.M 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 ^
 
 SIXTY YEARS' LIFE AND ADVENTURE 
 IN THE FAR EAST
 
 
 'Jkt^natu.
 
 Sixty Years: 
 
 Life and Adventure 
 in the Far East - - 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN DILL ROSS 
 
 With 25 Illustrations 
 inaluding 3 Photogravure Plates and a Map 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO. 
 
 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. 
 1911
 
 1>S 
 
 TO MY WIFE 
 
 14577S4
 
 PREFACE 
 
 It was my fate to remain perforce in Odessa during a perilous 
 and miserable period, when the Port was a sea of flame and 
 the scene of massacre and terror. Later, strikes on the rail- 
 ways, in the post and telegraph services, and among the sailors 
 and engineers of the steamship companies, accompanied by 
 continued disorders, paralysed the trade of Southern Russia, 
 I had practically nothing to do and found my enforced idleness 
 weigh heavily on me. 
 
 During this crisis my thoughts constantly reverted to my 
 long and singularly adventurous career in the lands and seas 
 of the Far East. I remembered those of my family who had 
 preceded me in distant regions, and I finally set to work to write 
 the story of men and things now vanished, and of a society of 
 which no description yet exists. I beheve that I must be one 
 of the few men now living who possess the material necessary 
 to construct such a record as will be found in these volumes. 
 
 John Dill Ross. 
 Odessa, March 16/29^^, 1911. 
 
 IX
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Introduction — The British in Borneo. 
 
 Arrival of James Brooke in Borneo — Espouses Muda Hassim's 
 
 cause — Becomes Rajah of Sarawak — Massacre at Brunei — Borneo 
 
 pirates — Rajah Brooke knighted by Queen Victoria — His struggles 
 
 and persecutions — His beneficial rule of Sarawak . . 1-15 
 
 Chapter I. — Captain Northwood. 
 
 Captain Northwood's early career — Sails for Melbourne with his 
 
 wife and child — Voyage to Singapore. Becomes the pioneer of 
 
 British commerce with Borneo — The Royal pirate — Desperate 
 
 combat with pirates ....... 16-33 
 
 Chapter II. — Labuan in the Olden Days. 
 Success of the Don Pedro — Sir John Pope-Hennessy at Labuan 
 — Northwood and the coal trade — His diplomatic feat . 34-46 
 
 Chapter III. — Singapore in the Olden Days. 
 A miraculous voyage — Johnnie Northwood's birth and early life 
 — The ambitious Parsee — Mutiny on board the Samson — Young 
 Northwood sails for England ..... 47-59 
 
 Chapter IV. — Captain Northwood makes a Voyage to Saigon. 
 
 Captain Northwood deceived by Captain Blewitt — The Blewitt 
 
 system — Sale of the Don Pedro ..... 60-64 
 
 Chapter V. — Northwood, junior, becomes " Something in the 
 
 City." 
 Johnnie Northwood's education — His start in hfe — His adventures 
 at a tea-broker's — Goes into the counting-house — His happy home- 
 life — Return of Captain Northwood — Johnnie and his father 65-73 
 
 xi
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter VI. — Singapore in Bayswater. 
 The Northwoods take rooms in Bayswater — Seeing the sights — 
 Young Northwood enters the firm of Brownlow and Co. — The fare- 
 well dinner-party — Johnnie's impressions . . . 74-88 
 
 Chapter VII. — En route for Singapore. 
 Sight-seeing in France — Johnnie Northwood makes a new friend 
 on the voyage to Aden — His serious illness — The arrival at Singapore 
 
 89-93 
 
 Chapter VIII. — The Commencement of a Career, 
 Convalescence at Greenbanks — 'John Grinston and the North- 
 woods — The Attorney-General and the red ants — 'On board the 
 Alastor — Young Northwood's ambitions — His first day with 
 Brownlow and Co. — His physical education . . . 94-1 11 
 
 Chapter IX. — A " Faux-pas " and its Consequences. 
 Northwood's differences with the Eurasian clerks — His flirtation 
 at the wedding-party — His hasty proposal to a Eurasian girl and 
 its consequences — His failure as a salesman — His dismissal — Em- 
 ployed by Mr. Finlay in the chartering department . . 112-132 
 
 Chapter X. — Woodleigh. 
 Sir Henry and Lady Neville leave for England — The Northwoods 
 settle at Woodleigh — Society at Woodleigh — Hunting monkeys 
 
 133-145 
 
 Chapter XL — Ayer Manis, 
 Captain Northwood buys a new estate — Entertaining at Ayer 
 Manis — Its romantic surroundings .... 146-150 
 
 Chapter XII. — Johnny Northwood starts Business on His 
 Own Account. 
 Northwood's dismal prospects at Brownlow's — His first cheque- 
 book — Captain Shelby's proposal — Northwood starts in business 
 for himself — Captain Hardy's warning — The Northwoods' increased 
 trade — Northwood goes to France and England — His return 
 
 home 151-167 
 
 xii
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter XIII. — About Politics in Borneo. 
 The Sultan of Brunei — Baron Overbeck's schemes — Northwood's 
 unfortunate poUtical letter — The Chartered Company of British 
 North Borneo ........ 168-175 
 
 Chapter XIV. — Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition. 
 
 Washington Clarke's defection — Captain Northwood's new plan 
 of campaign — Northwood goes to Labuan — The Northwoods' 
 rivals — Northwood and Government officials sail for Kudat — 
 Hospitality on the Alastor — On short commons — Arrival at Ternate 
 — Northwood discusses business with Ternate agent, Van Papen- 
 drecht — -Sale of the Fairy Queen — Captain Hardy's auction sale — • 
 Feminine society — The averted Shelby scandal — Captain Shelby's 
 greed — -The deserters — The Papuans — Hunting birds — The King of 
 Waigiou — A terrible storm — Captain Bird's wonderful navigation 
 — Northwood attacked with fever — Ternate in eruption — Coralie 
 Van SwoU's terrible death — Home at Singapore . . 176-275 
 
 Chapter XV. — The Firm of Northwood and Son. 
 Northwood's recovery from fever — Captain Bird resigns — Cap- 
 tain Northwood enters into partnership with his son . 276-278 
 
 Chapter XVI. — A little " Corner " in Sago-Flour. 
 Lewis Wallis's scheme — 'Its success — •Handsome profits 279-284 
 
 Chapter XVII. — The Dewakan Reef. 
 Captain Fletcher takes command of the yi /as^or— Disastrous effects 
 of the earthquake — The new steamer — Captain Hardy's defeat 
 — 'Affairs at Amboina — The possibiUties of whaUng — Northwood 
 and Shelby in partnership — -The Dutch family — On the Dewakan 
 reef — Hope deferred — Trouble with the natives — 'Safe at Singa- 
 pore .......... 285-309 
 
 Chapter XVIII. — A Tug of War. 
 Captain Northwood's approval — Captain Fletcher resigns — 
 Captain Lewis offered command of the A lastor — -New rivals — Captain 
 Hardy's death — Downfall of Fletcher and Bird . . 310-323 
 
 Chapter XIX. — -Of the News which awaited John Dillon 
 Northwood on his Arrival at Singapore. 
 A disastrous fire — A financial failure — The stabihty of North- 
 wood and Son — The corner in sago-flour . . . 324-337 
 
 xiu
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter XX. — Society Doings. 
 Mrs. North wood entertains — Feminine spite — Governor of 
 Labuan stays with the Northwoods — Mrs. Valberg's dinner-party 
 — Fancy dress ball at Singapore ..... 328-339 
 
 Chapter XXI. — The Turn of the Tide. 
 Burning of the Ceylon and her cargo — -Loss of the A Imaheira — More 
 financial troubles ....... 340-350 
 
 Chapter XXII. — The Crisis. 
 The Moluccas trade — Last dinner-party at Woodleigh — 
 An unpleasant note — Scarcity of money — The Armenian's 
 treachery ........ 351-364 
 
 XIV
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 John Dill Ross (photogravure) . . . Frontispiece 
 Singapore in 1865 ..... Facing page 22 
 
 River and Town of Singapore in 1865 . ,, ,, 48 
 
 The Captain (photogravure) . . . . „ ,, 72 
 
 Views of Sulu ......,,,, 160 
 
 Brunei .......,,,, 168 
 
 The Chartered Company's Mounted Police ,, ,, 174 
 A View of Labuan . . . . . ,, ,, 180 
 
 A North Borneo Tobacco Plantation . ,, ,, 186 
 A Typical Scene in Borneo . . • „ „ 192 
 
 MAP 
 Malay, or East Indian Archipelago with 
 Burma and Siam .... 
 
