Page 86 - Malay sketches

MALAY SKETCHES

and Kasim Ktchil that is Kasim Major and Kasim
Minor.
Kasim Major was a quiet, reserved, silent man of
about twenty-five, and I afterwards realised that
he had a somewhat violent temper when roused.
Kasim Minor, on the contrary, was a smiling,
talkative, happy, and pleasant-looking young fellow
of about twenty. They were not related to each
other in any way.
I used often to be away on the coast and up
and on return from one of these
river, my expedi-
tions I noticed the men teasing Kasim Minor, and
saw at once that he was Idtah. I questioned the
inspector, and he told me that during my absence
he had one day been away on duty for some hours,
and when he he saw Kasim
returned, about 4 P.M.,
Minor up a coco-nut tree just outside the stockade.
On asking him what he was doing there, he replied
he could not come down because there was a snake
at the bottom of the tree. In reality there was a
bit of rattan tied round the tree, and, this being
removed, Kasim came down.
Now, it is no easy matter to climb a coco-nut
tree ; it requires a special training to do it at all,
and Kasim did not possess it. But the inspector
ascertained that the other police had found out by
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