“Believe me, Tomonggong, they aimed admirably. It must have been the two Swiss who fired with the intention of not killing you.”
“May Hatallah bless them!”
“Amen,” the Colonel said smilingly.
They now decided to keep the presence of the head-hunters in the kotta a profound secret and to invest the fortification as [[209]]closely as possible. Perhaps the stock of provisions in the kotta might not be large and famine would compel the garrison to capitulate.
Two days and two nights passed by undisturbed after this attempt of Tomonggong Nikodemus to interview Amai Kotong. Each night the moon rose brilliantly above the edge of the forest and brightened everything with her soft, clear white light, so that nothing could happen within a radius of two hundred yards without being observed by the besieged. To attempt an assault under such circumstances would have been sheer madness. But in the same manner the moonlight protected the besiegers from the attacks of the Poenans, for Harimaoung Boekit did not hesitate to express his longing for a stormy night in order to wipe out his debts to those whom he thought were bent upon his capture.
Shortly after nightfall of the third day it became quite dark, as the moon would not appear above the horizon until about half-past eight. Johannes was sitting in conversation with Amai Kotong, Dalim and Harimaoung Boekit, when one of the sentries reported that a huge, shapeless object was visible above-stream quietly coming down with the current. They all started up in great haste, took their arms and hastened towards the side of the river to see what was in progress there. And truly at a distance of about 300 yards they observed slowly advancing toward them an object much too ponderous for a canoe and too irregular for a raft. It resembled more a floating island. The men were called to arms and held prepared for any emergency.
While they were all busy looking at the advancing object and [[210]]speculating upon its nature, there suddenly arose from behind the kotta a cry of alarm, immediately followed by several rifle shots. Profiting by the general darkness the Colonel had succeeded in advancing with his Dayaks close to the palisades, and while the whole attention of the garrison was directed to the river an escalade was attempted and nearly met with success. One of the women, however, saw a figure leap from the ramparts into the darkness below. She had a hatchet in her hand and was busily cutting wood. Before the intruder could recover from the effects of his leap, she dealt him some violent blows on his head and arms, which soon laid him defenceless and weltering in his blood. Some of the garrison approached on hearing the cries of the woman just in time to receive the assailants who now appeared above the palisades. They were soon made acquainted with the Poenan mandauws and fell heavily wounded on the sharp landjoes planted at the foot of the parapet. The two Swiss and La Cueille, accompanied by the Poenans, now appeared on the ramparts and at once opened a heavy fire, although they could discover nothing in the darkness which reigned around.
They kept up their fire for some time, until the yells and cries becoming lost in the distance led them to conclude that all immediate danger was past. Proceeding to the spot where the escalade had been attempted they found one dead body inside and four severely wounded outside the fortification. It was impossible to prevent the Poenans from beheading these unfortunates. In fact, during the prevailing darkness and general confusion the Europeans gave no thought to Poenan barbarities. When, however, in the succeeding calm they saw a fire lighted in the square [[211]]of the kotta, they knew what it portended, and as soon as the flames shot up, they observed these wild men dancing with the captured heads in their hands and besplashing everything round them with the still oozing blood. Harimaoung Boekit in particular seemed delighted; he had been amongst the first to sally from the fort in order to dispatch the wounded. He now skipped about like a madman, crying his “lēēēēh, lèlèlèlè ouiiit,” and held a captured head to his mouth again and again, that the warm blood might run down his throat.
“They have not got the head-hunter yet!” he cried victoriously.
In a very short time the whole garrison of kotta Djangkan joined in the really diabolical dance, and the heads were passed from hand to hand in order to afford them all an opportunity of swallowing a few drops of the delicious red fluid. After the blood had ceased to flow they applied their lips to the bleeding necks and sucked them.