“I should not object to stand sentinel over that jar,” said La Cueille.
“For fear of its running away?” asked Johannes, smilingly. “You had much better leave it alone, for the jar would not be able to take care of you and, I assure you, you require to be taken care of in these quarters. We are in the domains of the Otts, of whom I will tell you more by and by.”
When the goods had been all displayed, Harimaoung Boekit took a metal gong, suspended it from the branch of a tree and with a piece of wood struck several blows, the echo of which was heard all over the forest. They listened attentively for about ten minutes and hearing no response the Poenan repeated his strokes on the gong. Then from a distance a number of similar sounds were heard; they were muffled as if they had proceeded from a hollow tree. Harimaoung Boekit now bade his companions re-enter their rangkan, struck another blow on the gong and [[339]]the whole party rowed down the river a mile and a half, where they halted and waited in mid-stream.
“I am blessed if I see how we are ever to get our goods back again,” said Schlickeisen.
“Don’t be alarmed,” replied Johannes, “only wait.”
They had not to wait very long. A couple of hours afterwards the gong sounded and the rangkan obeyed the signal by sailing up the soengei to the original position.
They returned to their stall and inspected its condition. La Cueille made the first discovery; he cried out in dismay:
“Look here, our toeak jar is empty!”
But his astonishment as well as that of his companions became greater still when they proceeded to take stock of their goods recently submitted to their invisible customers. Next to each article offered for trade there had been something placed as its proposed equivalent. One or more bezoar stones, some heaps of gold dust, tiger skins, were thus offered in exchange for a mandauw, a dress, a knife, some tobacco or glass beads.
“But what next?” asked Wienersdorf.