The Canton Times

THAT BLESSED MOSQUITO

"Blame those mosquitoes!" I exclaimed aloud, in a burst of indignation; whereupon my guide and servant, Mat, a cheery and intelligent Malay, ejaculated a confirmatory "Tuan" (which means "master," but is frequently used as an affirmative in conversation by the Malays, as if he thought he ought to agree, although, as a son of the country, the exasperating little insects had not the power to persecute him as they did me.)

I had taken a few days' leave after some weeks of hard work, and had started on a journey of discovery across some unknown jungle country, hoping to bag some game en route and fetch up at a friend's bungalow, who was district officer in the state adjoining my own. We had trudged far, and had made a fair bag consisting of some snipe, wild pigeon, and jungle fowl. In traversing the paths through which at times we had been obliged to cut our way, we had seen tracks of deer and bigger game, but the undergrowth was too dense to follow them. And now we had spread our net curtains, intending to settle down to rest for the night. I was so tired that I should have slept, in spite of high temperature, but for the incursions of these worrying pests that had made their way by some stratagem under the frame of my netting—hence the expletive which had escaped me and called forth reiteration from my follower, Mat.

I have slumbered through a heavy thunderstorm and an earthquake, and even the frantic wails of a wakeful infant have failed to disturb me when once I was safely in the arms of Morpheus; but the ping of a persistent proboscis-formed monster has a peculiarly rousing effect upon my nerves, and insomnia reigns supreme.

After a short wrestle with the two invaders of my privacy and a vain attempt at slaughter, I sat up in a spirit of resignation and proceeded to fill and light my pipe, at the same time addressing space or my faithful Mat, if he happened to be wake.

"I have always been taught, from the years of my earliest childhood, that every creature on God's earth was created for some good and useful purpose. Will any human being tell me what's the use of a mosquito?"

To which remark I received an unexpected reply. Mat crawled from under his curtain and approached quite near where I lay; then squatting on his haunches, he said, solemnly, in his native tongue:

"I have heard that question before, Tuan (Master), and once I found the answer."

"Well, Mat, tell me. What's the good of them, then?"

"It's a long story, but I will tell Tuan if he likes to hear."

"Tell on. I'm all attention,"

And this is the tale that he told me.

I had often seen the heroine of it (his wife) passing to and fro across the back premises attached to my residence. She was a pretty young Malay woman, aged about 20 years, with a particularly bright and pleasing manner.

"Tuan knows my wife, Katijah; she was a widow when I married her. When we were quite small we lived in the same village near Malacca, and we played together, and I was very fond of her. Then we grew up, and I went to be a servant to a European, and her father married her when she was 14 to a rich man, who was a cattle dealer and had plenty of money. He was old, perhaps 40 years of age. 'Tijah could not care for him. He took her away to a place on the coast, where he lived with his brother and sister-in-law, and I did not see her again for many days and weeks. Her husband, Sleiman, used to go away very often to Singapore on business and every now and then came back home to Tijat, bringing the results of his sales with him.

"At last one day, when he had been absent for about three weeks, Tijah knew he would soon come again. Her heart was sad, for she always dreaded his coming, as she did not love him. He was old and ugly, very ugly. He had only one tooth which hung down over his under lip like a tusk, and which gave him a repulsive appearance. Tijah hated him. Well, she was sitting idly on the seashore, behind some rocks, looking over the sea and wishing she could get into the koleh (native boat) which lay moored close by, and row across the water to her old home where she had been so happy.

"Suddenly she heard steps, and became aware of voices conversing in an undertone on the other side of the rocks, which, projecting seaward, concealed her from view, and she recognized that the persons talking were her brother-in-law, Tong and his wife. She heard that the two were plotting to take away Sleiman's life. Tong said that he had news that his brother would come to-morrow, and that he would have about $200 with him. They would kill him, and conceal his body, but how to accomplish it without letting 'Tijah know? At the mention of her name, he betrayed her presence by a low cry. In a second the two were upon her asking her what she did there, and whether she had heard what they had said. Terrified of the wretches, she gasped out that she was sleeping and their voices startled her, but that she knew nothing of what they had been saying. Tong grasped her by the shoulders and told her if she was speaking the truth it was well for her; but if not, she had better keep her mouth shut, or he would b'lajar (a threat). Then they let her go.

"The next day Sleiman arrived and was greeted with effusion by his relatives. 'Tijah trembled and was silent. She dared not tell him of the danger he was in, but she made up her mind, if she could get the opportunity, to warn him to take care. Till late Sleiman sat outside talking to different neighbors who looked in, and 'Tijah crept away to her room, meaning to lie and watch until Sleiman joined her, but wearied with the alarm and anxiety of the previous night, she fell asleep.

"She awoke with a sudden sense of terror knocking at her heart. By the light of the moon which penetrated through a small window in the hut she saw Sleiman extended by her side; for a short space of time she heard nothing but the noise of his loud snores, when suddenly a sort of shuffling sound inside the room struck her as something strange. It seemed as though some animal was crawling along the floor, and as she looked with trembling expectancy toward the direction whence it came, the face of Tong slowly rose beside Sleiman from the other side of the low bed on which she lay. She held her breath, hardly daring to keep her eyes fixed on him lest the intensity of her gaze should draw Tong's attention to herself. A flash of something bright, a long-drawn groan, a short struggle, and then a pillow flung over the mouth which was still capable of crying out for help, and brawny muscular arms, pressing it firmly down till the convulsive heaving ceased, and all was still as death. 'Tijah closed her eyes with one deep shuddering sigh and fainted.

When she regained her senses, she feared to move or look at first, dreading what ghastly sight would meet her. She put out her hand and felt about cautiously. The dead form of Sleiman was still beside her; the pillow rested over the face: in the room no sound, but below a stealthy passing to and fro—Tong and his wife preparing to get rid of the body.

" 'Tijah paused, thinking what to do: then she rose slowly and crept outside. The door of the house was open, and Tong had evidently just gone out. She caught up a sarong (skirt) which lay near her on the floor, and flung it over her head; then, without a backward glance, she fled through the doorway and as fast as her terror-stricken limbs would carry her down to the seashore. It took no time to unfasten the koleh, and in a few moments she had grasped the paddle and had set out in her tiny boat to row over the miles of sea which lay between her and her parents' home in Malacca. It was a frail bark for safety; but she felt she could trust to it sooner than to those bloodthirsty creatures she had left behind. A long way she rowed, and the next day when the sun got up and scorched her, she pulled in her paddle and rolled herself in her sarong and lay down in the bottom of the boat and slept. She was aroused by the movement of her cockle shell. It was night; a breeze had sprung up and a squall was coming; white crests tipped the waves and a heavy bank of clouds obscured the starlight, and in a few moments a black pall of darkness enveloped her. The wind struck the fragile craft, whirling it wildly round, and before she could seize the paddle to try and steady it, the boat capsized, and she was flung into the angry sea. She struck out boldly and swam until her hands touched the upturned bark, to which she clung, endeavoring to right it. Poor girl! she knew not where she was, how far from shore, how long her strength would last, and whether there was any hope of succor.

At last the squall passed over and the water became comparatively calm, but the moon had not risen and she could see nothing. She began to get exhausted and felt that she could not hold on much longer and would sink and drown unless Tuan Allah took pity on her. She thought sadly that she was young to die, and prayed for help. A small thing as light as a feather touched her cheek—a mosquito, sent to save her life. When she heard the sound which Tuan cursed just now she knew that land must be quite near, for a mosquito never flies out to sea. She let go her anchorage, and, making one more effort, swam bravely on, and very soon her feet touched the beach.

"Meanwhile those cruel murderers had finished their work, and before daylight dawned had got rid of every trace of their ill doing. The neighbors inquired what had become of Sleiman and why he had come and gone so suddenly.

" 'Oh,' said Tong, 'he left hurriedly; he took 'Tijah with him and went away in the koleh at daybreak to catch a steamer which would pass there going to Singapore.'

"The village people thought it strange and shrugged their shoulders for a little, then forgot it. But 'Tijah told the tale to the authorities in Malacca and the police came over and searched there many days, but could find nothing—only it was thought suspicious that the cattle dealer should have completely disappeared, and that Tong and his wife should have so much more money.

" 'Ah,' they said, ''Tijah hated us. She lies in what she says. She has got rid of her husband somehow, and meant to steal his money.'

"It was a very mysterious affair, and no one could make out the truth; but when the police had given up all search, finding they could prove nothing, quite unexpectedly the murder was found out. A man of the village went into the jungle to cut wood, and at midday he walked down to the creek to wash after his food. Coming back through the swampy mangrove near the river he noticed a very great swarm of flies! They were like a cloud, they were so thick. 'What have we here?' he thought; 'some dead animal, perhaps,' and went to see. Sunk in the mud where the river washed over it at high tide he found a barrel, from which proceeded a very nauseous smell. His curiosity was aroused, so he put in his hand; feeling something hard, he drew it out. It was a skull, the skull of a man, and projecting from the upper jaw was a long tooth, like a tusk. 'Aha!' he cried; 'Sleiman!' He went and told the police, and they came and took the cask, and the murder was proved, because the clothes and the tooth were those of Sleiman. So Tong was hanged, and his wife is in prison now in China jail in Singapore. She will never come out till she dies.

"And 'Tijah is my wife, and I love her and she loves me, and we are very happy. She is grateful to the mosquito."

My pipe was finished and I knocked out the ashes.

"Thank you for your story Mat, which proves once more the old adage, 'Murder will out.' I feel a special interest in Katijah since you have told me her romantic history. And now perhaps those blessed mosquitoes will let me have some sleep. Anyhow, I'll try, and you had better do so, too."

And as we turned in Mat murmured once more: "Tuan."—St. Paul's.