With the Dyaks of Borneo: A Tale of the Head Hunters

by F. S. Brereton

"What! Impossible!" exclaimed the commander, stepping forward swiftly and thrusting his face close to Tyler's. "Mr. Richardson in disguise! It cannot be; for this is a real Chinaman if ever I saw one. What do you say, Horton?"

"It is wonderful. The lad would pass inspection anywhere, and has completely 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? It will never do to declare who is here, for the tale would fly round the deck, and our men would have it before half an hour had passed."

"And the safety of the expedition and of these two might be jeopardized," cried the commander. "Come down to the cabin, Mr. Richardson, and leave your companion here with instructions to say nothing and to keep his tongue between his teeth."

As if too dazed to say more, Captain Keppel turned about and led the way to his cabin, the chief officer following closely upon his heels, and Tyler bringing up the rear, kow-towing with the gravest of faces and the most servile of manners as they passed him. Once the door had closed upon them, however, the officers burst into hearty roars of laughter, and for some little time could do nothing more than stare at our hero and walk round and round him, closely scrutinizing his apparel. And well they might, too, for the special duty which was about to take Tyler to the Sarebus was one fraught with the gravest danger, and he was well aware that discovery would mean death. For that reason Li Sung had taken the utmost pains to transform him, and, thanks to the fact that on this occasion he was at home, and surrounded with all that was necessary for the purpose, he had contrived to provide a disguise which could not 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 clever and painstaking had been Li Sung that the eyes seemed to be precisely the same as those possessed by the normal Chinaman. In short, as the interview upon the poop had proved, no one could recognize in the taller of the two Chinaman the young officer who had but just come to the ship; while even the leader of the pirates at Paddi would have passed him by without a suspicion that this humble individual, who seemed to find it necessary to kow-tow to every person of note or of the smallest consequence, was the Englishman for whom he sought, and whom he had last encountered 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 excellence of your appearance. But tell me how you propose to proceed? Surely, if you go up the river as you are, they will think that you are a man of some wealth and will pounce upon you, for your clothes are better than those worn, as a rule, by the Chinamen here."

"They are put on simply for the purpose of coming here, sir," replied Tyler earnestly. "If one of the country which I am supposed to represent had occasion to come to you, he would certainly don his best clothing for the purpose. But I shall take others with me, and once up the river I have but to strip off these outer garments and I become in a moment a coolie, one of the men who is to be come across in every part, at work upon 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 of the former makes him keep at a distance from them generally. As to the river, sir, I shall act as circumstances demand, but my idea is to row boldly up to Rembas or to Pakoo and make friends with the pirates, with the idea of escaping later on."

"It sounds terribly risky, my lad," exclaimed Captain Keppel, as though a feeling of remorse had suddenly come to him for having selected this young officer for such a task. "Do you think that it will be necessary to actually throw in your lot with these men?"

"But, no—I will not interfere in any manner," he cried, after a moment's thought, interrupting Tyler before he could give an answer to the question. "I will leave the carrying out of the duty entirely to you, well knowing that you will not be impetuous, and that you have had an experience already which will be invaluable. You shall leave this ship when our chat is ended, and shall make your way to the Sarebus when and how you like. On your return to the Dido I shall have something to say, and let me remind you now that we have appointed the island at the mouth of the river as a rendezvous, and that we shall sail there shortly after you have left us. Till we meet—the very best of fortune, my dear lad! As to getting there, I may say that the men who are looking after the prahus which you brought from the Sarebus will at once hand any of the vessels over when you show them this order."

Stepping to a bureau, which was fastened to one wall of the cabin, the commander of the Dido scrawled a few hurried lines, and then handed the note to Tyler. A second later the latter was kow-towing himself from the presence of the two officers, his fingers aching with the hearty shake 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 came across."