A SEARCH FOR A MARE’S-NEST.
“I say, Claud,” cried Martin, as soon as we were alone.
“No, don’t--don’t say anything now; for I am knocked up with fatigue
and sore bones, and want to tumble off to sleep at once.”
“Ah! but I _must_, old fellow. What a confounded fib you told!”
“To whom?” I replied, reddening with indignation.
“Well, to the bee-hunters, or to Prabu and me; for the two stories were
about as much alike as black and white.”
“Not to _you_, Martin. As for the chief’s sons, had I told them the
truth, depend upon it, I should have had a creese in my side before the
morning.”
“Ah! I see,” he replied, thoughtfully. “It _is_, then, as I imagined;
they _are_ the nest-robbers you saw in the cave. I knew that a fellow
who had never been guilty of a falsehood in his life could not
fabricate such a tarradiddle without some great motive.”
“You are right, Martin; they are the selfsame men, as you might easily
have guessed from Prabu’s behavior.”
“Ah! but that is what I cannot understand. If he _knew_ them to be
cave-robbers, why did he not accuse them there and then?”
“Is he not the betrothed of their sister? But be patient, Martin, and
you will find that he has some scheme in his mind for their confusion,
if not punishment.”
“Nay, Claud, that can scarcely be; for did he not jump at the
opportunity of going with them to-morrow in search of the tin ore?”
“That tin-ore story, Martin, is all fudge, and the invitation is only
to get Prabu away, while their companions carry the birds’-nests they
have collected from the cave, perhaps down to the Chinese junk of which
you heard them speak; at least, that is my opinion, and to-morrow
will prove whether I am correct. But now, old fellow, do let me go
to sleep.” And go to sleep I did, leaving Martin to work out what
discoveries he might during the night; and he made the best use of his
time, for scarcely had I opened my eyes in the morning, than he said:
“Claud, you were right; those fellows, the bee-hunters, are hatching
mischief.”
“Oh! that’s your opinion now, is it, most sapient Martin? Did I not say
as much last night?”
“No, not my opinion: I _know_ it.”
“_How?_ What mean you?”
“Well, about the middle of the night, when it was but natural to think
everybody was asleep, that fellow they call the ‘strong one’ went down
to the seaside and had speech with the captain of a Chinese junk which
is anchored nearly inshore.”
“Ah!” I exclaimed, with surprise; “but how know you this? Did you dream
it?”
“Dream it, bother, no! Couldn’t sleep--heard a noise--got up--saw the
fellow creeping along--followed him at a respectful distance: you know
the rest; and now I have told you all. What do you think of it?”
“Why, that my suspicions are confirmed. But we must tell Prabu.”
“Then now is your time, for here he is,” said Martin, as the captain
entered the room, to ask us whether we would go with Kati and the men
to the cave, or with him and the bee-hunters.
“Before we answer you, listen to what my brother has to say,” said I;
and Martin repeated what he had just told me. For a moment he pondered,
but then, to our astonishment, laughingly said:
“It is nothing--it means nothing injurious to me. Surely these men
are my brothers, and may go to and fro without their motives being
questioned!”
“Prabu,” said Martin, wincing a little at this rebuke, “you are a queer
fellow; I can’t make you out; you mean more than you say.”
“That is better than to say more than I mean; but how choose my
masters?”
“Let us go with Prabu, Claud,” said Martin.
“With all my heart,” I replied; “for I believe I have had enough of
the caves, at least for some time to come.” And so with Prabu and
his two brothers-in-law that were to be we set out, the latter being
laden with implements of their trade--namely, a bundle of the husks of
cocoanut-shells, a quantity of small bamboo-sticks, and stout rattans.
Of course, the ostensible purpose of the journey had been to examine
the tin. Strangely enough, however, after traversing hill, dale, and
forest for some ten miles, and a careful search in every direction,
the precious vein remained _non est_. The worthy brothers had, they
declared, carelessly forgotten to mark the whereabouts. Now, to one
who, like Prabu, had given up a day’s profitable occupation in the
caves, such a disappointment should have been vexatious; but the worthy
captain did but smile and gently chide the brothers, and beg of them
to re-discover and well mark the spot by the time he again visited the
caves--adding, philosophically, “Allah is great! What is written is
written: every day cannot be a fortunate one.” Martin and I, however,
felt much chagrined, for we were convinced that the worthy brothers
had, for some purpose of their own, been hoaxing us.
“Verily,” said Martin to me, in confidence, “our friend Prabu must be a
little daft, or he would not so good-humoredly take a day’s hunt for a
‘mare’s-nest’ for the profitable gathering in the caves.”
“Let us bide our time,” I replied, with more confidence in Prabu, and
feeling quite certain that some kind of _ruse_, although unknown to us,
was in preparation to give the _honest_ bee-hunters a _quid pro quo_.
Well, we had wasted the day in this fruitless search; but as, toward
evening, on our return, we entered a dense jungle, the “strong one”
called out that we were near the bees’-nests. Upon hearing this, we
all felt enlivened; and our three companions began to cut the branches
of a palm, in which labor they were assisted by Martin and me. Each
having our arms full, followed the “strong one” to the foot of a
huge tree, at which we laid our loads. The brothers then, throwing
upon the branches cocoa-husks, lighted their torches; then, having
repeated a Mahomedan prayer, which concluded with “God, He is God,
and Mahomed is His Prophet!” kindled a fire; then, continuing to wave
their torches around them--partly to keep off the bees when they
should come down, and partly in the belief that it would insure a good
hive of wax--awaited the rising of the smoke and flames in sufficient
quantities to arouse the insects. By the way, Mr. Spenser St. John, at
one time British Consul-General in Borneo, thus describes the manner of
taking bees’-nests in that, the largest of the Indian islands:--
“The natives obtain beeswax from the nests built on the tapang-tree,
and climb the loftiest heights in search of it upon small sticks, which
they drive _as they advance_ up the noble stem, that rises above a
hundred feet free of branches, and whose girths vary from fifteen to
five-and-twenty feet. Once these pegs are driven in, their outer ends
are connected by a stout rattan, which, with the tree, forms a kind of
ladder.
