by Guy Boothby
CHAPTER IV.
THE HOME OF THE BEAUTIFUL WHITE DEVIL.
The sun next morning had scarcely made his appearance when I awoke toa knowledge of the fact that the yacht was stationary. Such acircumstance could have but one meaning: we had arrived at ourdestination. As soon, therefore, as this idea became properlyimpressed upon my mind, I sprang from my bunk, made for the port-hole,and, drawing back the little curtain that covered it, gazed out uponthe world. And what a picture met my eager eyes! What a scene to paintin words or pigments! But oh, how difficult! If I were a literarycraftsman of more than ordinary ability, I might possibly be able togive you some dim impression of what I saw. But being only an amateurword-painter of the sorriest sort, I very much fear it is a taskbeyond my capabilities. However, for the sake of my story, I suppose Imust try.
To begin with, you must endeavour to imagine a small harbour, at mosthalf a mile long by three-quarters wide, having upon the side towardswhich I looked a wide plateau extending almost to the sands thatfringe the water's edge. Picture this tableland, or plateau, as I havecalled it, backed by a tall, forest-crowned hill, almost a mountain,which soars up and up a couple of thousand feet or more into the azuresky; while peering out of the jungle that ornaments its base may beseen the white roofs of houses, with, here and there, the thatch of anative hut of the kind usually met with on the west coast of Borneoand the islands thereabout.
So strikingly beautiful was the view, and so great was my curiosity toexamine for myself this home of the Beautiful White Devil, for such Icould not help feeling convinced it was, that I dressed with allpossible speed and repaired on deck.
From this point of vantage the prospect was even more pleasinglypicturesque than it had been from the port-hole of my cabin.
All round us the water was smooth as green glass, and so wonderfullytransparent that, on leaning over the starboard bulwark, I couldplainly discern the flaking of the sand at the bottom and thebrilliant colours of the snout-nosed fishes as they swam past, atleast a dozen fathoms below the surface.
To my surprise the harbour was entirely landlocked, and, though Isearched for some time, I could discern no opening in the amphitheatreof hills through which a vessel of even the smallest size could passin from the sea. But being more taken up with the beautiful scenery ofthe bay than its harbour facilities, I did not puzzle over this forvery long.
So still was the morning that the smoke of the huts ashore went upstraight and true into the air, the pale blue contrasting admirablywith the varied greens of the foliage out of which it rose. Overhead,and around us, flocks of gulls, of kinds hitherto unknown to me,wheeled and screamed, while at intervals gorgeously-plumed parrotsflew across our bows from shore to shore. Once a small green bird,apparently of the finch tribe, settled on the foreyard foot-rope, anda little later a tiny sand-piper came aboard, and hopped about thefo'c's'le as calmly as if he had been doing nothing else all his life.
When first I came on deck, with the exception of the cook in hisgalley, not a soul was to be seen. But presently, while I was watchingthe antics of the bird I have just described, my old acquaintanceWalworth joined me at the rail, and laid himself out for conversation.
"Doctor," he said, "I want you to tell me candidly, if, in all yourexperience of the world, you have ever looked upon a fairer scene thanthat you have before you now?"
"No; I don't think I have," I answered. "It is marvellously beautiful,but all the same, I must own one or two things about it rather puzzleme."
"And what are they?"
"Well! in the first place, since I can see no opening in the hills,how did we get in here?"
"Ah! you have been thinking about that, have you? Well, to save youany further trouble on that score, let me tell you that if you were tolook for a hundred years from where you stand now you would not beable to discover it. And, unless her ladyship gives permission, itwould be as much as my life is worth for me to tell you. Now for yoursecond question?"
"Well, I can see, say, a dozen huts, all told, over yonder," Ianswered. "Surely they don't constitute the settlement of which youspoke to me?"
"No; they do not. Those you see over there are only the outlyingportions of the village, meant to deceive the crew of any vessel whomight land and find their way in here; the real place itself lies fivemiles inland, round that hill, through the gap you can just make outalongside that bit of terra-cotta coloured cliff yonder."
