The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-02-16
Only some long lines of black

lSneQ palace, set upon a steep
beach, now stood the double
stockade 70 which MantuSen had
evidently retired. The outer and
inner walls Of this stockade, which
opened to the river itself, were
both much lower than those Of the
Dyaks, but strongly built and adj
vantageously placed. Within those
defenSes figures were moving. rec
ogniZable even at the distance as
Malays. At a glance I could see
that a few score of Malay kriSmen
could hold that place until they
starved, against almost any num-
Der of fighting men equipped with
primitive weapons.
More throwing-spears began to
sting into the water around US
now, cleaving deep, then rising
again to float away. A dart from a
sumpitan, fired from hopeless dis
lance, stuck momentarily IN the
back Of my wrist, Their fell OF.
One of those loaded-bamboo
throwing sticks caught the stroke
oar back Of the head with a sound
like a falling cocoanut, and he col
lapsed, one 5houlder trailing in the
water His oar dropped free; and
I caught Il out of the water and
shipped Il, as we boiled past.
Then abruptly the spears seemed
to be all around us, so that you
could not count the f1ickerS in the
air or the SplaSheS in the water.
They ripped into the smooth sur
face Of the Siderong as If somebody
had thrown a handful Of gravel
Clyde said, The damned fools
viii hurt somebody if they don't
look out"
One of the spears struck an oar
close by young Slider'S hands, and
the high spinning bound Of the
glancing spear gave an idea of the
force with which it had been
thrown. It came and went like a
shadow, leaving quick flowing
curtain Of blood on Slider'S cheek.
It began TO drip and run down his
chest and his sweat-Soaked shirt.
without Slider or anybody else
knowing just how or how much
he had been wounded.
Sea-going Praus
4 MOTHER spear broke its point
4 \ against the bottom Of the boat,
and splinters jumped; but instead
OF bounding, this spear stood fan
taStically on its head, waving
crafty straight up Grogan was
looking down at it in a daZed way;
the spear was standing there be-
cause it had gone through his foot.
For two full strokes be stared at
that phenomenon. until my uncle's
quiet. supremacy matter-of-fact
voice awoke him.
We'll. pull it out and throw it
away"
Grogan dropped his oar, grabbed
the spear with both hands and in
single motion pulled il out and
threw il high over his head; then
seized his oar and rowed again,
slaShing a great shower of water
over me in his attempt to catch the
boat.
The narrow fghtins praus which
had put into the river in pursuit Of
Us can lift and skim, they can slide
over the water with free-running
ease which was serious threat.
Driven by a short ehoppy stroke
with many paddles, very quick in
the beat, they look 70 be going
much faster than they are, and
they made our heavy whaleboat
seem IN founder.
/ said, Shall I fire, SiE?"
sMr Thorne. you win please get
away from those weapons. What,
shoot at our little brown brothers,
with ammunition that sets me back
better than seven cents afround?"
Fortunately those praus were
sea-going. too Some of them had
come a long way by the coast. If
they had been river canoes they
could not have helped running all
over Us. But their long outriggerS,
light built though they were. put a
bad drag on them. and the praus
themselves. with their narrow
beams, rode deeper than they
looked.
And though they seemed able
70 close a good or OF distance, they
put less enthusiasm into il than
We might have feared. We had
showed no weapon. but they were
afraid just the same. That was the
type Of advantage Clyde always
got by sticking to his white crews,
punk though they might be. The
Dyaks did not know what kind OF
explosion of sudden death TO ex-
pect from us-simply because we
were men Of the unaccountable
white race.
So We swung up that last long
reach 20 Balingong without any
body stopping Us. A. the stroke
car. Sehweicamp. who had been
knocked out. began 20 founder
about little again. trying % find
cut where he was; and Grogan,
the next oar on Schweicamp's side,
was showing his teeth as he made
mighty effort TO make up for
SchWeicamp's missing oar. But the
rest Of the crew was pulling
smoothly.
Clyde laid hands upon a rife,
half picked Il up, then laid L down
again and took 3 pistol The bail
passed me 50 closely that I felt the
hcrnet-ike buzz OF Il along TIE
skin Of my arm
The praus faltered.
Ram her through where "a
palace used 20 BE-" Clyde said.
fc@sy-sxE. 1879. IL. E~KsvD