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_ 'All the events of that night have a great importance, since they
brought about a situation which remained unchanged till Jim's
return. Jim had been away in the interior for more than a week,
and it was Dain Waris who had directed the first repulse. That brave
and intelligent youth ("who knew how to fight after the manner of
white men") wished to settle the business off-hand, but his people
were too much for him. He had not Jim's racial prestige and the
reputation of invincible, supernatural power. He was not the visible,
tangible incarnation of unfailing truth and of unfailing victory.
Beloved, trusted, and admired as he was, he was still one of _them_,
while Jim was one of us. Moreover, the white man, a tower of
strength in himself, was invulnerable, while Dain Waris could be
killed. Those unexpressed thoughts guided the opinions of the chief
men of the town, who elected to assemble in Jim's fort for deliberation
upon the emergency, as if expecting to find wisdom and courage in the
dwelling of the absent white man. The shooting of Brown's ruffians
was so far good, or lucky, that there had been half-a-dozen casualties
amongst the defenders. The wounded were lying on the verandah tended
by their women-folk. The women and children from the lower part of the
town had been sent into the fort at the first alarm. There Jewel was
in command, very efficient and high-spirited, obeyed by Jim's "own
people," who, quitting in a body their little settlement under the
stockade, had gone in to form the garrison. The refugees crowded round
her; and through the whole affair, to the very disastrous last, she
showed an extraordinary martial ardour. It was to her that Dain Waris
had gone at once at the first intelligence of danger, for you must
know that Jim was the only one in Patusan who possessed a store of
gunpowder. Stein, with whom he had kept up intimate relations by
letters, had obtained from the Dutch Government a special authorisation
to export five hundred kegs of it to Patusan. The powder-magazine
was a small hut of rough logs covered entirely with earth, and in
Jim's absence the girl had the key. In the council, held at eleven
o'clock in the evening in Jim's dining-room, she backed up Waris's
advice for immediate and vigorous action. I am told that she stood
up by the side of Jim's empty chair at the head of the long table and
made a warlike impassioned speech, which for the moment extorted
murmurs of approbation from the assembled headmen. Old Doramin,
who had not showed himself outside his own gate for more than a year,
had been brought across with great difficulty. He was, of course,
the chief man there. The temper of the council was very unforgiving,
and the old man's word would have been decisive; but it is my opinion
that, well aware of his son's fiery courage, he dared not pronounce
the word. More dilatory counsels prevailed. A certain Haji Saman
pointed out at great length that "these tyrannical and ferocious men
had delivered themselves to a certain death in any case. They would
stand fast on their hill and starve, or they would try to regain their
boat and be shot from ambushes across the creek, or they would break
and fly into the forest and perish singly there." He argued that by
the use of proper stratagems these evil-minded strangers could be
destroyed without the risk of a battle, and his words had a great
weight, especially with the Patusan men proper. What unsettled the
minds of the townsfolk was the failure of the Rajah's boats to act at
the decisive moment. It was the diplomatic Kassim who represented the
Rajah at the council. He spoke very little, listened smilingly, very
friendly and impenetrable. During the sitting messengers kept
arriving every few minutes almost, with reports of the invaders'
proceedings. Wild and exaggerated rumours were flying: there was a
large ship at the mouth of the river with big guns and many more
men--some white, others with black skins and of bloodthirsty appearance.
They were coming with many more boats to exterminate every living thing.
A sense of near, incomprehensible danger affected the common people. At
one moment there was a panic in the courtyard amongst the women;
shrieking; a rush; children crying--Haji Sunan went out to quiet
them. Then a fort sentry fired at something moving on the river,
and nearly killed a villager bringing in his women-folk in a canoe
together with the best of his domestic utensils and a dozen fowls.
