It was by that act I knew them to be only common robbers, for in Java those worthies entertain a superstition that if a quantity of earth from a newly-opened grave be thrown into the rooms, and, if possible, upon the beds of the inmates of the house they intend to plunder, a death-like sleep will ensue, from which no noise, however great, can awaken them, at least until they have effected their nefarious purpose; but, curiously enough, not only the robbers, but the robbed, have firm faith in the efficacy of this application of grave earth.
Having thus, as it were, propitiated the god of silence and other supernatural authorities favorable to burglary, I had the satisfaction of seeing them steal stealthily from the doorway. At once I resolved, by awakening my brother, to prove the impotency of the charm, but the cunning hunchback, having either less faith in the spell than his brethren, or questioning its powers upon two lads of American birth, suddenly retraced his steps, bringing with him one of his men. Stationing this fellow upon the stone steps, he said:
“Crouch down here, To-ki, and keep thy cat-like eyes upon yonder beds. I fear not the potency of the earth, but should some demon, adverse to our purpose, arouse them, thou hast a creese that can send them into the soundest of slumbers.”
In reply to this cool command, which made my teeth chatter, the amiable Chinese replied:
“Thy will shall be done, oh! mighty Huccuck; the words of the ruler of demons are law to his slave;” and down he crouched, fixing his mischievous, glaring, oblique eyes, upon my brother’s bed. But his back was towards me.
How vexatious was this turn in affairs! To attempt to pass the man unarmed as I was would be sheer madness, yet without so doing I could neither awaken my brother nor alarm the household; still, it was consoling that I had learned the hunchback’s name—the knowledge might be of service in the future.
For some time I stood, pondering what course to take, and upon the probable consequences of the burglary, and I must admit that I was unkind enough to care but very little about any loss Ebberfeld might sustain.
But Marie! the rogues might slay her, or worse—for such had happened before—kidnap, and sell her into slavery in one of the other islands. The fear of so terrible a fate determined me to awaken Martin at all risks. But how? Well, I remembered that I had a pistol bullet in my pocket. True, if it alighted upon his face, it might give him an unpleasant blow, but what was that in comparison with Marie’s safety? And so the leaden messenger hit its mark, and at the same moment I threw myself upon Mr. To-ki, who, in his wondrous surprise, called upon his god Fo to save him from the demon who had seized and robbed him of his creese. To secure the latter had, of course, been my main object. Aroused by the bullet, my brother gave a sharp cry, and began to rub his eyes.
“Get up, Martin, get up,” I cried, “there are robbers in the house; bring a sheet or a curtain to secure this fellow!”
“All right,” he replied, now fully awakened; and in another minute we had twisted, rope-like, a mosquito curtain, and bound the arms and legs, indeed the whole body, of our friend To-ki, as if we had been preparing him for a mummy. Then, having secured him to the bedstead, my brother hastily put on his clothes, and we ran into the garden. There was a small ax lying upon a seat; catching this up, Martin said: