WE JOIN A TIGER-HUNT, BUT NARROWLY ESCAPE POISONING, AND ESCAPE TO OUR
ISLAND.
That night the heavy rains commenced, and for three days we were kept
within doors, for in those islands it literally “never rains but it
pours”--nay, falls in torrents, which deluge the whole land. Neither
was this seclusion rendered any the more agreeable, now that, having
been assured of our cousin’s safety, our minds were perpetually racked
with curiosity as to her whereabouts and Prabu’s reasons for keeping it
secret from us.
Thus, when the rains cleared off, and the Chief Mahomed invited us to
join him and party in a tiger-hunt, we rejoiced--I, that activity would
prevent my mind from preying upon itself--Martin, partly for a similar
reason, but chiefly, that he was about joining in a sport of which
he had heard so much, but seen nothing. As for Prabu, he, I believe,
accepted the invitation out of mere politeness, and, perhaps, policy,
hoping thereby to secure the young Mahomed to the interests of the
“Dutch-hating party.” But, however that might have been, he must at
last have begun to entertain some suspicions as to the Chief’s honesty
of purpose; for, upon the morning of the hunt, he sent Martin down to
the prahu, with orders to bring back a party of six of the best of the
crew, armed with muskets and creeses.
Upon Martin’s arrival with the small force, the Chief, who was standing
in the midst of some ten or twelve of his vassals, all armed with
creeses and boar-spears, looked very surlily; then, changing his
tactics, he affected to praise the appearance of the men and their
arms, but mildly suggested to Prabu that, for the sake of himself and
crew, it would be as well to send them back to the prahu, as the sight
of so many armed men might arouse the jealous fears of the villagers in
the mountains. But Prabu, with equal simplicity or cunning, declared
that there was no fear of their embroiling themselves with his
subjects, for they were mild-tempered men, whom he could hold well in
hand, and that, moreover, he had ordered them to accompany the party
for his Highness’s amusement and gratification--indeed, to show him
what musket-practice would do among the tigers; adding, that, should
his Highness approve it, he would, before taking his departure from his
territory, present him with a case of arms. At which Mahomed testified
so much delight and good humor, not to say apparent manly frankness,
that even I began to think that my suspicions were groundless.
Well, all being prepared, we started, Mahomed leading the way into the
interior, by following the windings of a small river--swollen, muddy,
and rapid from the late heavy rains. Now, during the first five or
six hours, Mahomed was both lively and jocose: as, however, time wore
on, and we found no tiger’s track, he became moody, and withdrew every
now and then to hold a conference with two of his sub-chiefs; and this
again arousing my doubts, I whispered to Prabu and my brother.
“Oh, bother with your suspicions and prophecies of evil, you old
witch!” replied the latter; “he is only sorry because we have not yet
been able to beat up a tiger.”
“Sahib,” replied Prabu, “there is no fear; for if Mahomed were to play
us false, he would lose the muskets I have promised. It is as the Sahib
Martin says: you will see how his eyes will glisten when we start a
tiger.”
After such expressions of confidence, what could I say?--nothing--and
so we pursued our search for game for two more hours; but then, as we
had reached a small village of bamboo huts, the Chief proposed that we
should remain in one of them and refresh ourselves, while two of his
attendants went to beat a neighboring jungle.
As we entered this little village, an incident occurred that exhibited
to the full the true nature of the Chief. A girl, very pretty for a
native, ran across our path, and, stumbling against a tree-stump, fell
at his feet. Conceiving this--albeit a pure accident--to be an insult
to his dignity, Mahomed caught her up in one of his vise-like fists,
and dashed her forward to a considerable distance, where she lay,
bruised and bleeding from a wound in the face.
“The cowardly hound!” cried I, in English; and running forward,
followed by Martin, we picked her up, staunched the bleeding, and with
kind words led her into the nearest hut, where we left her, with a
face beaming with gratitude, and exclaiming, “Allah preserve the good
sahibs!”
This interference--for so the Chief doubtlessly considered it--between
him and one of his slaves, evidently much vexed him; and I could see,
from the savage glare of his eyes, that it was with pain he restrained
his anger. As soon, however, as we entered one of the huts, the cloud
seemed to have passed over; for he began a lively chat as to our
hunting prospects, which he continued until interrupted by the coming
of the refreshments. At the very sight of these, even, Martin and I
forgot his brutality; for our vision was then delighted with stores
of the delicious mangosteen, and our sense of smell by the arrival of
several small vessels of hot, well-milked coffee. Fortunately for us,
the refreshing beverage was not drunk.
