Show I AMONG MALAY PIRATES A Story ol Adventure and Peril BY G A HENTY Author of The Fetish Hole The Life of a Special Correspondent Correspond-ent Etc Etc Copyright by S S McClure Co iSiS CHAPTER IX The party landed at the village the next morning but found it entirely scrted scrtedI is most important that we should i take a prisoner Ferguson the captain said as lIe and his first lieutenant paced up and down the quarter deck f I is most important that we should catch the prahu if we can At present i 1I 1 I I d r f I I t f I I Tighr thf sti un very b d I I ly the captain said I we dont know whether it has gone up I or down the river and it would be absolutely i ab-solutely useless our waiting for i until we get some clew to its whereabouts I After we have finished with it we wilj go up another branch and try to find the two we know to be up there I I should not like to leave our work unfinished un-finished Certainly not sir it is of no use landing and trying to get hold of a I prisoner No doubt the woods are full of them Some of those from the sunken boats may have been taken toy the alligators hut the greater portion I must hate swum ashore and joined their countrymen They may have all I crossed the creek during the night by the narrow path and gone further upcountry up-country t I I should hardly think so the captain cap-tain replied they know well enough t that we cannot follow them in their woods and they will feel sure that we shall be moving away in a day or two I should think that it would be a good pal to send a party of 20 men on shore j after nightfall and to distribute them two men to a hut Possibly two or three of the Malays may come down to L the village before morning either to r fetch valuables that they may have left behind or to see whether we are still L here They may come tonight or they may come some time tomorrow crawling crawl-ing through the plantations behind the houses At any rate I will wait here a day or two on the chance sir Who shall I send with the men You had better send Parkhurst and Balderson they will have more authority author-ity among the men than the younger midshipmen The men had better take three days cooked provisions on shore and 10 small kegs of water one for each hut I will give Parkhurst his instructions in-structions before he lands Now Mr Parkhurst he said when the boat was lowered soon after dark you must bear In mind that the greatest great-est vigilance will be necessary Choose ten huts close together One man in each hut must always be awake there must be no talking above a whisper and during the daytime no one must leave his hut on any account whatever Alter nightfall you and Mr Balderson will move from hut to hut to see that B vigilant watch is kept You must of course take watch and watch night and day You must remember that not only is it most important that a native should be captured but you must be on your guard against attack on yourselves your-selves I is quite conceivable that a party may come down to see if there are any of us in the village In case of attack you must gather in one hut and ire three shots a a signal to us a musket shot will be fired in return When you hear i every man must throw himself down as the guns will be ready loaded with grape and I shall fire a broadside towards the spot where I have heard your signal As soon as the broadside is fired make down to the shore occupy a house clcse to the water and keep the Malays off till a beat comes ashore and helps us Your crew has been carefully picked pick-ed I have consulted the warrant officers of-ficers and they have selected the most taciturn men in the ship There is to be no stoking but of course the men can chew as much a they like but the smell of tobacco smoke would at once ki deter any native from entering a hut I a Malay should come in and try to escape he must be fired on a ie runs away but the men are to aim at his legs i legsThe instructions wee carried out A small hole was bored In the back of 1 each of the huts so that constant watch couKTbe kept oip unseen by the closest observer in the forest from a hundred yards behind The night passed off quietly as did the next day The men slept and watched by turns On the aiternoon of the second day a native > was seen moving cautiously from tree to tree along the edge of the forest As soon as i was dark Dick whose watch it wa crawled cautiously from hut to hut hutThat That fellow we saw today may ccme at any moment he said I one of you see him coming the other must Dlace himself close to the door ard if he enters throw himself upon I him and hold his arms tightly till the others come up to help Keep youn rope handy to twist round him and remember re-member these fellows are like eels Having made the round he returned t3 the hut that he and Harry occupied nichwas In the center of the others Half an hour later they heard a sudden sud-den outcry from the hut next to them and rushing m found two men there struggling with a Malay With their aid the man was speedily bound then the men were called from the other huts and the whole party ran down to the waters edge and Harry hailed the ship A boat put off at once and they were taken on board The prisoner was taken to the captains cabin and there examined through the medium of the interpreter He refused to answer any questions until by the captains orders he was taken on deck again and a noose placed round his neck and the interpreter told him that unless he spoke he would be hauled up to the yards arm The man was still silent Tighten the strain very gradually the captain said Two sailors were holding hold-ing the other end of the rope Raise him twq or three feet above the deck and then when the doctor holds up his hand lower him at once again This was done The man though half strangled was still conscious and on the ncose being loosened and Soh Hay saying that unless he spoke he would be again run up he said a soon a he got his breath that he would answer any question On being taken to the cabin he said that the prahu had gone down the river and had ascended the ether arm I had only gone a mile or two above the town for it had been S injured that there had been difficulty in keeping her afloat and i was necessary