CHAPTER XIV
A Dangerous Enterprise
"Pass the word for Mr. Richardson, please. He's wanted in the captain'scabin immediately."
The order, conveyed by means of a marine, was called in stentorian tonesdown the companion ladder leading to the narrow quarters in which Tylerhad breakfasted, and brought him to his feet with a flush upon hischeeks.
"A wigging! He's going to catch it nicely!" sang out one of his newmessmates, giving vent to a bantering laugh. "The skipper wants to knowwhat he means to do with his fleet, and whether he has made arrangementsto victual his Dyaks. Stand aside there, you fellows, and permit theadmiral to pass! This way, sir, and if you're wanting a mate of sorts,why, look about you, for here are the men!"
The young fellow who had shouted the words indulged in a comicalgrimace, and placing his hand to his heart bowed in mock deference tothe lad who, up to a few hours before, had, indeed, been as good as anadmiral, for he had had command of quite a number of vessels, while thefate of many individuals had been in his hands. However, Tyler was notthe one to take offence, particularly when his comrades had greeted himin such a manner, and with a laugh, and a sudden dash at the bantererwhich sent the latter sprawling on one side, he gained the companion andcommenced to mount to the deck above.
"Right!" he called back with a merry laugh, "you shall all come with me,and as for the victualling, you shall have the management of that, foryou have shown that you possess a hearty appetite, which will keep thefood question before you. But sorry I can't wait, you fellows. I'll sendfor my first mate when I want him!"
A roar of good-natured laughter followed him up the ladder, and heemerged upon the deck with smiling features, well pleased with themanner in which he was treated by those with whom he had to live. Then,straightening his dress, he went aft to the cabin in which CaptainKeppel had his quarters, and was announced by the marine who stood onguard outside the door.
"Mr. Tyler Richardson," said the latter, throwing open the door. "Shallhe enter, sir?"
"Show him in, please," was the answer, "and send to Lieutenant Hortonwith my compliments and with the request that he will kindly attendhere."
Next moment Tyler found himself in the presence of his commandingofficer, before whom he stood cap in hand.
"Come and sit here," said Captain Keppel, taking him by the shoulder,"and make yourself comfortable, for I am going to have a discussion inwhich you will have to take a part. You must know that Mr. Brooke hasat length managed to arouse the interest of the Government, who havefor very many years been indifferent to the trade which might resultto England by suppressing bloodshed in these parts, and in consequencethe _Dido_ has been sent here to help him, and with the main object ofputting an end to these acts of piracy which are so frequent, and whichinvariably end in cruel murders and in slavery. That is the way. Sitdown in that chair, and try to remember every point in your journey downthe river Sarebus, for the information which you can give us will be ofthe utmost value. But tell me, have you seen the little captive sinceyou brought her to Sarawak?"
"She was taken ashore at once, sir," responded Tyler, his interest inthe child being at once aroused. "You see, while on the schooner I hadso many things to arrange and to look to that I never had an opportunityof speaking to the captives, or of asking them how it was that they hadfallen into the hands of the Dutchman."
"Then I can tell you all about them," said the captain. "The child isthe daughter of a naval officer stationed with the China fleet, and atpresent doing duty at Hong-Kong. She was on her way home to England forthe purpose of education, and was despatched by a schooner which wouldtake her to Singapore, where she would tranship to a mail boat bound forhome waters. The tale of her capture is nothing out of the ordinary, andit suffices to say that this scoundrel of a Dutchman, of whom I hope tohear more, came upon the vessel and took her without difficulty, for shewas manned by Chinese for the most part. They were killed at once, whilethe nurse and the child were kept, probably with the idea that moneymight be obtained for them. It was a gallant deed, Mr. Richardson, andreflects the greatest credit upon you, for it would have been far easierand far less dangerous for you to have gone off with the prahus and yourfollowers, leaving the two to their fate.
"But there, I see that you do not like to hear much about that part ofthe matter; though before dropping the subject I consider that it isonly right for me to acquaint you with the fact that I have given a fulldescription of the rescue in despatches which I wrote after your arrivalhere, and also that I have sent a letter to the officer whose child yourescued.
