第9章 PART II(3)

Babalatchi got on his feet quickly,and there was a general move.

The women on the verandah hurried indoors,and from the crowd that had kept discreetly in distant parts of the courtyard a couple of men ran with armfuls of dry fuel,which they cast upon the fire.One of them,at a sign from Babalatchi,approached and,after getting his orders,went towards the little gate and entered Omar's enclosure.While waiting for his return,Lakamba,Abdulla,and Babalatchi talked together in low tones.Sahamin sat by himself chewing betel-nut sleepily with a slight and indolent motion of his heavy jaw.Bahassoen,his hand on the hilt of his short sword,strutted backwards and forwards in the full light of the fire,looking very warlike and reckless;the envy and admiration of Lakamba's retainers,who stood in groups or flitted about noiselessly in the shadows of the courtyard.

The messenger who had been sent to Omar came back and stood at a distance,waiting till somebody noticed him.Babalatchi beckoned him close.

"What are his words?"asked Babalatchi.

"He says that Syed Abdulla is welcome now,"answered the man.

Lakamba was speaking low to Abdulla,who listened to him with deep interest.

"...We could have eighty men if there was need,"he was saying--"eighty men in fourteen canoes.The only thing we want is gunpowder...""Hai!there will be no fighting,"broke in Babalatchi."The fear of your name will be enough and the terror of your coming.""There may be powder too,"muttered Abdulla with great nonchalance,"if only the ship enters the river safely.""If the heart is stout the ship will be safe,"said Babalatchi.

"We will go now and see Omar el Badavi and the white man I have here."Lakamba's dull eyes became animated suddenly.

"Take care,Tuan Abdulla,"he said,"take care.The behaviour of that unclean white madman is furious in the extreme.He offered to strike...""On my head,you are safe,O Giver of alms!"interrupted Babalatchi.

Abdulla looked from one to the other,and the faintest flicker of a passing smile disturbed for a moment his grave composure.He turned to Babalatchi,and said with decision--"Let us go."

"This way,O Uplifter of our hearts!"rattled on Babalatchi,with fussy deference."Only a very few paces and you shall behold Omar the brave,and a white man of great strength and cunning.This way."

He made a sign for Lakamba to remain behind,and with respectful touches on the elbow steered Abdulla towards the gate at the upper end of the court-yard.As they walked on slowly,followed by the two Arabs,he kept on talking in a rapid undertone to the great man,who never looked at him once,although appearing to listen with flattering attention.When near the gate Babalatchi moved forward and stopped,facing Abdulla,with his hand on the fastenings.

"You shall see them both,"he said."All my words about them are true.When I saw him enslaved by the one of whom I spoke,I knew he would be soft in my hand like the mud of the river.At first he answered my talk with bad words of his own language,after the manner of white men.Afterwards,when listening to the voice he loved,he hesitated.He hesitated for many days--too many.I,knowing him well,made Omar withdraw here with his...

household.Then this red-faced man raged for three days like a black panther that is hungry.And this evening,this very evening,he came.I have him here.He is in the grasp of one with a merciless heart.I have him here,"ended Babalatchi,exultingly tapping the upright of the gate with his hand.

"That is good,"murmured Abdulla.

"And he shall guide your ship and lead in the fight--if fight there be,"went on Babalatchi."If there is any killing--let him be the slayer.You should give him arms--a short gun that fires many times.""Yes,by Allah!"assented Abdulla,with slow thoughtfulness.

"And you will have to open your hand,O First amongst the generous!"continued Babalatchi."You will have to satisfy the rapacity of a white man,and also of one who is not a man,and therefore greedy of ornaments.""They shall be satisfied,"said Abdulla;"but..."He hesitated,looking down on the ground and stroking his beard,while Babalatchi waited,anxious,with parted lips.After a short time he spoke again jerkily in an indistinct whisper,so that Babalatchi had to turn his head to catch the words."Yes.

But Omar is the son of my father's uncle...and all belonging to him are of the Faith...while that man is an unbeliever.

