Middy and Ensign Part 45

As if out of bravado, he immediately began to pace his allotted post once more, and he had hardly gone half-way when a sharp sound upon his left made him bring his piece down to the present, and wait with bayonet fixed what he looked upon as a certain attack.

Again he hesitated about firing and giving the alarm, for fear of incurring ridicule and perhaps reprimand. He knew in his heart that he was nervous and excitable, being troubled lest any ill should befall the occupants of the residency, and being in such an excited state made him ready to imagine everything he saw, to mean danger.

So he stood there, ready to repel any attack made upon him, and as he remained upon his guard the rustling noise increased, and he momentarily expected to see the leaves parted and some dark figure rush out; but still he was kept in suspense, for nothing appeared.

At last he came to the conclusion that it was some restless bird or animal disturbed by his presence, and told himself that the noise made was magnified by his own fancies; and, rather glad that he had not given the alarm, he continued to march up and down, pa.s.sing to and fro in close proximity to a dark Malay, whose hand clasped a wavy, dull-bladed kris, that the holder seemed waiting to thrust into his chest the moment an opportunity occurred, or so soon as the sentry should have given the alarm.

At last the weary watch came to an end, for the tramp of the relief was heard, and Sergeant Lund marched up his little party of men, heard Gray's report of the rustling noise, and the dark shadow on the river; said "Humph!" in a gruff way; a fresh man was placed on sentry, and Adam Gray was marched back with the other tired men who were picked up on the round into the little fort.

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.

HOW SOME COULD GO AND SOME MUST STAY.

The day of the tiger-hunt was at last close at hand. A vast deal of communication and counter communication had taken place with the sultan, whose people were making great preparations for the event.

The sultan was constantly sending messengers, and asking that stores might be given him with plenty of ammunition. Not, though, in any mean begging spirit, for whenever a couple of his chiefs came with some request, they were accompanied by a train of followers bearing presents--food, supplies of the finest rice, sugar-cane, and fruit; buffaloes and poultry; slabs of tin, little bags of gold dust, specimens of the native work; an abundance, in short, of useful and valuable things, all of which were accepted; though there was a grim feeling in the mind of Mr Linton that pretty well everything had been taken by force, from some of the sultan's miserable subjects.

Still the policy was, to be on the best of terms with the sultan, and to hope to introduce reforms in his rule by degrees. The resident took the old school copy-book moral into consideration, that example was better than precept, and knowing full well that any sweeping code of rules and regulations would produce distaste, certain hatred, and perhaps a rising against the English rule, he determined to introduce little improvements by degrees, each to be, he hoped, tiny seeds from which would grow grand and substantial trees.

The tiger-hunt was being prepared for evidently with childlike delight, and instead of its being a few hours' expedition, it proved that it was to be an affair of a week. Tents were to be taken, huts to be formed, and quite a large district swept of the dangerous beasts. For as the sultan informed the English officers, the tigers had been unmolested for quite two years, and saving one or two taken in pitfalls, they had escaped almost scot free. The consequence of this was, that several poor Malays had been carried off from their rice-fields, and at least a dozen unfortunate Chinamen from the neighbourhood of some tin mines a few miles away.

"I never meant to enter into such an extensive affair, gentlemen," said the resident to Major Sandars and Captain Horton after dinner one day, when they had all been entertained at the mess-room. "I almost think we ought to draw back before it is too late."

"Well, I don't know," said Major Sandars. "It will please the sultan if we take a lot of men, and this is rather a stagnating life. I frankly tell you I should be very glad of the outing, and I am sure it would do good to the men."

"I quite agree with you, Sandars," said Captain Horton; and Bob Roberts and Tom Long, who were opposite one another at the bottom of the table, exchanged glances. "I want a change, and I should be glad to give my lads a turn up the country. Drill's all very well, but it gets wearisome. What do you say, Smithers?"

"I must confess to being eager to go," was the reply. "It seems to me the only gentleman who does not care for the trip is Mr Linton."

"My dear fellow, you never made a greater mistake in your life," said Mr Linton, laughing. "Nothing would please me better than to be off for a couple of months, with a brace of good rifles, and an elephant, with plenty of beaters. I could even manage to exist for three months without reading a report, or writing a despatch."

