Page 258 - Malay sketches

MALAY SKETCHES

The interpreter disposed of, Pandak Indut cried
"
out, Here is Mr. Birch in the bath-house, come,
let us kill him," and, followed by three or four others
on to the
shouting amok, amok, they leapt floating
timbers and thrust their spears through the open
in the front of the house.
space
At that time men in the boats could see Mr.
Birch's head above the mat wall it disappeared
;
without any sound from him, and a moment after he
came to the surface of the water astern of the house.
Some of the murderers were already waiting there,
a man called slashed
and one of them, Siputum,
the Resident over the head with a sword. He sank
and was not seen again.
The Sikh orderly, standing with a revolver at the
<loor of the bath-house, jumped into the river with-
out any warning to his master, swam off to one of
the boats and saved himself.
The river-bank was now the scene of a general
melee. A Malay boatman and a Sikh had been
but the others had
killed, got one of the boats away
from the bank into midstream and towards it two
of Mr. Birch's Malays were swimming while they
supported the grievously wounded interpreter.
With difficulty they gained the boat and got the man
in. As they dropped down the river Mr. Birch's
242