Ernest Favenc

“ If anything happened, and Zolca did not come, it would be better for us to cut our way out, or die fighting, than wait for morning to discover the exchange of prisoners. My gloomy forebodings were suddenly put to flight. A loud command in Zolca’s voice, so close that it startled even me, broke the silence, and a deadly volley of arrows stretched most of the guard low. Then came a rush of feet as with a loud shout they rushed on, my brother’s war-cry sounding loud above all.
He had found over a hundred men assembled, and with them had crept up unperceived, close to our place of confinement. ”

“ Brave Azolta!
“We had got well out to sea,” went on Paul, “when the storm burst. We rode it out for some time, but at last determined to run back to the bay for shelter.”
“And mistook this place for it?”
Paul bowed his head.
“If you have spoken the truth about saving the lives of the true men,” said Hoogstraaten, “you have saved your own. As for you,” and he frowned at the half-drowned mutineers. “Friend Diedrich, I think I shall have to trouble you to erect a gallows for me, since I have no longer a ship or a yard-arm to hang them on!” ”

“ We marched towards the camp and halted out of bow-shot. I then advanced alone, and the man with the white flag, the meaning of which I had explained to Zolca, met me half-way.
“Well, Captain Diedrich,” said Berghen, “you have fairly turned the tables on me, thanks to that drowsy-headed knave, whom you thrust so cleverly under the arm-pit. I bear you no malice, for I love a fair fighter, but why should more blood be spilt? This country is surely large enough for us both to live in.” ”

“ The great Catastrophe—Extinction of the Quadrucos—The Death of Zolca and of Azolta—I am left alone. IT was the month of March when the great catastrophe occurred. The wet season had not been a particularly heavy one, and no sign was given us of the impending calamity.
One morning the sun rose red in a haze which reminded me much of the morning Hoogstraaten and I watched the Selwaert dashed helplessly on to the bar of Wreck Bay. The wind from the north-west began to moan dismally about noon-tide. Then the rain-clouds commenced to scud across the sky, and as darkness fell the rain commenced. ”

“ Some discovery-ship will poke her nose into that bay some fine morning, and then the thing is done.”
“But don’t let yours be the hand to do it,” I replied.
“I am wearied here,” he answered, “and above all, it is so easy to get away; where those clumsy junks go, we can go, and what Master Francis Pelsart did in his boat, from where the Batavia’s bones lie, we can do easily from here in a better boat, which we will build.”
“I would sooner cut off my right hand than consent,” I replied. “These people have adopted us, and here I will live and die!”
“For the sake of a pretty savage!” sneered Paul. ”

“ The boat came swiftly in, and I noticed the admiration in Zolca’s eyes, who had only seen the clumsy rowing of the pirates. Once inside the bay we commenced our mimic warfare. The crew lay on their oars, and the officer in charge stood up and endeavoured by signs to make us understand that he wished to land peacefully. Of this we took no heed, but shot our arrows all around the boat. I could see that the men were getting uneasy, and at last the officer lost patience, and drawing a long-barrelled pistol fired at us. ”

“ The Wreck of the Batavia—The Mutiny—Return of Pelsart—Marooned. JEROM CORNELIS! Even now after all the suffering and danger I have gone through, that man’s face, the face of the tempter, comes back to me as vividly as ever. ”

“ He was a clever general, was Master Berghen, but I saw him hanged for all that.
We held a council of war to discuss the situation and could only come to one conclusion: that we could not starve them out, and that to carry the place by assault would mean a great loss of men, whilst a repulse would be fatal. That they must be rooted out somehow we all agreed, for with the boats, they could cross the bay at night, land at any unguarded point, and harry us continually.
When we had finished, that is to say, when we had arrived at no conclusion, I strolled over to the forge and smelting place. ”

“ Not to save Paul’s life ten times over would I be guilty of such treachery to Zolca, my brother.
Paul was tried in a large open space in the centre of the town, all the inhabitants being present, grouped round in a circle. I had to preside, as none of the others knew anything about such a mode of procedure. Retribution amongst uncivilized races is short and sharp, without any pretence at trial. ”

