wn again directly. Those
men who were standing stirred uneasily as if prodded by the sound of
the chief's voice. The one nearest to Lakamba repeated the call, after
a while, over the rail into the courtyard. There was a movement
of upturned faces below by the fires, and the cry trailed over the
enclosure in sing-song tones. The thumping of wooden pestles husking
the evening rice stopped for a moment and Babalatchi's name rang
afresh shrilly on women's lips in various keys. A voice far off shouted
something--another, nearer, repeated it; there was a short hubbub which
died out with extreme suddenness. The first crier turned to Lakamba,
saying indolently--

"He is with the blind Omar."

Lakamba's lips moved inaudibly. The man who had just spoken was again
deeply absorbed in the game going on at his feet; and the chief--as if
he had forgotten all about it already--sat with a stolid face amongst
his silent followers, leaning back squarely in his chair, his hands on
the arms of his seat, his knees apart, his big blood-shot eyes blinking
solemnly, as if dazzled by the noble vacuity of his thoughts.

Babalatchi had gone to see old Omar late in the afternoon. The delicate
manipulation of the ancient pirate's susceptibilities, the skilful
management of Aissa's violent impulses engrossed him to the exclusion
of every other business--interfered with his regular attendance upon his
chief and protector--even disturbed his sleep for the last three nights.
That day when he left his own bamboo hut--which stood amongst others in
Lakamba's campong--his heart was heavy with anxiety and with doubt as
to the success of his intrigue. He walked slowly, with his usual air of
detachment from his surroundings, as if unaware that many sleepy eyes
watched from all parts of the courtyard his progress towards a small
gate at its upper end. That gate gave access to a separate enclosure
in which a rather large house, built of planks, had been prepared by
Lakamba's orders for the reception of Omar and Aissa. It was a superior
kind of habitation which Lakamba intended for the dwelling of his chief
adviser--whose abilities were worth that honour, he thought. But after
the consultation in the deserted clearing--when Babalatchi had disclosed
his plan--they both had agreed that the new house should be used at
first to shelter Omar and Aissa after they had been persuaded to leave
the Rajah's place, or had been kidnapped from there--as the case might
be. B