 XVI 
 
 XV
 
 *1alay, or 
 
 HAN Archipelago 
 
 r^^/^RMA & SIAM 
 
 NORTH 
 
 ' P A C I F I C 
 
 OCEAN
 
 CHINA 
 
 J§1 . Malay, or 
 
 m^U East Indi/\n Archipelago 
 
 ■^ Si with 
 
 BURMA & SIAM 
 
 NORTH 
 ft'^;^^ ^ P A C I F I C 
 
 d 
 
 'sulij. ^ <^^^ I OCEAN 
 
 <C\ Z^?''"^ ARAFURA SE>
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure 
 In the Far East 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 THE BRITISH IN BORNEO 
 
 THE romance of British history in Borneo commences 
 with the arrival of James Brooke, on board of his 
 armed yacht the Royalist, in the Sarawak River, 
 in the month of August, 1839. 
 
 The country at that time was in a terribly disturbed 
 and anarchical condition. The Sultan of Brunei had en- 
 trusted the government of Sarawak to Pangeran Makota, 
 a tj^e of native chief only too common then as now. The 
 cruelties and exactions of this man ended by driving the 
 people of Sarawak into open revolt. The rebellion was 
 secretly nursed by the Sultan of Sambas from across the 
 border, and also by the Dutch, who had the Sultan under 
 their thumb. 
 
 Had it not been for the arrival of James Brooke at this 
 critical moment we should not now possess a single square 
 foot of territory in Borneo. The whole of this magnificent 
 island would have been under the Dutch flag. 
 
 Omar Ali, Sultan of Brunei, sent his uncle, the Rajah 
 Muda Hassim, to crush the insurrection. The Rajah 
 was altogether of a different type from the hideous 
 Pangeran Makota, but he possessed neither the deter- 
 mination of the latter nor his ability to deal with a position 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 of extreme danger and difficulty, and his affairs were in 
 a very bad way when the Royalist anchored off his palace. 
 
 The Rajah was an essentially humane man, and, at any 
 rate, he had sufficient intelligence to recognize that in James 
 Brooke he had found the one man living who could save 
 him and his country. 
 
 Rarely indeed have gifts of the highest and noblest 
 order been so concentrated in any one man as in the person 
 of James Brooke. 
 
 From the day that Brooke espoused the cause of Muda 
 Hassim his troubles commenced — ^troubles which flew 
 upon him thick and fast, and never ceased until the day 
 of his death in a remote Devonshire village. 
 
 Brooke's first task was to subdue the rebellion, and none 
 but those who have had to deal with native chiefs and 
 their followers can conceive what a heart-breaking business 
 it was. He had to consider Malays, Dyaks, Arabs, and a 
 strong Chinese element, together with their diverse methods 
 of thought and action. All the chiefs whom he commanded 
 were lazy and inconsequent, while many of them were 
 cowardly and treacherous. 
 
 Brooke endeavoured to capture the enemy's principal 
 position at Balidah, but although the guns landed from 
 the Royalist were splendidly served by his crew and prac- 
 tically wrecked the fort, nothing could induce Muda 
 Hassim's forces to attack a place already tottering to its 
 fall. Brooke was so disgusted with the cowardice of the 
 Rajah's people, that he threatened to leave Sarawak 
 altogether and abandon the country to its fate. The 
 Rajah persuaded him to remain, and for the first time 
 suggested that James Brooke should take over the govern- 
 ment of the country. This offer was dechned, but Brooke 
 consented once more to lead the Rajah's forces, and assault 
 Balidah. 
 
 Let us imagine a sultry, steaming day, a muddy river 
 winding its course through a dense Bornean forest, \vith 
 clearings here and there, in which were erected the forts 
 
 2
 
 The British in Borneo 
 
 and stockades of the contending forces. Brooke's men 
 from the Royalist had dragged their six-pounders over 
 a difficult country, so as to command the enemy's main 
 position at BaUdah. Once more the roar of the British 
 guns was heard, as they cut up the rebel works with great 
 effect. 
 
 Meanwhile numerous bodies of Muda Hassim's troops 
 were silently creeping through the jungle paths, all con- 
 verging on Balidah. They had reached the very verge of 
 the forest unsuspected by the garrison, and a short rush 
 across the open was all that was necessar}- to secure the 
 victory and deal the enemy a shattering blow. At this 
 precise moment one of the Rajah's chiefs started shouting 
 his prayers at the top of his voice — a treacherous trick, 
 which succeeded in its intention of warning the enemy. 
 The rebels opened a spattering lire, which killed one solitary 
 man of the attacking force. The latter thereupon made 
 a general bolt for the depths of the jungle, and all was over. 
 Brooke was furious, but the whole affair was t^'pical of 
 fighting in Borneo. 
 
 The rebels were encouraged by the failure of the operations 
 against their stronghold to take the offensive. They 
 assaulted the Rajah's positions at Sekundis, and were 
 carrying everything before them, when Brooke appeared 
 upon the scene with a force consisting of twelve English- 
 men and two natives, and not only stopped their victorious 
 advance, but converted it into a rout. The panic-stricken 
 rebels fled in all directions, abandoning their weapons as 
 they ran. 
 
 The Rajah's army exhibited the greatest keenness in 
 pursuing the beaten enemy and, hunting down the flying 
 insurgents into the river, slaughtered them remorselessly. 
 
 Shortly afterwards Balidah surrendered without another 
 shot being fired against it, and from that moment the 
 civil war was practically at an end. 
 
 In September, 1841, Rajah Muda Hassim again pro- 
 posed to Brooke that he should become the Rajah ol 
 VOL. I. . 3 I*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Sarawak. This time Brooke accepted the offer in the 
 interests of the country. 
 
 In due course the Sultan confirmed the arrangement 
 made between Muda Hassim and James Brooke, who thus 
 became Rajah Brooke of Sarawak. 
 
 The princes of Borneo, as will be seen in subsequent 
 pages, have more than once offered the government of 
 vast territories to other Europeans who enjoyed their 
 confidence. Even such a humble personage as the man 
 who is now writing this book has had his chance of becoming 
 a reigning rajah. Many years ago the Sultan of Brunei 
 proposed to him that he should become the Rajah of 
 Palawan. This brilliant offer was coupled with certain 
 conditions of a mercantile and somewhat sordid order. 
 It is not given to every Briton, however, to wear the mantle 
 of the first Rajah Brooke. There seemed to be various 
 acute and imminent dangers connected with the sovereignty 
 of Palawan, such as the slitting of a certain throat, or some 
 equally painful end to a brief and troubled existence, 
 however elevated, which caused the Sultan's proposal to 
 be rejected with considerable enthusiasm. 
 
 As soon as Rajah Brooke had taken over the govern- 
 ment of Sarawak, Rajah Muda Hassim sailed for Brunei, 
 with an endless retinue of wives, officials, retainers, and 
 hangers-on of every kind. The Rajah was received with 
 great honours at the Court, and appointed Prime Minister 
 to the Sultan Omar Ali. 
 
 At about this period, the Sultan offered to cede the Island 
 of Labuan to Great Britain, and the beautiful harbour 
 and valuable coal-mines of this new possession induced 
 our Government to close with the offer. 
 
 Rajah Muda Hassim's authority and influence at the 
 Court of Brunei increased until the envy of his enemies 
 was excited. They had small difficulty in persuading 
 the weak and cruel Sultan that the Rajah was plotting 
 his deposition. In 1846 the tyrant ordered the destruction 
 of Muda Hassim and his entire family. Late one night, 
 
 4
 
 The British in Borneo 
 
 after a magnificent banquet offered by the Sultan to the 
 Rajah and his relatives, the latter were allowed to retire 
 to their homes. A few minutes later the Sultan gave 
 the signal for the massacre to commence, and it was im- 
 mediately carried out with the most horrid ferocity. The 
 houses of the Rajah and his dependents were fired, and as 
 the doomed people rushed out to save themselves from 
 the flames, they were butchered, man, woman, and child. 
 The unhappy Muda Hassim shot himself rather than fall 
 into the hands of the assassins. The gallant Pangeran 
 Budruddin, the Rajah's brother, after being desperately 
 wounded, fired a barrel of gunpowder, and blew himself 
 to pieces, together with two of his women who asked to 
 share his death. Several other Brunei nobles of the royal 
 blood were murdered during that night of horror. 
 
 The dawn of day revealed the sickening sight of a bloody 
 shambles amidst smoking ruins. The Rajah Muda Hassim, 
 his wives and children, relatives, friends and dependents 
 were all destroyed to the very last soul. 
 
 In 1843 Captain Keppel arrived at Kuching in H.M.S. 
 Dido, the first British man-of-war to visit Sarawak, an 
 event which opened up a new era for Rajah Brooke and 
 his country. Keppel was anxious to assist Brooke in 
 suppressing the pirates who laid waste the coasts and 
 rivers of Borneo and were the curse and scourge of the 
 whole country. 
 
 This was a very difficult and dangerous adventure. 
 The powerful Arab slave-dealers were wealthy and well 
 organized. The Sekarang Dyaks are a fighting race. 
 But under such leaders as Keppel and Brooke all obstacles 
 were overcome. Their British sailors found it to be terribly 
 toilsome to drag their heavy boats, under a burning sun, 
 up rivers obstructed by rafts and trunks of trees, while 
 the jungle simply swarmed with their savage foes ; but 
 nothing could daunt the cheery courage of these fine 
 fellows, who inspired their native allies with unbounded 
 confidence.
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 The expedition led by Keppel and Brooke made short 
 work of the fortifications up the Batang Lupar river. The 
 forts were rushed and captured after severe fighting. 
 The pirates suffered heavily in killed and wounded. They 
 lost no less than sixty-five brass guns, besides a number of 
 iron cannons found in and about the forts. The head- 
 quarters of five thousand pirates were burned to the ground. 
 It was a severe blow to a formidable enemy. 
 
 Proceeding up the Batang Lupar, the expedition was 
 beset by all sorts of difficulties and dangers. Heavy rains 
 added to the depressing surroundings of the attacking 
 force, and then came another battle. The aspects of 
 fighting Borneo pirates in their own rivers are best described 
 by Keppel himself. 
 
 " It is difficult to describe the scene as I found it," he 
 says. " About twenty boats were jammed together, 
 forming one confused mass, some bottom up, the bows 
 and sterns of others only visible, mixed up pell-meU with 
 huge rafts — and amongst which were nearly all our ad- 
 vanced division. Headless trunks, as well as heads without 
 bodies, were lying about ; parties hand-to-hand spearing 
 and stabbing one another, others striving to swim for their 
 lives ; and entangled in the common melee were our ad- 
 vanced boats, while on both banks thousands of Dyaks 
 were rushing down to join in the slaughter, hurling stones 
 and spears on the boats below." 
 
 Truly a stirring picture ! 
 
 The operations of Keppel and Brooke in the Batang 
 Lupar region were brought to a successful conclusion. 
 The once powerful and ruffianly Arab slave-traders were 
 either killed or fled across the border, broken men, without 
 a single follower. The blow dealt to a very powerful 
 confederation of the worst pirates in Borneo was terrible, 
 and their extermination was of untold benefit to the people 
 and the country at large. The ravages of the pirates 
 were ruining Borneo, while their wanton cruelty is beyond 
 description. 
 
 6
 
 The British in Borneo 
 
 Take, for instance, the case of Captain James Ross, the 
 owner of the British barque Regina, captured by Borneo 
 pirates. The unhappy man was suspected of having a 
 large sum in dollars on board. This was not the case, 
 however, as he had invested his money in rattans, rubber, 
 and other produce of no particular use to the pirates. 
 In order to make Captain Ross confess where his non- 
 existent treasure was hidden, the pirates commenced by 
 lashing his son, a bright young lad, to one of the ship's 
 anchors, which was then flung overboard. This being of 
 no effect, they tortured James Ross for hours. They cut 
 his fingers off, joint by joint, at long intervals, and 
 inflicted other mutilations on him. He was finally left 
 a bleeding but breathing mass on his quarter-deck, when 
 the pirates, after killing his officers and taking the native 
 crew for slaves, set the ship on fire and left it. 
 
 Many a trading ship met with a similar fate, but the 
 chief devastation wrought by the pirates was amongst 
 the natives themselves. They not only ravaged the 
 coasts, but penetrated far into the interior by means of 
 the Borneo rivers. The natives were never safe. At any 
 moment they might be attacked, and then the old story 
 would be re-enacted of boats seized or destroyed, of vil- 
 lages burned to the ground, of crops laid waste, and of 
 women carried off by their savage captors. 
 
 The cruelty of these people was incredible. To them 
 the prolonged torturing of a helpless man or woman was 
 an amusement of the most enjoyable order, and any 
 expedient which could add to the agony of the victim was 
 eagerly applauded. 
 
 When Rajah Brooke became the ruler of Sarawak, it 
 was inhabited by races of an apparently hopeless type. 
 The leading men of the country, generally, were head- 
 hunters, slave-traders and robbers. Sometimes they would 
 fight very well, at other times they would bolt in abject 
 fear from an inferior enemy. Their women were their 
 slaves, and together with the captives taken in various 
 
 7
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 forays did such work as could be done. The type being 
 cruel, vicious and lazy to an incredible degree, it might 
 be asked what could be done for such people. But 
 Keppel and Brooke saw below the surface. Brooke had 
 early arrived at a correct estimate of the real character 
 of the native, while Keppel formed a high idea of the 
 future of both the country and its people under good 
 government. 
 
 The amazing part of the whole history is that two men, 
 the two white Rajahs of Sarawak, Sir James Brooke and 
 Sir Charles Brooke, have in something like sixty years 
 made a peaceful and highly progressive country out of 
 these infernal regions. They seem to have eradicated the 
 horrid vices of their subjects, and transformed them into 
 a peaceable and pleasant population. There are few 
 countries in which travel is to-day so safe as in Sarawak, 
 and it is rare to meet with any white man who has had 
 any experience of the people who does not speak appre- 
 ciatively of their kindness and hospitality. 
 
 From about 1844 the star of Rajah Brooke was in the 
 ascendant, and everything prospered under his rule. In 
 1847 he visited England, where he was graciously received 
 by Her Majesty the Queen at Windsor Castle, and was 
 the recipient of many honours. By the time he returned 
 in 1848 he was Sir James Brooke, K.C.B., Rajah of Sarawak 
 and Governor of Labuan. 
 
 The Rajah returned to Sarawak on board H.M.S. 
 Mceander, under the command of his old friend Captain 
 Keppel, and met with a magnificent reception from his 
 subjects. 
 
 The establishment of Labuan was attended by serious 
 difficulties and calamities, chiefly due to the inexperience 
 of certain officials from Singapore, who built the settle- 
 ment on a grassy plain, which became a swamp in wet 
 weather. Sir Spenser St. John describes the circum- 
 stances of the colony in 1848 : 
 
 " While the rain fell in torrents, the sea washed under 
 
 8
 
 The British in Borneo 
 
 the houses, luckily built on piles ; but the stores of the 
 unhappy people were ruined, and, to crown all, the deadly 
 Labuan fever made its appearance and claimed its victims. 
 The marines and bluejackets were the first to suffer from 
 this fever, which carried off several of them. The next 
 to succumb were the Chinese and Indian servants. Sir 
 James Brooke and nearly the whole of his staff, including 
 the Colonial surgeon, fell ill of the fever, a most dangerous 
 and depressing disease. A regular panic set in, and every- 
 body who could possibly get away from the island left 
 Labuan. At this juncture there were probably more 
 inhabitants in the dismal cemetery of Labuan than in 
 the settlement itself." 
 
 Labuan suffered greatly from its unenviable reputation 
 as a fever-haunted and deadly island. 
 
 The Seribas Dyaks now became a source of great trouble 
 and danger. They laid waste Sadong and other districts, 
 and committed atrocities of every kind. 
 
 To put down this. Rajah Brooke left, in July, 1849, for 
 the Rejang River, at the head of a force of some three 
 thousand men, supported by Her Majesty's ship Nemesis, 
 and boats from the Albatross and Royalist. The Rajah 
 surprised the pirate fleet of ninety-eight vessels at the 
 mouth of the river, and brought them to action. The 
 battle was so decisive that not more than twelve vessels 
 out of the entire pirate fleet were able to make their 
 escape up the river. Sir Spenser St. John gives the dimen- 
 sions of one of the pirate ships : Length, eighty feet ; 
 breadth, nine feet ; and seventy oars. He adds the 
 following details of discoveries made after the battle : 
 
 " The pirates murdered aU their girl captives, and after 
 shocking mutilations, cut off their heads and escaped. 
 Proofs of the piracies committed by the Seribas fleet were 
 found on every side. The pirates had captured two vessels 
 trading to Singapore, and had devastated numerous vil- 
 lages on shore. Baskets full of the heads of their unhappy 
 victims were found in every village." 
 
 9
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 The results of the Rajah's remarkable expedition were 
 hailed with delight by the native chiefs and their people, 
 as it relieved them from the oppression of an abominable 
 terror, and promised them something like safety for life 
 and property. 
 
 Rajah Brooke, having defeated in turn the Sekarang 
 and Seribas pirates, ought at last to have been left in 
 peace to develop his principality. But there was a storm 
 brewing in England — of all places in the world — which 
 was now to burst upon him in all its fury, and which 
 menaced him with ruin and dishonour. 
 
 The Rajah had selected for his agent in London a cer- 
 tain Mr. Wise, who has been described as " a man of con- 
 siderable ability, but no honour." Anxious to make a 
 fortune for himself. Wise projected a kind of East Asiatic 
 Archipelago Company, based on huge territorial con- 
 cessions to be granted to this company by the Rajah. 
 His Highness, however, decided to have nothing to do 
 with Wise's great scheme, as he saw very clearly into the 
 facts concerning it. The scheme was all right for Wise, 
 but it would not be a good thing for the British investor, 
 or for the native of the country. Sarawak was not yet 
 prepared for operations on a great scale, even if they had 
 been honestly conceived. 
 
 The Brooke policy, which is actively in force to this day, 
 has invariably been to protect the people, not only from 
 the pirates of the coast, but also from the speculator who 
 comes from afar. Let any man go to-day to Sarawak, 
 with sufficient capital to open up some useful industry, 
 and he will find that the Government will treat him well, 
 and render him every assistance. But the company- 
 promoting humbug, or the sort of person who acquires 
 valuable property from the natives in exchange for cheap 
 and showy articles, will find himself under due pressure, 
 promptly applied, squeezed out of Sarawak. 
 
 Wise, vindictive and astute, determined to destroy 
 the Rajah and his government, an object he very nearly 
 
 10
 
 The British in Borneo 
 
 achieved by transforming the commercial question into a 
 purely political movement, based on the strongly humani- 
 tarian sentiments so popular with a section of the British 
 public. Wise soon found a London newspaper willing to 
 serve his ends, and succeeded in enlisting the sympathies 
 of such prominent men as Hume, Cobden and Gladstone 
 in his campaign against the Rajah of Sarawak. 
 
 He now openly denounced his former master as "a 
 murderer and a robber." Cobden declared that Sir James 
 Brooke, having seized on a territory as large as York- 
 shire, drove the natives out of it, and subsequently sent 
 for British forces to massacre them. 
 
 The " methods of barbarity " card was played for all 
 it was worth. Sir James Brooke was held up to public 
 execration as a rapacious and bloodthirsty monster, while 
 his victim, the harmless, necessary pirate of Sekarang or 
 Seribas, became the object of intense public sympathy. 
 
 Rajah Brooke was overwhelmed by the skilfullj'-engi- 
 neered storm of obloquy which broke upon him. The vigour 
 and ability with which he defended his civilizing policy 
 was of no avail. The agitation against him was so great, 
 that in order to secure the support of the Free Trade Party, 
 Lord Aberdeen consented to issue a Commission on the 
 lines proposed by the enemies of the Rajah, who was there 
 and then dismissed from Her Majesty's service, an un- 
 merited disgrace, which was keenly felt. 
 
 Sir James Brooke had ultimately to undergo the humilia- 
 tion of appearing before a Commission at Singapore, which, 
 however, was quite unable to find any fault with his pro- 
 ceedings and acquitted him. 
 
 The treatment of the Rajah led to the most disastrous 
 results. It naturally weakened his authority, and broke 
 down the pride and the health of the man. Keppel writes 
 of him : " I found the great and good Rajah still under 
 the persecution of his former agent, Mr. Wise. Sir James 
 was a wreck of his former self." 
 
 In 1857 y^t another disaster befell the Rajah, which 
 
 II
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 was nothing less than the Chinese rebelhon led by the 
 Gold Kongsi of Ban. It resulted in the capture and 
 destruction of the capital of Sarawak. 
 
 The Chinese miners from Bau pulled dowTi the river in 
 barges and made their wholly unexpected attack in Kuching 
 at midnight. A large body made for Government House, 
 with the intention of killing the Rajah ; but his Highness 
 had been roused by their shouts and cut his way through 
 their midst, sword in hand, and swam across the river for 
 assistance. In a short time Government House and various 
 other large buildings went up in flames. The Chief of the 
 Gold Kongsi assumed the administration of the city next 
 day. Meanwhile, Chinese were killing and plundering in 
 all directions, and had set the Malay town on fire. 
 
 Rajah Brooke now appeared upon the scene with some 
 hastily recruited levies, and sharp fighting ensued, with 
 doubtful results, for the Chinese rebels having seized the 
 arsenal were much better armed than the royalists. A 
 very critical situation was ended by the sudden arrival 
 of the Borneo Compan3''s steamer. Sir James Brooke, which 
 at once opened fire on the rebels. The English guns were 
 too much for the Chinese, who were seized by a panic and 
 fled in all directions, closely pursued by the vengeful Malays 
 and, Dj'aks. Tracked through the jungles, beaten at every 
 staild they made, the wretched insurgents were all killed 
 with the exception of those who managed to escape over the 
 Sambas frontier. But Kuching was left a heap of smoulder- 
 ing ruins, and the Rajah had to make his temporary head- 
 quarters on board the Borneo Company's steamer. 
 
 Kuching rapidly rose from its ruins, and the kingdom 
 of Sarawak made steady progress. But the unfortunate 
 Rajah was worn out by an unparalleled series of struggles 
 and persecutions. He finally went home, where he found 
 himself ""-poor and pressed for money. A fund for his 
 benefit was privately raised by a few friends, which enabled 
 him to buy a small property at Burrator, near Dartmoor, 
 where he died on the nth of June, 1868. 
 
 12
 
 The British in Borneo 
 
 Such was the end of the strange and gifted man who 
 was bom at Benares on the 29th of April, 1803. 
 
 A more remarkable and useful career has seldom been 
 lived. His whole life-story is one more illustration of 
 how hard a thing it is to serve the interests of Great 
 Britain from purely unselfish motives without being 
 destroyed in the process. 
 
 British public opinion is a very strange monster indeed. 
 It will rend a man to pieces and then become inordinately 
 proud of him. Is there not a statue to Sir Bartle Frere ? 
 The fate of that magnificent man, Sir Stamford Raffles, 
 was even more tragic than that of Sir James Brooke. 
 Raffles, the man who gave us such priceless possessions 
 as Java and the Spice Islands, and who was the founder of 
 the splendid colony of Singapore, died in England at the 
 age of forty-five in such obscurity that not a soul knows 
 to-day where his body is buried. But Raffles has his 
 statue also on the Singapore Esplanade, albeit it happens 
 to be a particularly bad one, consisting largely of some- 
 what scantily-attired legs — as if these were the chief things 
 about a man of genius to be perpetuated in bronze ! Should 
 there not be a statue of Sir James Brooke at Kuching, 
 and a really good one ? 
 
 The mere private person, toiling for others and doing his 
 utmost for his masters, may also have his life embittered 
 and cut short by the stabs of envy, malice and hatred. 
 For him there wiU be no statue, good or bad. If he finaUy 
 attains to the dignit}^ of a cheap coffin, he wiU end better 
 than others equally disinterested and zealous. 
 
 Sir James Brooke was fortunate in enjoying to the very 
 last the devoted friendship of such men as Admiral Sir 
 Henry Keppel and Sir Spenser St. John. It seems, also, 
 to have been a fortunate circumstance for the Rajah 
 and his country that the Borneo Company, Limited, 
 was founded. It is not suitable to discuss the affairs of 
 the Borneo Company in these pages, but it may be truly 
 said that during an honourable existence of more than 
 
 13
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 fifty years this company has rendered very great services 
 in developing the agricultural, trading and mining re- 
 sources of the country. The Borneo Company has also 
 provided Sarawak with a regular and excellent steamship 
 service, of which the value can hardly be over-estimated. 
 
 But the crowning mercy of Sir James Brooke's closing 
 days was that he had found in his own nephew a worthy 
 successor to the throne of Sarawak. 
 
 Under the sway of the present Rajah, Sir Charles Brooke, 
 the borders of the country have been widely extended. 
 Progress and prosperity have gone hand in hand under a 
 wise and just Government. Both the white Rajahs of 
 Sarawak have displaj^ed the great quality of knowing how- 
 to choose their men. The officials of the Sarawak Govern- 
 ment carry out their difficult duties admirably, and are 
 always in touch and sympathy with the people whom they 
 assist in governing. 
 
 The remarkable success of Sarawak is doubtless due to 
 the fact that it has been administered, according to their 
 own ideas, by two rulers of remarkable ability and courage, 
 two men who have lived their lives in the country 
 itself. They have not been fettered and checked at every 
 turn, or made to carry out acts of incredible folly, by 
 ministers and permanent officials thousands of miles away. 
 Nor when the Rajah of Sarawak is constructing public works 
 is he compelled to get his men and materials through 
 ''' Crown Agents." 
 
 Another remarkable feature of the history of Sarawak is 
 that the country has in some way been preserved for British 
 commerce. The neighbouring territory of British North 
 Borneo is overrun by Germans, who have driven every 
 British steamer off the coast and secured all its communica- 
 tions by sea for their own flag. The Chartered Company 
 seems to be either unwilling or unable to subsidize a British 
 steamship service. 
 
 The phenomenal achievements of such men as Sir Stam- 
 ford Raffles and the two white Rajahs of Sarawak and 
 
 14
 
 The British in Borneo 
 
 their lieutenants are without parallel in the modern history 
 of any other nation, and can only be explained by their 
 unflinching courage, their indomitable perseverance, and 
 their perfect sense of justice. 
 
 Many of us know how some son of the British Empire, 
 living a life of incredible hardship, in a hut on the bank of 
 a muddy stream in some forgotten jungle, really rules the 
 people of a vast district. In some way the lost Briton con- 
 quers the confidence of native chiefs, pacifies long-standing 
 feuds, and charms the natives into raising crops and cattle, 
 no longer regarding a human head as an object to be 
 snatched from the shoulders of its owner. 
 
 Most fortunately there will always be Englishmen, Scots, 
 or Irishmen, as the case may be, eager to lead a dog's 
 life in some tropical country, with the chance of a dog's 
 death to end it, so long as their craving for an adventurous 
 career and their desire to serve their country are satisfied. 
 
 It is necessary to have at least some idea of the characters 
 of such men, in order to understand the pages of this story. 
 
 Quite the best book about Sarawak is that just published 
 by Mr. Baring Gould and Mr. C. A. Bampfylde, a really 
 excellent and much-needed work. Perhaps the finest 
 thing it contains is the Preface, written by His Highness 
 the Rajah in the true spirit of the Brookes.* 
 
 * "A History of Sarawak Under its Two White Rajahs," by S. Baring Gould 
 and C. A. Bampfylde. Heniy Sotheran & Co. See also "Rajah Brooke," by 
 Sir Spenser St. John. T. Fisher Unwin. "A Sailor's Life Under Four 
 Sovereigns," by Admiral Sir Henry Keppel. Macmillan & Co., Ltd. 
 
 15
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 CAPTAIN NORTH WOOD 
 
 THE following lines appear in a little book printed 
 in Singapore in 1898 :* 
 
 " The real heroes of British history in this part of 
 the world are such splendid men as Sir Stamford Raffles 
 and the first Rajah Brooke of Sarawak. Their names will 
 never be forgotten, but much useful work in preparing 
 the way for our gigantic commerce of to-day has been done 
 by brave men whom none will remember. The trading 
 captains of the old days made their money very fast, and 
 got as much of it as they wanted, but they seldom 
 succeeded in keeping it. Their fortune was generally 
 entrusted to some one or another who made away with it 
 in the end. Many trading captains have been lost in 
 uncharted seas, murdered by pirates, or stricken down 
 by fever in the midst of their career. They led a stirring 
 life of it, did useful work, and were altogether an interesting 
 race of men." 
 
 Of all these brave men probably none was more generally 
 successful or had a wider experience than Captain John 
 Dillon Northwood. The son of a sea-captain, he was born 
 in Batavia, and when quite young he was sent to Aus- 
 tralia, where he was educated under the care of the Rev. 
 Mr. White, a worthy clergyman for whom his pupil had a 
 great esteem and affection. Returning to Batavia, he 
 
 * " The Capital of a Little Empire : A Descriptive Study of a British Crown 
 Colony in the Far East." By John Dill Ross. Reprinted from the Singapore 
 Free Press. 
 
 16
 
 Captain Northwood 
 
 made a voyage to Holland and back in a Dutch East 
 Indiaman, and thus commenced his career as a sailor. 
 For some time he acted as assistant and secretary to Mr. 
 Ross, the o\Mier of the Cocos Islands. Young Northwood 
 was singularly fortunate in gaining the confidence of his 
 master, who probably had no small share in moulding 
 the character of his youthful assistant. This Ross was 
 a most remarkable man, a very fine character, whose 
 life was a veritable romance in itself. 
 
 Young Northwood made friendships amongst the little 
 European colony on the Cocos Islands, which he kept up 
 for long years afterward. At the age of twenty-seven 
 he married a young lady of seventeen, the daughter of a 
 captain who had arranged with his agent's wife to leave 
 his little girl in her care for just one trip. However, it 
 happened to be the last voyage ever made by Captain 
 Bell. He sailed from Batavia, but neither he nor his ship 
 were ever heard of again. Probably he was cut off by 
 pirates, a fate which was by no means extraordinary in 
 those days. The little girl's mother being already dead, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Gray brought her up as one of their own 
 children until the day when she married young North- 
 wood. 
 
 The newly wedded couple lived very happily at the 
 Cocos until the death of their patron, Mr. Ross, when North- 
 wood decided to quit the Cocos, and to try his luck in the 
 Austrahan goldfields. The gold-fever was then at its 
 height, and apparently he had caught it pretty badly. 
 But it was an extraordinary project for a yoimg man 
 living in the Cocos with his wife and a little son which 
 she had recently presented to him, and it was carried out 
 in an extraordinary way. 
 
 Going to Batavia to realize his plans, Northwood came 
 across a revenue cutter which, built to the order of the 
 Dutch Government, had been rejected on account of certain 
 defects. Northwood inspected the cutter, which was quite 
 new, and, deciding that such defects as there were could 
 
 VOL. I. 17 2
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 be made good at small expense, he purchased the little 
 packet. He christened her the Caroline, after his wife, 
 and forthwith assumed his first command, and the title 
 of captain, without troubling the Board of Trade or any- 
 body else about such things as examinations or certificates. 
 Many things were done in those days which would appear 
 highly improper in the present generation. 
 
 Northwood sailed his cutter to the Cocos, where he took 
 his wife and child on board. As these islands do not produce 
 much else but coco-nuts, it occurred to the enterprising 
 owner to fill the hold of his little boat with them, and this 
 turned out to be a lucky speculation in the end. The 
 Caroline, with the traditional crew of " two men and a 
 boy " — who happened to be Malays — left the Cocos on 
 their adventurous cruise to far-off Australia. 
 
