Show I1 7flui = tD J j Hh I JI rrii AMONG MALAY PIRATES A Story of 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 1S9S CHAPTER L I wish most heartily that something Wculd happen Harry Parkhurst a midshipman of some 16 years of age said to his chum Dick Balderson as they Jeared on the rail of hermajestys gunb at Serpnt and looked gloomily at the turbid stream that rolled past the shin as she lay at anchor One day is just like anotherone is in a state of perspiration from morning till night ard from night till morning There Stms to be always a mist upon the water and if it were not that we get up shAm every three or four days and run out fur 24 hours for a breath of fresh air I believe that we would be all eaten up with fever in no time Of course they are always talking of 1 tI j = 1 1 I i I N S li H j J ys I I f > I 4l11t 1 j = r = = = = a I Walked Gravely Up and Down the Deck Wagging His TaiL Malay pirates up the river kicking up a row but It never seems to come off There is one thing Harrythere is always something to look at for there are canoes constantly going up and down and there is plenty of variety among themfrom the sluggish dhows laden with upcountry produce to the long canoes with a score of paddlers and oome picturesque ruffian sitting in the stern It adds to the interest when you know that the crews are cutthroats cut-throats to a man and would make but the shortest possible work of you if they had got you in their power Yes Dick Look at that canoe coming com-ing up stream what a goodlooking cha that is in the stern although by the way he scowls at us I can quite I believe he would as you say cut our I throats if he had the chance That is I a pretty little child I sitting by him and iou j c yg eeO es h what a gorgeous dress she has There you see he can look pleasant enough when he speaks to her I fancy they must have come from a long way up the river for they look Ilder than I most of the fellows who pass us If that fool who Is leering her does not mind what he is about Dick he will I either run into that canoe coming down or else get across our chain There 11 I told rou so i The man at the tiller was in fact looking with mingled curiosity and hostility hos-tility at the gunboat that he was passing S pass-ing but a few yards away and did not notice a canoe manned by six rowers that was coming n with the streamS stream-S taking an oblique course across the bows of the Serpent and was indeed hidden from his view by the hull of the vessel until hi had passed beyond her Then there was a sudden shout and a I S yell from a dozen throats as the two i canoes came into collision the one proceeding pro-ceeding up the river being struck on the j q orter with a force that almost cut I her in two and in an instant her occupants j oc-cupants were in the water As the Malays Ma-lays were to a man almost as much at home in the water as on land the incident In-cident woud have had little effect beyond be-yond a loss of the boat and its contents S con-tents had it not been that the stem of j the other craft struck j the Malay chief lt iihoth j with such fore as to completely I disable dis-able him and he would have sunk at S once had not two of the boatmen grasped him and kept his head above S S water waterWhat has become of the child Earry Parkhurst exclaimed and he and Dick Balderson leaped on to the rail I S throwing off their jackets as they shouted to the men to lower a boat Nothing could be seen of the child until un-til after half a minutes suspense a I little face suddenly appeared in the I C swirl of the muddy water some 15 yards from the vessels side It was gone S again In an instant but as it disappeared I disap-peared both lads sprang from the side and with a few strokes reached the I spot where they had seen the face disappear then they dived under water I and soon grasped her As scon as they S came to the surface a sailor who had seized a coil of rope flung It to them and grasping that they were quickly by the side of the gunboat A minute later some sailors who had S at once tumbled into a boat on the alarm being given came up The child was first handed Into it then the midshipmen t mid-shipmen scrambled in and by their directions lo di-rections two of the sailors standing on S the thwarts lifted the child high above their heads to the hands of the men i leaning over the bulwark Take the little thing to the doctor Dick said Now lads row on lets pick up some of those Malay fellows A babel of shouts and sounds rose from the water the bow of the second 5 canoe had been stove in and she also had sunk to the water level a fierce fight was going on between several oft of-t S the Malays the chief who was being supported by two of his crew was shouting furiously and others of his I I men in obedience to his orders were diving under water Hafry turned to the gunboat and called to the men to bring Soh Hay the interpreter to the side A minute later the man was hus tled to the rail Tell that chief that we have got his child safely on board Harry shouted Again and again the interpreter called out but It was some time beiore he could make the chief pay attention to him As the latter caught the purport of his words his face changed at once and after calling to his men to desist from their search his head sank on the shoulder of one of the men supporting him and he evidently lost consciousness conscious-ness He is badly hurt Dick we had better bet-ter get