“ I told him that men like Paul had such a desire for gold and all it would buy in our country, that they would do anything to get it; that it made them worse than the pirates; that it turned a good man into a bad man. Be it remembered that crime was almost unknown amongst these people; petty quarrels there were, but nothing more, therefore it was extremely hard for me to explain to Zolca. ”

“ There is but little twilight in this country, and as soon as it became too dusk for the Mongols to see us we sent men to collect all the available canoes. When quite dark Paul and I took the smallest canoe and set out for the pirate junks. Our intention was to cut those boats adrift which had not been taken on board again, but were towing astern. We did not paddle, but I propelled the canoe from the stern by means of a lance, while Paul lay in the prow with one of the sharpest swords we could get, ready in his hand. ”

“ He had spoken of Captain Pelsart’s voyage in the boat, but Pelsart was a navigator with a well-built boat, not a{82} clumsy Mongol affair; also he had a boat’s crew of trained sailors. Altogether I looked upon it as a rash and desperate enterprise that only an ignorant man would undertake, and one sure to bring destruction on the heads of the parties engaged in it.
All this I confided to Zolca, who, I think, understood most of my reasoning and felt reassured. Suddenly our conversation was interrupted by the blowing of the sentinel’s shell from seaward. ”

“ But this was not all, the Papoos had been there in large numbers and a fight had taken place. A fight and more than a fight; a feast as well—for these black Indians are cannibals and eat one another.
Zolca and the other Quadrucos looked at the remnants of human bodies in deep disgust, for the Quadrucos were very dainty{195} eaters; they preferred the flesh of fish and fowls and, above all, the vegetables that they grew and the green cocoa-nuts. But these wretched Papoos were, I knew, often starving, although those that Paul and I lived amongst near the Abrolhos were not cannibals. ”

“ I guessed from Paul’s presence that there had been a mutiny, and an attempt to run away with the ship. I would not, however, speak to him, but gave orders to the armed natives to guard them closely and kill any who attempted to escape. Then I went back to Hoogstraaten. He had somewhat mastered himself, and taking my arm asked me how it happened. I said I had asked no questions, but it must have been a mutiny, as Paul was amongst them. As we descended, the sea flung a body on to the rocks close to us. We both recognized it. It was Arendsoon! ”

“ The preparations for this, and the building of a new house for Azolta and myself, engaged all our attention.{134}
Zolca was married, with such pomp and show as we could muster, to one of Namoa’s daughters—thought by many to be the fairest girl amongst the Quadrucos. All the sailors attended and had places of honour, although I noticed that but for the presence of Berghen, and the mysterious authority that he exercised, some of them would have been rather too free in their manner. It was wonderful how that scoundrel Berghen kept his plans quiet and curbed the tongues of his men. ”

“ Wegelhoe, who was of an indolent disposition like many big men, made no objection to remaining as hostage, and the party, led by Paul, departed in two of the largest boats we had taken from the Mongols. By Zolca’s permission some of the male relations of Paul accompanied him.
My fears apparently were unfounded. Zolca and I visited the place several times in one of the boats and always found them steadily at work. Berghen was evidently a man who, if he had been possessed of good principles, would have made his way in the world, for he was decidedly a born organizer. ”

“ Zolca led the first attack, I followed with a reserve to assist him. We crept up quietly enough, but Berghen was too cunning for us. He had men posted far in advance of the ramparts, lying down on the ground. These gave the alarm, and before we got anywhere near the rampart they were prepared for us. Zolca, however, dashed on with his men, and actually carried the outer rampart and killed a great number of the enemy, although our own loss was heavy. Between the two ramparts, however, the wily Berghen had dug ditches and holes into which our men stumbled and fell in the darkness. ”

“ Thanks to our constant training there was no confusion in gathering our forces. The archers mustered together under Paul; I had charge of the slingers; and Zolca led the small body of men armed with swords and shields. The women had been instructed to prepare plenty of food, and also to have long strips of the stuff of which they made their dresses ready for the wounded. Then we marched to the shore, old Quibibio leading. ”

