She was writhing in her passion. Her bosom rose and fell tumultuously, and her fingers opened and closed like the claws of an animal. In this mood she was a veritable tigress, Peter Gross thought.
"All that you have said is the truth," he admitted. He looked very weary, his shoulders were bent, and he stared gloomily into the hearth. Koyala stared at him with a fierce intensity, half doubtful whether he was mocking her. But his dejection was too patent to be pretense.
"If you believe that, why are you here?" she demanded.
"Because I believe that Bulungan needs me to correct these evils, juffrouw," he replied gently.
Koyala laughed shrilly, contemptuously. Peter Gross's form straightened and the thin, firm lines of his lips tightened. He lifted a restraining hand.
"May I speak for a few moments, juffrouw?" he asked. "I want to tell you what I am planning to do for Bulungan. I shall put an end to the gin and opium trade. I shall drive the slave-hunters and the pirates from these seas, and the head-hunters from their babas (jungles). I shall make Bulungan so peaceful that the rice-grower can plough, and sow, and harvest with never a backward look to see if an enemy is near him. I shall take the young men of Bulungan and train them in the art of war, that they may learn how to keep peace within their borders and the enemy without. I shall readjust the taxes so that the rich will pay their just share as well as the poor. I shall bring in honest tax-collectors who will account for the last grain of rice they receive. Before I shall finish my work the Gustis (Princes) will break their krisses and the bushmen their sumpitans; hill Dyak and coast Dyak will sit under the same tapang tree and take sirih and betel from the same box, and the Kapala Kampong shall say to the people of his village—go to the groves and harvest the cocoanut, a tenth for me and a tenth for the state, and the balance for you and your children."
Koyala looked at him searchingly. His tremendous earnestness seemed to impress her.
"You have taken a big task upon yourself, mynheer," she observed.
"I will do all this, juffrouw, if you will help me," Peter Gross affirmed solemnly.
Scornful defiance leaped again into Koyala's eyes and she drew back proudly.