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

by F. S. Brereton

"Not so," shouted one of his men. "I myself strolled in that direction, and I tell you that no living man could descend the rock on the farther side unless possessed of a long rope. They are here, above us, and we shall come upon them crouching in the bushes and whining for their lives."

"Then forward!" cried the leader. "Let us make an end of them, but remember, they are not to die here. For the trouble which they have given us in thus climbing, for the loss of our friends, we must demand of them a price, and they shall pay it. Before they take their last breath they shall be sad at the thought that they did not fall in with our wishes when first we called to them. But let us not delay. Follow me!"

This time with kriss in hand he came clambering up the steep slope, with eyes watching eagerly for some movement to tell him of the presence of the fugitives. But there was not so much as the tremble of a leaf, while not & sound broke the silence. A minute passed, and just as the Malay was about to call for a second halt, convinced that the birds were flown, a figure suddenly erected itself before him, and, half-hidden by an enormous bush, reared a boulder on high. Ah! The Chinaman took aim at his man with the utmost calmness, and then, ere the poor wretch could spring aside, or could shout in his terror, the mass of stone caught him on the breast and bore him backwards. A second and he was rolling and pitching on his way to the bottom, and even while his comrades were wondering how it had all happened, and were marvelling at the sight of the Chinaman, the unfortunate leader came with a thud on the bank of the river, and, rolling forward for all the world like a rabbit which had just been shot, came to a halt with face buried in the mud and limbs which were strangely contorted.

Once more it looked as though the attackers would lose heart and fly for their lives. But, emboldened by the thought that they had at length located the enemy, they suddenly plucked up their courage and, urged on by one of their number possessed of more spirit than his comrades, they came panting and struggling up the steep slope, determined to reach the lair of the Chinaman and wreak their vengeance upon him.

"A Chinaman!" shouted the one in advance. "We will swing him to the highest branch by means of his tail of hair, and we will spend the day and amuse ourselves by emptying our guns at his body. Fear him not, for he has boulders alone to hit us with, and those we can avoid by spreading out. Scatter at once, and be sure that none of you advance directly beneath the spot."

Acting upon this advice, and warned by the fate which had so suddenly and unexpectedly overtaken their leader, the surviving Malays at once separated till wide intervals lay between them, and then advanced upon the wall behind which Tyler and Li Sung were crouching, at a pace which promised to bring them to close quarters before many seconds had passed.

"One little moment," gasped Li Sung, peering at them over the barrier. "China boy soon stop de little game. He pick out de man who am in front, and he send him to join him brother. Watch de sling, massa."

With deft hand and unerring eye, which showed that he had spent many an hour in practising the use of his weapon, Li Sung stood erect and leant over the wall. Round swung the sling till it churned the air into a high-pitched whistle. Then, as the finger loosed one of the strings, the band fell limply upon his wrist and hand, while the stone which had lain in the pouch flew down the side of the rock as if it had been fired from a gun, and, as in the former case, struck full upon the forehead of the Malay who had taken it upon himself to lead his comrades. Like an ox felled with the stroke of a pole-axe he collapsed upon the moss-grown path, and then, with nothing there to retain its position, the limp and lifeless body slid downwards, toppled over, and, gathering way as it went, rolled over and over till its further progress was arrested by the bank beneath.

"That should stop them," exclaimed Tyler as he watched the body fall, "and it was a capital shot, Li Sung. I watched him, and feel sure that the stone must have battered a hole in his skull. But wait. Will they go after all, or are they determined to come closer to us?"

Once again it was a doubtful point whether the Malays would retire on the death of their comrade, or whether they would push up the face of the rock and come to hand-grips with those whom they were attacking. Indeed, it wanted very little to cause their determination to waver and send them down to the bank, or to infuse fresh courage into their hearts and cause them to dash headlong at their enemies. They paused, looked doubtfully at one another, and then turned to watch the body of the man who had gone to the bank below. Then one of them happened to cast a glance across the river, as if to measure the distance in case he wished to make good his escape. Instantly his eye fell upon the three sampans which were being rowed across, and realizing that they must contain companions and brothers-in-arms who were coming to help, he shouted a few words to his comrades.