But now let me tell you how we were placed in that hut. I was reclining
at full length, with my head resting upon a bamboo pillow, against
one of the sides; the bamboos of which had shrunk from each other at
least an inch, so that, when looking in that direction, I could see
all that was doing without. My brother was in a similar position by my
side--Prabu about the middle of the hut; and between us three and the
door, with his face turned rather toward the exterior, sat the Chief
upon a mat. This position he had taken, ostensibly, that he might the
better communicate with his people, who, of course, were not permitted
to sit in their lord’s presence. With reference to the men, I may add
that, while the attendants of Mahomed had seated themselves in a line
immediately near the hut, our party from the prahu were placed at a
short distance beyond them; but both parties were partaking, or about
to partake, of their coffee.
Well, I had been in the position described three or four minutes,
awaiting till the coffee had become sufficiently cool to drink, when,
as my left hand rested against the bamboo, I felt a tickling sensation.
Turning my head, I saw the girl who had been so brutally used by the
Chief earnestly gazing upon me. “Sahib,” she whispered in my ear, “not
drink coffee; it kill. Young chief bad man.”
The coffee was poisoned, then--there could be no doubt as to her
meaning; but how fearful were my sensations! Martin had his cup at his
very lips--there was no time for caution. In an instant I had snatched
it from his hand, crying, “It is poisoned; we are betrayed!”
The Chief sprang up like a tiger-cat; but Prabu, as if by instinct
seeing through the whole conspiracy, dashed his own scalding coffee in
Mahomed’s face. Then, with one blow of his creese striking him to the
earth, he cried, “Forward, forward, sahibs, to our own men;” and so
astonished at this sudden muck were the Chief’s people, that we had
passed the cordon and reached our own men, ere one of the former could
get to his feet.
“Those who have partaken of the coffee,” cried Prabu, “are poisoned--we
are betrayed! Give the rogues a volley!” This order being instantly
responded to by a deafening discharge of muskets, he added, “Now, run
for your lives. Load as you go, for there are others at hand.”
And away we scampered helter-skelter towards the little river, never
stopping until we had placed it between us and our pursuers; for that
they would follow we had little doubt.
“By Jingo, old witch!” said Martin, as he stood wiping the perspiration
from his forehead; “you are right again, and we have had a narrow
escape.”
“Have the men partaken of the coffee?” I asked.
The answer was in the affirmative, and that many of them had been
attacked by sickness; but, thanks to the fright and excitement, it had
proved innoxious to the system. It had not, in fact, had time to render
the circulation torpid, or, indeed, we should all have been lost.
I now told Martin that we were indebted for our lives to the little
native girl.
“Heaven bless her, then, for this great return for our small kindness!”
he exclaimed. “But, Claud, what cowards are we to leave her among these
wretches! Nay, even now it may not be too late. Let us return, run a
‘muck’ among them, and bring her off.”
“Very quixotic and useless, my dear brother; for she is in no danger,
as none know who cautioned us, and, doubtless, she will keep her own
counsel.”
“The Sahib Martin is possessed to propose such a thing,” said Prabu;
“but forward, or by another route, one party may yet cut us off from
the prahu.”
So onward we tramped, crossing and recrossing the winding stream,
till we had reached within two miles of the late Chief’s town; then
we dashed into the jungle, hoping by a short cut to reach the coast,
and so perhaps, by keeping near the sea, get sight of the prahu. It
was a heavy, toilsome march through mud, slush, and dense jungle; but
at length we scented the briny air, at another time disgusting from
its impregnation of rotten fish and foul weeds, but now the odor was
delicious to our nostrils, for it came from the sea. Then, when, after
hewing and cutting, as we dragged our wearied limbs through a prickly
jungle of rattans, and obtained sight of the broad expanse of ocean,
each man gave one leap--literally, a leap for joy--and fell upon the
beach to rest.
“I would give half the fortune left to us by our uncle, Martin, to be
once more safe on board the prahu,” said I.
“I wouldn’t, though--we are safe enough; the imps will never find us
here,” replied my brother; but even while he was speaking, there arose
a loud yelling on the town-side of the jungle, and at once every man
was again upon his feet, musket in hand.
“We are lost!” I exclaimed, as the enemy, nearly a hundred in number,
came rushing towards us.
“We have one hope,” said Prabu; “they have no fire-arms;” then, quick
as thought, he settled upon a plan of defense. “Give them a volley, but
let each man take a steady aim,” he cried.
This we did (there were nine of us in all), and with such effect
that the Balinese stood as if paralyzed at the sight of their dead
and wounded countrymen. Then, when we had reloaded, Prabu told off
my brother, myself, and three of the crew, and, pointing to a small,
wooded island, about a quarter of a mile out at sea, he bade us swim
to it, but at the same time to preserve our arms and ammunition, as
best we could, from the water. “Until the sahibs reach the island,” he
added, “we will keep the rogues from sending their arrows after them.”
“To save our arms and ammunition,” said Martin, “we must swim with one
hand, holding the musket and cartridge-box in the other,” and this we
did; for, like the native islanders, we had learned to swim like fish.