"I see! And now, to change the subject. With regard to that lymph youprocured for me in Hong Kong, where is it?"
"It has already been sent to your bungalow with the rest of themedical paraphernalia we brought with us."
"And her ladyship?"
"Went ashore as soon as we came to anchor. If I mistake not that's herboat coming off to us now."
As he spoke, a large white surf-boat put off from the beach, and,under the sturdy arms of her crew, came swiftly across the stretch ofblue towards us. As she ranged alongside, I carefully examined the menrowing. They were of medium size, and evidently of the Dyak race,being taller than the average Malay, and inclining more to the buildof the Solomon Islander than to any other class I could think of. Theywere bright, intelligent-looking fellows, and evidently well caredfor. As soon as they had hitched on to the gangway, the coxswain cameaboard, and said something in native to my companion, who, in reply,pointed to me.
Thereupon the man drew a note from his turban, and handed it to mewith the confidence and easy bearing of one gentleman rendering aservice to another. It was addressed in Alie's handwriting.
Though a considerable time has elapsed since my receipt of that littlenote, I can plainly recall the thrill that went through me as Iopened it. It ran as follows:
DEAR DR. DE NORMANVILLE:
I beg you will forgive my not remaining on board to welcome you to my home, but as you will readily imagine I was most anxious to see for myself, at once, how things were progressing ashore. Unfortunately, however, I have nothing favourable to report. Will you come and breakfast with me immediately on receipt of this? My coxswain will show you the way. Then, afterward, I could take you, myself, round the settlement.
With very kind regards, Believe me, truly your friend, ALIE.
I thrust the note into my pocket, and having told Walworth what I wasabout to do, went below to my cabin to prepare for my excursion. Thenreturning to the deck I descended into the boat alongside, and we setoff for the shore. As we rowed I was able to look back and observe,for the first time, the proportions and symmetry of the beautifulcraft I had just left.
Indeed, a prettier picture than the _Lone Star_ presented atthat moment could not possibly be imagined. Her tall masts andrigging showed out clear-cut against the blue sky, while herexquisitely-modelled hull was reflected, with mirror-likedistinctness, in the placid water around her; the brasswork upon herbinnacle and wheel shone like burnished gold, and so clear was thewater, that the whole of her bright copper sheathing, and even theoutline of her keel, could plainly be distinguished.
Within five minutes of leaving her, our coxswain had deftly brought usalongside a small, but neatly-constructed, wooden jetty. Here Idisembarked, and, escorted by that amiable individual, set off at onceon our journey to the dwelling of my mysterious hostess.
Leaving the white, sandy foreshore of the bay, we passed by a wellmade track through the forest in a due northerly direction. And such aforest as it was! Such wealth of timber, such varieties of woods,shrubs, creepers, orchids, and flowers. On one hand, perhaps, an irontree of imperial growth would tower above us; on another an enormousteak, with here and there the curious leaves and twisted outline of agutta-percha--all mixed up with pipa palms, camphor trees, canes andbamboos of every possible hue and description. From tree to tree,across our path, birds of all kinds, including paddi birds, greenpigeons, flycatchers, barbets, and sunbirds flew with discordantcries, while not once, but more often than I could count, hordes ofmonkeys swung themselves wildly from bran
ch to branch overhead,chattering and calling to each other as if the whole wide world werethere to applaud their antics. Our path was indeed a varied one; onemoment we were surrounded on all sides by the forest, the next we wereout on the bare face of the hill looking down upon the tops of trees.The bright sunshine flooded everything; while the fresh breeze fromthe sea was just cool enough to make the exertion of walking pleasant.Indeed, so enjoyable was it, that I was almost sorry when we left theforest for the last time and emerged on to a small plain, bounded bythe scrub on one side and by the mountain on the other. On this Icould discern a collection of huts and houses to the number of perhapsthree hundred. But what struck me as most remarkable about them wasthe fact that they were arranged in streets, and that the majority ofthem were built on European lines; also in almost every case--and Iwas able to verify this later on--each one possessed a well-kept andapparently productive garden, varying in extent from a quarter up toas much in some cases as an acre. On the other side of the villagefurthest from where I stood, the forest began again, and ran in anunbroken mass up to the high mountain land before referred to. On theright side of this mountain, and distinctly visible from every part ofthe village, was a fine waterfall, perhaps a couple of hundred feethigh, from which rose continually a heavy mist, catching in thesunlight every known colour of the rainbow. Altogether, a morepicturesque little place could not have been discovered. It was quitein keeping with the woman, the yacht, the forest, and the harbour. Andto think that this was the home of the Beautiful White Devil, the homeof that mysterious woman whose so-called crimes and acts of daringwere common gossip from Colombo to the farthest Saghalien coast.
