kris, the "Chinese Axe." I never felt the grip of poverty in those times, for my
supplies were ever at the tip of my dagger, and they were few who dared
withhold aught which I desired or coveted!'
'Did I ever tell thee, Tûan, the tale of how the gamblers of Klang yielded up the
money of their banks to me without resistance; or the turn of a dice box? No?
Ah, that was a pleasant tale, and a deed which was famous throughout Sĕlângor,
and gave me a very great name.
'It was in this wise. I was in a sorry case, for the boats had ceased to ply on the
river through fear of me, and my followers were few, so that I could not rush a
town or a Chinese kongsi house. As for the village people, they were as poor as
I, and, save for their women-folk, I never harassed them. Now, one day, my
wives and people came to me asking for rice, or for money wherewith to
purchase it, and I had nothing to give them, only one little dollar remaining to
me. It is very bad when the little ones want food, and my liver grew hot at the
thought. None of the woman-folk dared to say any word, when they saw that my
eyes waxed red; but the little children cried, and I heard them, and was sad.
Moreover, I, too, was hungry, for my belly was empty. Then I looked upon my
only dollar, and, calling one of my men, I bade him go to a Chinese store, and
buy me a bottle of the white man's perfume. Now, when one of my wives, the
mother of my son, heard this order she cried out in anger: "Art thou mad, Father
of Che’ Bûjang? Art thou mad, that thou throwest away thy last dollar on
perfumes for thy lights of love, while Che’ Bûjang and his brethren cry for rice?"
But I slapped her on the mouth, and said "Be still!"—for it is not well for a man
to suffer a woman to question the doings of men.
'That evening, when the night had fallen, I put on my fighting jacket, and my
Celebes drawers, and bound my kris, the "Chinese Axe," about my waist, and
took my sword, the "Rising Sun," in my hand. Three or four of my boys
followed at my back, and I did not forget to take with me the bottle of the white
man's perfume. I made straight for the great Klang gambling house, and when I
reached the door, I halted for the space of an eye-flick, and spilled the scent over
my hand and arm as far as the elbow. Then I rushed in among the gamblers,
suddenly and without warning, stepping like a fencer in the sword-dance and
crying "Amok! Amok!" till the coins danced upon the gaming tables. All the
gamblers stayed their hands from the staking, and some seized their dagger hilts.
Then I cried aloud three times, "I am Si-Hamid, the Tiger Unbound!"—for by
that name did men then call me—"Get ye to your dwellings speedily, and leave
your money where it is, or I will slay you!"