THE OUTLAWS AT SOEKA MANIESAN. FEARFUL RETRIBUTION.
Yes! the terrible news was true--it was but too true--!
When the van Gulpendams arrived at Soeka maniesan, the proprietor of
that sugar-factory could not help admitting that lately all symptoms
of disturbance had disappeared. He had caused the woods, in which the
supposed seditious meetings were held, to be carefully watched; but
he had not been able to discover in them a single human being. Thus,
he had come to the conclusion, that either his former information had
been altogether false, or else that the mutinous spirits had removed
to some other part of the country.
Resident van Gulpendam, on his arrival, summoned the Assistant Resident
of the district of which Soeka maniesan was an outlying station, and
he also called before him the Regent and the Wedonos of the place;
but he could not extract anything out of them which might awaken so
much as a suspicion of danger.
Very much the other way! All these authorities declared that the
most profound calm and content prevailed throughout the district,
though the Regent was fain to admit that there was a great deal of
poverty and distress about.
"Indeed!" said the Resident; "and what may be the cause of this sad
state of things, Radhen Adipattie?"
The Javanese chief shook his head dubiously, he did not at all like
answering that question.
As he stood there hesitating, van Gulpendam asked:
"Do the landowners pay the labourers reasonably well?"
"Oh, yes, kandjeng toean."
"Perhaps the rice harvest has failed or has not, this season, produced
as much as usual?"
"No, no, kandjeng toean, the harvest has been especially good and
abundant this year. The men have brought home many bundles of rice
to the common barn."
"What then may be the cause of the distress you speak of, Radhen
Adipattie?" asked the Resident.
"I do not know," replied the Javanese chief with a sigh.
The truth was, that he knew it well enough; but that he did not dare
to speak out. He knew equally well that if he told the whole truth he
would incur the displeasure of the Resident. He knew that the barns
were empty. The harvest had been plentiful indeed; but very little
of the crop had found its way to the barns.
The fact is, that the Javanese is a mere grown-up child. He had simply
squandered away his produce while it was yet standing unripe in the
fields. To lay his hands upon a little ready cash, he had sold his
rice, long before it was cut, to the Chinese money-lenders. And the
money thus obtained, at a ruinous sacrifice of course, had speedily
found its way to the opium-den, to the gambling-booth and to the
pawn-shop. It had been swallowed up by that august Trinity which is
the chief source of Dutch revenue. No, no! the Regent was too prudent
a man to put his thoughts into words, he cast a look of awe upon the
big cross which glittered on the Resident's breast and, with another
sigh, he said again:
"I cannot tell, kandjeng toean."
The Resident was perfectly satisfied with the result of his
investigation, and declared that he would occupy no other rooms than
those in the outbuildings. He professed himself quite contented with
the ordinary visitors' quarters.
"But, Resident," persisted the proprietor, "your apartments in the
house are all ready for you."
"My worthy friend," said van Gulpendam, "I won't hear of any such
thing. I intend to prove to you that I am perfectly satisfied as to
the state of the country, and, in the out-buildings I shall sleep as
securely and as soundly as you in your house."
From this resolution no arguments could move him. And, indeed, it
seemed that he was perfectly right. The reports which came in from
all quarters were so reassuring, that the owner of the factory Soeka
maniesan himself was beginning to incline to the opinion that he must
have been deceived.
The first night which the Resident and his wife passed in their
apartments, was as quiet as any night could possibly be, and they
enjoyed the most delightful rest.