It is most unseemly...very unseemly.He cannot live under my shadow.Not that dog.Penitence!I take refuge with my God,"he mumbled rapidly."How can he live under my eyes with that woman,who is of the Faith?Scandal!O abomination!"He finished with a rush and drew a long breath,then added dubiously--"And when that man has done all we want,what is to be done with him?"They stood close together,meditative and silent,their eyes roaming idly over the courtyard.The big bonfire burned brightly,and a wavering splash of light lay on the dark earth at their feet,while the lazy smoke wreathed itself slowly in gleaming coils amongst the black boughs of the trees.They could see Lakamba,who had returned to his place,sitting hunched up spiritlessly on the cushions,and Sahamin,who had got on his feet again and appeared to be talking to him with dignified animation.Men in twos or threes came out of the shadows into the light,strolling slowly,and passed again into the shadows,their faces turned to each other,their arms moving in restrained gestures.Bahassoen,his head proudly thrown back,his ornaments,embroideries,and sword-hilt flashing in the light,circled steadily round the fire like a planet round the sun.Acool whiff of damp air came from the darkness of the riverside;it made Abdulla and Babalatchi shiver,and woke them up from their abstraction.

"Open the gate and go first,"said Abdulla;"there is no danger?""On my life,no!"answered Babalatchi,lifting the rattan ring.

"He is all peace and content,like a thirsty man who has drunk water after many days."He swung the gate wide,made a few paces into the gloom of the enclosure,and retraced his steps suddenly.

"He may be made useful in many ways,"he whispered to Abdulla,who had stopped short,seeing him come back.

"O Sin!O Temptation!"sighed out Abdulla,faintly."Our refuge is with the Most High.Can I feed this infidel for ever and for ever?"he added,impatiently.

"No,"breathed out Babalatchi."No!Not for ever.Only while he serves your designs,O Dispenser of Allah's gifts!When the time comes--and your order..."He sidled close to Abdulla,and brushed with a delicate touch the hand that hung down listlessly,holding the prayer-beads.

"I am your slave and your offering,"he murmured,in a distinct and polite tone,into Abdulla's ear."When your wisdom speaks,there may be found a little poison that will not lie.Who knows?"CHAPTER FOUR

Babalatchi saw Abdulla pass through the low and narrow entrance into the darkness of Omar's hut;heard them exchange the usual greetings and the distinguished visitor's grave voice asking:

"There is no misfortune--please God--but the sight?"and then,becoming aware of the disapproving looks of the two Arabs who had accompanied Abdulla,he followed their example and fell back out of earshot.He did it unwillingly,although he did not ignore that what was going to happen in there was now absolutely beyond his control.He roamed irresolutely about for awhile,and at last wandered with careless steps towards the fire,which had been moved,from under the tree,close to the hut and a little to windward of its entrance.He squatted on his heels and began playing pensively with live embers,as was his habit when engrossed in thought,withdrawing his hand sharply and shaking it above his head when he burnt his fingers in a fit of deeper abstraction.Sitting there he could hear the murmur of the talk inside the hut,and he could distinguish the voices but not the words.Abdulla spoke in deep tones,and now and then this flowing monotone was interrupted by a querulous exclamation,a weak moan or a plaintive quaver of the old man.Yes.It was annoying not to be able to make out what they were saying,thought Babalatchi,as he sat gazing fixedly at the unsteady glow of the fire.But it will be right.All will be right.Abdulla inspired him with confidence.He came up fully to his expectation.From the very first moment when he set his eye on him he felt sure that this man--whom he had known by reputation only--was very resolute.Perhaps too resolute.Perhaps he would want to grasp too much later on.A shadow flitted over Babalatchi's face.On the eve of the accomplishment of his desires he felt the bitter taste of that drop of doubt which is mixed with the sweetness of every success.

When,hearing footsteps on the verandah of the big house,he lifted his head,the shadow had passed away and on his face there was an expression of watchful alertness.Willems was coming down the plankway,into the courtyard.The light within trickled through the cracks of the badly joined walls of the house,and in the illuminated doorway appeared the moving form of Aissa.She also passed into the night outside and disappeared from view.

Babalatchi wondered where she had got to,and for the moment forgot the approach of Willems.The voice of the white man speaking roughly above his head made him jump to his feet as if impelled upwards by a powerful spring.

"Where's Abdulla?"

Babalatchi waved his hand towards the hut and stood listening intently.The voices within had ceased,then recommenced again.

He shot an oblique glance at Willems,whose indistinct form towered above the glow of dying embers.

"Make up this fire,"said Willems,abruptly."I want to see your face."With obliging alacrity Babalatchi put some dry brushwood on the coals from a handy pile,keeping all the time a watchful eye on Willems.When he straightened himself up his hand wandered almost involuntarily towards his left side to feel the handle of a kriss amongst the folds of his sarong,but he tried to look unconcerned under the angry stare.

