The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-10-21
CHAPTER Xxx.

4 NN
Laksamaua ordered his men to remain still in
the cover of the grove. while he advanced, with
simply a fine vet strong cord Of silk in his hand
He approached cautiously the giantess, who con.
tinued to sleep and to snore. Ii seemed like
madness for an ordinary sized mortal, to attempt
to struggle with a gigantic human being over
eight feet high. And Laksamana strong as he
was; stronger than any half dozen men united
and who had a courage, that would dare to attack
a hundred armed single handed yet he would
not venture to make a direct attack upon the
Rakshasha. However, be RETAINED from direct
assault not so much on account of her great
size, and strength but because, rude and terri
bic though she was he still recognized her as a
woman. 1t would have been an easy matter for
Laksamana and his men, to have rushed upon
this sleeping giantess, and to have stabbed her TO
death but Laksamaua resolved to capture her
alive.
The chief had made a slip moose. at the end of
his cord. He held it in his hand like a lasso,
ready for a cast. As he approached quite near f.;
the noise OF his steps partially aroused the giant
ess she made a movement, and a roll over, and
as she slightly raised her feet from the ground,
Laksamana made a swift throw of his lasso,-
caught both feet. and making a sudden spring
hauled the cord taut and prevented the now
aroused and terrified creature from rising. When
Laksamana made his throw of the lasso, he at the
same time called to his men TO rush to bis help
and they with other silk cords in hand, had
quickly bound the strong arms of the PROSTATE
monster. And before the Rakshasha had fairly
recovered from her surprise, and had not yet
raised an outcry for help, Laksamana spoke to her
rapidly and impressively in the Malay tongue
saying Great Glomira, | am L~aksamana, who
fought with Daka the Raksbasha in the forest. l
come not to kill thee, but to talk with thee and
behold the horn, the trophy | have from Daka.'
And he held up the buffalo horn in his hand.
The huge woman had atfirst, g~lowered savagely
when assaulted her broad. dark. notified and
hafrp Eooa lOura1 urif6 frru. bnr Iorvo a-ao
glared like a tiger, and she was more terrible than
a tiger to behold. But when she heard the words
OF Laksapana, she softened somewhat her express
sion, and spoke in a language little understood,
but known to Laksamana us a dialect of the Jah-
ne priests.
% Great Chief of Mia and of the blood of Alex
ander !-Daka has spoken well of thee. Why dost
thou assault and tie me like a beast? Loose these
cords, and speak thy wish, and | will obey. I
see and know the horn
Then said Laksamana, a." Swear by great Jah-
ne and the mighty Arjuno, that thou wilt keep
peace with me-"
81 swear cried Glomira. {" Great Jaime
and mighty Arjuno curse me with plaques, and
let the wild hogs feed on me. if keep not faith
with thee"
And then Laksamana stopped to unloose the
cord that bound her ieet. and all his men Fed
towards the forest as he did so. But he feared
not, and unlOOsed the cords that bound the. feet
and hands OF the great Queen of the Rakshashas,
and the huge woman stood up before him
Glomira lowered above Laksamana. her coarse
black hair held from her brows by a golden
serpent. fell in a mass of shining curls upon her
shoulders; her broad, dark face, though fierce and
forbidden, had some noble and grand expression;
her eyes were very small for SO large ii face; they
inspired terror in ordinary mortals, but Laksa-
mana looked at her without a change of his
countenance. Her face was like a broad, round
and red full moon in it's setting. Her cheeks
were like dinner plates. She showed teeth like
the grinders of a horse. There was hair upon
her face, upon large black moles and warts. Her
neck was thick and strong like a young bull, and
was Frightened by a heavy Collar of gold and
diamonds. He- bare breasts stood forth like lit
tie hills on a great plain, and her broad shout
ders were bare, but a girdle of many links of gold
around her waist held up a heavy skirt OF thick
woven silk, which covered the lower part of her
body. This skirt was also parity held up by a
baldrick or band of tiger skin. fringed and dotted
with gold, that passed over her right shoulder,
and was attached to her girdle before and behind.
Queen Glomira was a terror to look upon. She
suddenly reached up her hands into the limbs of
a tree that stood near by, and grasped q large
buffalo horn, capable of making a loud and far
reaching sound.
As she held it in her hand, she said to Laksa-
mana, " Shall l not blow. and order my slaves to
come and destroy thee ?"
But as she spoke Laksamana had culled a
champaka flower that grew on q stem near by,
and holding it up before Der said, " Shall | in
woke AriunO and the Widadiri to visit thy curse
upon thee 2"
" Hold " cried Glomira, : do not put the
blossom in thy bosom. l know that thou art
favored by the dread goddess; put the champaka
blossom away, l spoke just now in jest. l will
keep my word with thee. | will call only slaves
to wait upon u.s. And after she had spoken,
she placed the horn to her lips and blew a short
blast, and soon the sound of running footsteps
was heard, and five Malay slaves, dressed in blue
cloth, ran towards the great Queen and crouched
at her feet. These were mutes, Malay men of
Menangkabau who had been captured by the
Rakshashas, and who had cut out their tongues.
The mighty Queen made a sign and instantly
the mute slaves ran away and reappeared, four of
them bearing up a lofty canopy, whilst a fifth
carried a large bunch of the long brilliant feathers
of the birds of Paradise, which were waved to
and fro to disperse the flies. The Queen moved
onward under the canopy, and babe Laksamana
walk by her side.
After passing out of the grove they entered a
richly cultivated garden, and in it's midst stood
a very curious structure. 1t was constructed of
thick bamboos, the great bamboOs of Sumatra,
about half a foot in diameter. They had been
split into halves. The walls were made of these
split halves of bamboos. standing upright, with
the convex portion outside, and the bamboo sur
face had been polished to a brilliant yellow. The
roof was also made of large split bamboos, laid
one course with the groove or trough of the bam-
boo upward, and another course on top with the
trough U uoIiO"J covering tue Jolueu euReS VI lie
layers of bamboo below. The walls were fifteen
feet high, and over one hundred feet in length
on each side. and they formed q complete quad
rangle, enclosing an interior square, in which
was a grove of rare fruit trees.
Laksamana had called his men by means of a
shrill whistle, which he carried attached to a
chain round his neck, bat it was with a show of
much feaI and precaution that they followed their
Chief, who walked fearlessly alongside the terri
bic gigantic Queen. Laksamana was a tall man.,
being about six feet two inches high, and stout
in proportion. but he appeared small alongside
the huge woman, a little over eight feet from the
soles of her feet to her massive crown of jetty
curls.
As the great Queen approached a broad and
lofty white door, apparently made OF plates of
ivory upon a frame of fancy wood, she pealed
forth a note from the buffalo horn in her hand,
and instantly the great doorway opened without
the appearance of any one in attendance. She
and Laksamana and his followers entered a long,
wide chamber, with walls lined with tiger skins,
i'll I'll IL O.