This caused more confusion. Meantime the palaver inside Jim's
house went on in the presence of the girl. Doramin sat fierce-faced,
heavy, looking at the speakers in turn, and breathing slow like a
bull. He didn't speak till the last, after Kassim had declared that
the Rajah's boats would be called in because the men were required
to defend his master's stockade. Dain Waris in his father's presence
would offer no opinion, though the girl entreated him in Jim's name
to speak out. She offered him Jim's own men in her anxiety to have
these intruders driven out at once. He only shook his head, after a
glance or two at Doramin. Finally, when the council broke up it had
been decided that the houses nearest the creek should be strongly
occupied to obtain the command of the enemy's boat. The boat
itself was not to be interfered with openly, so that the robbers on
the hill should be tempted to embark, when a well-directed fire
would kill most of them, no doubt. To cut off the escape of those
who might survive, and to prevent more of them coming up, Dain
Waris was ordered by Doramin to take an armed party of Bugis
down the river to a certain spot ten miles below Patusan, and there
form a camp on the shore and blockade the stream with the canoes.
I don't believe for a moment that Doramin feared the arrival of
fresh forces. My opinion is that his conduct was guided solely by
his wish to keep his son out of harm's way. To prevent a rush
being made into the town the construction of a stockade was to be
commenced at daylight at the end of the street on the left bank.
The old nakhoda declared his intention to command there himself.
A distribution of powder, bullets, and percussion-caps was made
immediately under the girl's supervision. Several messengers were
to be dispatched in different directions after Jim, whose exact
whereabouts were unknown. These men started at dawn, but before
that time Kassim had managed to open communications with the
besieged Brown.
'That accomplished diplomatist and confidant of the Rajah, on
leaving the fort to go back to his master, took into his boat Cornelius,
whom he found slinking mutely amongst the people in the courtyard.
Kassim had a little plan of his own and wanted him for an interpreter.
Thus it came about that towards morning Brown, reflecting upon the
desperate nature of his position, heard from the marshy overgrown
hollow an amicable, quavering, strained voice crying--in English--for
permission to come up, under a promise of personal safety and on a
very important errand. He was overjoyed. If he was spoken to he was no
longer a hunted wild beast. These friendly sounds took off at once
the awful stress of vigilant watchfulness as of so many blind men not
knowing whence the deathblow might come. He pretended a great reluctance.
The voice declared itself "a white man--a poor, ruined, old man who had
been living here for years." A mist, wet and chilly, lay on the slopes
of the hill, and after some more shouting from one to the other,
Brown called out, "Come on, then, but alone, mind!" As a matter
of fact--he told me, writhing with rage at the recollection of his
helplessness--it made no difference. They couldn't see more than
a few yards before them, and no treachery could make their position
worse. By-and-by Cornelius, in his week-day attire of a ragged dirty
shirt and pants, barefooted, with a broken-rimmed pith hat on his
head, was made out vaguely, sidling up to the defences, hesitating,
stopping to listen in a peering posture. "Come along! You are safe,"
yelled Brown, while his men stared. All their hopes of life became
suddenly centered in that dilapidated, mean newcomer, who in profound
silence clambered clumsily over a felled tree-trunk, and shivering,
with his sour, mistrustful face, looked about at the knot of bearded,
anxious, sleepless desperadoes.
'Half an hour's confidential talk with Cornelius opened Brown's
eyes as to the home affairs of Patusan. He was on the alert at once.
There were possibilities, immense possibilities; but before he would
talk over Cornelius's proposals he demanded that some food should
be sent up as a guarantee of good faith. Cornelius went off, creeping
sluggishly down the hill on the side of the Rajah's palace, and after
some delay a few of Tunku Allang's men came up, bringing a scanty
supply of rice, chillies, and dried fish. This was immeasurably
better than nothing. Later on Cornelius returned accompanying
Kassim, who stepped out with an air of perfect good-humoured
trustfulness, in sandals, and muffled up from neck to ankles in
dark-blue sheeting. He shook hands with Brown discreetly, and the
three drew aside for a conference. Brown's men, recovering their
confidence, were slapping each other on the back, and cast knowing
glances at their captain while they busied themselves with preparations
for cooking.