"You are in good health,please God?"he murmured.

"Yes!"answered Willems,with an unexpected loudness that caused Babalatchi to start nervously."Yes!...Health!...You"

He made a long stride and dropped both his hands on the Malay's shoulders.In the powerful grip Babalatchi swayed to and fro limply,but his face was as peaceful as when he sat--a little while ago--dreaming by the fire.With a final vicious jerk Willems let go suddenly,and turning away on his heel stretched his hands over the fire.Babalatchi stumbled backwards,recovered himself,and wriggled his shoulders laboriously.

"Tse!Tse!Tse!"he clicked,deprecatingly.After a short silence he went on with accentuated admiration:"What a man it is!What a strong man!A man like that"--he concluded,in a tone of meditative wonder--"a man like that could upset mountains--mountains!"He gazed hopefully for a while at Willems'broad shoulders,and continued,addressing the inimical back,in a low and persuasive voice--"But why be angry with me?With me who think only of your good?

Did I not give her refuge,in my own house?Yes,Tuan!This is my own house.I will let you have it without any recompense because she must have a shelter.Therefore you and she shall live here.Who can know a woman's mind?And such a woman!If she wanted to go away from that other place,who am I--to say no!

I am Omar's servant.I said:'Gladden my heart by taking my house.'Did I say right?""I'll tell you something,"said Willems,without changing his position;"if she takes a fancy to go away from this place it is you who shall suffer.I will wring your neck.""When the heart is full of love there is no room in it for justice,"recommenced Babalatchi,with unmoved and persistent softness."Why slay me?You know,Tuan,what she wants.Asplendid destiny is her desire--as of all women.You have been wronged and cast out by your people.She knows that.But you are brave,you are strong--you are a man;and,Tuan--I am older than you--you are in her hand.Such is the fate of strong men.

And she is of noble birth and cannot live like a slave.You know her--and you are in her hand.You are like a snared bird,because of your strength.And--remember I am a man that has seen much--submit,Tuan!Submit!...Or else..."He drawled out the last words in a hesitating manner and broke off his sentence.Still stretching his hands in turns towards the blaze and without moving his head,Willems gave a short,lugubrious laugh,and asked--"Or else what?"

"She may go away again.Who knows?"finished Babalatchi,in a gentle and insinuating tone.

This time Willems spun round sharply.Babalatchi stepped back.

"If she does it will be the worse for you,"said Willems,in a menacing voice."It will be your doing,and I..."Babalatchi spoke,from beyond the circle of light,with calm disdain.

"Hai--ya!I have heard before.If she goes--then I die.Good!

Will that bring her back do you think--Tuan?If it is my doing it shall be well done,O white man!and--who knows--you will have to live without her."Willems gasped and started back like a confident wayfarer who,pursuing a path he thinks safe,should see just in time a bottomless chasm under his feet.Babalatchi came into the light and approached Willems sideways,with his head thrown back and a little on one side so as to bring his only eye to bear full on the countenance of the tall white man.

"You threaten me,"said Willems,indistinctly.

"I,Tuan!"exclaimed Babalatchi,with a slight suspicion of irony in the affected surprise of his tone."I,Tuan?Who spoke of death?Was it I?No!I spoke of life only.Only of life.Of a long life for a lonely man!"They stood with the fire between them,both silent,both aware,each in his own way,of the importance of the passing minutes.

Babalatchi's fatalism gave him only an insignificant relief in his suspense,because no fatalism can kill the thought of the future,the desire of success,the pain of waiting for the disclosure of the immutable decrees of Heaven.Fatalism is born of the fear of failure,for we all believe that we carry success in our own hands,and we suspect that our hands are weak.

Babalatchi looked at Willems and congratulated himself upon his ability to manage that white man.There was a pilot for Abdulla--a victim to appease Lingard's anger in case of any mishap.He would take good care to put him forward in everything.In any case let the white men fight it out amongst themselves.They were fools.He hated them--the strong fools--and knew that for his righteous wisdom was reserved the safe triumph.