The next day was spent in a minute survey of the sugar-factory although
it was rather late in the season, and the yearly campaign was about
to close. In the afternoon they took a pleasant walk, in the course
of which both Mr. and Mrs. van Gulpendam were delighted at the very
great respect which was paid them by every class of natives they
happened to meet. Not that such homage was strange to them, quite
the contrary; for, while he was only a controller, van Gulpendam had
exacted that every native whom he encountered on the way should squat
down and make a respectful sembah, and that every woman should turn
away her face, which is the usual way of showing deference. But here,
all these things were done by the natives with such evident signs of
deep humility--the country people were evidently so overawed at the
sight of their august visitors--that both the Resident and Laurentia
were delighted at so much submission. No, no, in these parts there
could be not the smallest ground for apprehension; van Gulpendam
thought he knew quite enough of the native character to make sure of
that. The evening also was passed most pleasantly. The owner of Soeka
maniesan had invited the principal families of the neighbourhood to
meet the Resident; and these had, of course, eagerly, accepted the
invitation. The gentlemen, and some of the ladies too, sat down to
a quiet game at cards, and those who did not play, passed the time
pleasantly enough with music and social conversation.
If some remnants of uneasiness could yet have lingered in the
Resident's mind, the placid landscape which lay stretched out before
him must have dissipated all such vague apprehensions. The moon stood
high in the heavens and shed her calm quiet light over the scene. A
cool breeze was rustling in the leaves of the splendid trees by which
the entire building was surrounded. In fact, everything breathed the
most profound peace, that serene quiet which makes tropical nights
above all things delicious. Thus the evening passed in quiet enjoyment,
and the hour of midnight had struck before the carriages came rumbling
up to take the visitors home.
When the guests had taken their departure, and the inmates of the
house were preparing to retire to rest, one of the overseers came
in and reported that some fellow had been seen sneaking about behind
the garden hedge.
"Some thief, probably," said the man carelessly, as if such a thing
was a not at all unusual occurrence.
"Come," said the proprietor, "let us go and have a look round." As
he said these words, he took down his gun, and offered the Resident
a weapon of the same description. Van Gulpendam however, with a wave
of his hand, declined to take it.
The two gentlemen, accompanied by the overseer, walked out into the
grounds; while the ladies retired to their bedrooms.
As we have already said, the weather was beautifully warm and clear.
The two European gentlemen strolled about but could discover nothing
to breed suspicion. The cool night-air induced them somewhat to extend
their walk. They got outside the grounds and entered the fields of
sugar-cane which adjoined the property, in which the canes had already
been partially gathered. The cane which had been cut had been carried
away to the factory; but a considerable part of the field was still
occupied by the tall stems awaiting the hand of the reaper. Here and
there in the field were big heaps of dry leaves which had been stripped
from the cane and were destined presently to be carried to the factory
to serve as fuel. The proprietor of Soeka maniesan was a thoroughly
practical sugar manufacturer, a man who knew all the ins and outs
of his trade; and Mr. van Gulpendam, who, while he occupied inferior
positions in the interior of the island, had been brought much into
contact with that industry, prided himself upon being pretty well up
in the subject also. Thus between these two experts, the conversation
never once flagged. Followed at a respectful distance by the overseer,
the gentlemen strolled leisurely along discussing the various kinds
of cane which were grown on the plantation. Van Gulpendam would
have it, that the light yellow cane contained the greatest amount
of saccharine matter, while the other declared, quite as positively,
that his long experience had taught him that the dark brown cane was
the more profitable to grow.
Both gentlemen stuck to their opinion, and the discussion was growing
somewhat lively; when--suddenly--a yell was heard, and a number
of men with blackened faces and armed with clubs, sprang up from
behind one of the heaps of leaves and made a rush straight at the two
Europeans. Startled at this sudden apparition, the Resident and his
host took to flight; but they had time to run only a very few paces,
before the nimble-footed Javanese had caught up the proprietor of
the factory and felled him to the ground with a single blow, before
he could so much as get his gun up to his shoulder. The Resident
they did not overtake until he had got within the grounds; but,
instead of striking at him, the men seized him, flung him down to
the ground and securely bound him. What had meanwhile become of the
overseer was a mystery. Very likely he had thrown himself down and
was crouching behind a heap of leaves; or, perhaps, he was hiding
behind some bushes. As van Gulpendam was being bound, he could see a
dozen of the men rushing off in the direction of the wing in which
was situated his wife's bedroom. He would have cried out for help;
but a powerful hand drove into his mouth a gag made of an old rag and
prevented him from uttering a sound. He could see that the attacking
party first attempted to open the door; but, finding it locked and fast
bolted, dashed it from its hinges with their clubs. Then the whole
party rushed in and cries of terror arose from the interior--then,
suddenly, came one terrible shriek of agony--and all was still again--.
