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

by F. S. Brereton

Meanwhile the gig had slowly and insensibly approached the bank below the stockade, and, thinking to take her easily, the pirates dashed down to the water's edge, where they rushed to and fro, almost delirious with excitement, while they discharged their guns at the crew. Suddenly a figure pushed to their front, and Tyler, who had kept a watchful eye upon them, instantly recognized the Dutchman. So short was the distance which separated them that each recognized the other, and at once a weapon flew to the Dutchman's shoulder and he fired, the bullet striking the gunwale of the boat close beside Tyler. A moment later Captain Keppel pressed his trigger, a Malay beside the Dutchman falling full length to the ground.

"A bad shot!" he cried in disgust. "Give me your rifle, and I will see whether I cannot bag the fellow for you, for I recognize him as the notorious Hans Schlott."

Reaching for Tyler's weapon, he swung it to his shoulder and would have fired had not the Dutchman leapt aside and darted amongst his men. Indeed the knowledge that Tyler was there amongst the attackers seemed suddenly to have caused him to lose his nerve, for as they stared, hoping to catch a good view of him, they saw his figure pushing through the throng of frantic natives, and presently he was at the entrance to the stockade.

"Halt!" shouted Tyler, standing in his excitement and at once becoming the target for a hundred rifles. "Hans Schlott, I call upon you to stop and hand yourself over to justice! Move a step forward and I will shoot you like a dog!"

As he spoke he stretched out his hand and took his rifle from Captain Keppel. Then, raising it to his shoulder, he covered the Dutchman and waited for his answer. Had he been an older man, and one more full of wariness, no doubt he would have fired then and there and ended the matter. But Tyler hesitated, and the moment gave Hans Schlott his liberty. At the sound of Tyler's voice he stopped abruptly and swung round, displaying features which were livid with terror. His lips moved as if he were repeating the order and the warning. Then, as the thought of flight occurred to him, he suddenly threw himself upon the ground, and, diving forward, was behind the bamboo barricade before the shot could reach him. Then, with terror written upon his face and the fear of death in his heart, he leapt to his feet and went scampering away through the town and out into the jungle. As for Tyler, seeing that he had missed his mark, he rapidly reloaded, determined to capture his man when the stockade was taken.

"Ah! here are some of the boats, so we will pull for the bank," shouted Captain Keppel a moment later. "Give way, my lads, and do not let it be said that we were the last to set foot in the enemy's fort."

With a cheer the crew of the gig bent to their oars, and, helped by the tide, soon brought the boat up to the bank. A second earlier one of the cutters had reached the same part, and instantly her commander, a Mr. D'Aeth, led a charge up the slope against the bamboo stockade. Leaping into the water, Tyler was only a few paces behind him, and, accompanied by a collection of sailors and marines, dashed at the stockade. Behind them, racing for the same goal as soon as their boats deposited them upon the bank, came more of the men of the Dido, and amongst them Dyaks and natives of Borneo. Here and there shots rang out in the air, and shrill cries resounded. Then a sheet of flame suddenly licked round the central hut, and almost before it could have been thought possible Paddi was burning to the ground, while the host of warriors who had manned the stockade, and who in their time had wrought such misery, were fleeing for their lives, with a score and more of hungry Dyaks at their heels, who longed for this opportunity of revenge, and for the heads which victory might bring.

"And now for the other fellows, and then we will follow up the river," said Captain Keppel. "You will naturally want to go in pursuit, Mr. Richardson, and therefore you will at once report to Mr. Horton. Ask him to take you in his own boat, and tell him, with my compliments, that he is to do all that is possible to capture the rogue who led these pirates. Now, to the gig, my lads, and let us clear the neighbourhood!"

Filled with exultation at the success which had attended their efforts, and at the thought that they had suffered little loss, the sailors and marines soon sent the remainder of the enemy flying, and then prepared to follow them with a readiness which showed that their hearts were in the matter. Dividing into two parties, one at once set to work to dismantle the forts and toss the guns into the river, while the other boarded the pinnace, and with the Rajah for company, and Lieutenant Horton in command, ascended the tributary which entered the river Sarebus on the right of the spit of land upon which Paddi had been built. A short pull, however, disclosed the fact that it was too shallow for navigation, even with boats drawing so little water. The expedition returned, therefore, and, having rested and eaten, pulled for the tributary on the left, the very one along which Tyler and his natives had approached the piratical stronghold.