"And now let us turn to these pirates, for I hear Mr. Horton's stepoutside."
He turned to greet the chief officer of the _Dido_, and having motionedhim to a chair, placed himself at the end of the dining-table whichoccupied a central position in the cabin.
"Oblige me by drawing closer," he said, "and cast your eyes over theserough charts. They are some which I have prepared with the help ofnatives who have ascended the Sarebus, and may or may not be correct.And now, Mr. Richardson, kindly tell me which are the towns on theriver, adding any points which may be of importance."
Thus bidden, Tyler scanned the charts which his commander put beforehim, and having asked for a pen and ink, and for a piece of blank paper,began at once to sketch the true course of the river, as observed byhimself when escaping from Paddi.
"Rembas is the first of the strongholds, and is said to be the mostpowerful," he remarked. "But we had the good fortune to pass the piratesof that name, they mistaking us for friends. Pakoo comes next, and thenPaddi, where this Dutchman has his residence. The river there dividesinto two, and Paddi is placed on the tongue of land between the twotributaries."
"And what about the bore?" demanded Captain Keppel eagerly. "I am toldthat these pirates seem not to fear attack, and, indeed, scarcely makeany preparations for defence, except such as is necessary to keep nativetribes out, for they imagine that this bore protects them. It is causedby the tide running into a wide mouth, and then suddenly finding onlya narrow course. The mass of water is still forced on, and, unable tospread to either side, it rises till it forms quite a wall, and advancesup the river in that manner."
"With the result that it swamps any but boats of fairly large size,"added the lieutenant. "At least, that is the account which the rajahgave me, and he heard the tale from natives who had ascended the river."
"It may be so," Tyler answered, "but we did not meet with this bore onour way down to the sea. Should there be such a thing, and I can wellimagine it, considering the straight course of the river and the mannerin which it suddenly narrows, it would not be very difficult to avoidbeing swamped, for the bore will come with the tide, and at that timeany boats which might be conveying an expedition could be rowed into abay or creek, many of which exist all along the banks."
"And in there they could lie in safety!" exclaimed the commander of the_Dido_, looking swiftly at his first officer. "It is a good suggestion,Mr. Richardson, and I now perceive how it is that you managed to bringthe tribe of Dyaks through. Depend upon it, the man--or lad for thematter of that, for you are scarcely more--who is gifted with commonsense, and with sufficient steadiness to use it, finds his resourcesmany, and a way out of difficulties which would be unsurmountable toothers less inclined to think. Then you would lie up in one of thesecreeks if you were in command of the expedition?"
"Yes, sir," replied Tyler with a flush. "I should row up for a quarterof a mile, and then, if it were possible, I should disembark and hauleach boat into the jungle. Then there would be no danger of beingswamped, and once the bore had passed the expedition could push onagain."
"And probably take the enemy by surprise, for the latter would hardlyexpect them, and would, in fact, believe that all had been drowned bythe bore. Yes, the plan will prove a good one, I am sure. And now todiscuss the other part, and to obtain a full description of the riverfrom you."
For more than an hour did the three pore over the charts, and discussth
e measures to be taken for the suppression of the pirates. Then Tylerwas addressed once more by his commander.
"And now I have a request to make," said the latter gravely, turningto him slowly and scanning his features closely, as though he wouldread his character by that means. "You have had more fortune than fallsto the lot of the vast majority of young fellows, for you have passedthrough part of a country which is considered impossible for Englishmen,a part where the Dutch have never dared to go. Moreover, you have metthese pirates face to face, and you have beaten them soundly; not inactual hand-to-hand combat, you understand me, but in wits, in sharpnessand decision. Thanks to you and the information which you have givenso clearly, we are in a better position now to attack these pests thanever before. But we are ignorant of the special precautions whichthey will take; for, rest assured, they will hear of this intendedexpedition, for their friends and sympathizers are everywhere, andSarawak is not without spies who carry tales to the enemy. That beingthe case, they will make strenuous efforts to resist us, for they haveexisted for a century and more and no one has ever been successful inrepressing them. For that reason they will fight the harder to beatus back, and as a careful leader, who desires to lose as few men aspossible, I wish for fuller information if it can be obtained. You haveonce before been in disguise. Will you don the same dress again, andgo to the Sarebus river in advance of our party, with the object ofspying upon the pirates, and of furnishing us with a warning as to theirintended movement?"