This had taken place so rapidly, that the din made by the battering
in of the door only startled some inmates of the house and the men
who, during the night, had to attend to the steam-engines in the
factory. Long before anyone could come to the rescue, the attacking
party had returned to their comrades, who mounted guard over van
Gulpendam. Then, one of them without attempting to disguise his
voice, said:
"Come, make haste, let us get along, the horses are waiting for us
in the cane-field."
"Is the lady dead?" asked one of the men as coolly as possible.
"Dead!" was the reply, in a voice which trembled with revengeful
passion.
"Come, pick up that white pig, or else all the factory men will be
upon us and I shall have to kris the dog; that would be a pity."
At the words, a couple of bamboo poles were thrust under the arms
and legs of poor van Gulpendam.
"I am the kandjeng toean Resident!" he tried to say. Whether the words
were understood or not is doubtful; but the only result of the effort
was a furious blow in the mouth which drove the foul gag further home.
"March!" said the leader. Four Javanese thereupon took up the bamboo
poles on their shoulders and trotted off with their burden. The
sufferer groaned with the intense pain caused by the jolting; but
his lamentations were not heard, or if they were, no one paid the
slightest heed to his distress. Close outside the factory grounds
stood half-a-dozen horses saddled and all ready to start. Upon one
of these van Gulpendam was tightly strapped, then some of the men
mounted the other animals and the troop was ready to move on.
"To the 'djaga monjet!'" cried one of the horsemen to those whom he
left behind.
"Yes, yes!" eagerly cried the others.
As soon as the mounted men had disappeared with their prisoner, the
party which was left behind set fire to the sugar-canes. The reedy
stems burned fiercely and soon the dreadful roar of the flames was
mingled with the sharp crackling of the canes. Under cover of these
flames and of the smoke, the party were enabled to make good their
escape; and it was not until then that the big gong of the factory
began to sound the alarm.
While this seizure was taking place at Soeka maniesan, another
surprise of the same kind was being carried out with equal success
in another quarter.
About six pals from the town of Santjoemeh there stood a quaint looking
building, hidden away very pleasantly amid charming scenery in the
bends of the rising ground. Had the house been built in anything like
Swiss or Italian style, it might have been called a chalet or a villa;
but the order of its architecture was so distinctly Mongolian that
no mistake could be made as to its origin. It was, in fact, a Chinese
pavilion which lately had become the property of Lim Ho the son of the
opium factor at Santjoemeh. If anyone had fondly hoped that, after
his marriage, our babah would have settled down and become somewhat
less irregular in his habits, a single peep into the interior of that
pavilion must have dispersed all such pleasant illusions. That small
building, situated there in so charming and lonely a spot was, in fact,
nothing else than a trap into which the licentious young Chinaman was
wont to decoy the victims of his lust and was enabled to ensure their
ruin. The apartments of the pavilion were all furnished regardless
of cost and in the most sumptuous Asiatic style. In every room there
were luxurious divans and on every wall hung pictures which might be
valuable, perhaps, as works of art, but the subjects of which were
sensual and immoral to the lowest degree. On that same night in which
the attack was made upon Soeka maniesan, that Chinese pavilion also was
surprised. Here the attempt succeeded even more easily than that on the
sugar plantation. Lim Ho had that evening left his house in Santjoemeh
and was sitting in his pavilion impatiently awaiting for some poor
creature who had aroused his passions, and whom his agents had promised
to bring him. He had with him only two Chinese servants, fellows who
neither would nor could offer the faintest resistance. About midnight,
a knock was heard at the door. It was a low faint knock, and the babah,
in a fever of expectation, and thinking it was the pigeon which had
been decoyed to his den, gave the word at once to open the door.
