Chapter Chapter 39 · ‘All the events of that night have a great importance, since they

. ‘All the events of that night have a great importance, since they

brought about a situation which remained unchanged till Jim’s return.

Jim had been away in the interior for more than a week, and it was Dain

Waris who had directed the first repulse. That brave and intelligent

youth (“who knew how to fight after the manner of white men”) wished to

settle the business off-hand, but his people were too much for him.

He had not Jim’s racial prestige and the reputation of invincible,

supernatural power. He was not the visible, tangible incarnation of

unfailing truth and of unfailing victory. Beloved, trusted, and

admired as he was, he was still one of _them_, while Jim was one of

us. Moreover, the white man, a tower of strength in himself, was

invulnerable, while Dain Waris could be killed. Those unexpressed

thoughts guided the opinions of the chief men of the town, who elected

to assemble in Jim’s fort for deliberation upon the emergency, as if

expecting to find wisdom and courage in the dwelling of the absent white

man. The shooting of Brown’s ruffians was so far good, or lucky, that

there had been half-a-dozen casualties amongst the defenders. The

wounded were lying on the verandah tended by their women-folk. The women

and children from the lower part of the town had been sent into the

fort at the first alarm. There Jewel was in command, very efficient and

high-spirited, obeyed by Jim’s “own people,” who, quitting in a body

their little settlement under the stockade, had gone in to form the

garrison. The refugees crowded round her; and through the whole affair,

to the very disastrous last, she showed an extraordinary martial ardour.

It was to her that Dain Waris had gone at once at the first intelligence

of danger, for you must know that Jim was the only one in Patusan who

possessed a store of gunpowder. Stein, with whom he had kept up intimate

relations by letters, had obtained from the Dutch Government a special

authorisation to export five hundred kegs of it to Patusan. The

powder-magazine was a small hut of rough logs covered entirely with

earth, and in Jim’s absence the girl had the key. In the council, held

at eleven o’clock in the evening in Jim’s dining-room, she backed up

Waris’s advice for immediate and vigorous action. I am told that she

stood up by the side of Jim’s empty chair at the head of the long table

and made a warlike impassioned speech, which for the moment extorted

murmurs of approbation from the assembled headmen. Old Doramin, who had

not showed himself outside his own gate for more than a year, had been

brought across with great difficulty. He was, of course, the chief man

there. The temper of the council was very unforgiving, and the old man’s

word would have been decisive; but it is my opinion that, well aware of

his son’s fiery courage, he dared not pronounce the word. More dilatory

counsels prevailed. A certain Haji Saman pointed out at great length

that “these tyrannical and ferocious men had delivered themselves to

a certain death in any case. They would stand fast on their hill and

starve, or they would try to regain their boat and be shot from ambushes

across the creek, or they would break and fly into the forest and perish

singly there.” He argued that by the use of proper stratagems these

evil-minded strangers could be destroyed without the risk of a battle,

and his words had a great weight, especially with the Patusan men

proper. What unsettled the minds of the townsfolk was the failure of

the Rajah’s boats to act at the decisive moment. It was the diplomatic

Kassim who represented the Rajah at the council. He spoke very little,

listened smilingly, very friendly and impenetrable. During the sitting

messengers kept arriving every few minutes almost, with reports of the

invaders’ proceedings. Wild and exaggerated rumours were flying: there

was a large ship at the mouth of the river with big guns and many more

men--some white, others with black skins and of bloodthirsty appearance.

They were coming with many more boats to exterminate every living thing.

A sense of near, incomprehensible danger affected the common people.

At one moment there was a panic in the courtyard amongst the women;

shrieking; a rush; children crying--Haji Sunan went out to quiet them.

Then a fort sentry fired at something moving on the river, and nearly

killed a villager bringing in his women-folk in a canoe together with

the best of his domestic utensils and a dozen fowls. This caused more

confusion. Meantime the palaver inside Jim’s house went on in the

presence of the girl. Doramin sat fierce-faced, heavy, looking at the

speakers in turn, and breathing slow like a bull. He didn’t speak till

the last, after Kassim had declared that the Rajah’s boats would be

called in because the men were required to defend his master’s stockade.