 The voyage had its incidents, one of the most important 
 of which was that during rough weather the captain's 
 watch slipped out of his hand and fell with a crash on the 
 deck. It was a clumsy but strong sort of watch, not 
 to be easily stopped. It was going aU right when North- 
 wood picked it up, but the glass face was smashed and the 
 minute hand of the watch had disappeared. There was, 
 of course, no such thing as a chronometer on board of 
 the Caroline, and the only guide to time henceforward 
 at the disposal of her captain was the stumpy hour-hand 
 of a battered watch. Albeit Captain Northwood had 
 passed no examinations, and possessed no certificate, 
 he must have been something of a sailor, for in due time he 
 brought the Caroline safely into Melbourne, where he got 
 alongside a wharf which towered over the tiny cockboat. 
 
 Presently quite a crowd collected about the wharf, 
 and many were the doubts expressed that such a diminutive 
 craft as the Caroline could possibly have sailed the thou- 
 sands of miles which separate the Cocos from Melbourne. 
 However, the hatch was taken off and showed the Caroline 
 to be loaded to the utmost of her capacity with green 
 coco-nuts, which could only come from some tropical 
 
 i8
 
 Captain Northwood 
 
 island. Suddenly a man in the crowd flung a shilling 
 on the deck below him, and shouted " Hand me up a 
 coco-nut ! " He promptly had one of the nuts chucked 
 up to him, and this deal fixed the price of coco-nuts for 
 the day. Shilling after shilling pattered on the deck of the 
 Caroline, while the crew was kept busy pitching up coco- 
 nuts to eager buyers, until no more were left. As the 
 coco-nuts cost Northwood absolutely nothing, this par- 
 ticular adventure showed a handsome profit. In long 
 years afterwards, when the Captain had been giving one 
 of his big dinner-parties in his luxurious home in Singapore, 
 he remarked confidentially to his son, as the guests were 
 driving off in their carriages : " I don't mind telling you, 
 Johnnie, that the cloth we had on our table this evening 
 was many sizes larger than the Caroline's mainsail." 
 
 Captain Northwood had trusty friends in Melbourne, 
 who promised to look after his wife and child while he went 
 off to seek for golden treasure. The Caroline was sold for 
 what the gallant Uttle packet would fetch. The Dutch 
 authorities, who thought she was not good enough to go 
 " nosing " round the Java coast on preventive service, 
 might have felt some mild surprise if they had been told 
 that the condemned cutter had been sailed to Australia. 
 
 Northwood's experiences in a mining camp need not be 
 related, similar stories having often been told. His 
 usual good fortune did not follow him to the camp. 
 He made about enough to pay his expenses, but not much 
 more, and having discovered that gold was not to be 
 shovelled out of the ground in big nuggets except by a 
 favoured few, he was cured of the gold-fever. Then the 
 real fever of his life seized upon him — ^the sea-fever, which 
 never quitted him until his last day. He got back to Mel- 
 bourne, where he found his wife and child in the best of 
 health, and began to make plans for the future. 
 
 Ships were cheap in Melbourne in those days. As soon 
 as a vessel got into the port, captain, officers and crew all 
 raced off to the goldfields to make their fortunes. As for 
 VOL. I. 19 2*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 their ship, she could just take care of herself, and anybody 
 who wanted could have her. Melbourne harbour was 
 blocked with deserted shipping. Northwood had small 
 difficulty in purchasing a beautiful brig named the Wild 
 Irish Girl for a mere song. His difficulty was to get a 
 crew to work the brig. He had still got his original two 
 and a half Malays from the Caroline as a nucleus, and 
 later recruited a sufficient number of awful vagabonds, 
 who had their own reasons for wanting to quit Austraha, 
 to make up his quota. The Wild Irish Girl was a real ship 
 with some sort of a crew on board, so he could feel that he 
 had some reason for calHng himself Captain Northwood. 
 
 This seems to be an appropriate opportunity for de- 
 scribing what manner of man John Dillon Northwood 
 happened to be at this period of his history. He stood 
 fully six feet high in his stocking-soles. A massive and 
 powerful head was finely poised on a pair of immense 
 shoulders. His physique was superb, and his general 
 bearing denoted a man of unfailing and simple courage. 
 A more kindly and genial creature never hved. He was 
 given a great sense of humour, and his bronzed face was 
 frequently lit up with smiles, which displayed his fine, white 
 teeth. A pair of long dark moustaches and a short curly 
 beard set off a singularly prepossessing countenance. 
 
 As for his moral quahties, it need only be said that he 
 was as honest as daylight, generous and open-handed, 
 but impulsive and passionate when he was aroused. When 
 occasion arose, he could hit a man between the eyes and 
 fell him like an ox, without greatly bothering himself about 
 the matter. He was naturally inclined to place confidence 
 in anybody who could teU him a plausible story, and there- 
 fore he fell an easy prey to various designing persons 
 who wished to swindle him ; and their name was legion. 
 He had an especial gift, very rare in sailors. He was not 
 only exceedingly well-read, but he was also a fluent and 
 graphic writer. It was a real pleasure to read the long, 
 descriptive, and witty letters which he so frequently 
 
 20
 
 Captain Northwood 
 
 amused himself by writing to his friends, to relieve the 
 monotony of his long sea- voyages. 
 
 Unfortunately, it never occurred to Captain Northwood 
 to write a book about his extraordinary experiences and 
 the remarkable men whom he met in the course of his 
 existence. So far from doing anything of the kind, he 
 was extremely reticent, even in conversation with his 
 most intimate friends, in alluding in any way to the main 
 events of his personal history. 
 
 Another marked feature in the character of a singularly 
 daring and dogged man was that his ambition did not 
 carry him beyond a certain point. He had unequalled 
 opportunities during his career of making himself a power 
 in Borneo, but he flung them aside as being beneath his 
 consideration. But Northwood was essentially a " lucky 
 man." As long as he trusted to his own inspiration and 
 rejected the advice of outsiders, his success was extra- 
 ordinary. 
 
 His wife was a very pretty and charming young woman, 
 wholly devoted to her husband. Apparently of no great 
 strength of character, she abundantly proved in the hour 
 of danger that her courage ran as high as that of her hus- 
 band. She was a daring and accomplished horsewoman. 
 The gentleness and charity of Mrs. Northwood's disposition 
 made her Hked wherever she went. 
 
 Captain Northwood had never been anywhere nearer 
 to Singapore than Batavia, but yet he was attracted 
 thither by the reports of the wonderful success of the 
 colony founded by Sir Stamford Raffles — a port where 
 trade was free from the shadow of a Custom House, 
 and where aU could go and come as they pleased. So 
 Northwood decided to sail for Singapore. 
 
 In due course the Wild Irish Girl dropped her anchor in 
 the Singapore roads, and it was not long before her captain 
 saw that he had a future before him. Trade was booming, 
 tonnage was scarce, and the conditions were such that 
 any man possessing capacity and energy had every chance 
 
 21
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 of making a fortune more or less rapidly. Sir Stamford 
 Raffles was wise in his generation when he made Singapore 
 a free port. It is a mere truism to repeat that Free Trade 
 made the success of Singapore. What is equally simple 
 of comprehension is that conditions which suited ad- 
 mirably fifty years ago are producing disastrous results 
 to-day. 
 
 Fifty years ago Great Britain had practically a monopoly 
 of the manufacturing and shipping interests of the world. 
 This has since been shattered to pieces by mighty com- 
 mercial forces which were yet unborn in the days of Raffles. 
 It is within recent years that Germany, the United States, 
 and Japan have suddenly developed with commercial 
 and political portents adverse to British interests. 
 
 Just as Sir James Brooke was the first to inaugurate 
 a stable government in Sarawak, Captain Northwood, 
 in his humbler sphere, was the pioneer of British com- 
 merce on regular Unes with the Borneo ports north of 
 Sarawak. He devoted his life successfully to an arduous 
 task, the end of which it was fortunate for him that he 
 could not foresee. He was spared the knowledge that the 
 day would come when his son would be compelled by 
 sheer force of circumstances to sell his ships and his trade 
 to the Germans. 
 