For more than a minute did Captain Keppel keep his eyes fixed upon ourhero, searching closely as if to see whether he would flinch at such arequest, or show by a twitch of the lips, a wavering eye, or in someother manner, that the task was likely to be too much, and would maketoo great a call upon his fortitude.
"Mind," he went on, seeing that Tyler returned his searching gazeunflinchingly and without so much as a tremor, "I make a definiterequest, a suggestion that you should undertake this matter, for I amwell aware that you are the most fitted for it. But I realize the greatdanger to be incurred, particularly when I bear in mind the fact thatyou have a personal enemy in this rascally Dutchman, who has swornto obtain your head; and for that reason, and because a task of thisdescription is essentially one for a volunteer, I make no order. I donot, on the strength of my being the commander of this vessel, while youare a subordinate, tell you that you are to go. Come, think the matterover. Go to your quarters and discuss it if you wish, returning here ina couple of hours, when you will have had time to make up your mind. Andrecollect this, that should you refuse to undertake the task I shallnot think the worse of you, for the adventure will be full of dangerand difficulty, and will take you right amongst the pirates and amongstenemies from whom you were most fortunate to escape."
Once more did the captain of the _Dido_ lean back in his chair while hegazed at our hero. But, had he expected to find any hesitation on thelatter's part to accept the post assigned to him, he was destined to bemistaken, for not once had Tyler shown the slightest trace of fear.
"I would have answered at once," he said, suddenly breaking the silencewhich he had maintained up to this, "but I have been busily thinkingwhether I could possibly do as you say, whether the disguise of a nativeof these parts would be sufficient, seeing that I am wholly ignorantof the language. But what I have done once I can attempt again, and Ithank you, sir, for giving me the opportunity. I do not require to thinkit over, as my mind is already made up. I will do my best to obtainthe fullest information, and bring you warning of the movements of thepirates. When can I set out?"
"As soon as you are ready, my lad; and let me say that I admire you forgiving a decision so readily. There are few who would undertake thematter, and, as I have said, not many who could make the attempt with asmuch hope of success as yourself. You will, of course, want a companion,for you do not speak the Dyak language, and might get into difficulties.Make your own selection and your own plans without reference to me, foryou have shown such sense up to this that I can trust you to choosewell. When you are quite prepared for the journey, come to me, and Iwill give you any further instructions which I may happen to have."
"And perhaps it would be as well, considering the fact that Sarawakhas many spies, to beg Mr. Richardson to keep silence on the matter,"broke in Lieutenant Horton. "After all, a discussion amongst the otherofficers might find its way elsewhere, and spoil our young friend'schances of success."
"And perhaps endanger his life," said Captain Keppel eagerly. "Quiteright, Mr. Horton! and I thank you for the advice. Very well, my lad,return as soon as you are ready, and tell me then how you mean to tacklethis matter. Remember that I leave it all to you, including the means bywhich you are to reach the Sarebus."
With a bow and a hearty shake of the hand, which was repeated by thefirst officer, Tyler was dismissed, and at once walked forward into thebows of the _Dido_, well knowing that he would have no opportunity forthinking if he rejoined his comrades below. Behind him he left the twoofficers, still conversing eagerly, and wondering how this quiet youngfellow, who had joined the ship in such strange fashion and after themost extraordinary adventures, would elect to carry out the matter whichhad been entrusted to him.
"He is decidedly older than his age," remarked the lieutenant, "and Iwill wager that he carries the task through brilliantly. He has hishead screwed on, and has a fine spirit. We shall see him charging atthe head of our men before these pirates are done with, and I prophesyquick promotion for him. But I will leave you now, sir, if you no longerrequire me, for I may be able to help our young friend in this matter."
