“Kati don’t fear—he only take care. Be ready, case what might happen,” was the reply.
“Kati, my friend,” replied Prabu, laughing, “when left in command, thou art over-cautious, for what harm could happen to us in a friendly port?”
Kati’s reply to this was to the effect that, a few days before, a Dutch grab had appeared off the coast, and that she had sent a boat ashore with two men in her; and that although both had landed, and, as he believed, visited the Chief, but one of them had returned to the grab. “The other,” he said, “is now in the Chief’s house—what for is he there?”
“Truly,” said the captain, thoughtfully, “this may mean evil. I will question Mahomed. But is that your only reason for lifting one anchor and shotting the guns?” he added.
“No. The day after grab go away, the Chief come on board and admire prahu, but especially guns, which he look at with his eyes, as much as to say, ‘Should like to have guns, ship, and all.’ Then Kati say to himself, ‘S’pose Chief think same thing some night, he with his men come and run muck among prahu’s crew, and then when Captain Prabu come back, if not kill him and young sahibs, easy for him to say prahu run away, or been stolen by rascal Dutchman.’”
“My faithful Kati, I do not blame you,” replied Prabu, “for having such suspicions. You have acted bravely, but your fears are groundless. Why should this chief make us eat dirt? Did not his father swear eternal hatred to the Dutch, and friendship with their enemies?”
“But s’pose old chief honest, dat no reason young chief honest too—all son not like fathers. Then, if he hated Dutch, as he said when he took oath, what for he hab ’em in ’is house now?” he replied—adding, quaintly enough: “The noble Captain Prabu say Kati faithful; dat why he keep his eyes open when his master got his shut. It no good fasten door of cage when tiger got away.”
Then, determined to put a word in, as Prabu seemed to have such a thorough conviction of the Chief’s honesty, I said:
“Well, Kati, what think you of trusting ourselves tiger-hunting with this chief?”
“Think it no harm at all, s’pose sahibs keep eyes wide, wide open, and take six prahu’s men with ’em—only,” he added, with a glance full of meaning, “to help clear jungle; nothing else.”