Leaving the village on our left, we ascended the mountain side for ashort distance by a well-worn track, then turning sharply to our lefthand, wound round it to where another large plateau began. Reachingthis, midway between the village and the waterfall, we saw before us ahigh and well-made picket fence in which was a gate. Through this gatewe passed, and after carefully closing it behind us, followed a shorttrack along a lovely avenue of Areca palms and india rubber treestowards a house we could just discern through the foliage; then,having ascended a flight of broad stone steps, flanked with quaintstone gods and images, we stood before the dwelling of the BeautifulWhite Devil.
I fear, deeply as the memory of it is impressed upon my mind, itis hardly in my power to convey to you any real impression of thebuilding I had come so far to see, and in which I was destinedto spend so many hours. Suffice it that it was an _adobe_construction--one story high, and designed on somewhat the same planas an Indian bungalow; the walls were of great thickness, the betterto withstand the heat, I suppose; the rooms presented the appearanceof being lofty and imposing, while one and all opened by means ofFrench windows on to the broad verandah which ran round the house uponevery side. This verandah, and indeed the whole house, was emboweredin dense masses of different-coloured creepers, which in the brilliantsunshine presented a most charming and novel effect. From the verandahon the left, or south, side, another broad flight of stone steps,similarly adorned with stone carvings, conducted one to the garden,while to the right, and scarcely more than a couple of hundred yardsdistant, crashed the waterfall I had seen from the hill, with a roarthat could have been heard many miles away, down into the black pooltwo hundred feet below.
At the foot of the first steps my guide left me and returned to theharbour by the road along which he had come. I paused to recover mybreath and watched him out of sight, then turning to the houseascended the flight of steps. Just as I reached the top, and waswondering how I might best make my presence known to those inside, Iheard the rustling of a dress in the verandah; next moment Alieherself, clad in white from top to toe, as was her custom, came roundthe corner, followed by her enormous bulldog, and confronted me. I cansee her now, and even after this lapse of time can feel the influenceof her wonderful personality upon me just as plainly as if it were butyesterday I stood before her. Seeing me she said something to thedog,--who had uttered a low growl,--and stretched out her hand.
"Good-morning, Dr. De Normanville," she said, smiling as no otherwoman could ever do; "you received my note, then? I am glad to seeyou, and I make you welcome to my home."
"A Garden of Eden I should be inclined to call it," I answered,looking about me. "How many of us would be glad to dwell in it!"
She looked at me for a moment, and then asked somewhat bitterly:
"Pray is that pretty speech meant for Alie or the Beautiful WhiteDevil? There is a difference, you know."
Then, not permitting me time to answer, she changed the subject bysaying:
"Breakfast is on the table, I believe. Let us go in to it. Will yougive me your arm?"
I did so, and together we passed from the creeper-covered verandahinto a room straight before us.
In the previous chapter I have described to you Alie's cabin on boardthe _Lone Star_, and, in doing it, almost beggared myself of language;now I can only ask you to believe that rich as that cabin was in itsappointments, in its arrangements, its curios and articles of _vertu_,the room which we entered now eclipsed it in every particular. Indeed,such another I never remember to have seen. From floor to ceiling itwas filled with curiosities and articles of the greatest beauty andvalue. Rich Persian, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese hangings coveredthe walls, interspersed with such articles of pottery, silver, andchina, as made me break the Tenth Commandment every time I looked atthem. Native weapons of all kinds and of every nationality, some withplain, others with superbly jewelled, hilts; Indian, Cinghalese,Burmese, Siamese, Japanese, and Chinese bric-a-brac; two large casesof mineral specimens, comprising many precious stones; quite a dozenpictures of rare value, one looking suspiciously like a Titian; whilefully a couple of hundred books, a grand piano, and at leasthalf-a-dozen other musical instruments, including a harp and a guitar,helped to complete the furniture.