While the commander of the _Dido_ remains in his cabin or on thepoop of his vessel, restlessly trudging backwards and forwards, withhis thoughts for ever bent upon the coming expedition and upon theprecautions necessary to be taken, let us once more seek for Tyler inthe secluded spot away in the bows of the ship, where he had hiddenhimself, well knowing that only there would he obtain that peaceand uninterrupted quietness which would permit him to give his fullattention to the journey which was before him. Seating himself upon thesprit, where it came in through the rail, he bent his head on his handfor the space of a few moments, while he rubbed his eyes as though theaction would enable him to see clearly into the future. Then he turnedhis gaze in the direction of Sarawak, and let his eyes pass from hut tohut, from the so-called palace of Rajah Brooke, the great Englishmanwho had devoted himself to the cause of the Dyaks and of all peopleinhabiting that portion of Borneo, to the quaint and straggling streetwhich cut through the main part of the town. Then, dreamily, and asif his thoughts were too much occupied to take in all the details, heallowed his view to cross a strip of jungle and fall upon a neat andorderly settlement beyond. Houses built of bamboo, and displaying manya flaring signboard in front, were clustered together in an orderlymanner, while many a thin wisp of smoke curled into the air. And aboutthe houses, engaged in the yards which most seemed to have attached tothem, were numbers of figures, working for their living, at peace withall the world, and settled in this town of Sarawak as if they had beenthere for years.
"Busy fellows," thought Tyler, suddenly attracted by the scene, andindulging in a closer look. "The Chinaman is a wonderful worker, and avery contented man. And I suppose that Li Sung is over there, havingfound his wife and child."
He ceased speaking, and looked again with increased attention. Then herose to his feet, and, leaning on the rail, stared at the collection ofhuts.
"He is a shrewd fellow," he murmured, as though some thought hadsuddenly come to him. "All Chinamen are clever and cunning; and Li isthoroughly trustworthy. I will go across to him and chat the matterover."
Conscious that the expedition before him was one which demanded nolittle thought, and that to attempt to carry it out hastily, and withlittle preparation, could only lead to misfortune, Tyler had determinedto take every precaution, and make every necessary enquiry beforesetting out.
"Then whom else could I go to who is better able to give advice?" hesaid to himse
lf. "Li is a faithful fellow, and I believe is attached tome. He has suffered at the hands of these pirates, and he will be gladto see them exterminated. If I go to him he will be able to give me ahint as to a disguise, and I can rely upon him to keep a silent tonguein his head. I'll go across at once."
To act upon this decision was the work of a few moments only, for aboutthe _Dido_, keeping, however, at a respectful distance, a number ofnative craft always hovered during the day. To hail a sampan, therefore,was an easy matter, and very soon Tyler was being ferried to the shore.
"I quite forgot to ask permission to go!" he exclaimed, suddenlyrecollecting that he was no longer his own master, and that he wassubject to the discipline of the ship. "However, I dare say that theywill accept my excuses, particularly when they hear for what reason Ihave gone. Ah! here we are, and a short walk will take me to the Chinesetown."
Leaping upon the little landing-stage which had been erected, he tosseda coin to the oarsman, for the paymaster of the _Dido_ had advanced hima couple of months' pay. Then he strode off towards the houses which hehad seen from the ship, and was very soon in the street which dividedthe dwellings.
"Where is Li Sung?" he demanded of the first man he met.
"Li Sung? Ah, him comee here wid de Dyaks and de whitee man!" said theChinee, using the curious pigeon-English which is common to men ofthe race who attempt our language. "Yes, you findee him dere;" and hepointed to one of the neat houses. "Li him velly sad."
"Sad! For what reason?" thought Tyler. Then, thanking the man, he strodeto the door of the house and knocked, entering as a voice bade him do so.
"What is the matter?" he demanded, suddenly catching sight of a figurehuddled in a corner. "Is that you, Li Sung?"
At the sound of his voice the Chinaman sprang to his feet with a cryof delight, exposing, however, a face which was woebegone to the lastdegree. Then he darted forward and clasped Tyler by the hand.
"Li am velly sad man," he said. "He comee through so much, and he lookeeto de time when he comee home and meet him wife and child. But dey nothere, massa. Dey tink poor Li dead, he stay away so long, and dey sailback to Singapore. Li all alonee!"