him on board too Old Horsley was wishing this morning that he had something to do beyond administering doses of quinine to the men Taking the tiller he brought the boat alongside the chief and four of the sailors directed by Dick gently raised him from the water and laid him on the bottom of the boat Blood was flowIng freely from an ugly gash in his face and It was evident from the manner in which his left arm hung limp as they lifted him up that eitherthe shoulder or the arm itself was broken Get him alongside at once lads Dick said I expect he is more injured than we see The other fellows will be all right they can all swim like fish In two or three minutes the Injured man was laid down under an awning over the foredeck of the cruiser and the surgeon at once came up How is the child doctor She Is still insensible he said but she will soon be all right I cant discover dis-cover any injury and I think it likely that it was the sudden shock and perhaps per-haps a knock against the side of the boat that stunned her for I have no doubt she could swim small as > she is This is a much more serious affair he has an ugly gash in his temple his collar col-lar bone is broken and he went on as he passed his hands down the na I tients side he has two if not more ribs broken Well we will leave him to you doctor doc-tor there are a lot of these fellows in the water and I suppose they must be brought on board until we can get a boat to take them ashore In a few minutes IS Malays were brought to the side and the two canoes which were floating level with the water were towed up and fastened by a rope to the stern of the gunboat Even when safely on deck the two narties were still so infuriated that they had to be separated and placed under guards apart from each other Three or four I had been killed by the stabs of the deadly krises and their bodies could be seen floating astern Several of those rescued had wounds more or less severe se-vere We should not have much chance with those fellows in the water Mr Parkhurst an old sailor said to Harry No indeed Davis they could swim round and round us and our cutlasses j would be very Ittle good against those I uglylooking krises If we were to i leave them to themselves they would I fight to the death and after all it was no ones fault in particular Mr Balderson and I were watching them one was crossing the ships bow just as the other came out from her side and they were into each other before either had time to hold their boat up That chap the doctor is bandaging up was in a nice taking about his I child sir it was a lucky job that you and Mr Balderson happened to catch j sight of her I Yes poor little thing it was only just a glimpse we got of her face but as we were looking for her and ready to dive it was enough Lucky we were inside the bar Mr j Parkhurst or the sharks would have had half the fellows I did not think of it at the time DaVis and it would not have made any difference if I had we were only in the water a couple of minutes and the i Malays were making noise enough to frighten away any number of sharks You will have the job of washing out I I our trousers againwe had only put them on clean half an hour before i That aint no matter sir especially I if you go down and change at once the i ihi mud will come out easy enough If I leave them in a bucket of fresh water I I for half an hour I The two midshipmen joined the group of officers who were standing near the doctor the latter had on closer examination announced that I = = = = thatj i S EE I I S I I i I J xLfc MALAY 0iUij v7jbb fATD UPON A COT I I four of the ribs were broken He had finished his work just as the lads came up News had been brought up by the steward that the little girl had opened her eyes while he was speaking the Malay conversed rapidly with the inter nrtcr What is he saying Soh Hay the captain asked He is asking why his daughter is not here and If she is hurt and how she came to be saved the man replied Me tell him she come up to see him soon the doctor say she no hurt Two minutes later the doctor reappeared reap-peared carrying the child In his arms She looked round fearlessly at the white faces until her eye fell upon her father when she slipped out of the doctors doc-tors arms like an eel and ran to him The grim features of the Malay lit up with a pleasant < = mile as he held out his right hand to her She was a strange I 5 little figure for the doctor had not waited to obtain any suitable garments for her but had wrapped her up in one of the signal flags which the child herself her-self had wound round her waist andover and-over her shoulaer like a native sarong You tell him Soh Hay that he must not talk to her the doctor said If he keeps cuiet he will get well In short time it he talk hell be ill many days but I will let him say a few words to her sow The Malays eyes passed over the group of officers and rested on the two midshipmen whose wet clothes showed that they were the officers who had as the interpreter had told him dived in and rescued the child He said something some-thing to the interpreter Malay man want to speak to you young gentlemen the man said hs with to thank you 0 tell him there is nothing to thank us for Harry said hastily it was nothing more than taking a bath Yes oificer but he wishes to speak to you Scmewhat reluctantly the two lads approached the side of the injured man he took each of them by the hand and as he did so said