“What! This boelau oerei (gold dust).”
“Aha! this is gold dust, is it? and you wish me to tell its value. Well, I don’t know.”
“You don’t know! Oh, my poor sister, what an idiot of a [[245]]husband she will have.” Johannes burst out laughing and was joined by La Cueille and Schlickeisen.
“But, Amai,” Johannes said, “Dohong does not understand your weights. They use quite different ones at Bandjermasin and Kwala Kapoeas. Listen,” continued he, addressing Wienersdorf, “one thaël weighs two ringgits; one ringgit, two sadjampols; one sadjampol, two and a half sakobangs, and one sakobang, two boea kadjoes. Do you see it now?”
“Yes, I see, Amai, there is three guilders of gold dust there. But what is the meaning of all this? I don’t quite understand yet.”
“Oh,” said Johannes, “I intended to surprise you all by turning you into gold seekers—in fact, make your fortunes without your knowledge. The fun is spoilt now. The Poenan and I have been washing gold to-day. I took my first lesson and this is the result of two hours’ labor. I found all this myself. My teacher’s share is much larger.”
“Three guilders in two hours!” exclaimed Wienersdorf, “that is not bad pay. I am sorry we cannot stay here longer; we might make a purse worth carrying home.”
“And yet we have been rather unlucky, have we not, Amai?”
The Poenan smiled and answered, “That was your fault. You did many forbidden things and made the sarok boelau fly away. It is a wonder you found any gold at all. But the sarok boelau will avenge himself, you may be sure you will be taken with the fever.”
The Dayaks believe that all bodies animate and inanimate [[246]]have souls; that of gold until it is conquered by man is called sarok boelau.