No sooner, however, had the bolts been drawn and the key turned in the
lock, than half-a-dozen men with blackened faces and armed to the teeth
sprang in. Lim Ho, true to the cowardly nature of his race, turned pale
as death but never for an instant thought of resistance. He glanced
round nervously to see whether any way of escape lay open to him; but
when he saw both doors occupied and guarded by the attacking party,
he tried, in his unmanly terror, to hide himself by creeping under
one of the divans. In a very few minutes, however, he was dragged out
of that hiding place and was securely bound, strapped to a horse and
carried off.
Here again, just as at Soeka maniesan, the attacking party left
everything untouched. They did not lay a finger on any of the articles
of value which lay scattered about; but they confined themselves
strictly to the murder of Mrs. van Gulpendam and to the capture of
the Resident and of the opium farmer's son.
The proprietor of the sugar factory had, it is true, been knocked down
by a blow of one of their clubs; but that blow had not been struck
wantonly. It was inflicted simply as a precaution and in self-defence;
for the man would undoubtedly have run off and spread the alarm. He
would have roused his factory hands and caused the whole plot to fail,
and he would immediately have started in pursuit of the raiders. That
had to be guarded against at all hazards. But the blow did not prove
deadly or even dangerous. As soon as the first excitement, consequent
upon the discovery of Laurentia's murder, had somewhat subsided,
a band of men had sallied forth to put out the fire in the fields,
and then the owner of the factory was discovered lying insensible just
outside his own grounds. At first they thought he was dead; for he was
quite unconscious. They carried him into the house, and then his wife
soon found out that her husband, though stunned by a severe blow,
was neither wounded nor materially injured. Every effort was made
to restore him, and after some time, he recovered his senses. The
day had dawned before the police had arrived at Soeka maniesan and
began to make their inquiries. There and then a careful examination
was held of the entire staff employed on the factory--every single
individual being submitted to a rigorous interrogatory; but no clue
was found which could lead to the detection of the perpetrators of
this daring outrage. Just outside the yet smouldering cane-fields,
were found the tracks of horses; but that led to no result for the
weather had for a long time been very dry and the morning breeze had
covered all further tracks with a thick layer of fine dust. Thus
there was nothing, absolutely nothing, to indicate the direction
the horsemen might have taken. The proprietor himself, poor fellow,
could not give the slightest information. All he knew was that, as
he was quietly walking about engaged in argument with the Resident,
a number of fellows with blackened faces had started up from behind
one of the tall piles of leaves, that he had attempted to run away,
but had been overtaken and had received a blow on the head which
stunned him. Of what had taken place after that he, of course, knew
nothing whatever. The overseer's story was, if possible, still more
unsatisfactory. He said that the instant he saw the threatening forms
appearing from behind the heap of dadoe, he had flung himself down
flat upon the ground and then crept under another heap of leaves;
and that he had not ventured to stir out of that hiding place until
he heard the crackling of the canes and began to fear that the
leaves which covered him might be attacked by the flames. While in
this state of terror and suspense, he had seen nothing and had heard
nothing. Now, the question was: where were they to look for Resident
van Gulpendam? The police were at their wits' end. The whole district
of Santjoemeh was, naturally enough, in the greatest excitement;
and universal horror prevailed at the terrible fate which, in all
probability, had overtaken the chief of the district. But do what
they could, and search where they would, not a trace of the criminals
could be discovered, not a single gleam of light could be cast upon the
impenetrable mystery. For a day or two this state of suspense endured
until a fisherman, as he was trying to get his boat into the Moeara
Tjatjing, caught sight of the naked body of a European floating just
outside the surf. He made for it and drew it into his boat and then
took it to the loerah of Kaligaweh which was the nearest dessa.