something which Soh Hay interpreted The chief says that you have given him back what he loved best in the world and that his life is yours whenever when-ever it may be of use to you he maybe I may-be of service to you gentlemen should you ever go up the rivera Malay never forgives an injury or forgets a I service Tell him we are very glad to have I brought his little girl out of the water Harry said and that if we ever go up the river we will pay him a visit I The chief was now laid in a cot which was swung froni the stanchions of the awning while the little girl was carried away tyy the doctor who laid I her in a berth gave her a cup of tea which she drank obediently to his orders I or-ders but evidently regarded as being extremely nasty and she was then told through the interpreter to go to sleep until her sarong was dried A couple I of hours later she was on deck again in her native garb and ornaments The interpreter pointed out to her the two midshipmen who had rescued her and she at once went up to them and slipping slip-ping her hands into theirs began to prattle freely they were unable to understand un-derstand what she said but they took her round the ship showing her the guns and introducing her to Ponto the captains great Newfoundland who I submitted gravely to be patted by her to Jocko the monkey who was by no means disposed to be friendly but chattered I chat-tered and showed his teeth and to Julius Ju-lius Caesar the negro cook who grinned grin-ned from ear to ear and presented her with some cakes from a batch which he had just made for the captains table ta-ble The rest of the Malays had already left the ship two native boats had been hailed and in these the two parties of Malays had taken their places and I with their boats towing behind had been rowed away the captain giving strict instructions that they were to be landed on opposite sides of the river The little mali speedily became a general gen-eral pet on board the Serpent and was soon the proud possessor of scerai models of ships two patchwork quilts several carved tobacco boxes and other specimens of sailors handiwork Small as she was she had evidently a strong idea of her own importance and received re-ceived these presents and attentions with a pretty air of dignity which at once earned for her the title of the Princess On the second day after the accident I the chiefs boat came off from the shore the damage having been speedily and neatly repaired Little Bahl stood on the tdp of the accommodation lads der lad-s they approached and addressed them with great asperity using much I gesticulation with her arms What is she saying Soh Hay Dick Rnlilprsnn asked i She is telling them that they are bad men to let the boat be run down that she is very angry with them and they will all be punished The men looked very crestfallen under un-der their little mistress reproaches and held up their hands in a deprecating manner while the helmsman stood up and after salaaming deeply entered upon a long explanation which ended in his asking if he might come on board to see his chief Permission was at once granted by the captain upon the request being interpreted to him When he mounted the steps Bahi led him to the side of her fathers cot The doc tor however interposed Tell him he must not talk he said to the Interpreter The chief is ill and must not be allowed to excite himself But he can say a few words if he wants to The cot had been lowered to within a S few inches of the deck in order that the chief might watch his daughter as she trotted about and romped with Ponto who had now quite taken her into his friendship The chiefs face expressed alarm when he first saw the great dog but when he saw how gentle gen-tle the animal was and how when one of the sailors placed the child on its back it walked gravely up and down the deck wagging its tail as if pleased with its novel burden he was satisfied that no harm could come to her from this formidable looking animal He I had first spoken a few words Ito I I-to the man in answer to his excuses and indeed had the helmsman been j minding his business instead of looking at the ship the collision might have I been prevented but Hassan Jebash I was at the present moment so well I contented with the recovery of his child that he accepted the mans excuses I f eb cuses and the latter went back to his I boat evidently greatly relieved I In a few days the chief began to show signs of impatience and through the interpreter constantly demanded of the doctor when he would be well enOugh to leave I You ask him Soh Hay whether he wishes to be able to lead his tribe In battle again or to go through life un w able to use a krise or hurl a spear In I another ten days if he remains quiet I he wijl be able to go and In a couple of I months will be as strong and active as ever If he will but keep quiet until the j bones have knit Surely a chief is not like an impatient child ready to risk everything for the sake of avoiding a I little trouble I The chief on this being translated to him scowl d angrily I Tell him it is of no use his scowling at me Soh Hay I am not doctoring him for my own amusement but for his good and because he is the father of that little child The chief when this was translated to him lay for two or three minutes and then said quietly Tell the doctor doc-tor I am sorry He is right and I have been foolish I will stay till he says I I may go To be Continued |