 When he arrived at Singapore, Captain Northwood had 
 offers made to him by Germans (who even then were 
 pushing their way into Siam) to trade between Singapore 
 and Bangkok, on terms that assured him handsome profits. 
 But he would have nothing to do with their proposals. 
 Characteristically he preferred to take up the difficult and 
 perilous Borneo trade entirely on his own account. This 
 masterful man chose to be his own master. The Wild 
 Irish Girl was refitted, and with her full complement of 
 officers and a large native crew, was put on the run between 
 Singapore, Labuan, and Brunei. Freights were high and 
 expenses small, so that in spite of all sorts of difficulties 
 Captain Northwood made the Wild Irish Girl pay hand- 
 
 22
 
 Captain Northwood 
 
 somely. His sole competitor at the time was a Captain 
 Brown, who sailed a fine ship called the Black Diamond. 
 It was a case of hammer and tongs between the two vessels, 
 but Northwood was a keener sailor and a better diplomatist 
 than Brown. The Wild Irish Girl made faster passages 
 than the Black Diamond. The Sultan of Brunei took 
 especial notice of Captain Northwood, and before long 
 trusted in him as he trusted no other man. 
 
 A British gunboat arrived at Labuan one day to inquire 
 into piracies and various outrages in which one of the 
 Sultan's brothers was concerned. Northwood knew all 
 the facts of the case, and had warned the Sultan that his 
 brother had better mend his ways, and that forays into 
 the British colony of Labuan would result in certain 
 disaster. Labuan, however, offered too many temptations, 
 and the incursions into British territory continued, until 
 the advent of the usual British gunboat. 
 
 The commander of H.M.S. Bulldog found the Wild Irish 
 Girl in Labuan harbour, sent for Captain Northwood, 
 and requisitioned his services to pilot the gunboat up the 
 Brunei River, rendered dangerous to navigation by sunken 
 vessels and stone barriers placed there by the Brunei 
 sultans so as to compel vessels entering the river to come 
 right under the guns of the battery on Pulo Chermin. 
 Northwood gladly undertook the duty demanded of him, 
 and, piloting H.M.S. Bulldog up the Brunei River, an- 
 chored the little man-of-war at a convenient distance for 
 the bombardment of the Sultan's palace and the town of 
 Brunei. 
 
 The Sultan had already had some experience of the 
 folly of fighting British warships, and not a shot was fired 
 as the Bulldog passed deliberately under the muzzles of his 
 battery. Armed boats from the gunboat were pulling 
 for the Sultan's palace almost as soon as the ship was 
 anchored, Northwood accompanying the commander as 
 interpreter. 
 
 The Sultan received his unwelcome visitors with the usual 
 
 23
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 ceremony and with much dignity, but the commander of 
 H.M.S. Bulldog was a business-like person with but httle 
 sense of the picturesque, it would appear, and Northwood 
 was bidden to hasten matters. It was his unpJeasing task 
 to tell his Highness that his brother's crimes must now 
 be expiated, and that the only punishment for piracy was 
 death. Possibly no one but Northwood could have per- 
 suaded the Sultan that it was useless to attempt any 
 delay at such a crisis. Finally it was decided that the 
 execution of the royal pirate should take place the next 
 morning. 
 
 When daylight broke, it was seen that one of the Sultan's 
 largest war-prahus had been moored between the Bulldog 
 and the Sultan's palace, and that a large platform had 
 been erected on the deck of the prahu. 
 
 Once more the Bulldog s boats were in the water and 
 pulling off to the scene of the execution, but this time 
 without Captain Northwood. The British commander 
 urged him to accompany the expedition, but Northwood 
 pleaded that the scene must necessarily be a horrid one, 
 and that it was no business of his. He had discharged a 
 dangerous and unpleasant duty, there was nothing further 
 to be asked of him ; and he positively dechned to be 
 present at the execution. The British boats, having 
 arrived alongside the prahu, a good-looking native, dressed 
 in the royal yellow of Brunei, was led to the platform, and 
 placed in a kneeling position on the scaffold : a bowstring 
 was passed round his neck by two of the Sultan's execu- 
 tioners, and the next instant he was choking in his death- 
 struggle. After having satisfied themselves that the sen- 
 tence of death had really been carried into effect, the 
 commander and officers of the Bulldog returned to their 
 ship. Captain Northwood piloted the gunboat safely back 
 to Labuan, and his task was completed. 
 
 But was the man in the yellow robes really the Sultan's 
 brother ? Only Northwood could have identified him, and 
 he chose to absent himself from the scene of the execution. 
 
 24
 
 Captain Northwood 
 
 Be that as it may, the salutary lesson inflicted achieved 
 the intended result. From the day of the execution the 
 raids on Labuan ceased. The Sultan's guilty brother 
 may have sent an innocent man to suffer in his place, but 
 he was never seen again in Brunei. Perchance he may 
 have got into the interior by the rivers, or to some more 
 distant destination, such as the islands of Palawan or Sulu. 
 Not a word ever passed between the Sultan and Captain 
 Northwood about the execution. Although the Sultan 
 had small reason to thank him for piloting the British gun- 
 boat up the Brunei River, or for putting on the pressure 
 which enabled the whole affair to be settled in twenty-four 
 hours, apparently Northwood's absence from the execution 
 had a great effect. He became a greater favourite at the 
 palace than ever. 
 
 Brunei at this period of its history was a much more 
 important place than it is to-day. The Sultan Abdul 
 Mumein reigned over territories which have since been taken 
 from him by diplomacy or by force. The trade of Brunei 
 was valuable, and was chiefly managed by a Chinese com- 
 munity, whose acknowledged representative, the " Capitan 
 China," was always in close touch with the Sultan. 
 
 By this time Captain Northwood had run the Black 
 Diamond off the coast, and had a monopoly of the sea-trade. 
 He found it necessary in consequence to replace the Wild 
 Irish Girl by a larger brig, the Lizzie Webber, to be suc- 
 ceeded in her turn by a very handsome and beautifully 
 appointed barque called the Don Pedro. While the Don 
 Pedro was being refitted at Singapore, the captain started 
 for a final cruise in the Lizzie Webber. Leaving Singapore 
 with a full cargo, the vessel arrived at Brunei after a fine 
 passage and an uneventful voyage. The Brunei River 
 was crowded with native craft from Mindanao, Sulu, and 
 many another distant island. The nakodahs (captains) 
 of these native craft frequently paid friendly visits on board 
 the Lizzie Webber, and were always cordially received by 
 Northwood, who often purchased their cargoes of produce, 
 
 25
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 There was a certain native captain who came on board 
 repeatedly, under the pretext of doing a trade, which 
 somehow never came to actual business. Northwood's 
 chief native officer, a Javanese Malay named Cassim, 
 got suspicious of this particular visitor, Si Rahman, whom 
 he declared to be an lUanun. (The Illanuns were at that 
 time the fiercest pirates known in these waters.) North- 
 wood, although he noticed that his Illanun friend was 
 especially curious about the armament of the Lizzie 
 Webber, and her battery of twelve-pounders, thought 
 nothing of Cassim's warnings. 
 
 This Cassim proved to be a faithful and lifelong friend 
 to Captain Northwood, and one who served him literally 
 to the day of his death. His fidelity was put to a severe 
 test when Northwood was compelled to put steamers on 
 the Borneo run, instead of the fine old sailing ships. 
 Whether master or man was more disgusted at the in- 
 evitable change, it is hard to say ; but they both adapted 
 themselves from sail to steam, and stuck to each other 
 through thick and thin. 
 
 Cassim understood native ways even better than his 
 master, and grew more and more suspicious of the Illanun 
 chief. The report had got about that Captain Northwood 
 was taking a large sum of money to Singapore, as indeed 
 happened to be the case. The Lizzie Webber dropped 
 down the river and got across to Labuan, where she com- 
 pleted her cargo, and also took on board a Mr. Meldrum, 
 one of Northwood's friends, as his only passenger that 
 trip. The brig sailed one fine afternoon, with a light and 
 fitful breeze. During the night the current set her over 
 towards the Brunei coast. At daylight, as she slowly 
 rounded a point, her captain saw, to his horror, a fleet of 
 eight Illanun vessels lying in wait for him in a little bay. 
 The wind died away altogether and left the brig without so 
 much as steerage-way on her. 
 