"Then you will be able to listen to me, and it will do you good not tothink of your trouble," said Tyler, taking him kindly by the arm. "Youcan help me if you will."
"Den I listen, for Li am de servant. De massa am always kind to deChinee boy. He no kickee and hitee him, and him bringee Li through widde Dyaks. What does de massa say?"
"That you can do something for me. Come, let us sit down and talk."
Taking their seats beside one another, Tyler began to tell Li Sung ofthe task before him; then for an hour or more the two chatted in lowwhispers, the Chinaman asking many a question, and lapsing into silence,often for the space of a minute, as he considered the matter.
"De plan do velly well," he said at length, with smiling features, whichwere a contrast indeed to the air of sorrow which he had worn when firsthis white master had accosted him. "De way to Paddi am open, and deChinamen go dere velly easy. De massa am wise, for he tink of dis, andhe say to Li: 'You comee wid me, and later on you havee money to go toSingapore.' Dat allee dat Li want, and him not afraid of de Dutchman."
"I should think not!" exclaimed Tyler, delighted at the thought that hehad obtained a companion who would be so useful to him. "As you say, theplan seems a good one, and I do not see why we should not be successful.All depends on the disguise, and upon whom we meet in the river. But wehave been talking for long. Let us set about the preparations withoutfurther delay."
Some two hours later, when the sun was overhead, and a hot haze hungover the water, a sampan was seen to be rowing from the creek upon thebanks of which the Chinese town was situated, and was observed todirect its course towards the _Dido_. At first the marine who was doingsentry-go at the summit of the gangway paused listlessly in his wearytramp, glad of anything, however small, which would break the monotonyof his hours of duty, and favoured the craft with a half-pitying gaze.Then he stifled a yawn, remarked upon the heat and discomfort of suchlatitudes when compared to Old England, and would have pursued hisbeat had not a second movement on the part of the sampan attracted hisattention.
"Well, that does for me!" he exclaimed, bringing his musket from theshoulder to the deck with a clash which startled the mid-day silence."Making this way against orders! All these here blacks, and the Chinaboys too, know well that the rule is that they are not to come alongsideunless a chief or big gun o' some sort is along with 'em. And here'sa sampan, with a couple of cheeky chaps aboard, making direct for us!Who knows? they might have a keg of powder aboard. Hi, you two monkeys!Clear right off, or I'll--!"
He brought the butt of his musket to his shoulder and made pretence toaim. Then, as the Chinaman who occupied a seat in front of the one whowas plying the oars rose to his feet and faced about, the sentry came tothe rail, and leaned over it to inspect the craft and its contents moreclosely.
"It ain't no use yer kow-towing," he called out, seeing that theindividual who had just risen to his feet was bowing to him. "I tell yerthat it ain't allowed, so clear off, and quick about it too."
Whether the Chinaman understood what was said it would be difficult tostate, but it would appear as though he did, for he at once thrust hishand into the interior of his capacious coat and produced a document,which he held above his head.
"For de chief!" he called out. "Dis am a letter, and de man here and mecomee to speak to de captain about de pirates."
"Oh, yer've got a letter, 'ave yer? Well, sit tight there till I'vecalled the sergeant," shouted the sentry. "Hi, sergeant, there's twoChina boys wanting to come aboard!"
A few minutes' parley sufficed to obtain the necessary permission,and then the two Chinamen having been searched to make sure that theycarried no arms and had no murderous intentions, they were allowed tomount the gangway and step upon the deck.
"This way," said the sergeant, "and jest stop that 'ere kow-towing. Iain't the captain."
Apparently it annoyed him to see the Chinamen bobbing there in thatsenseless way, for he turned from them with a scowl and led the way tothe poop, where Captain Keppel was standing.
"Two men to see yer, sir," he said, shouldering his musket in salute."Two Chinamen, what says they've a letter for yer. Shall they come up,sir?"
"A letter! Two Chinamen! Perhaps they have some information about thepirates!" exclaimed the commander with a start. "Send them up, sergeant."
A minute later the two strangers were before him, to find that his chiefofficer had joined him, while both were staring at these intruders, nodoubt wondering what information they had to bring.