Dain Waris in his father’s presence would offer no opinion, though the

girl entreated him in Jim’s name to speak out. She offered him Jim’s own

men in her anxiety to have these intruders driven out at once. He only

shook his head, after a glance or two at Doramin. Finally, when the

council broke up it had been decided that the houses nearest the creek

should be strongly occupied to obtain the command of the enemy’s boat.

The boat itself was not to be interfered with openly, so that the

robbers on the hill should be tempted to embark, when a well-directed

fire would kill most of them, no doubt. To cut off the escape of those

who might survive, and to prevent more of them coming up, Dain Waris was

ordered by Doramin to take an armed party of Bugis down the river to a

certain spot ten miles below Patusan, and there form a camp on the shore

and blockade the stream with the canoes. I don’t believe for a moment

that Doramin feared the arrival of fresh forces. My opinion is that his

conduct was guided solely by his wish to keep his son out of harm’s

way. To prevent a rush being made into the town the construction of a

stockade was to be commenced at daylight at the end of the street on

the left bank. The old nakhoda declared his intention to command there

himself. A distribution of powder, bullets, and percussion-caps was made

immediately under the girl’s supervision. Several messengers were to be

dispatched in different directions after Jim, whose exact whereabouts

were unknown. These men started at dawn, but before that time Kassim had

managed to open communications with the besieged Brown.

‘That accomplished diplomatist and confidant of the Rajah, on leaving

the fort to go back to his master, took into his boat Cornelius, whom he

found slinking mutely amongst the people in the courtyard. Kassim had a

little plan of his own and wanted him for an interpreter. Thus it came

about that towards morning Brown, reflecting upon the desperate nature

of his position, heard from the marshy overgrown hollow an amicable,

quavering, strained voice crying--in English--for permission to come up,

under a promise of personal safety and on a very important errand. He

was overjoyed. If he was spoken to he was no longer a hunted wild beast.

These friendly sounds took off at once the awful stress of vigilant

watchfulness as of so many blind men not knowing whence the deathblow

might come. He pretended a great reluctance. The voice declared itself

“a white man--a poor, ruined, old man who had been living here for

years.” A mist, wet and chilly, lay on the slopes of the hill, and after

some more shouting from one to the other, Brown called out, “Come on,

then, but alone, mind!” As a matter of fact--he told me, writhing with

rage at the recollection of his helplessness--it made no difference.

They couldn’t see more than a few yards before them, and no treachery

could make their position worse. By-and-by Cornelius, in his

week-day attire of a ragged dirty shirt and pants, barefooted, with a

broken-rimmed pith hat on his head, was made out vaguely, sidling up to

the defences, hesitating, stopping to listen in a peering posture. “Come

along! You are safe,” yelled Brown, while his men stared. All their

hopes of life became suddenly centered in that dilapidated, mean

newcomer, who in profound silence clambered clumsily over a felled

tree-trunk, and shivering, with his sour, mistrustful face, looked about

at the knot of bearded, anxious, sleepless desperadoes.

‘Half an hour’s confidential talk with Cornelius opened Brown’s eyes as

to the home affairs of Patusan. He was on the alert at once. There were

possibilities, immense possibilities; but before he would talk over

Cornelius’s proposals he demanded that some food should be sent up as

a guarantee of good faith. Cornelius went off, creeping sluggishly down

the hill on the side of the Rajah’s palace, and after some delay a

few of Tunku Allang’s men came up, bringing a scanty supply of rice,

chillies, and dried fish. This was immeasurably better than nothing.

Later on Cornelius returned accompanying Kassim, who stepped out with

an air of perfect good-humoured trustfulness, in sandals, and muffled

up from neck to ankles in dark-blue sheeting. He shook hands with Brown

discreetly, and the three drew aside for a conference. Brown’s men,

recovering their confidence, were slapping each other on the back, and

cast knowing glances at their captain while they busied themselves with

preparations for cooking.