nec-essary to run her into a creek in order to repair her before going up farther Half an hour later steam was up and before morning the Serpent lay off the I mouth of the creek which the Malay pointed out a the one that she had entered en-tered The second officer ws by this time placed in command of the boats he himself gqihg in the launch The third officer took the first cutter 4he two midshipmen the second No time was lost in making preparations for i was desirable to capture the prahu before be-fore they were aware that the Serpent had left its position in the other river For a mile the boats rowed up the creek which narrowed until they were I obliged to go in single file It widen I ed suddenly and a the launch dashed through a shower of balls tore up the water round her while at the same ae moment a great treE fell across the creek completely barring their retreat and narrow Jy shaving the stern of the midshipmens boat which was the latin lat-in the line Fortunately the launch had escaped serious injury With a shout of treacheiy Lieutenant Hopkins Hop-kins drew his pistol to put a ball into the head of their guide but as he did so the man sprang overboard and dived div-ed towards the shore Tow men we have all our work cut out for us Ther are three prahus ahead steer for thL enter one coxswain cox-swain With a cheer the men bent to their tent oars and dashed at the prahu which as was evident by patches of plank freshly fastened to her side was evidently evi-dently the one that had before escaped them themFollow Follow me the lieutenant shouted to the boat behind we must take tae them one by one The three boats dashed at the pirate craft which was crowded with men regardless of the fire from the other two vessels The launch steered for her stern the first cutter for her bow while the midshipmen mid-shipmen swept round her and boarded her on the opposite side A furious contest con-test took place on her deck the Malays I being so confused by being attacked I at three points simultaneously that I the mid enabled midshipmens party were to gain a footing with but slight resistance re-sistance The shouts of the Malays I near them brought many running from thj other points and the two parties gained a footing with comparatively little loss Then a desperate struggle I ensued but the Malays were unable to withstand the furious attacks of the British and ere long began to leap overboard and swim to the other craft which were both coming to their aid The launchs gun had not been fired and calling to Dick Harry leaped I down into the boat The two midshipmen I midship-men trained the gun on the nearest I prahu and aiming at the water line fired i when the craft was within 20 feet of them A moment later its impetus im-petus brought it against the side of the launch which was crushed like an eggshell egg-shell between it and the captured pra hu the two midshipmen springing onboard on-board just in time I was tie Malays turn to board now that of the British Ito I-to beat them off For a time the situation situa-tion was well nigh desperate the musketry mus-ketry of the sailors and marines temporarily tem-porarily kept the Malays off but they strove desperately to gain a footing on oard their consort till suddenly aloud a-loud cry was heard and the craft into j which the midshipmen had fired sank I suddenly A loud cheer burst from the I I British The two midshipmen were engaged en-gaged with the other pirates from whom a cry of dismay arose at seeing I the disappearance of their friends Now lads follow me Harry shouted shout-ed a the Malays strove to push their craft away Followed by a dozen sailors sail-ors they leaped on to her deck the others followed their example but the efforts of the Malays succeeded in I I thrusting the vessels apart In vain the midshipmen and their followers fought desperately Harry was felled by a I i blow with a war club Dick cut down with a kris half the seamen were j killed the others jumped overboard and swam back to their vessel Lieutenant Hopkins shouted to the men to take to the bets and the two cutters were I speedily manned One however was In a sinking condition but Lieutenant Hopkins with the other started in pUrsuit pur-suit ofthe prahu whose prhu crew hatjiali ready got their oars out and in spite of the efforts of the sailors ioon < left them behind Pursuit was evidently hopeless and reluctantly the Ueuten ant ordered the men to row back A few minutes later the captured prahu was in a mass of flames the boats rowed back and succeeded with great v < yr > difficulty in forcing their way under the fallen tree The third lieutenant had been shot dead 1 men had been killed and ten men of the midshipmens party were missing and of the rest but few had escaped without wounds more or less serious Harry was the first to recover his senses being roughly brought to by a bucket of water being dashed over him He looked around the deck Of those who had sprung on board with him none were visible save Dick Balderson who was lying near him with a cloth tightly bound round his shoulder As he rose into a sitting position a murmur mur-mur of satisfaction broke from some Malays standing near I was sometime some-time before he could rally his senses I suppose he thought at last the are either keeping us for torture or for hostages The rajah may have given orders that any officers captured were to be spared and kept as hostages in order to enable them to secure better terms for himself I dont know what I his expectations are he muttered to himself but if he expects to be reinstated rein-stated a rajah and perhaps compensated compen-sated for the loss of his palace he is likely to be mistaken and in that case it will go mighty hard with us for there is no shadow of doubt that he is a savage and cruel brute He had now shaken off the numbness I caused by the blow that he had received re-ceived when he managed t stagger to where Dick was lying and knelt beside him and begged the Malays to bring water They had evidently received orders or-ders to do all they could to revive the two young officers and one at once brought half a gourd full of water Harry had already assured himself that his friends heart still beat He began by pouring