Had this simple Javanese fisherman only known that it was the body of
the kandjeng toean, he would no doubt have turned away his head and
quietly said to his mates: "Let Allah's justice float by undisturbed."
Had he been able to foresee what troubles he was bringing upon
himself by raising that corpse from its watery grave, he would have
taken good care not to touch it. The alligators would, no doubt,
soon enough have provided for its burial.
As it was, the loerah of the dessa began by locking up the poor
fellow. Then he had to submit to endless examinations by the wedono,
by the pattih, by the regent, by the controller, by the assistant
resident, by the public prosecutor. All these authorities were
most eager in the matter; and thought that, in this poor man, they
held in their hands a clue to the mysterious drama enacted at Soeka
maniesan. Thus they vied with one another in badgering the poor devil,
until they drove him to desperation, and he at length was forced to
declare that he was light-headed and of weak intellect.
The body was readily identified as that of Resident van
Gulpendam. There could be no doubt about that; for the features
were almost intact. But all the parts which the sea-monsters had
spared appeared extremely inflamed and swollen; and it was evident
that the unhappy man must have died under an extremity of torture,
though there was nothing to show that any knife or sharp instrument
had caused his death.
What then had been his fate?
"To the 'djaga monjet!'"
Yes! It was indeed to that very same dismal hut in the mangrove swamp
by the Moeara Tjatjing, to which we introduced our readers in our
first chapters, that the band of horsemen was now riding at full speed.
They carefully avoided all the dessas which lay on the road, a thing
which they could easily do as they were perfectly acquainted with all
the bye-paths. They shunned even the guard-houses, not being certain
that the watchmen stationed there could be implicitly trusted. Thus,
without let or hindrance, the little troop rode on, and the day was
just beginning to break when they reached the mangrove wood, in which
the "djaga monjet" was situated.
When they carried van Gulpendam, still bound hand and foot, into
the hut, they found Lim Ho there. He had been brought in some time
before, and was lying stretched out at full length upon the wretched
flooring. He also was bound so tightly that he could not move hand
or foot. At a signal from a tall, slim Javanese, who appeared to be
the leader of the band, the cords which bound the unhappy prisoners
were loosened, and the gags were removed from their mouths.
Around them stood about twenty Javanese, all unrecognisable, with
blackened faces and fully armed.
The Chinaman uttered not a word, he seemed prostrate with terror. The
sudden shock appeared to have annihilated him.
But, as soon as the European felt that he was free, he stretched his
limbs, and in a voice of conscious dignity he said:
"Are you aware that I am the kandjeng toean Resident?"
"Yes, kandjeng toean," replied the leader in a tone of mock humility.
"It is but a few days ago," continued van Gulpendam, "that the kandjeng
toean Radja honoured me with a particular mark of his high favour." As
he spoke these words he pointed haughtily to the huge cross which still
was hanging sparkling on the breast of his light-blue resident's frock.
"Yes, kandjeng toean!" repeated the leader, while all his men made
the sembah in token of deep respect.
"Government will exact the most terrible punishment should you hurt
so much as a hair of my head!"
A mocking laugh was the answer to that speech. Twenty men grasped
the handles of their krises; but at a wave from the leader's hand,
all kept silence, and not a single word was spoken, not a single
blade was drawn.
"Before Government will be able to punish," rejoined the Javanese
quietly, "you will both be dead men."
"Dead!" exclaimed Lim Ho in a voice husky with terror.
"Dead?" cried van Gulpendam. "No, no, you dare not do that! My death
would be too fearfully avenged!"
"Both of you, I said--" resumed the leader with perfect coolness,
"I said both of you deserve to die. We have passed sentence upon
you. That sentence must be carried out--after that, they may do with
us what they will--I mean, of course, if they can lay hands upon us."
"But," cried Lim Ho, half mad with terror, "what have I done?"