‘Kassim disliked Doramin and his Bugis very much, but he hated the new

order of things still more. It had occurred to him that these whites,

together with the Rajah’s followers, could attack and defeat the

Bugis before Jim’s return. Then, he reasoned, general defection of

the townsfolk was sure to follow, and the reign of the white man who

protected poor people would be over. Afterwards the new allies could be

dealt with. They would have no friends. The fellow was perfectly able to

perceive the difference of character, and had seen enough of white men

to know that these newcomers were outcasts, men without country.

Brown preserved a stern and inscrutable demeanour. When he first heard

Cornelius’s voice demanding admittance, it brought merely the hope of a

loophole for escape. In less than an hour other thoughts were seething

in his head. Urged by an extreme necessity, he had come there to steal

food, a few tons of rubber or gum may be, perhaps a handful of dollars,

and had found himself enmeshed by deadly dangers. Now in consequence

of these overtures from Kassim he began to think of stealing the whole

country. Some confounded fellow had apparently accomplished something of

the kind--single-handed at that. Couldn’t have done it very well though.

Perhaps they could work together--squeeze everything dry and then go out

quietly. In the course of his negotiations with Kassim he became aware

that he was supposed to have a big ship with plenty of men outside.

Kassim begged him earnestly to have this big ship with his many guns and

men brought up the river without delay for the Rajah’s service. Brown

professed himself willing, and on this basis the negotiation was carried

on with mutual distrust. Three times in the course of the morning the

courteous and active Kassim went down to consult the Rajah and came up

busily with his long stride. Brown, while bargaining, had a sort of grim

enjoyment in thinking of his wretched schooner, with nothing but a heap

of dirt in her hold, that stood for an armed ship, and a Chinaman and

a lame ex-beachcomber of Levuka on board, who represented all his many

men. In the afternoon he obtained further doles of food, a promise

of some money, and a supply of mats for his men to make shelters

for themselves. They lay down and snored, protected from the burning

sunshine; but Brown, sitting fully exposed on one of the felled trees,

feasted his eyes upon the view of the town and the river. There was much

loot there. Cornelius, who had made himself at home in the camp, talked

at his elbow, pointing out the localities, imparting advice, giving his

own version of Jim’s character, and commenting in his own fashion upon

the events of the last three years. Brown, who, apparently indifferent

and gazing away, listened with attention to every word, could not make

out clearly what sort of man this Jim could be. “What’s his name?

Jim! Jim! That’s not enough for a man’s name.” “They call him,” said

Cornelius scornfully, “Tuan Jim here. As you may say Lord Jim.” “What is

he? Where does he come from?” inquired Brown. “What sort of man is he?

Is he an Englishman?” “Yes, yes, he’s an Englishman. I am an Englishman

too. From Malacca. He is a fool. All you have to do is to kill him and

then you are king here. Everything belongs to him,” explained Cornelius.

“It strikes me he may be made to share with somebody before very long,”

commented Brown half aloud. “No, no. The proper way is to kill him the

first chance you get, and then you can do what you like,” Cornelius

would insist earnestly. “I have lived for many years here, and I am

giving you a friend’s advice.”

‘In such converse and in gloating over the view of Patusan, which he had

determined in his mind should become his prey, Brown whiled away most

of the afternoon, his men, meantime, resting. On that day Dain Waris’s

fleet of canoes stole one by one under the shore farthest from the

creek, and went down to close the river against his retreat. Of this

Brown was not aware, and Kassim, who came up the knoll an hour before

sunset, took good care not to enlighten him. He wanted the white

man’s ship to come up the river, and this news, he feared, would be

discouraging. He was very pressing with Brown to send the “order,”

offering at the same time a trusty messenger, who for greater secrecy

(as he explained) would make his way by land to the mouth of the river

and deliver the “order” on board. After some reflection Brown judged

it expedient to tear a page out of his pocket-book, on which he simply

wrote, “We are getting on. Big job. Detain the man.” The stolid youth

selected by Kassim for that service performed it faithfully, and was

rewarded by being suddenly tipped, head first, into the schooner’s empty

hold by the ex-beachcomber and the Chinaman, who thereupon hastened to

put on the hatches. What became of him afterwards Brown did not say.’