The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-07-06

Oak, which is a very big nane for a
very small native hotel about sixty
miles north Of Penang, and on the high
road to the hunting steppes Of the Ba-
kit, or hill country. Punda was a good
sort of Malay, which means a bad sort
of anything else. That is, he would
plumber only on the securest principles,
and never quarrel with a bigger man
or a better armed one than himself
II this he differed from the other Ma
lays, who would plumber and knife upon
no principle or provOcation whatever, if
they thought there was a ten-anna
piece to be gained thereby.
But deeper reading Of this pros
porous Boniface Of the Jungles revealed
the fact thai ne was capable Of love
yes, even q tender, human Affection;
and that little Iali, his 5-year-old
daughter, was the object Of a worship
in his heart even more feTVcnt than
that which he bestowed Upon the five
homemade clay gods before which, in
A dark corner Of the Oak, he burned a
vast deal of i'll smelling incense. The
second year Of Tsang's married life
had hardly begun when his beautiful
wife was bitten by a yellow viper while
gathering healing herbs down III the
valley. When they found the poor
creature she was dying-With her new
born babe in her arms. This calamity
the bereaved husband regarded as a
direct visitation Of the clay gods in the
corner; only the day before he had
robbed a King hunter OF his rifle,
leaving me poor fellow to make his
way unarmed down to the sea, where
ne ran upon a pair of half starved ku-
hangs, a vicious species of Malay
c~himpanzee, in fleeing from which he
fell over a cliff and was dashed to
pieces. And Punda-Tsang always felt
that the yellow viper was sent direct
from the land Of the judging gods to
aVenge the blood of the poor King
hunter. But there was one thing that
mitigated the h~arshness of this VEN
gcance-the presence of the little
child, whom he tenderly cherished,
and whom he had called Iali, which is
10 say, 'forgiven."
one day two officers Of H. NJ. ship
Scorpion stopped at the Oak on their
way down from a hunt in the hill coun-
try. We were seated under the palms be
fore the bungalow after tittin, smoking
ChcrOOts. while listened to their eX-
pIoits with interest. Suddenly four ma
tive Malays approached, wheeling a
Hive tiger in q clumsy wooden cage, and
halted before the Oak. They We're 60
Ing to dispose Of him to a naturalist
down on the coast, who had a method
Of killing and stutiinS animals by which
the marvellous Iustre of their skins was
preserved. The forest king was certain
Iy Z magnificent specimen, and the Off
GERS evidently thought so, too, as they
concluded to buy him, perhaps to swear
that they had captured him. They
bought the animal for Il good round
sum. sent the natives back rejoicing,
and started down toward the coast,
chill. Ipilp1lJ- r'GInO NOT rOntentnd with
exacting % per cent. commission from
the poor fellows for using his Oak for
a tiger mart, committed the meaneSt
act Of his life. He slyly sawed one Of
the hind bars nearly through IN four
pieces. Then he went to work planning
10 Waylay the tiger on his way back
to his haunts after he should break
loose, which he knew would happen
before the purchasers could get many
miles down the valley. He quietly pur-
sued his planning until late that night,
when he heard from good authority
that the tiger had broken jail, and
nearly killed one of his owners. Then
be prepared to put his plans into &C
ton.
Punda knew we'll enough that the in
slant a tiger smells blood he will drop
fiat. and. even il the feast is a mile
away. viii begin a slow, creeping jour
Uey toward it, wasting hours. perhaps,
When he has approached within twenty
feet of the prize, quivering with desire
and terrible with greed, he Will leap
into the air like a cannon ball and
plunge down upon his victim. Punda-
Tsang knew all this; so he dug a pit
down the valley, constructed a net
work of branches over it and laid a
quarter of a bullock Upon it. Then he
waited for the tiger to scent the blood
and make his slow, crawling journey.
knowing that when he made the grand
tWenty feet leap he would &c crashing
through the network into the pit be-
low. Then Tsang planned that he
would starve the beast, let down a
cage baited with more fresh meat, and,
sliding the bars from above, haul the
captured tiger out and sell him over
again. All this might have hap
pened, but events somewhat stranger
and more horrible for ~Punda-Tsang in
terfered. doubtless as another direct
visitation of the vengeance of the little
clay gods in the bungalow corner, half
concealed in clouds of punk smoke.
As little Iali was the inn keepers
constant sOlace and companion, she
went with him to the pit digging, her
father explaining to her the manner OF
capturing the "fOur-fOoted jungle god
which facts, instead of frightening the
child. only helped to increase the stock
Of her play gods and demons. which
she moulded deftly from the red clay
of the ravine. For two lays nothing
was heard of the tiger, and Punda-
Tsang began to fear that he had gone
back to the hills by another route.
On the afternoon of the third day l
sat on the cliffs edge, watching the
mists rise from the roaring river bot
tom, a phenomenon which always ac-
companies the closing day. Suddenly
there was a great shuff1ing of sandals
about the compound, and I knew that
something extraordinary was taking
place. | turned quickly; the big form
of Punda-Tsang. the inn keeper, burst
upon me suddenly, his flat face as pal
lid as a demons. ferociOus. but with the
ferocity of nameless fear.
"IaIi,' cried he hoarsely. Have you
seen Iali?'
NO" I replied, almost in a whisper.
He did not wait, but sped towards the
so-called bullock sheds, which were