write, the then To' Raja of Jelai was an aged
man, cursed by the possession of many sons, arrogant folk, who loved
war. The eldest, the most arrogant, the most warlike, the most
ambitious, and the most evil of these, was Wan Bong. He, the people of
the Jelai called Che' Aki, which means 'Sir Father,' because he was the
heir of their Dato', or Chief, which word in the vernacular literally
means a grandfather. He was a man of about thirty-five years of age, of
a handsome presence, and an aristocratic bearing. He wore his fine black
hair long, so that it hung about his waist, and he dressed with the
profusion of coloured silks, and went armed with the priceless weapons,
that are only to be seen in perfection on the person of a Malay prince.
Into the mind of this man there entered, on a certain day, an idea at
once daring and original. Ever since the death of Bendahara Ali, nearly
a decade earlier, Pahang had been racked by war and rumours of war, and,
wherever men congregated, tales were told of the brave deeds done by the
rival _Rajas_, each of whom was seeking to win the throne for himself
and for his posterity. It was the memory of these things that probably
suggested his project to Wan Bong. Che' Wan Ahmad had fled the country
after his last defeat, and Bendahare Korish, with his sons Che' Wan
Ahman, and Che' Wan Da, ruled at Pekan. To none of the latter did Wan
Bong cherish any feeling but hatred, and it occurred to him that now,
while they were still suffering from the effects of their fierce
struggle with Che' Wan Ahmad, it would be possible, by a bold stroke,
to upset their dynasty, and to secure the broad valleys of Pahang as an
inheritance for his father, To' Raja, for himself, and for their heirs
for ever.

Every man in Pahang was, at that time, a soldier; and the people of
Jelai and Lipis were among the most warlike of the inhabitants of the
country. All the people of the interior followed Wan Bong like sheep,
and he speedily found himself at the head of a following of many
thousands of men. For a noble to rise up against his sovereign, with the
object of placing his own family upon the throne, was an altogether
unheard of thing among the natives of the Peninsula; but the very
originality of Wan Bong's plan served to impress the people with the
probability of its success. The _Rajas_ at Pekan were very far away,
while Wan Bong, with unlimited power in his hands, was at their very
doors. Therefore the natives o