“Who’s that?” cried the Captain.
“Sergeant, sir—Ripsy,” came in that non-com’s deep, important voice.
“Well, what’s up?”
“Well, sir, they may be coming to see the review, but it don’t look like it. There’s a strong body of well-armed natives just the other side of the campong, and they may be friends or they may be enemies, but we have got to be ready for them, anyhow. You see, sir, it don’t look right, because if they had been friends they would have been coming down the river in their boats. These ’ere must have been marching all night; and they have got elephants with them.”
Whatever the body of Malays was, short as was the notice given, they found that the English cantonments were well guarded, and those who approached beyond the native village, where the main body had halted, were stopped before they could get any farther.
It was quite dark, and the whole appearance of the body of men suggested a night attack; but before long native messengers came into camp with a message from the chief officers of Rajah Suleiman to say that they had had a long night march so as to reach Campong Dang before sunrise, on account of the heat, and asking that they might be furnished with refreshments for His Highness, and be given permission for the elephants to be brought into camp by their mahouts, to be placed in the shade of the trees by the parade-ground while the grass-cutters went out for their food.
Messages then began to pass to and fro, and invitations were sent to the Rajah and his officers to join the officers’ mess at breakfast and rest, as it would be hours before the military evolutions would begin.
The excitement and bustle quickly calmed down; pickets were stationed, with orders that none of the Malays were to come into camp; and the mess-men were almost ready to announce breakfast, when the Doctor came bustling on to the scene, and one of the first people he stumbled against was Archie.
“Oh, here you are,” he cried, hastily fastening one or two buttons of his white flannels. “Just the fellow I wanted to see.”
“Morning, Doctor. How are you?” replied the lad.