Page 30 - Malay sketches

MALAY SKETCHES

home through the wealth of vegetation that clothes
the whole face of the She follows a narrow
country.
path up from the bed of the clear stream, the jungle
trees and orchards, the long rank grasses and tangled
almost the she
creepers hiding path. Suddenly
stops spellbound, her knees give way under her, the
vessels from her nerveless and a
drop hands, speech-
less fear turns her blood to water ; for there, in front
of her, is a great black and yellow head with cruel
yellow eyes, and a half-open mouth showing a red
and The shoulders and
tongue long white teeth.
fore feet of the tiger stand clear of the thick foliage,
and a hoarse low roar of surprise and anger comes
from the open mouth. An exceeding great fear
chains the terrified woman to the and the
spot,
thus and with more hoarse
tiger, faced, sulkily
grumbling, slowly draws back into the jungle and
disappears. Then the instinct of self-preservation
returns to the woman, and, with knees still weak
and a cold hand on her heart, she stumbles, with
what speed she may, back to the river, down the
bank, and to the friendly shelter of the nearest
dwelling.
It takes little time to tell the story, and the men
of the house, armed with spears and krises and an
old rusty gun, quickly spread the news throughout