“It requires cool and deliberate courage to take a beehive at so great
an elevation, where, in case of being attacked by the bees, the almost
naked man would fall and be dashed to atoms. They depend upon the
flambeaux they carry up with them, as, when the man disturbs the hive,
the sparks falling from it cause, it is said, the bees to fly down in
chase of them, instead of attacking their real enemy, who then takes
the hive and lowers it down by a rattan-string. The bees escape unhurt.
This plan does not appear to be as safe as that pursued by the Pakatan
Dyaks, who kindle a large fire under it, and, throwing green branches
upon it, raise so stifling a smoke that the bees rush forth, and the
man, ascending, takes their nest in safety. Both these operations are
generally conducted at night, although the second might be, I imagine,
practised in safety during the day.”
But to return to my narrative. As the dense smoke now reached the
hives, the little insects came forth by thousands; and the two
brothers, clambering up the tree, dislodged the nest, finding in
it, to their great delight, a wealth of honey and wax, chiefly the
latter--which, by the way, constitutes a very valuable and considerable
article of commerce in Java, from whence large quantities are annually
exported to China and Bengal. As for honey, it is very scarce, and
for the following reasons: Bees are not domesticated in Java, nor,
indeed, with rare exceptions, in any part of Asia; the wandering
habits to which these insects are encouraged at all seasons, by the
perpetual succession of flowers, would render domestication very
difficult. It being, consequently, unnecessary for them to lay up a
store of provision in a climate where there are flowers all the year
round, their honey is small in quantity; while, from the quality of the
vegetation, it is naturally of much inferior flavor to that of higher
latitudes.
Their success in taking this fine hive encouraged them to continue
the hunt; and after three more fires, we returned to the village with
as many hives, greatly to the delight of the brothers “weak one” and
“strong one,” and, I may add, to that of Prabu; for, of the four hives,
he claimed and obtained two as his share, a portion of which was
awarded between Martin and me.
Upon reaching the house of the head-man, we found it almost impossible
to obtain an entrance, in consequence of a crowd of people, who were
clamoring for justice upon a poor old woman, whom they had brought
before the chief, and accused of killing a man. Forcing our way into
the large hall, where the chief was holding his bed of justice, we
heard the case; and a very curious one it was, as illustrating the
superstitious habits of the people. It appeared that a young man
becoming suddenly mad, his friends had taken him immediately to the
old lady, who was the acknowledged physician of the village. Well,
Mrs. Doctor, having prescribed several spells and incantations, which
proved useless, next recommended an infallible cure. The patient’s
head, in fact, was to be placed over a pot of ignited sulphur until his
senses returned. Accordingly, he was held in this position by several
of the stoutest men, who rendered all his struggles to get away vain,
until Mrs. Doctor considered he had had a sufficient dose; but that,
unfortunately, was not until the great physician, Death, stepped in;
whereupon the friends, who had hitherto possessed such faith in their
female leech, at once charged her with murder and took her before the
chief; who, after patiently hearing the case, very properly exonerated
the woman, but ordered her, under penalty of death, never to try that
particular prescription again, since experience had proved it not to
be one of those legally admissible, inasmuch that it was certain to
kill or cure, but one that, sure as fate itself, would _kill_ and _not_
cure; and thus ended the only _cause célèbre_ I ever saw tried in a
Javanese village.
The old chief seemed that evening to be in an especially good humor. He
congratulated our party for its success in bees’-nesting, and condoled
with Prabu upon his disappointment with respect to the tin-mine;
but the latter laughed it off, and even refused to be consoled with
one of the other two hives: nay, with our permission as far as our
share went, he presented the old gentleman with his own two, as a
compliment to his betrothed, “the handsome one.” This generosity the
chief acknowledged by loading the table (_i. e._, floor) with all the
dainties of a Javanese village, not forgetting flagons of the strong
rice-spirit. The latter, however, Prabu scarcely touched; but withal
we spent a very jolly evening, and by their countenances I could see
that the joviality of our hosts did not decrease when, shortly after,
Kati joined us. The captain surprised us all by declaring that, as he
had now obtained his cargo of nests and the prahu was ready for sea, he
intended to sail at daybreak. On the contrary, they became clamorous
in their wishes for his prosperity, and drank so deeply to his speedy
return, that Martin and I were not a little rejoiced when we found
ourselves once more alone and stretched upon our sleeping-mats.
“There is something brewing,” said my brother.
“Perhaps it is already brewed, and only awaiting tapping,” said I. “But
we shall see: ‘Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.’”
“Bother your musty old saws!” cried Martin. “Can’t you tell me what you
think of this sudden resolve of Prabu’s to sail to-morrow? You know it
is all stuff about having his cargo ready and on board. Why, he had but
half a cargo yesterday.”
“Ah, brother mine! but perhaps some kind fairy, by way of consoling him
for his disappointment touching the tin-mine, has supplied him with the
other half.”
“Nonsense, Claud, it was no disappointment; you know that he believed
it all a hoax.”
“I _know_ nothing, Martin; I can only guess and hope.”
“But what do you guess and hope, then?”
“That would indeed be tellings, Martin. Why, it would be giving you
the end of a story before you had got half through. No, it would spoil
the whole; so rest contented, or guess for yourself.” And then Martin
went to sleep in a very bad humor. In justice, however, to myself, I
was bound by Prabu not to tell living soul either what I _knew_ or
_guessed_ without his permission.