"Well, what is it?" demanded the commander. "You have a letter, and asfar as I have been led to understand, you have some information to giveme. Now, get along with the business, and do stop that kow-towing."
At the words a half-hidden smile wreathed the features of the man whohad stood up in the craft, and who had had possession of the letter. Butin a moment it was suppressed, and, at once ceasing the bows with whichhe had favoured the white man, he drew the document out of an innerpocket and handed it to the captain.
"Dat am de plan of de river Sarebus," he said. "Fo Sing knowee de watervelly well, and Li Sung been dere many a time. De news in de town amdat de Englishmen am to go to de river to fight de pirate, and Fo Singand Li Sung comee here to say dat dey willee go dere too, and take denews to de pirates. If we not go, den de news reach dem all de same.But s'posing we am dere, den we makee friends, we laugh and we eatwid de pirate, and one velly fine day we come away again, and tell deEnglishmen allee dat we see."
"Why, the man is proposing exactly what we had arranged!" gasped CaptainKeppel. "But I must keep that to myself. What do you think of thisoffer, Horton? It seems uncanny that these fellows should have comeat such a time. One really begins to think that they have guessed ourplans."
"They can hardly have done that, sir," was the answer. "But would not asecond party be advisable? T
hen if one failed--you understand?"
"Quite so, exactly, though I trust that there will be no mishap. Butthis fellow says that he has been to the Sarebus before. Probably one ofthe pirates, if one could only get at the truth."
"Yes, that may be the case," replied the chief officer, with elevatedeyebrows, "but a Chinaman will do anything for gold. Here, what are youasking for this work?"
He turned to the spokesman of the two who had come aboard, and demandedhis price, while he stared closely at him, watching him narrowly.
"For me, nothing, sir. I shall do my utmost for the navy. For Li Sung,the Chinaman who accompanied me through a part of Borneo, and then downthe Sarebus, he asks merely that a passage shall be paid for him so thathe may sail for Singapore, there to rejoin his wife and family."
In a moment the tones of the Chinaman's voice had changed, and thecaptain of the _Dido_ and his chief officer found themselves listeningto the young fellow who had so recently joined them. In utter amazementthey stared at him, only to find that he returned their glances gravely,and with never a smile, for Tyler was in desperate earnest, and had comeaboard in this manner, not to make fun of those who were his superiors,but to test the effectiveness of his disguise. Seeing that matters hadgone far enough already, and that, in spite of the brilliant light, andof the fact that Captain Keppel and Mr. Horton were so close to him,they had failed to recognize him, he at once spoke in his natural tones,so that it might become clear who he was.
"What! Impossible!" exclaimed the commander, stepping forward swiftlyand thrusting his face close to Tyler's. "Mr. Richardson in disguise! Itcannot be; for this is a real Chinaman if ever I saw one. What do yousay, Horton?"
"It is wonderful. The lad would pass inspection anywhere, and hascompletely taken us in. I have no fears for him, for, dressed as he is,even the Dutchman will fail to recognize him. But what are we to do? Itwill never do to declare who is here, for the tale would fly round thedeck, and our men would have it before half an hour had passed."
"And the safety of the expedition and of these two might bejeopardized," cried the commander. "Come down to the cabin, Mr.Richardson, and leave your companion here with instructions to saynothing and to keep his tongue between his teeth."
As if too dazed to say more, Captain Keppel turned about and led the wayto his cabin, the chief officer following closely upon his heels, andTyler bringing up the rear, kow-towing with the gravest of faces and themost servile of manners as they passed him. Once the door had closedupon them, however, the officers burst into hearty roars of laughter,and for some little time could do nothing more than stare at our heroand walk round and round him, closely scrutinizing his apparel. And wellthey might, too, for the special duty which was about to take Tyler tothe Sarebus was one fraught with the gravest danger, and he was wellaware that discovery would mean death. For that reason Li Sung had takenthe utmost pains to transform him, and, thanks to the fact that on thisoccasion he was at home, and surrounded with all that was necessaryfor the purpose, he had contrived to provide a disguise which couldnot have been improved upon. Indeed, as he stood there in the cabin,Tyler was a Chinaman from his bald pate, with its dangling pigtail,to his thick-soled shoes. Nothing had been passed over, and so cleverand painstaking had been Li Sung that the eyes seemed to be preciselythe same as those possessed by the normal Chinaman. In short, as theinterview upon the poop had proved, no one could recognize in the tallerof the two Chinaman the young officer who had but just come to theship; while even the leader of the pirates at Paddi would have passedhim by without a suspicion that this humble individual, who seemed tofind it necessary to kow-tow to every person of note or of the smallestconsequence, was the Englishman for whom he sought, and whom he had lastencountered in the guise of a Dyak chief.
