor's lady. "He knows that we are in the
wilderness."
"A wilderness with bamboo chairs, a table, a clean cloth, glass, plate,
napkins, and flowers and fruit," cried Murray. "Why, my dear madam, you
forget that we have been picnicking in a boat. There, don't spoil your
welcome by apologies!"
Then there was a busy interval during which the greatest justice was
done to an excellent meal, and Ned was initiated into the mystery of
sambals--tiny saucers of pickle-like and preserve preparations, popular
amongst the Malays as appetisers, but quite needless in Ned's case, for
he was perfectly independent of anything of the kind, and after his
curry and coffee, now the first chill of strangeness had passed, paid
plenty of attention to the fruit pressed upon him by the doctor's
daughter. Now it was a deliciously-flavoured choice banana with a deep
orange skin, now a mangosteen, and then a portion of a great durian, a
scrap or two of which he ate with some reluctance.
"Hallo!" said the doctor after a glance at his daughter, "you are not
getting on with your durian, sir. Pray take some more; it is our king
among fruits."
"I--I am afraid it is not a good one," stammered Ned, looking rather
red.
"Eh? not a good one?" cried the doctor, tasting a piece. "Delicious,
just in perfect condition. Ah, you have to acquire that taste. Now
then, the ladies will excuse us, and we'll have a cigar here in the
shade."
He clapped his hands, and one of the Malay women brought a box of
manillas.
"No, I don't think I'll smoke," said Murray. "You will not think me
rude, but if you will excuse us, and put us in the way of getting what
we want, I should be grateful."
"My dear sir," said the doctor, "you must see our other English
residents. They are only waiting to give us time to finish our meal,
and really you cannot go as yet."
"Indeed!" said Murray, smiling, and noticing that the ladies both looked
serious.
"Well, you see," said the doctor rather confusedly--"do pray light a
cigar, I'll set you an example--you see there is the rajah."
Ned looked up sharply at the doctor, and then darted a look of
intelligence at his daughter.
"What about him?" said Murray abruptly.
"Well, you see," said the doctor, hesitatingly, "he might think--but you
are going shooting and collecting, you say?"
"Yes."
"Well, you ought to ask his permission."
"What!" said Murray, laughing. "My dear sir, you talk as if this were a
gentleman's estate, and he kept gamekeepers."
"Well, yes," said the doctor, smiling; "it is so on a large scale."
"How far does it extend? We will not begin shooting till we are quite
beyond his patch."
"How far?" said the doctor thoughtfully. "Ah, that is a difficult
question to answer. It was hard to say before the late encounters with
the Rajah of Padang; now the territory is more than doubled. I think
you had better send in a request. Ah, here is Braine!"
"And Mrs Braine and Mr Greig," added the doctor's lady, rising from
her chair.
This ended the conversation, just when Ned saw that his uncle was
growing annoyed at the doctor's opposition to his plans, and he glanced
round to see that his neighbour was looking at him intently.
"I thought you would not be able to go away to-day," she whispered, as
she rose and went with her mother to meet the visitors at the foot of
the steps, the doctor having made an apology and gone too.
"What did that young lady say to you, Ned?" said his uncle in a low
tone.
"She thought there would be some difficulty in our going on to-day."
"Oh, nonsense! These people lead an idle life, and they want every one
they see to stop and play with them. I don't want to be rude, but we
are not going to dawdle about here; and as for this petty chief--all
rubbish!"
At that moment a tall stern-looking man, in loose white clothes and a
pith helmet, came up the steps. His face was darkened almost to the
tint of a Malay's, and he had a quick anxious look in his eyes, which,
with his rather hollow cheeks, gave him the aspect of one who had lately
been ill. He advanced with open hand.
"Glad to meet you, Mr Murray," he said. "It is a pleasure to see a
countryman."
"That speech will do for me too," said a rather harsh voice, and a
keen-looking gentleman of about fifty, with his face deeply lined and a
quick expression and manner which at once stamped him as shrewd, now
shook hands warmly with the new arrivals, while directly after a
subdued, handsome-looking woman was led up by the doctor's lady.
"Let me introduce you two," said the hostess. "Mrs Braine is an ardent
botanist, Mr Murray, and I'm sure that you will enjoy a chat together.
She knows all our flowering plants here by heart."
"I am very pleased to meet Mr Murray," said the newcomer in a sweet sad
voice. "I hope he will let me be his guide to some of the nooks on the
river-bank, where the jungle can be penetrated."
"I should only be too glad, my dear madam," said Murray; "and I can find
no words to express my thanks--our thanks, I should say--for your
cordial reception here of a perfect stranger; but my nephew and I have
only put in to buy a bag of rice and some fruit to replenish our stores,
and we are going on directly."
Murray ceased speaking, and looked sharply from one to the other, for he
had seen Mr Braine raise his eyebrows and glance at the doctor and the
shrewd keen-looking man. The doctor laughed, and took up the cigar box.
"Have a smoke, Braine?" he said.
"Thanks," was the reply; and the newcomer took a cheroot in the midst of
a rather constrained silence.
"I hope I have not said anything wrong," continued Murray, who felt
piqued at the manners of those about him, for the ladies began talking
together in a subdued tone.
"Oh dear me, no!" said Mr Braine hastily. "You are shooting and
collecting, I think?"
"We have not begun yet," replied Murray, quickly; "but that is why we
have come."
There was another pause.
"I am afraid you will give me the credit of being somewhat of a bear,"
continued Murray, "and really, Doctor Barnes, I am most grateful to you
and your charming wife and daughter for your hospitality."
"Oh, pray, say no more," said Mrs Barnes. "You confer a favour on us
by coming, though you have given us no English news as yet."
"And I am afraid, my dear madam, that I shall have time to give you very
little. At the risk of being considered rude, I must ask you to excuse
us now."
The doctor frowned and looked at Mr Braine, who glanced in turn at the
shrewd elderly man, and he immediately searched for a silver snuff-box,
and then spent a great deal of time over taking a pinch.
"Really, gentlemen," said Murray, quickly, "all this is very strange. I
can hardly think you credit me with rudeness in being hurried."
"Oh no, Mr Murray, not at all," said the doctor's lady.--"Mr Braine,
why do you not explain?"
"Well, really," said that gentleman, "I thought an explanation should
come from you as the host and hostess, but I will do my best.--The fact
is, Mr Murray, this country is something like the west coast of
Scotland in the old days, when every chief had his stronghold."
"Oh yes, I have noted that," said Murray, smiling; "and I see that they
have both the plaid and dirk, though you call them sarong and kris."
"Exactly. Well, my dear sir, the chief, rajah, prince, or whatever you
like to call him, is omnipotent here."
"Not always, Mr Braine," said the doctor's lady, merrily. "I think my
husband rules over the rajah."
"Only when he is ill, my dear, and he is the most refractory patient I
ever had."
"And you see there is a certain etiquette to be observed here,"
continued Mr Braine. "We would do everything we could to help you to
procure your provisions, and say God speed to your journey, but we are
helpless."
"Indeed!" said Murray, flushing. "You mean that as we have come we must
ask the rajah's permission to go: I shall do nothing of the kind.
Gentlemen, we will start at once."