“ They seemed to readily comprehend it all, and from that time we were as one of the race, and from the date of giving him the cutlass Zolca was my brother. We at once assumed the Quadruco dress, and every one was our friend.
I will now give some account of these people, it being of course what I have since learned.
They are, or, alas! were, of a light colour, with dark hair and eyes, and as I said before, beardless. They were well built, averaging about five feet eight or nine; extremely good-looking, especially the women, many of the young girls being nearly as beautiful as Azolta. ”

“ At last it came, a flash of light, and a roar from the headland, followed by the sputtering volleys of musketry. The junk seemed to reel under it, and a yell and clamour arose from her that appeared to equal the report of the cannon. Hessel now fired again, and this time the clumsy vessel was almost pierced through; her masts fell, and it was evident she was sinking. The wind had freshened and the tide being on the flow, she drifted into the bay. Hessel{188} held his fire for the reason, as he afterwards told me, of not sinking her in the channel. ”

“ Azolta noted my abstraction, but I could not tell her the cause, for I was meditating whether or not I should confide in Zolca. For Paul had not given up his purpose, of that I had felt sure, and although he could do nothing by himself, still he must be watched. The death of Quibibio decided me.
The old king died happy. These people did not fear death in the least. All his wishes and hopes had been fulfilled. His son Zolca, who would succeed him in the{74} mildly paternal rule which was all that was demanded from the king of the Quadrucos, was a noble fellow ”

“ Mud covered everything in the valley, and I did not descend into it.
I was faint from hunger, and remembered that at the cannon mounted on the elevation commanding the bay, and at the one on the headland, provisions had been safely stored in case of a surprise. There I turned my steps, and found that the one on the elevation had escaped the fury of the flood, but the great wave had swept over the headland and destroyed our little battery. It mattered not—there was nothing now to defend. ”

“ None of our men had been killed and only a few slightly wounded, so well had we taught them to keep under cover, whilst the pirates had lost a boat and over a hundred men killed, besides the wounded. By the capture of the boat we gained a great number of weapons of all kinds, and from the dead bodies many more were taken.
Naturally there was much rejoicing amongst the Quadrucos, and when I met Azolta she kissed me of her own accord. ”

“ I had been extremely puzzled what to do, but had now made up my mind and communicated my idea to Zolca. By my advice we removed all our clothing and made ourselves as like the Papoos as possible; then, retaining all our weapons, we patrolled the headland in full view of the ship. My stratagem succeeded. When opposite the bay she hove to and lowered a boat, evidently with the intention of examining the bay and surrounding country. My instructions were to make a hostile demonstration, but to avoid bloodshed; fire arrows over their{92} heads and around them, but on no account to hit anybody. ”

“ One morning the blowing of the war-shell announced danger from the northern side of the valley. Zolca, Paul, and I, with a body of men whose duty it was to hold themselves in readiness—for we had taught the{79} Quadrucos not to rush on like a rabble, but to do everything according to method—proceeded to the spot. We found that several footprints of the Papoos had been found, crossing and recrossing the beaten path which the sentinels patrolled. As these were not very formidable foes, Zolca and his men proceeded in pursuit of them, and Paul and I returned. ”

“ Seeing that they could not get away, the Mongols took in their oars, lowered their{86} sails, and assembled their men on the side the Malays were approaching. When the proa was near enough they discharged such a flight of arrows at her deck that, from where we stood, it looked like a cloud flying from one ship to the other. This reception in no way daunted their assailants, who returned the compliment, and swept up alongside the junk with the intention of boarding. We saw their dark figures, seemingly much more active than the Mongols, leaping on to the deck of the junk and being cut down. ”

“ While a meal was being prepared in another room, for we had enlarged the palace, I showed Hoogstraaten the Latin missal and sword left by De Gonneville. Zolca despatched some men to the boat’s crew with refreshment.
During our meal I related the details of our journey to the commander, who was anxious to get some knowledge of the country for the Company. I could only assure{100} him that all we had passed through was barren and unprofitable. The natives were half-starved wretches who just managed to live, and that was all. There was nothing whatever to induce the Company to form settlements. ”