COMMENCE TO BLOCKADE QUEDAH FORT. 35

CHAP. III.

Commence to blockade Quedah Fort.

Jadee's imaginary

Fight with a Tonkoo.- My Malay Coxswain's Appearance. — His Attire and Character.— Jadee's piratical Propensities. -Escapes Imprisonment by hanging a Man.-Quedah Fort and Town.-The Appearance of the adjacent Country. — A wet Night.-My Crew.-Jadee's Want of Bigotry. Primitive Mode of eating.

THE pinnace, with the "Pearl" and "Emerald,” soon reached the shallow bar which lies across the Quedah river, a feature common to every river on this side of the Malayan peninsula, and doubtless occasioned by the action of the south-west monsoon against the natural course of the rivers, causing the sediment to be deposited at their entrances instead of being carried out into the deeper parts of the sea. The fort of Quedah hoisted its colours, and armed men showed themselves along the battlements; but we merely placed ourselves in line across the entrance of the river, out of gunshot, and anchored to commence the blockade. The north-east monsoon, which is the fine weather season of this coast, had scarcely set in

36

JADEE'S IMAGINARY FIGHT

yet, and flying showers, with occasional squalls, promised a wet and cheerless night. Rain-awnings were spread at once, and after every preparation had been made for a sudden action with war-prahus, I sat down with Jamboo, and my serang, Jadee, to glean information and pick up Malay. To my inquiry, through the interpreter, as to the opinion Jadee held of the line of conduct likely to be pursued by the occupants of Quedah, he assured me that the Malays would never voluntarily fight the "white men, Orangputihs," as we, of all Europeans, are styled par excellence. It was quite possible, if we were very careless, that they would try and capture Englishmen as hostages for their own safety; and that, by way of inspiriting his men, a Malay chief might, if he found one of the gun-boats alone, which was manned by Malays, fight her in the hopes of an easier capture than they would find in the pinnace. The very prospect of such a piece of good fortune seemed to arouse all Jadee's recollections of by-gone forays and skirmishes; for no sooner had Jamboo told him that I only hoped Tonkoo Mahomet Said might take it into his head to try the experiment upon the "Emerald," or "Numero Tega," as she was called

* "Tega" is Malay for "Three;" the Malays preferred calling the vessel by her number, instead of by her name of "Emerald."

by Jadee, than my serang sprang to his legs, and shouted, quivering with passion, for Campar! Campar soon came: Campar being a swarthy giant, who did the double duty of armourer and carpenter.

In reply to some order, he dived below, and brought up a thick quilted red vest, without arms, which the excited Jadee donned at once, girded up his lens, gave his head-dress a still more ferocious cock, and then baring his arms, with a long Illanoon creese in one hand and a short "badi," or stabbing knife, in the other, he enacted a savage pantomime of a supposed mortal fight between himself and Mahomet Said, in which he evidently conquered the Tonkoo; and finished off, after calling him, his mother, sisters, and female relations, all sorts of unseemly names, by launching at him, in a voice of thunder, his whole stock of English: "Ah! you d-d poul! come alongside!" Poul, or fool, being supposed to be something with which the white men emphatically cursed their enemies.

Amused beyond measure, though somewhat differently to my crew, who, holding Jadee in the greatest awe, crowded aft and looked on, firmly believing that Tonkoo Mahomet Said would be so treated, should his enterprise lead him to combat the noted Jadee, I quietly told him that I only trusted

38

MY MALAY COXSWAIN.

he would do as well if the real fight ever came off, and meantime would dispense with such a performance, especially as the row he made had caused "Numero Tega" to be hailed from the pinnace to know if anything was amiss. This piece of advice Jadee took in such good part, that he constantly rehearsed the pantomime for my amusement whenever he saw me low-spirited, or in want of occupation.

Jadee informed us that his cognomen amongst the people of Singapore, and white men generally, was Jack Ketch; a nickname he pronounced so clippingly that it sounded not unlike his real one: and from Jambo I heard the following history of my redoubted serang; but, previous to repeating it, let me introduce the hero.

Jadee stood about five feet seven inches in height; his colour was of a light brown. His broad shoulders, small waist, and fine hips, with well-formed arms and legs covered with muscles in strong relief, denoted great strength and activity. His delicate yet far from effeminate hands and feet were but little reconcilable to an Englishman's ideas with a man who had lived from the cradle by the sweat of his brow. A square well-formed head, well placed on a strong nervous neck, completed the man. The countenance, although that of a pure Malay, had nothing so re

HIS ATTIRE AND CHARACTER.

39

pulsive about it as people generally suppose; the cheek-bones were high, and the face somewhat square, but his eyes were good and expressive, without being either deep set or with bloodshot eyeballs, as the regular "property Malays" of novel-writers usually are represented: a good nose and forehead, with a massive but beardless chin, gave much character to the face of Jadee, and his short black hair, brushed up on end, with a sort of rollicking laughing air about the man, required nothing to fill up the picture of a Malayan buccaneer. Jadee was a beau withal. Round his waist, and falling to the knees like a Highland kilt, he wore a circular piece of cotton plaid, of a small blue and white pattern; stiff with starch, it stuck out, and half hid in its folds his handsome creese, a weapon never from a Malay's side. Over one shoulder and across to the opposite hip, hung in an easy jaunty manner another sarong of brighter hues, generally red and yellow tartan; it served as a covering to the upper part of the body when necessary, or, wrapped round the arm, acted as a shield in a skirmish. An ordinary red cotton handkerchief served as a head-dress, great coquetry being shown in the mode of wearing it. It was in the first place starched until almost as stiff as pasteboard, then folded across; two ends were tied on one side of the