in, and they paid the money to him, and that
night they slept peacefully, for they knew that their enemy could harm
them no more, and that they had been delivered from the great danger
which had been threatening them. Before they slept the _amat_ sent a
swift messenger to the city to tell the king the good news that the
robber chief was dead, and that they were bearing his head with them and
would present it before the Golden Foot the next morning.

Next day, therefore, at the head of his men, he marched to the Golden
Palace, and the people of the city were so full of joy over the fact
that Boh Lek Byah was dead, that great numbers followed the procession
to the palace gates in the hopes of getting a glimpse at the head of
their enemy, and everybody praised the Amat Loeng for his bravery and
wisdom in killing the robber chief who had oppressed them so sorely. His
wife also called musicians and dancers, and gave orders to her servants
to prepare a great feast that night in honor of her brave husband. They
reached the Golden Foot and knelt before the throne, but when the basket
was opened, behold, it contained the head of another man, and not that
of the _boh_ at all.

Then did all the people in the city laugh at the _amat_ because his
enemy had deceived him, and he fell from his rank of chief _amat_. All
his golden umbrellas were taken away from him and given to his
successor, and he was obliged to earn his living by selling medicines in
bazaar, and from that day till he died he bore the nickname of Amat Toak
Arah;[6] but the people all praised the cleverness of his enemy, the
thief.

Now, when the king saw how cunning Boh Lek Byah was and how easily he
had deceived his servant, he determined that he himself would take the
robber chief and thus gain great credit and renown. To this end he gave
orders to the headman of every village throughout his kingdom that
directly the robber should come within his jurisdiction he was to report
immediately, and the king would send a trusty officer to arrest him. He
did not tell them that he himself would go, therefore for a long time
the headmen feared to obey the order of the king for, said they among
themselves: "The _boh_ deceived the Amat Loeng, who was one of the most
cunning of men, and will he not escape from any other whom it should
please our lord the king to send against him? Is there any more cunning
man in the palace now than before? When he finds out also that we have