some water between his lips I was not necessary to pour any over his head for he had already received the same treatment himself Dick old chap he said sharply and earnestly The sound was evidently evi-dently heard and understood for Dick started slightly opened his eyes and murmured Its not time to turn out yetYou You are not in your hammock Dick you have been wounded and we are both prisoners in the hands of theso Malays Try to pull yourself together but dont move they have put a sort of bandage round your shoulder and I am going to try to Improve i t What is the matter with my shoulder shoul-der Dick murmured Chopped with a kris old nan Now I am going to turn you on your side and then cut the sleeve off the jacket Take another drink of water then we will set about it Dick did as he was ordered and was evidently coming back to consciousness conscious-ness for he looked around and then said Where are the other fellows hI dont know what has become of them I think I went down before you did However here we are alone I am ready to begin I He cut off the arm of the jacket and it goes How was it these fellows did not kill us at once I expect the rajah has ordered that all officers who may fall into their hands are to be kept as hdt ge so that he can open negotlationswlth the I skipper I he gets what he wants he hands us back if not there is no manner man-ner of doubt that he will put us out of the way without compunction i The men were still working at the oars and for four hours rowed without with-out intermission through a labyrinth of creeps At last they stopped before a small village tied the boats up to a tree and then the man who seemed to be captain went ashore with two or three pthers The lads heard a loud outburst out-burst of anger and a voice which they recognized as that of the rajah storming storm-ing and raging for some time then the hubbub ceased An hour later the rajah ra-jah himself came on board with two or three attendants and a man whom they recognized as speaking a certain amount of English The rajah scowled at them and from the manner in which he kept fingering his kris they saw that i needed a great effort on his part toVbstain from killing them at once He spoke for some time in his own language and the interpreter translated trans-lated it You are dogs you and all your countrymen coun-trymen The la jah is sending a message to your cantninito tell him that he must bufluVup his palace again pay him for the warihlps that he has destroyed de-stroyed andprovide him with a guard against hs enemies until a fresh one has been buit I he refuses to do this you will both ba killed Tell Mm Harry said that if we are all dogs anyhow we have shown him that we can bite As to what he says it is for the captain to answer but I do not thing he will grant either of the terms though possibly he may consent to spare the rajahs life and to go away with his ship if we are sent back to him without injury The raJah uttered a scornful exclamation excla-mation hI have 6000 men he said and I do not need to beg my life for were there 20 ships instead of one they could never find me and not a man who landed and tried to come through the country would return alive I have given your captain the chance I at the end of three daysa answer does not come granting my command you will be krised Keep a strict watch upon them captain and kill them at once if they try to escape I will guard them surely rajah the captain who from the rich materials of his sarong and jacket was evidently himself a chief said quietly but a to escape where could they go They could but wander in the jungle until they die By night both lads felt more themselves them-selves They had been well supplied with food and though Harrys head ached until as he said it was splitting and Dicks wound smarted severely they were able to discuss their position posi-tion They at once agreed that escape es-cape was impossible and would be even were thev well and strong and could manage to obtain possession of a sanpang They would but lose themselves them-selves in the labyrinth of creeks and would moreover be certain to be overtaken over-taken by the native boats that would be them sent off In all directions after themThere There is nothing to do but to wait for the captains answer We know what that will be Harry said He will tell the chief that i would be impossible for him to grant his commands but that he is ready to pay a certain sum for our release but that If harm comes to us he will make peace with the chiefs who have assisted assist-ed him against us on condition of their hunting him down and sending him alive or dead to the ship The rascal knows that he could hide himsf In these swamps for a month and he will proceed to chop off our heads without a moments delay We must keep our eyes open tomorrow and en edavor to get hold of a couple of weapons wea-pons I is a deal better to die fighting sheep than It is to have our throats cut like I To be continued c H In vain the Midshipmen and Their lollowers Fought Desperately I I shirt at the shoulder ripped open the seam to the neck first taking off the muddy bandage Its a nasty cut old man he said but nothing dangerous I should say I fancy it has gone clean through the shoulder bone and there is no doubt that that will knit again as Hassans did if they did but give us time He rolled the shirt sleeve into a pad saturated it with water and laid it on the wound You see 1 knew all about i Dick he said cheerily from having watched the doctor at work on Hassan Now 1 will tear this cloth into strips which will make a sarong I should say He first placed a strip of the cloth over the shoulder crossed It under the arm and then took the bandage at the anc end acrossthe chest and back and tied them under thE arm He repeated this process with half a dozen other strips then he placed Dicks hand upon his chest tied some of the other strips < together to-gether and bound them tightly round the and body so that no movement of the limb was possible One of the Malays knelt down and gave him his assistance and nodded approvingly when he had finished then he helped Harry raise him into a sitting position against the bulwark That is better Dick said as far as |