"You ask me what you have done? Well, I will tell you. In this very
hut, you inflicted upon a man, whose only fault was that he loved,
and intended to marry, a girl upon whom you had cast your lustful
eyes, the most atrocious torture. You ask what you have done? That
same young girl you contrived, with the assistance of the njonja of
yonder wretch, to get into your possession, you outraged her most
brutally, and then, when you had worked your foul will upon her,
you cast her off and accused her of opium smuggling."
Lim Ho's face grew ashy-pale as he heard these terrible words, he
began to understand into whose hands he had fallen.
Van Gulpendam thought that he ought still to keep up his proud and
dignified bearing. He could not bring himself to believe that a mere
Javanese would dare to raise his hand against his august person,
against the kandjeng toean. But yet he thought it advisable to speak
in a somewhat conciliatory tone.
"If what you have just now said be true," he began, "then certainly Lim
Ho deserves severe punishment, and I pledge you my word that I will
exert my authority to see that his punishment shall be proportioned
to his offence; but what have I done that you dare to treat me thus?"
"You, you, kandjeng toean!" vehemently broke in the leader, in a voice
which seemed fairly to hiss with rage, "you have made the offences,
as you call them, of this Chinese dog possible. You have had the
man, of whom I just now spoke, cast into a dungeon, you condemned
him to the most barbarous punishment, knowing all the while that he
was innocent. And all this you have done merely in order that you
might screen the smuggling trade of that scoundrel. You supplied
the opium-farmer with the means of preventing that girl's father
from defending his own child against the brutality of yon beastly
Chinaman. Do you still ask me what you have done? Why, you and your
wife are guilty of all I have said--and you and your wife deserve to
die. Part of our sentence has already been carried out, and, believe
me, it will be fully executed."
"Wha--! What? Partly carried out you said?" gasped van Gulpendam. "My
wife--!"
The leader turned to one of his followers:
"Tell the kandjeng toean what has become of the njonja."
"The njonja is dead!" was the brief reply.
"Yes!" shouted the leader wildly, "the njonja is dead! We had mercy
upon her, one single stab put an end to her accursed life. Look
here--those spots on my kris--they are her blood!"
"That shriek I heard?" cried van Gulpendam.
"Was the last sound she will ever utter in this world. But," continued
the Javanese, still carried away by his passion, "do not for a moment
flatter yourself that we will deal thus mercifully with you. Upon a
woman we could have compassion. But you! Oh yes, you shall suffer! You
shall feel something of the tortures you are so ready to inflict
upon others!"
Even then van Gulpendam retained something of his fortitude and
haughty bearing, and he said:
"I bid you beware of the punishing hand of the Dutch Government,
it will know how to avenge me."
"I am prepared to brave any peril, if only I have my revenge," said
the Javanese. "Upon you I am determined to execute justice!"
"Justice, justice!" cried van Gulpendam, "and who are you that you
dare to prate about justice, even while you are planning sedition
and preparing for murder? Tell me who are you?"
"Who I am? Well, you shall know!"
In a corner of that wretched cabin stood a tub filled with water. The
Javanese took up the cocoa-nut scoop which hung by it and washed
his face.
"Now do you recognise me?" he cried, as he drew himself up to his
full height before his prisoners.
"Ardjan!" sighed Lim Ho.
"Ardjan!" cried van Gulpendam as thoroughly dismayed as was his
companion in misfortune.
Both of them now plainly saw that they were reserved for some dreadful
death. The account which each had to settle with that young man was
a heavy one indeed.
"Have mercy! Have mercy upon us!" they cried as they fell down on
their knees before him, their teeth chattering with terror as they
knelt at his feet.
"Mercy?" almost shrieked Ardjan. "What mercy did you show poor Dalima
and old Setrosmito? Come, speak up, will you? What mercy did you
show to me and to my old father? Dalima violated! My father and I
locked up for months in a loathsome prison, and then, sentenced--by
your very mouth--to years of penal servitude-- And now you ask me to
have mercy? If I could feel pity then indeed you might call me the
veriest blockhead in the world. But," continued the Javanese, after
a moment's pause, "tell me, supposing I could feel pity, supposing I
were to set you free, tell me, kandjeng toean, what would you do then?"