Willems measured dismally the depth of his degradation.He--a white man,the admired of white men,was held by those miserable savages whose tool he was about to become.He felt for them all the hate of his race,of his morality,of his intelligence.He looked upon himself with dismay and pity.She had him.He had heard of such things.He had heard of women who...He would never believe such stories...Yet they were true.But his own captivity seemed more complete,terrible,and final--without the hope of any redemption.He wondered at the wickedness of Providence that had made him what he was;that,worse still,permitted such a creature as Almayer to live.He had done his duty by going to him.Why did he not understand?All men were fools.He gave him his chance.The fellow did not see it.It was hard,very hard on himself--Willems.He wanted to take her from amongst her own people.That's why he had condescended to go to Almayer.He examined himself.With a sinking heart he thought that really he could not--somehow--live without her.It was terrible and sweet.He remembered the first days.Her appearance,her face,her smile,her eyes,her words.A savage woman!Yet he perceived that he could think of nothing else but of the three days of their separation,of the few hours since their reunion.Very well.If he could not take her away,then he would go to her...He had,for a moment,a wicked pleasure in the thought that what he had done could not be undone.He had given himself up.He felt proud of it.He was ready to face anything,do anything.He cared for nothing,for nobody.He thought himself very fearless,but as a matter of fact he was only drunk;drunk with the poison of passionate memories.

He stretched his hands over the fire,looked round and called out--"Aissa!"

She must have been near,for she appeared at once within the light of the fire.The upper part of her body was wrapped up in the thick folds of a head covering which was pulled down over her brow,and one end of it thrown across from shoulder to shoulder hid the lower part of her face.Only her eyes were visible--sombre and gleaming like a starry night.

Willems,looking at this strange,muffled figure,felt exasperated,amazed and helpless.The ex-confidential clerk of the rich Hudig would hug to his breast settled conceptions of respectable conduct.He sought refuge within his ideas of propriety from the dismal mangroves,from the darkness of the forests and of the heathen souls of the savages that were his masters.She looked like an animated package of cheap cotton goods!It made him furious.She had disguised herself so because a man of her race was near!He told her not to do it,and she did not obey.Would his ideas ever change so as to agree with her own notions of what was becoming,proper and respectable?He was really afraid they would,in time.It seemed to him awful.She would never change!This manifestation of her sense of proprieties was another sign of their hopeless diversity;something like another step downwards for him.She was too different from him.He was so civilized!It struck him suddenly that they had nothing in common--not a thought,not a feeling;he could not make clear to her the simplest motive of any act of his...and he could not live without her.

The courageous man who stood facing Babalatchi gasped unexpectedly with a gasp that was half a groan.This little matter of her veiling herself against his wish acted upon him like a disclosure of some great disaster.It increased his contempt for himself as the slave of a passion he had always derided,as the man unable to assert his will.This will,all his sensations,his personality--all this seemed to be lost in the abominable desire,in the priceless promise of that woman.

He was not,of course,able to discern clearly the causes of his misery;but there are none so ignorant as not to know suffering,none so simple as not to feel and suffer from the shock of warring impulses.The ignorant must feel and suffer from their complexity as well as the wisest;but to them the pain of struggle and defeat appears strange,mysterious,remediable and unjust.He stood watching her,watching himself.He tingled with rage from head to foot,as if he had been struck in the face.Suddenly he laughed;but his laugh was like a distorted echo of some insincere mirth very far away.

From the other side of the fire Babalatchi spoke hurriedly--"Here is Tuan Abdulla."

CHAPTER FIVE

Directly on stepping outside Omar's hut Abdulla caught sight of Willems.He expected,of course,to see a white man,but not that white man,whom he knew so well.Everybody who traded in the islands,and who had any dealings with Hudig,knew Willems.

For the last two years of his stay in Macassar the confidential clerk had been managing all the local trade of the house under a very slight supervision only on the part of the master.So everybody knew Willems,Abdulla amongst others--but he was ignorant of Willems'disgrace.As a matter of fact the thing had been kept very quiet--so quiet that a good many people in Macassar were expecting Willems'return there,supposing him to be absent on some confidential mission.Abdulla,in his surprise,hesitated on the threshold.He had prepared himself to see some seaman--some old officer of Lingard's;a common man--perhaps difficult to deal with,but still no match for him.

Instead,he saw himself confronted by an individual whose reputation for sagacity in business was well known to him.How did he get here,and why?Abdulla,recovering from his surprise,advanced in a dignified manner towards the fire,keeping his eyes fixed steadily on Willems.When within two paces from Willems he stopped and lifted his right hand in grave salutation.Willems nodded slightly and spoke after a while.

"We know each other,Tuan Abdulla,"he said,with an assumption of easy indifference.

"We have traded together,"answered Abdulla,solemnly,"but it was far from here.""And we may trade here also,"said Willems.