"Your acting is superb," Captain Keppel was at length able to blurt out,"and I must really congratulate you, Mr. Richardson, upon the excellenceof your appearance. But tell me how you propose to proceed? Surely, ifyou go up the river as you are, they will think that you are a man ofsome wealth and will pounce upon you, for your clothes are better thanthose worn, as a rule, by the Chinamen here."
"They are put on simply for the purpose of coming here, sir," repliedTyler earnestly. "If one of the country which I am supposed to representhad occasion to come to you, he would certainly don his best clothingfor the purpose. But I shall take others with me, and once up the riverI have but to strip off these outer garments and I become in a moment acoolie, one of the men who is to be come across in every part, at workupon the forest-trees, preparing a clearing in which to cultivate rice.The pirates do not molest them as a rule, though the Chinaman's fear ofthe former makes him keep at a distance from them generally. As to theriver, sir, I shall act as circumstances demand, but my idea is to rowboldly up to Rembas or to Pakoo and make friends with the pirates, withthe idea of escaping later on."
"It sounds terribly risky, my lad," exclaimed Captain Keppel, as thougha feeling of remorse had suddenly come to him for having selected thisyoung officer for such a task. "Do you think that it will be necessaryto actually throw in your lot with these men?"
"But, no--I will not interfere in any manner," he cried, after amoment's thought, interrupting Tyler before he could give an answer tothe question. "I will leave the carrying out of the duty entirely toyou, well knowing that you will not be impetuous, and that you have hadan experience already which will be invaluable. You shall leave thisship when our chat is ended, and shall make your way to the Sarebus whenand how you like. On your return to the _Dido_ I shall have something tosay, and let me remind you now that we have appointed the island at themouth of the river as a rendezvous, and that we shall sail there shortlyafter you have left us. Till we meet--the very best of fortune, my dearlad! As to getting there, I may say that the men who are looking afterthe prahus which you brought from the Sarebus will at once hand any ofthe vessels over when you show them this order."
Stepping to a bureau, which was fastened to one wall of the cabin, thecommander of the _Dido_ scrawled a few hurried lines, and then handedthe note to Tyler. A second later the latter was kow-towing himself fromthe presence of the two officers, his fingers aching with the heartyshake and grip which each had given him.
"A remarkably fine young fellow, and with wits!" exclaimed the captain."He is an acquisition, Horton, and is as smart an officer as I ever cameacross."
"And he is not spoilt by success, as so many would be, sir," burstin the lieutenant "He is always in earnest, it seems to me, unlessskylarking with lads of his own age, and he is clever. Look at the wayhe acted. Why, even a moment ago he did not allow himself to forget hisrole, and I'll be bound that the marine on sentry-go outside has not thefaintest idea who it was he passed on to the deck."
That this was the case was abundantly evident, and had the door onlyremained open, those within the cabin would have quickly learntthe fact; for no sooner had the door closed than the sentry, anill-conditioned fellow with a particular dislike to foreigners, graspedthe Chinaman by the shoulders and hustled him on to the deck withoutceremony. Then with a scowl and a "Git on with yer!" he went back tohis beat, little thinking that his act was one likely to entail seriousconsequences later on.
But Tyler did not allow his temper to be ruffled, and, hastening alongthe deck, soon joined Li Sung. A moment or two later they were passingdown the gangway, and very soon the two officers, watching from thegun-port in the cabin right aft, saw a tiny sampan swing out into thestream and pull for the prahus which lay moored some little distanceaway. A strong pull and it disappeared from sight, leaving the watchersto wonder when they would see Tyler Richardson again, and what would behis tale when he rejoined them.