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"The shed is full of rattans," answered Almayer, "and I have

about eighty tons of guttah in the well. The last lot I ever will
have, no doubt," he added, bitterly.

"So, after all, there was no robbery" target="_blank" title="n.抢劫(案);盗取">robbery. You've lost nothing
actually. Well, then, you must . . . Hallo! What's the matter!

. . . Here! . . ."
"Robbery! No!" screamed Almayer, throwing up his hands.

He fell back in the chair and his face became purple. A little
white foam appeared on his lips and trickled down his chin, while

he lay back, showing the whites of his upturned eyes. When he
came to himself he saw Lingard standing over him, with an empty

water-chatty in his hand.
"You had a fit of some kind," said the old seaman with much

concern. "What is it? You did give me a fright. So very
sudden."

Almayer, his hair all wet and stuck to his head, as if he had
been diving, sat up and gasped.

"Outrage! A fiendish outrage. I . . ."
Lingard put the chatty on the table and looked at him in

attentive silence. Almayer passed his hand over his forehead and
went on in an unsteady tone:

"When I remember that, I lose all control," he said. "I told you
he anchored Abdulla's ship abreast our jetty, but over to the

other shore, near the Rajah's place. The ship was surrounded
with boats. From here it looked as if she had been landed on a

raft. Every dugout in Sambir was there. Through my glass I
could distinguish the faces of people on the poop--Abdulla,

Willems, Lakamba--everybody. That old cringing scoundrel Sahamin
was there. I could see quite plain. There seemed to be much

talk and discussion. Finally I saw a ship's boat lowered. Some
Arab got into her, and the boat went towards Patalolo's

landing-place. It seems they had been refused admittance--so
they say. I think myself that the water-gate was not unbarred

quick enough to please the exalted messenger. At any rate I saw
the boat come back almost directly. I was looking on, rather

interested, when I saw Willems and some more go forward--very
busy about something there. That woman was also amongst them.

Ah, that woman . . ."
Almayer choked, and seemed on the point of having a relapse, but

by a violent effort regained a comparative composure.
"All of a sudden," he continued--"bang! They fired a shot into

Patalolo's gate, and before I had time to catch my breath--I was
startled, you may believe--they sent another and burst the gate

open. Whereupon, I suppose, they thought they had done enough
for a while, and probably felt hungry, for a feast began aft.

Abdulla sat amongst them like an idol, cross-legged, his hands on
his lap. He's too great altogether to eat when others do, but he

presided, you see. Willems kept on dodging about forward, aloof
from the crowd, and looking at my house through the ship's long

glass. I could not resist it. I shook my fist at him."
"Just so," said Lingard, gravely. "That was the thing to do, of

course. If you can't fight a man the best thing is to exasperate
him."

Almayer waved his hand in a superior manner, and continued,
unmoved: "You may say what you like. You can't realize my

feelings. He saw me, and, with his eye still at the small end of
the glass, lifted his arm as if answering a hail. I thought my

turn to be shot at would come next after Patalolo, so I ran up
the Union Jack to the flagstaff in the yard. I had no other

protection. There were only three men besides Ali that stuck to
me--three cripples, for that matter, too sick to get away. I

would have fought singlehanded, I think, I was that angry, but
there was the child. What to do with her? Couldn't send her up

the river with the mother. You know I can't trust my wife. I
decided to keep very quiet, but to let nobody land on our shore.

Private property, that; under a deed from Patalolo. I was within
my right--wasn't I? The morning was very quiet. After they had

a feed on board the barque with Abdulla most of them went home;
only the big people remained. Towards three o'clock Sahamin

crossed alone in a small canoe. I went down on our wharf with my
gun to speak to him, but didn't let him land. The old hypocrite

said Abdulla sent greetings and wished to talk with me on
business; would I come on board? I said no; I would not. Told

him that Abdulla may write and I would answer, but no interview,
neither on board his ship nor on shore. I also said that if

anybody attempted to land within my fences I would shoot--no
matter whom. On that he lifted his hands to heaven, scandalized,

and then paddled away pretty smartly--to report, I suppose. An
hour or so afterwards I saw Willems land a boat party at the

Rajah's. It was very quiet. Not a shot was fired, and there was
hardly any shouting. They tumbled those brass guns you presented

to Patalolo last year down the bank into the river. It's deep
there close to. The channel runs that way, you know. About

five, Willems went back on board, and I saw him join Abdulla by
the wheel aft. He talked a lot, swinging his arms about--seemed

to explain things--pointed at my house, then down the reach.
Finally, just before sunset, they hove upon the cable and dredged

the ship down nearly half a mile to the junction of the two
branches of the river--where she is now, as you might have seen."

Lingard nodded.
"That evening, after dark--I was informed--Abdulla landed for the

first time in Sambir. He was entertained in Sahamin's house. I
sent Ali to the settlement for news. He returned about nine, and

reported that Patalolo was sitting on Abdulla's left hand before
Sahamin's fire. There was a great council. Ali seemed to think

that Patalolo was a prisoner, but he was wrong there. They did
the trick very neatly. Before midnight everything was arranged

as I can make out. Patalolo went back to his demolished
stockade, escorted by a dozen boats with torches. It appears he

begged Abdulla to let him have a passage in the Lord of the Isles
to Penang. From there he would go to Mecca. The firing

business was alluded to as a mistake. No doubt it was in a
sense. Patalolo never meant resisting. So he is going as soon

as the ship is ready for sea. He went on board next day with
three women and half a dozen fellows as old as himself. By

Abdulla's orders he was received with a salute of seven guns, and
he has been living on board ever since--five weeks. I doubt

whether he will leave the river alive. At any rate he won't live
to reach Penang. Lakamba took over all his goods, and gave him a

draft on Abdulla's house payable in Penang. He is bound to die
before he gets there. Don't you see?"