"The place does not matter.It is the open mind and the true heart that are required in business.""Very true.My heart is as open as my mind.I will tell you why I am here.""What need is there?In leaving home one learns life.You travel.Travelling is victory!You shall return with much wisdom.""I shall never return,"interrupted Willems."I have done with my people.I am a man without brothers.Injustice destroys fidelity."Abdulla expressed his surprise by elevating his eyebrows.At the same time he made a vague gesture with his arm that could be taken as an equivalent of an approving and conciliating "just so!"Till then the Arab had not taken any notice of Aissa,who stood by the fire,but now she spoke in the interval of silence following Willems'declaration.In a voice that was much deadened by her wrappings she addressed Abdulla in a few words of greeting,calling him a kinsman.Abdulla glanced at her swiftly for a second,and then,with perfect good breeding,fixed his eyes on the ground.She put out towards him her hand,covered with a corner of her face-veil,and he took it,pressed it twice,and dropping it turned towards Willems.She looked at the two men searchingly,then backed away and seemed to melt suddenly into the night.

"I know what you came for,Tuan Abdulla,"said Willems;"I have been told by that man there."He nodded towards Babalatchi,then went on slowly,"It will be a difficult thing.""Allah makes everything easy,"interjected Babalatchi,piously,from a distance.

The two men turned quickly and stood looking at him thoughtfully,as if in deep consideration of the truth of that proposition.

Under their sustained gaze Babalatchi experienced an unwonted feeling of shyness,and dared not approach nearer.At last Willems moved slightly,Abdulla followed readily,and they both walked down the courtyard,their voices dying away in the darkness.Soon they were heard returning,and the voices grew distinct as their forms came out of the gloom.By the fire they wheeled again,and Babalatchi caught a few words.Willems was saying--"I have been at sea with him many years when young.I have used my knowledge to observe the way into the river when coming in,this time."Abdulla assented in general terms.

"In the variety of knowledge there is safety,"he said;and then they passed out of earshot.

Babalatchi ran to the tree and took up his position in the solid blackness under its branches,leaning against the trunk.There he was about midway between the fire and the other limit of the two men's walk.They passed him close.Abdulla slim,very straight,his head high,and his hands hanging before him and twisting mechanically the string of beads;Willems tall,broad,looking bigger and stronger in contrast to the slight white figure by the side of which he strolled carelessly,taking one step to the other's two;his big arms in constant motion as he gesticulated vehemently,bending forward to look Abdulla in the face.

They passed and repassed close to Babalatchi some half a dozen times,and,whenever they were between him and the fire,he could see them plain enough.Sometimes they would stop short,Willems speaking emphatically,Abdulla listening with rigid attention,then,when the other had ceased,bending his head slightly as if consenting to some demand,or admitting some statement.Now and then Babalatchi caught a word here and there,a fragment of a sentence,a loud exclamation.Impelled by curiosity he crept to the very edge of the black shadow under the tree.They were nearing him,and he heard Willems say--"You will pay that money as soon as I come on board.That I must have."He could not catch Abdulla's reply.When they went past again,Willems was saying--"My life is in your hand anyway.The boat that brings me on board your ship shall take the money to Omar.You must have it ready in a sealed bag."Again they were out of hearing,but instead of coming back they stopped by the fire facing each other.Willems moved his arm,shook his hand on high talking all the time,then brought it down jerkily--stamped his foot.A short period of immobility ensued.

Babalatchi,gazing intently,saw Abdulla's lips move almost imperceptibly.Suddenly Willems seized the Arab's passive hand and shook it.Babalatchi drew the long breath of relieved suspense.The conference was over.All well,apparently.

He ventured now to approach the two men,who saw him and waited in silence.Willems had retired within himself already,and wore a look of grim indifference.Abdulla moved away a step or two.

Babalatchi looked at him inquisitively.

"I go now,"said Abdulla,"and shall wait for you outside the river,Tuan Willems,till the second sunset.You have only one word,I know.""Only one word,"repeated Willems.

Abdulla and Babalatchi walked together down the enclosure,leaving the white man alone by the fire.The two Arabs who had come with Abdulla preceded them and passed at once through the little gate into the light and the murmur of voices of the principal courtyard,but Babalatchi and Abdulla stopped on this side of it.Abdulla said--"It is well.We have spoken of many things.He consents.""When?"asked Babalatchi,eagerly.

"On the second day from this.I have promised every thing.Imean to keep much."

"Your hand is always open,O Most Generous amongst Believers!