In the centre of the room stood the breakfast table, covered with anexquisitely embroidered white linen cloth, on which was displayed sucha collection of beautiful gold and silver ware as I had never seen ona table before. Three heaps of fruit, consisting of durians, pisangs,bananas, mangoes, mangosteens, and custard apples were piled uponthree lovely Sevres dishes in the centre, flanked by twoquaintly-shaped decanters filled with wine.
We seated ourselves at either end of the table, and my hostess strucka tiny silver gong by her side. Breakfast was instantly served by thesame impassive servant who had waited upon us on board the yacht. Ifhe felt any surprise at my presence on this occasion, he did not showit; indeed, it would almost have seemed as if he were not aware that Iwas the same person.
And now a word as to the _dejeuner_ itself. It has been my goodfortune to have breakfasted at most of the famous restaurants inEurope, that is to say, in London, Paris, Rome, and Vienna, but I amprepared to state, and I put it forward believing it to be true, thatthe meal of which I partook that morning in the Beautiful WhiteDevil's bungalow excelled any I had ever partaken of before. Frombeginning to end it was perfect in every way. The fish, evidently butlately caught, could only have been called a poem of culinary art, theomelets were Parisian in their daintiness and serving, the cutletswere of the right size and done to a turn, the wine (for the meal wasserved after the French fashion) was worthy of imperial cellars, andthe fruit had evidently been in the garden less than half an hourbefore. My hostess noticed the surprise with which I regarded thesethings; for extraordinary it certainly was to sit down to such abreakfast on an island in the North Pacific.
"You are evidently wondering at the civilisation of my surroundings,"she said, as the man servant poured her out a glass of Tokay.
"Indeed, yes!" I answered. "I must own I had no notion I should findanything in any way approaching it in these seas. Your cook must be awonder."
"Well, perhaps he _is_ rather extraordinary!" she continued. "But Idoubt if you will deem it so wonderful when I tell you that he is aFrenchman of the French, who was once in the service of VictorEmanuel. How I cam
e to obtain the benefit of his skill is, of course,another matter."
"And will he stay with you, do you think? Are you not sometimesafraid that your servants will want to leave you, and return tocivilisation again?"
"My servants never leave me," she answered, with an emphasis there wasno mistaking. "And for the best of reasons. No! I certainly have nofear on that score."
"You are able to place implicit trust in them, then?" I asked, amazedat the confidence with which she spoke.
"The most implicit trust," she said. "My servants are carefullychosen. They give their services cheerfully, and, like my dog there,they would obey me at any cost, however great, to themselves. Wouldyou like an example?"
"Very much, if you will favour me," I answered.
"Then watch me closely. In the first place you must understand that,next to myself, my bulldog's greatest friend and companion is mybutler--the man who has just left the room. Well, I will ring forhim."
She did so, and, as soon as the bell had stopped ringing, called thedog to her side and said something to him in the same curious languageshe had employed before. Thereupon he went over to the door, and,laying himself down about a yard from it, watched it intently. He hadnot been there a half minute before the door opened, and the servantstood upon the threshold.
Immediately the dog saw him he rose to his feet, every bristle erect,showing all his teeth, and growling savagely. At first the man did notknow what to make of this behaviour. Then he spoke to the animal, andat the same time attempted to pass him. But this the beast would notpermit. His upper lip drew further back, and he showed unmistakablythat if the man advanced another step he would bite, and biteseverely. All this time his mistress lay back in her chair, toyingwith a spoon upon the table, and watching the pair out of half-closedeyes, according to her peculiar habit. Then she spoke to the man.
