The hunchback—my father’s death—the abduction of Marie—all passed through my mind. My blood boiled indignantly; but thank Heaven, I murmured, a little prudence, and a clue to that mystery will be in my hands. The surprise and anxiety to escape did me good—at least, made me forget my soreness and bruises. When, from his hard breathing, I knew the fellow was asleep, with pistol in hand at half-cock, I stealthily advanced towards one of the bamboo poles, and untying the cord from the lower joint, made a noose at one end; then, creeping towards my friend, and gently lifting his head and neck, I slipped it over his arms, and gave it one quick, violent jerk. The rogue awoke with a scream of fright. He could not, however, see the cause of his little difficulty, for I had thrown him upon his stomach, and was sitting astride his back, twisting the other end of the cord round his legs, as methodically as if I had been packing a box or trunk. During the operation Mr. To-ki struggled, screamed, cried, implored, and appealed to the god Fo, and the spirits of his ancestors, to come to the aid of the unfortunate To-ki, who was suffering at the hands of an evil demon (meaning me); but finding the ill-natured ghosts did not even return him a civil answer, he prayed of my demonship to let him off that time, and he would repent his sins, and for the future forego his evil practices; but getting no reply to this, he then appealed to me as the demon of the cave, and implored me to forgive him for robbing the place, saying in words to the following effect:
“The good demon is great, and will not condescend to punish the smallest of the small—the least of the very little—the insignificant To-ki! No, Mr. Demon, the wretched To-ki is not so bad as he seems. It is true that he is found in thy cave; but he was as the limb to the head, nothing but a poor slave, compelled to do the bidding of his masters.”
The superstitious wretch could not conceive the possibility of his being in the hands of a mortal, and it was as well for my purpose that he could not, for thus I might wring from his fears some information about Marie. Thus, in deep tones, and at the same time placing the cold barrel of the pistol upon his neck, I said:
“To-ki is a very great rogue, who has been guilty of so many crimes that the soles of his feet must no longer be permitted to soil the earth. It is written that he must die.”
Quivering in every nerve, and trembling in every muscle, the coward gave a piteous moan of despair. “Die,” he whined, “among these rats of Javanese, and my bones be placed kingdoms away from the tombs of my ancestors! Alas! To-ki was born a wretch thus to have incurred the anger of the Demon!” Then, as a last appeal, he cried, “Can the miserable To-ki make no atonement for the past, no promises for the future, to induce the merciful demon to prolong his life only till he can carry his body where it may be laid in the tomb of his fathers?”
“So vile hath been thy sins, O To-ki, that the ghosts of thine ancestors—that is, if they are ghosts of good reputation—would kick thy bones out of their tomb as a disgrace! Nay, it is also written that thine own tomb shall never be swept.”
At this nonsense the superstitious fellow groaned in despair, and at length, by way of propitiating my demonship, and so getting me to put a good word or two in for him with the ghosts of his forefathers, he offered to confess his sins. This being exactly what I had been fishing for, I said:
“The wretch To-ki was one of the thieves who robbed the house of Mynheer Ebberfeld!”
“He was! he was—but then, good Mr. Demon, he was the slave of Huc-cuk.”
“For what vile purpose, besides robbery, did Huc-cuk and his companions break into the house?”