Upon reaching the island, we saw that the Balinese, who had by that
time recovered their self-possession, were now bearing down upon our
comrades. The latter, however, who had formed in line, with their backs
turned to the sea, let the enemy approach and discharge a shower of
arrows--which, by the way, they received without flinching, or, indeed,
harm; then sending a volley, which told as well as the former one,
turned and, leaping into the water, made for the island. Now came our
turn: the Balinese were about to follow our comrades into the water,
but ere a foot had been wetted, Martin and I, by way of protecting the
swimmers by a covering fire, sent a couple of leaden messengers in
their midst, that made them yell and shout, till the very air seemed
filled with their noise. But they were quieted, as far as action
against us went, at least for the time.
“They have had enough of it for this day,” said Martin.
“True, sahib,” said Prabu, who, with his men, had just landed; “but at
daybreak, the devils will be upon us by hundreds.”
“Then won’t we give them a warm welcome, that’s all,” replied Martin.
But he added: “Sufficient for the hour is the evil thereof; so, in the
meantime, that we may have strength and pluck enough to meet them, let
all of us but one snatch a few hours’ rest.”
“No,” replied Prabu, “that would not be wise--a sandbank must be thrown
up for defense; the sahibs, however, may sleep three hours, when we
will awaken them to keep watch while we sleep.”
“Very good, so be it,” said Martin. Then, with the aid of two or three
of the men, we cut some branches and leaves from a large cocoa-nut
tree, and erected a temporary hut; after which, lighting a fire at
the opening, as a preventive against the foul vapors of the morass,
we loaded our rifles, placed them carefully upon the earth, and,
stretching ourselves at full length by their side, fell off to sleep.
I must add that, to relieve our heated and sore feet, we threw off
boots and socks.
Now, the toil and excitement we had undergone seemed to have a very
different effect upon me to what it had upon my brother; for while he
slept soundly, I was restless and wakeful--that is, I suppose, I must
have had what is called a cat’s sleep. By the way, why a cat’s sleep
should be a synonym for wakefulness, I could never understand; for
since those days I have had many cats, very fine, sensible cats, too,
and by closely watching their habits, have ever found, providing they
were properly and carefully brought up--_i. e._, treated kindly and
well-fed--that they sleep quite as soundly, aye, and snore and dream,
too, as well as any alderman after a corporation dinner.
But to return to my sleep that night: it must have been very restless,
for at a slight rustling noise, I became wide awake, and, gently
raising upon my arm, and looking towards my brother, a cold shudder ran
through my frame; for, by the light of the fire, I saw a great serpent
crawling towards him.
The slightest noise would have caused the reptile to attack him, while
it was just possible that, as Martin lay motionless, it might pass over
him without injury. “For possibly,” I thought, “it has been aroused
from a state of torpor by the heat of the fire, which it is evidently
making toward.” Thus, with breathless anxiety, I watched it advance.
It crawled across his legs, its head was upon his naked feet--and my
heart seemed in my mouth. I felt inclined to snatch up my rifle--but
no. Providentially, I had sufficient presence of mind to resist the
temptation, and in another instant it had passed out of the opening,
and I could have cried for joy. But then it occurred to me that it
might attack one of the sleepers without; for some of our men, I knew,
must by this time have lain themselves down, for a yellow streak in the
horizon told me it could not be far from daybreak.
This was enough. I jumped up, and, taking my rifle, followed the
serpent. It was still gliding onwards, but, hearing my footsteps, it
erected its crest and turned around. There was now no alternative;
in an instant the contents of my rifle were in its head. But,
simultaneously, a man sprang upwards, and then fell heavily backwards,
as if shot.
“Great Heaven!” I exclaimed, “I have killed a man!”
Not so, however, for again he arose with a cry of “Malik,--they are
coming,” doubtlessly believing that the Balinese had landed; and in a
minute, Martin, Prabu, and the whole of our party were by my side.
By way of excuse for alarming them, I pointed to the snake, still
writhing in the agonies of death.
“But,” exclaimed Prabu, “the sahib is frightened at nothing--he has
wasted powder and ball upon a mere worm. Look,” he added, “this is how
to kill them,” and he stuck a boar-spear through the head of the still
writhing reptile; then, winding the body round the handle, he tossed
it to one of the men, telling him to roast it for the morning’s meal.
Nevertheless, and notwithstanding Prabu’s contemptuous manner and
remark--and which, as he afterwards confessed, he only assumed, to hide
his chagrin that the whole party had been alarmed at the mere killing
of a snake--the reptile was of a species whose bite is mortal; and
that, too, my brother knew full well, for as we kept watch that night,
while the rest of the party slept, he said--
“Claud, dear old boy, Prabu’s out of temper--never mind what he says;
for to your wise old head, that kept you from alarming the snake, I owe
my life.”