"I have told the dog," she said in English, for my benefit, I suppose,"to seize you by the throat if you attempt to enter the room. You knowthat he will do what I tell him. Very well then, come in!"
Dangerous as was his position, so great was the influence theBeautiful White Devil exercised over her dependents that the man didnot hesitate or wait to be bidden twice, but at once complied with herorder. He had not advanced two steps, however, before the dog hadsprung into the air, and had his mistress not called to him in time,would have taken the unfortunate domestic by the throat. As it was hestopped midway in his spring, and a moment later was back againcrouching at her side. Then having addressed some words of explanationto the frightened man, she turned to me and said:
"Are you satisfied with that practical proof, Dr. De Normanville, ordo you want another? You are satisfied? I am glad of that, for I tellyou just as that man obeyed my orders, regardless of the consequences,so would every other man in my employ, from my chief officer down tothe little native lad who pulls the punkah."
"It is very wonderful!"
"On the contrary, it is very simple."
"I'm afraid I do not quite understand?"
"Then I'm sorry to say I must for the present leave you in yourignorance. Some day I may afford you another example which willperhaps enlighten you more fully."
For a few moments she sat wrapped in thought, looking at a flower shehad taken from a vase; then she lifted her eyes again and addressed mewith an air of authority that sat well upon her.
"We have finished our breakfast, I think," she said. "Now I imagineyou will be anxious to inspect your patients. Well, if you will waitten minutes while I transact a little legal business, I will accompanyyou."
So saying she led me out into the verandah, where we seated ourselvesin long cane chairs. A tall native was in waiting, and when she hadsaid something to him he withdrew.
"Now you will have an opportunity of witnessing a little piece ofretributive justice," she observed; "and also of observing how I treatthose who misconduct themselves in my domains."
She had hardly spoken before the tramp of feet sounded from round thecorner, and next moment two stalwart natives appeared escorting ayoung man, also an islander, whose bright attractive countenance wonmy regard from the first. Behind this party came the complainant, anelderly native, whose puckered and wrinkled face was about asunprepossessing as the other's was pleasing. Seeing their ruler beforethem they prostrated themselves with one accord, and remained in thatposition until they were told to rise. When they had done so, Alienarrated the features of the case to me in English. The old man, itappeared, had a young wife; the prisoner was her cousin, and, if thecomplainant could be believed, had shown himself fonder of her thanwas comfortable for the husband's peace of mind. Age proving jealous,and at the same time suspicious of the motive of Youth's cousinlyaffection, had trumped up a charge of stealing gardening implementsagainst him, and had brought sworn testimony to prove that the stolenarticles had been found in his possession. But it so happened thatAlie had been aware for some time past that the real object of theyouth's affection was one of her own domestics, a comely enoughdamsel, employed in the house. The upshot of it all was that thecharge was dismissed; the old man had to listen to a short homily onjealousy; the young couple were married there and then, and given ahut in the township for their own use, while the old man was ordered,by way of compensation for the false accusation he had brought, toprovide them, that self-same day, with certain goods and chattelsnecessary to their housekeeping. As for the three false witnesses, whohad placed so small a value upon their reputations for veracity as toallow themselves to be suborned against an innocent man, their casewas somewhat harder; they were taken to the rear of the house, wherethey received ten strokes of the rod apiece, well laid on, as awarning to them against future dealings in unsound evidence.
This case finished, Alie made another sign to one of her men, whoinstantly disappeared. Then she settled herself in her chair, and Inoticed that a harder look came into her face.
"You have witnessed how I conduct one side of my court," she said."Now you shall see the other."