These words were spoken in a much milder tone, it seemed as if Ardjan
were wavering, and, in that hesitation, the unfortunate European
thought he could see a faint gleam of hope. Trembling with fear,
he raised himself on his knees, and, wringing his hands in agony,
he cried, while big tears went coursing down his cheeks:
"Oh, do not fear. You shall have full pardon--free pardon--I have power
with the Government and I can induce them to forgive all. The great
lord at Batavia will grant me my request. All the injustice which has
been done shall be amply made good. You shall have compensation--I
will see to it I will pay it out of my own purse--! All that has
happened shall be made good, believe me!"
"Dalima's injuries also?" asked a hoarse croaking voice from behind
Ardjan. "Those white fellows seem to think they are almighty, or else
they fancy that we Javanese are the greatest fools in the world!"
That name of Dalima and these few scornful words seemed to rouse Ardjan
out of the fit of weakness which appeared for a moment to have come
over him. He shook his head violently as if he wished to drive out some
unwelcome thoughts, at that movement his head-cloth became loosened and
his long black hair streamed fiercely and wildly over his shoulders.
"No! no!" he exclaimed, "no pity, no mercy. Now I have you in my power,
you are crawling and cringing at my feet as mean and as cowardly as the
vilest beasts. Did you ever see a Javanese so degrade himself? Did
you ever see a native act so meanly, even when pleading for his
life? You have sent plenty of them to the gallows, and you ought to
know how a coloured man can die. Pity! mercy! Ha! ha! ha! You are ready
enough now with your promises; but in your hearts you are, even now,
scheming how you may evade them and break them. Trust a white man's
word!--ha! ha! ha! As if we don't know all about that. Whenever did
a white man keep his promise to us Javanese? Whenever--"
Here one of the men whispered something into Ardjan's ear.
"Yes, yes, you are right, let us cut it short. No, no--no pity, far
from it. You shall have a painful, a cruel death. I had made up my
mind to give you the most terrible--the 'hoekoem madoe--'"
Lim Ho uttered a fearful yell at these terrible words.
"Mercy! mercy!" he moaned.
"--But that would take too much time," continued Ardjan, who had by
this time regained his composure. "We might get the police upon us
before you were quite finished and that would spoil the game-- No, I
have given up that idea. You shall undergo the 'hoekoem kamadoog.' The
same punishment, you remember, Lim Ho, that you gave me; and yet I
had committed no fault whatever, and the kandjeng toean there thought
it right to leave your outrageous crime unpunished. No, you must not
be able to say that I am more barbarous than you."
"Mercy! Mercy!" cried both the wretched men.
"No! no! no pity!" rejoined Ardjan.
Then, with a signal to one of his mates, he continued:
"Strip them and take them outside!"
That order was carried out literally and in a very few minutes. The
fine light-blue coat was rent from the Resident's back, his trousers
followed and his shirt; and torn to ribbons they soon lay on the dirty
floor of the cabin--even the Virtus nobilitat was trampled under foot.
Lim Ho underwent the same rough operation, and then both men stood
there naked before their pitiless judges. Then their hands were tied
behind their backs and the wretched creatures were simply pitched
down the rude steps.
Ardjan reminded Lim Ho of the glorious fun he had eight months ago
when the two Chinamen and himself were similarly treated.
"You remember," he laughed, "how Than Khan and Liem King tumbled down
from top to bottom? It was fine sport to you then!"
It took but a few moments to tie up the two victims to the
Niboeng-palms, which grew in front of the hut--to the very trees to
which the two Chinamen and Ardjan himself had been fastened.
"The kandjeng toean to that tree," said Ardjan, pointing to the stem
at which he had himself suffered.
"Pardon! Pity!" the poor victims kept crying incessantly.