'Kassim disliked Doramin and his Bugis very much, but he hated
the new order of things still more. It had occurred to him that these
whites, together with the Rajah's followers, could attack and defeat
the Bugis before Jim's return. Then, he reasoned, general defection
of the townsfolk was sure to follow, and the reign of the white man
who protected poor people would be over. Afterwards the new allies
could be dealt with. They would have no friends. The fellow was
perfectly able to perceive the difference of character, and had seen
enough of white men to know that these newcomers were outcasts,
men without country. Brown preserved a stern and inscrutable
demeanour. When he first heard Cornelius's voice demanding
admittance, it brought merely the hope of a loophole for escape. In
less than an hour other thoughts were seething in his head. Urged
by an extreme necessity, he had come there to steal food, a few tons
of rubber or gum may be, perhaps a handful of dollars, and had
found himself enmeshed by deadly dangers. Now in consequence
of these overtures from Kassim he began to think of stealing the
whole country. Some confounded fellow had apparently accomplished
something of the kind--single-handed at that. Couldn't have done it
very well though. Perhaps they could work together--squeeze everything
dry and then go out quietly. In the course of his negotiations with
Kassim he became aware that he was supposed to have a big ship with
plenty of men outside. Kassim begged him earnestly to have this big
ship with his many guns and men brought up the river without delay
for the Rajah's service. Brown professed himself willing, and on this
basis the negotiation was carried on with mutual distrust. Three
times in the course of the morning the courteous and active Kassim
went down to consult the Rajah and came up busily with his long stride.
Brown, while bargaining, had a sort of grim enjoyment in thinking of
his wretched schooner, with nothing but a heap of dirt in her hold,
that stood for an armed ship, and a Chinaman and a lame ex-beachcomber
of Levuka on board, who represented all his many men. In the afternoon
he obtained further doles of food, a promise of some money, and a supply
of mats for his men to make shelters for themselves. They lay down
and snored, protected from the burning sunshine; but Brown, sitting
fully exposed on one of the felled trees, feasted his eyes upon
the view of the town and the river. There was much loot there.
Cornelius, who had made himself at home in the camp, talked at
his elbow, pointing out the localities, imparting advice, giving his
own version of Jim's character, and commenting in his own fashion
upon the events of the last three years. Brown, who, apparently
indifferent and gazing away, listened with attention to every word,
could not make out clearly what sort of man this Jim could be.
"What's his name? Jim! Jim! That's not enough for a man's name."
"They call him," said Cornelius scornfully, "Tuan Jim here. As
you may say Lord Jim." "What is he? Where does he come from?"
inquired Brown. "What sort of man is he? Is he an Englishman?"
"Yes, yes, he's an Englishman. I am an Englishman too. From
Malacca. He is a fool. All you have to do is to kill him and then you
are king here. Everything belongs to him," explained Cornelius.
"It strikes me he may be made to share with somebody before very
long," commented Brown half aloud. "No, no. The proper way is
to kill him the first chance you get, and then you can do what you
like," Cornelius would insist earnestly. "I have lived for many years
here, and I am giving you a friend's advice."
'In such converse and in gloating over the view of Patusan, which
he had determined in his mind should become his prey, Brown
whiled away most of the afternoon, his men, meantime, resting.
On that day Dain Waris's fleet of canoes stole one by one under the
shore farthest from the creek, and went down to close the river
against his retreat. Of this Brown was not aware, and Kassim, who
came up the knoll an hour before sunset, took good care not to
enlighten him. He wanted the white man's ship to come up the
river, and this news, he feared, would be discouraging. He was very
pressing with Brown to send the "order," offering at the same time
a trusty messenger, who for greater secrecy (as he explained) would
make his way by land to the mouth of the river and deliver the
"order" on board. After some reflection Brown judged it expedient
to tear a page out of his pocket-book, on which he simply wrote,
"We are getting on. Big job. Detain the man." The stolid youth
selected by Kassim for that service performed it faithfully, and was
rewarded by being suddenly tipped, head first, into the schooner's
empty hold by the ex-beachcomber and the Chinaman, who thereupon
hastened to put on the hatches. What became of him afterwards Brown
did not say.' _
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