Again the tramp of feet was heard, and once more guards and prisonermade their appearance round the corner. To my surprise, the latter wasnone other than my old acquaintance Kwong Fung, the notorious Chinesepirate. But though he must have remembered me, his sullen, evil facebetrayed no sign of surprise. He only stood between his guardswatching my hostess and waiting for her to speak. Presently she didso, in Chinese, and once, only once, did he answer her. During theharangue I glanced at her face, and was amazed at the change in it.The old soft expression was completely gone, and in its place had comeone that, to tell the honest truth, even frightened _me_. Never beforeor since have I seen such a perfect exhibition of self-contained, butall-consuming, rage. Once more she spoke to the prisoner, who refusedto answer. She instantly addressed herself to the escort. The man incommand was in the act of replying when the prisoner, by some meanswhich I shall never be able to explain, raised his right arm beforehis guards could stop him. In the palm of his hand lay a knife,somewhat resembling a Malay krise, but with a shorter and straighterblade. With the swiftness of thought the hand seemed to drop back andinstantly resume its upright position. The impetus thus given sent theweapon flying along the verandah toward us, and if I had not thrown myleft arm before her, there could be no doubt that it would have founda scabbard in Alie's breast. As it was it stuck in the sleeve of mywhite jacket, passing through the fabric without even scratching theflesh. Unnerving as the incident was, the Beautiful White Devil didnot show the slightest sign of fear, but simply said "Thank you!" tome, and then resumed her instructions to the guard. Kwong Fung wasimmediately led away.
For some seconds after his departure neither of us spoke, then,noticing that her face was regaining its old expression, I tookcourage enough to inquire my enemy's fate.
"Death," she answered. "I have forgiven that man times out of number;I have helped him when he was in distress, and once I rescued him whenhe was within an ace of being executed. But since he has murdered oneof my bravest subjects in cold blood, and can
not respect the orders Ihave given, but must needs attempt the lives of those I have sworn toprotect, he must be prevented from doing any more harm by the safestmeans we can employ."
She was silent again for a few moments, then picking up the dagger,which had fallen on the floor, she looked me steadily in the face, andsaid:
"Dr. De Normanville, I owe you my life. If ever the opportunityarrives you will not find me ungrateful. It was a near escape, was itnot? I shall have to change my servants if they cannot see that theirprisoners are unarmed."
I was about to reply, but was interrupted by the arrival of a secondbatch of litigants, who were followed by a third. They were allnatives, for, as I discovered later, there was not one single instanceon record, in the history of the island, of the white populationhaving found it necessary to resort to law to settle theirdifferences. A more peaceable, happy, and law-abiding community couldnot be found. One thing was very noticeable in each of these cases,and that was the pacific reception of, and the resignation withwhich, the decisions of their ruler were received. She spoke to them,chided them, sympathised with them, and smoothed down their ruffledfeathers just as if they had in reality been what she had calledthem--her children. And as a result, in each case plaintiff anddefendant went off together, their differences settled and theirformer animosity quite forgotten. When the last case was concluded,Alie put on her large white hat, which throughout the legal businesshad been lying beside her, and we were in the act of setting out forthe village, accompanied by the dog, when an incident occurred whichwas fraught with as much interest to me, in my study of herextraordinary position and character, as anything else I had so farmet with during my stay in the island.
We were descending the long stone steps before described, when a youngand attractive native woman hove in sight, carrying in her arms abundle, which on her nearer approach proved to be a baby. Arriving atthe steps she halted and knelt at Alie's feet, kissing the hem of herdress, and at the same time saying something to her in the soft nativetongue I have so repeatedly admired.
When she had finished Alie turned to me and said:
"Doctor, this is your first case; and a sad one. Will you tell me ifyou can do anything for this poor creature's child?"
Turning to the woman I signed to her to let me look at the infant. Thepoor little thing was in the last stage of confluent small-pox, andpresented a sickening appearance.
"Is it a hopeless case?" Alie asked, with almost an entreat in hervoice, a note that had certainly not been there a quarter of an hourbefore, when she had sent Kwong Fung to his doom.
"Quite hopeless," I answered; "but I will endeavour to make death aspainless as possible. Will you tell the poor soul to bring the childto me in half an hour in the village?"
Alie translated my speech and must have given the mother someencouragement, for she fell at my feet, and in the deepest reverencekissed my boots. Then with an obeisance to my companion she passeddown a side path and disappeared among the trees.
Alie turned to me and said, with a deep sigh:
"Now, Dr. De Normanville, if you are ready we will set off on our tourof inspection."
I agreed, and accordingly we passed through the gate and went down thepath towards the settlement.