No one heeded their agonising yells. When they were tied up--Ardjan
gave the word: "Now, my lads, give way!"
Four men stepped forward each armed with a bunch of the formidable
nettle, and the blows began to fall like rain upon the bare limbs of
the wretched victims.
Wherever the leaves fell the flesh seemed to shrink away in agony.
The Chinaman bit his under-lip until the teeth met in the flesh,
but he did not utter a single moan. At first van Gulpendam strove
to follow his example; but he had not the tough resolution of an
Asiatic in this supreme moment. He could not restrain himself. First
he moaned, then he whimpered, he cried aloud in his misery, he
howled, he yelled with pain. Nothing could touch his ruthless
executioners. "Pardon! mercy!" he cried. "Oh, I beg for mercy!"
But, in reply to his piteous cries, came the words:
"Dalima! Ardjan! Pak Ardjan! Setrosmito!" And then upon the brain of
the unhappy Resident there flashed another name, a name more terrible
to him perhaps than all the others:
"Meidema, Meidema! pardon, mercy!" he kept on wailing in a voice
which told of the most exquisite torture.
But gradually his cries grew weaker, at length they became hardly
intelligible--they gurgled like a hoarse and dying rattle in the
throat. The pain was beyond endurance. Still the men kept plying
their deadly nettle.
At length his head began to dangle helplessly, and it seemed as if
the unfortunate sufferer had lost consciousness.
Lim Ho had been fortunate enough to reach that state much earlier,
and was thus sooner out of his misery.
Ardjan stood by at the scene, glaring at his victims with revengeful
eagerness. He clenched his fists convulsively, he had to exercise
the greatest self-control to prevent himself from catching up one of
the bunches of kamadoog leaves and having his blow at the wretched
beings who had not scrupled to inflict the same barbarous treatment
upon himself. No, no, he felt not the smallest grain of pity--he
could think only of his own wrongs and his own happiness destroyed
for ever. Even if the voice of pity could have spoken within him it
would have been stifled by his father, who, standing close behind him,
kept on whispering in his ear: "Dalima, Dalima!"
For some time the two victims had been unconscious; but yet Ardjan
did not think of putting a stop to the torture. At every blow, at
every touch even of those terrible leaves the skin of the sufferers
puckered up though the bodies no longer felt the pain. The muscles
stretched, then ran up into knots and horrid spasms shot through the
entire frames. Soon the bodies could no longer support themselves,
but hung in the cords that bound them, limp as empty sacks. The eyes
of the tortured men were closed; but every now and then they would
spasmodically open for a moment, and would stare with a blood-shot
stony gaze which betrayed the extreme suffering which even the
senseless body was undergoing.
In their dying agonies they flung their heads convulsively to and fro,
dashing them up fearfully against the Niboeng palm while flecks of
foam came flying from their lips. But, in this world everything must
come to an end, and at length the protracted sufferings were over.
Gradually the convulsive starts of the two bodies began to subside and
finally ceased altogether. The soul had left its earthly tenement. Then
Ardjan, in tones the most indifferent in the world, said, "Enough!"
At the word, his men looked at him for further instructions. "Untie
them," he said, and without speaking another word, he pointed to
the sea.
The instant the ropes were cut through, the bodies fell with a heavy
thud to the ground. As he fell van Gulpendam for the last time opened
his eyes and, very softly, but quite intelligibly he sighed forth
the single word:
"Meidema!"
The thought of that unhappy family--of those good honest people whose
ruin he had so craftily and cruelly planned, haunted that guilty
soul even as it was taking its flight. With that name on his lips
he expired.
Lim Ho gave no sign of life.
Both corpses were then dragged to the Kali Tjatjing and pitched into
the water, and the stream quickly carried them out to the Java sea.
In the far distance between the two headlands could be seen the
schooner brig Kiem Ping Hin quietly riding at anchor and flying
the British ensign. Faithful to her calling she was waiting for an
opportunity to deliver her smuggled goods to the company Lim Yang Bing.