Here there was a hearty laugh, and Mr Linton went on,--"There is one voice silent--the most important one, it seems to me. Come, doctor, what do you say? may we all go up the country and live in tents?"

"Hah!" said Doctor Bolter, "now you have me on the hip. I want to go myself; horribly."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" laughed every one in chorus.

"I want to see those black monkeys like our friend Mr Bob Roberts has for a pet. I say I want to see them in their native state. I want to get a specimen of the pink rhinoceros, and some of the _Longicorns_.

_Nymphalis Calydonia_ is to be found here, and I must shoot a few specimens of _Cymbirhynchus Macrorhynchus_, besides supplying my _hortus siccus_ with a complete series of _Nepenthes_."

"For goodness' sake, doctor, don't go on like that," cried Captain Horton. "If you want to be cheerful to that extent, give us a recitation in pure Malay."

"Ah, you may all laugh," said the doctor; "but I'm not ashamed of being a modest naturalist."

"Modest!" said Major Sandars. "Do you call that modest, to talk big like that? But come, tell us, may we go safely?"

"That's what I can't quite settle," said the doctor. "I don't know what to say to you. A week's hunting picnic would be very nice."

"Splendid," said everybody.

"And you'd have a good supply of tents? I can't have my men sleeping in the open air."

"Abundance of everything," said Major Sandars. "Regular commissariat stores--mess tent, and the rest of it."

"Stop a minute," said the doctor, "not so fast. You see, what I'm afraid of is fever."

"We all are," said Captain Horton. "Never mind, take a barrel and keep a strong solution of quinine always on tap for us. Now then, may we go?

You see if it was on duty we shouldn't study a moment, but as it's a case of pleasuring--"

"And keeping up good relations with the sultan," said the resident.

"And freeing the country from a pest," said Captain Horton.

"Tigers are pests enough," said the doctor, "but intermittent or jungle fever is to my mind the pest of the country."

"Yes, of course, doctor," said the resident; "but what do you think, may we go?"

The doctor sat tapping the table with a dessert knife.

"Will you all promise me faithfully not to drink a drop of water that has not been filtered?" he said.

"_Yes_, yes, yes," came from all down the table.

"I'll promise, doctor, not to drink any water at all," said Bob Roberts in a low voice, that was heard, though, by the doctor.

"It strikes me, young gentleman, that you won't get anything stronger,"

he said. "Well, gentlemen, if you'll all promise to abide by my rules, I'll say _yes; you may go_."

A long quiet conversation was afterwards held, and finally it was decided that quite half the men should go, and on the eve of the expedition the final preparations had been made, tents and stores had been sent ash.o.r.e ready for a start at daybreak.

The river had been scoured by the corvette's boats, and no trace of Rajah Gantang's prahus found; in fact, nothing had been heard of him or them for many days; and all being esteemed satisfactory and safe on that score, what remained to do was to settle who should stay and protect the residency and the corvette, and who should go.

As far as the men were concerned, this was soon settled; for the order was given to fall in, and they were soon ranged in line, every man anxious in the extreme as to his fate. The next order was for the even numbered to take two paces back, and the next for the rear-rank men to fall out; they were the lucky ones, and in a high state of delight.

With the officers it was more difficult. However, that was soon settled. Captain Horton said that he should go; and gave the corvette in charge of Lieutenant Johnson. Major Sandars followed his example by appointing Captain Smithers to the task of taking command of the fort; and to his great disgust Tom Long found that he was not to be of the select.

The resident had not intended to go, but so pressing a request that he would come had arrived from the sultan, that he felt bound to make one of the party. On the eve of the start the princ.i.p.al talk was of the qualities and powers of the various rifles and shot guns that had been brought out to be cleaned and oiled.

Tom Long was solacing himself out in the open air with a strong rank cigar that had been given him by a brother officer, and very poorly it made him feel. But he put that all down to the major's account for depriving him of his treat.

"I'll be even with him, though," he said, breaking out into the habit of talking aloud. "I won't forget it."

The night was very dark and starless, and he stood leaning up against a tree, when he heard the splash of oars from the landing-place, a short sharp order, and then the rattling of a ring-bolt.

"Some one from the steamer, I suppose," he growled. "Gun borrowing, I'll be bound. They don't have mine, whoever wants it."