He sat silent for a while in dejectedmeditation, then went on:
"Of course there were several rows during the night. Various

fellows took the opportunity of the unsettled state of affairs to
pay off old scores and settle old grudges. I passed the night in

that chair there, dozing uneasily. Now and then there would be a
great tumult and yelling which would make me sit up, revolver in

hand. However, nobody was killed. A few broken heads--that's
all. Early in the morning Willems caused them to make a fresh

move which I must say surprised me not a little. As soon as
there was daylight they busied themselves in setting up a

flag-pole on the space at the other end of the settlement, where
Abdulla is having his houses built now. Shortly after sunrise

there was a great gathering at the flag-pole. All went there.
Willems was standing leaning against the mast, one arm over that

woman's shoulders. They had brought an armchair for Patalolo,
and Lakamba stood on the right hand of the old man, who made a

speech. Everybody in Sambir was there: women, slaves,
children--everybody! Then Patalolo spoke. He said that by the

mercy of the Most High he was going on a pilgrimage. The dearest
wish of his heart was to be accomplished. Then, turning to

Lakamba, he begged him to rule justly during his--Patalolo's--
absence. There was a bit of play-acting there. Lakamba said he

was unworthy of the honourable burden, and Patalolo insisted.
Poor old fool! It must have been bitter to him. They made him

actually entreat that scoundrel. Fancy a man compelled to beg of
a robber to despoil him! But the old Rajah was so frightened.

Anyway, he did it, and Lakamba accepted at last. Then Willems
made a speech to the crowd. Said that on his way to the west the

Rajah--he meant Patalolo--would see the Great White Ruler in
Batavia and obtain his protection for Sambir. Meantime, he went

on, I, an Orang Blanda and your friend, hoist the flag under the
shadow of which there is safety. With that he ran up a Dutch

flag to the mast-head. It was made hurriedly, during the night,
of cotton stuffs, and, being heavy, hung down the mast, while the

crowd stared. Ali told me there was a great sigh of surprise,
but not a word was spoken till Lakamba advanced and proclaimed in

a loud voice that during all that day every one passing by the
flagstaff must uncover his head and salaam before the emblem."

"But, hang it all!" exclaimed Lingard--"Abdulla is British!"
"Abdulla wasn't there at all--did not go on shore that day. Yet

Ali, who has his wits about him, noticed that the space where the
crowd stood was under the guns of the Lord of the Isles. They

had put a coir warp ashore, and gave the barque a cant in the
current, so as to bring the broadside to bear on the flagstaff.

Clever! Eh? But nobody dreamt of resistance. When they
recovered from the surprise there was a little quiet jeering; and

Bahassoen abused Lakamba violently till one of Lakamba's men hit
him on the head with a staff. Frightful crack, I am told. Then

they left off jeering. Meantime Patalolo went away, and Lakamba
sat in the chair at the foot of the flagstaff, while the crowd

surged around, as if they could not make up their minds to go.
Suddenly there was a great noise behind Lakamba's chair. It was

that woman, who went for Willems. Ali says she was like a wild
beast, but he twisted her wrist and made her grovel in the dust.

Nobody knows exactly what it was about. Some say it was about
that flag. He carried her off, flung her into a canoe, and went

on board Abdulla's ship. After that Sahamin was the first to
salaam to the flag. Others followed suit. Before noon

everything was quiet in the settlement, and Ali came back and
told me all this."

Almayer drew a long breath. Lingard stretched out his legs.
"Go on!" he said.

Almayer seemed to struggle with himself. At last he spluttered
out:

"The hardest is to tell yet. The most unheard-of thing! An
outrage! A fiendish outrage!"

CHAPTER THREE
"Well! Let's know all about it. I can't imagine . . ." began

Lingard, after waiting for some time in silence.
"Can't imagine! I should think you couldn't," interrupted

Almayer. "Why! . . . You just listen. When Ali came back I
felt a little easier in my mind. There was then some semblance

of order in Sambir. I had the Jack up since the morning and
began to feel safer. Some of my men turned up in the afternoon.

I did not ask any questions; set them to work as if nothing had
happened. Towards the evening--it might have been five or

half-past--I was on our jetty with the child when I heard shouts
at the far-off end of the settlement. At first I didn't take

much notice. By and by Ali came to me and says, 'Master, give me
the child, there is much trouble in the settlement.' So I gave

him Nina and went in, took my revolver, and passed through the
house into the back courtyard. As I came down the steps I saw

all the serving girls clear out from the cooking shed, and I
heard a big crowd howling on the other side of the dry ditch

which is the limit of our ground. Could not see them on account
of the fringe of bushes along the ditch, but I knew that crowd

was angry and after somebody. As I stood wondering, that
Jim-Eng--you know the Chinaman who settled here a couple of years

ago?"
"He was my passenger; I brought him here," exclaimed Lingard. "A



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