“I believe you can trust them more than you could any other natives. They are anxious to reach Singapore and need our assistance to do so. They will be very useful to us and render us good service in more ways than one. Their very presence among us will secure us from being betrayed to the palefaces by any Dayak.”
“So far, so good; but suppose they betray us themselves?”
“That is not likely, with their past record and their present plan.”
“Yet it will be well to be wary and prepared for everything. Now continue your narrative.”
“Dasso and Doeta were reported to have committed the most horrible atrocities during the massacre of Europeans. After a time the two wretches returned to the neighborhood of the fort, where they established themselves. The Colonel became informed of this fact and was most eager to entrap them. Besides the horrible crimes of which they had been guilty it was observed that after their arrival in the district a general spirit of insubordination became manifest, which excited grave apprehensions of future trouble. You cannot imagine what marches we had to make in the effort to secure these fellows. Twice and sometimes three times a day detachments were sent off and night expeditions were organized in order to entrap them; but all without success. Dead-tired, exhausted by hunger and thirst, wet to the skin and covered with mud from wading for hours through streams and marshes we returned from our wild goose [[56]]chase. All our efforts had been unavailing. When we arrived at the place where they were reported to be concealed, we found the birds had flown, though their rice was boiling over their recently kindled fires and their beds were still warm.”
“But I should have thought,” remarked Schlickeisen, “that with the assistance of the natives the capture of these blackguards would have been an easy matter.”
“Well, so we thought; but the people actually assisted them to elude us. Nearly all the inhabitants of this district are related to them. As soon as a detachment went out in pursuit their friends signalled to them and then we might march and countermarch until further orders. One afternoon, however, I found the Commander lounging in his rocking-chair under the verandah of his house. He was in deep thought. He stared fixedly at the ground, but his nails were clenched and he pulled his moustaches as if bent upon extracting them by the roots. I thought something was brewing. Suddenly he called for an orderly and despatched him for a sailor who was on board a steamer stationed in the river. The sailor came and went. I was then summoned and ordered to bring two bottles of gin, to remove the capsules and draw the corks without disturbing the wax. I thought the Colonel wanted a dram; but instead of indulging he went to his medicine-chest and took out some morphia powders. These he put into the bottles, which he shook up well and ordered me to re-cork. He then replaced the capsules and I assure you no druggist could have done it better.
“In the evening the sailor came again and this time carried [[57]]off with him the two bottles. He stepped into a djoekoeng and rowed up the river Kapoeas. A few hours after, Sergeant Greefkes and eight soldiers took the same direction. About two o’clock in the morning, being on duty at the western bastion, I saw a boat approaching. I sang out my challenge, ‘Who goes there?’ and was answered by the rejoinder, ‘Good friends.’ At the same time a red light was displayed from the boat as a signal. When it was moored three men were lifted out who were so fast asleep that nothing seemed to disturb them. Two were immediately placed in the stocks; they were Dasso and Doeta. You should have seen their faces next morning when they woke up to find themselves in limbo.
“Now you must know that the sailor, a Bandjares by birth, had formerly been a miner at Kalangan and therefore knew them well. For a few paltry dollars he sought them out and betrayed them by the agency of the bottle. The Dayaks, like a certain friend of ours, are passionately fond of spirits and the doctored gin brought by the sailor was disposed of with so much freedom that when the sergeant arrived he had only to bind the murderers hand and foot and carry them to the boats.”
“How were they punished?”