 All was hurr}^ and bustle on board the Lizzie Webber. 
 The men beat to quarters, the guns were run out, and 
 
 26
 
 Captain Northwood 
 
 rifles and cutlasses served to the crew. Captain North- 
 wood went below for a few moments, during which he 
 handed his wife a revolver, with strict injunctions to keep 
 in her cabin during the fight, and to shoot her son and 
 herself if the pirates carried the ship. This son was 
 little John Dillon Northwood, born in Singapore some four 
 years before. 
 
 Northwood then took up his post on the quarter-deck 
 while events developed rapidly. The pirate squadron 
 came sweeping do\\Ti on their prey, each prahu pulling some 
 forty oars or more at a great rate. The pirates were 
 several hundreds strong, and had they gone straight to 
 work, the fate of the Lizzie Webber would have been settled 
 within the next half hour. That, fortunately, is not the 
 native way of doing things. The pirate vessels pulled 
 right round the motionless brig and then the leading 
 prahu swept towards her until both vessels were within 
 easy hail of each other. An exposed platform had been 
 erected right amidships of the pirate vessel, on which stood, 
 conspicuous in a scarlet jacket. Si Rahman himself. 
 The pirate chief hailed Northwood by name and explained 
 that he had come as a friend and, being short of tobacco, 
 proposed to come on board the Lizzie Webber to purchase 
 a supply of it. To this Northwood 's reply was that he 
 knew pirates when he saw them, and that if the vessels 
 which surrounded him did not sheer off, he would open 
 fire on them at once. The Illanun adjured Northwood 
 to give up his ship without a useless struggle, especialh'' 
 as he himself wore a magic charm which rendered him 
 invulnerable to shot or steel. 
 
 Cassim, on the main-deck, was anxiously watching his 
 master's movements, and thinking that a certain wave of 
 the hand gave him liberty to do so, immediately fired 
 the gun of which he was in charge at the pirate prahu, 
 and thus commenced the action on his own responsibility, 
 much to the anger of Mr. Simpson, the chief officer. 
 
 The Lizzie Webber carried a battery of six twelve - 
 
 27
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Ear East 
 
 pounders, and Northwood, having purchased some time 
 previously a few cases of American muskets from a 
 Yankee captain whom he had met at sea, had half a dozen 
 muskets for every sailor on board. These had all been 
 carefully loaded before the fighting commenced. Thus 
 the Lizzie Webber's crew had only to throw down an 
 empty musket to pick up a loaded one, and kept up a rapid 
 fire which greatly disconcerted the pirates. The brig, 
 like other ships on that coast, carried a very large crew to 
 work her cargo as well as to sail her. Her twelve-pounders 
 were each loaded with a round shot and a canvas bag 
 of bullets rammed home on top of it, which made a very 
 effective charge at short ranges. 
 
 From the moment that Cassim fired the first shot, the 
 Lizzie Webber kept up a hot fire with her guns and musketry, 
 while the pirates, who mounted a number of light guns, 
 replied vigorously. Their prahus were strengthened by 
 breastworks of Borneo ironwood strong enough to with- 
 stand the impact of a round shot. 
 
 The roar of the guns and the constant rattle of the 
 musketry made a terrific din, above which rose the yells 
 of the pirates. Mr. Simpson was carried below badly 
 wounded, with three native sailors in the same condition, 
 within a few minutes after the action commenced. 
 In the absence of any surgeon, Mrs. Northwood had to 
 attend as best she could to the wounded. Poor lady ! 
 she had trouble enough on her hands. Her son Johnnie, 
 so far from being frightened by the din of battle, made 
 frantic attempts to escape to the upper deck to see what 
 " papa was doing." He had finally to be carried off by 
 his mother, kicking and screaming with rage, to be locked 
 up in a spare cabin. 
 
 Mrs. Northwood's presence of mind saved a disaster, 
 which would have put any further resistance out of the 
 question. The Lizzie Webber's magazine was right aft, 
 and was got at through a scuttle in a store-room. As 
 powder was running short for the guns, Mr. Jenkins, the 
 
 28
 
 Captain Northwood 
 
 second mate, sent a couple of native sailors to bring up 
 some kegs for the magazine. With the usual thoughtless- 
 ness of Malays, the sailors were actually going into the 
 magazine with a naked light, when Mrs. Northwood rushed 
 in time to seize the flaring lamp and throw it through an 
 open port-hole into the sea. She then went into the 
 magazine herself to see the powder handed up, and found 
 the whole floor of the place covered thickly with loose 
 gunpowder. In those stirring days a captain's wife needed 
 to have her wits about her ! 
 
 In the meantime Captain Northwood himself was fight- 
 ing his ship for aU he was worth. His great object was to 
 bring down Si Rahman, who exhibited the most extra- 
 ordinary daring — possessed as he was of the idea that his 
 magic charm would preserve him from aU danger. There 
 he stood on his platform, like a scarlet demon, directing 
 the attack, and constantly exposed to a rattling fire, and 
 somehow nothing could touch him. " For goodness sake, 
 Meldrum, do bowl over that ruffian in the scarlet dress ! " 
 roared Northwood. Meldrum quietly loaded a new 
 American rifle of which he was very proud, though it would 
 be considered a very queer weapon nowadays. The 
 " rifhng " consisted of two broad straight grooves right 
 down the barrel without the slightest twist. Into these 
 grooves there then fitted a " belted bullet," wrapped in a 
 leather patch to prevent windage. In the massive stock 
 of the rifle was a solid brass flap, operated by a spring, which 
 revealed two cavities, in which the leather patches and per- 
 cussion-caps were kept. Such was the rifle of those early 
 days, the progenitor of the modem small-bore with a 
 tremendous twist in its rifling. 
 
 Meldrum methodically loaded his pet rifle and system- 
 atically potted at the scarlet Si Rahman — without the 
 slightest effect. Northwood himself fired a few shots at 
 him from his own favourite American smooth-bore carbine 
 with the same result. From the main-deck and forecastle 
 scores of shots were directed at Si Rahman without hurting 
 
 29
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 him. The man was perfectly aware of the unavaihng 
 attempts to bring him down, and openly rejoiced in the 
 strength of his magic charm. It really seemed as if the 
 charm was working to some purpose. Cassim, especially, 
 tried the united effects of round shot and bags of bullets 
 on his hated enemy, but while they took full effect on the 
 crew of the prahu, nothing could touch the scarlet Si 
 Rahman. 
 
 After three hours of desperate struggle there came a lull. 
 At a signal from Si Rahman all firing from the pirate 
 squadron ceased, and they pulled away from the Lizzie 
 Webber. For a brief moment, Captain Northwood hoped 
 that they had enough of it, and that the attack was 
 definitely repulsed. Nevertheless, he went round his 
 decks, saw that the heated twelve-pounders were sponged 
 out and ready for further service, and that all the small 
 arms were reloaded. Barely had he completed his round 
 when he saw the pirate vessels sweeping down upon him 
 again under the full pressure of their swift oars. Si Rah- 
 man's plan of battle was now evident. Having at first 
 hoped to make an easy prey of the Lizzie Webber, when he 
 found himself baulked by the deadly firing from the brig, he 
 had tried to wear down Northwood's resistance by picking 
 off his men, and exhausting his ammunition. Now, dis- 
 appointed with the results of his tactics, he decided to 
 do what he should have done some hours before, and, 
 throwing his hundreds of men on the deck of the Lizzie 
 Webber, leave cold steel to do the rest. The eight prahus 
 made a dash for the starboard side of the brig, thus leaving 
 her port battery idle. 
 
 Northwood saw the coming onrush with the blackest 
 despair. How could he hope with his scanty crew to 
 withstand the onslaught of some hundreds of desperate 
 Illanun pirates ? He had half a mind to throw up the 
 sponge, to rush below, and after despatching his wife and 
 child to blow up the magazine. However, the fighting 
 instinct is hard to quell in such a man, and for another 
 
 30
 
 Captain Northwood 
 
 minute he watched the occasional shots from his star- 
 board guns flying harmlessly over the approaching prahus, 
 which lay so low in the water that it was impossible to 
 depress the muzzles of the Lizzie Webber's guns sufficiently 
 to hit them. Si Rahman's own prahu, which was by far the 
 best manned of the pirate fleet, drew rapidly ahead of 
 the rest, and was almost alongside the brig when North- 
 wood saw Cassim about to fire his twelve-pounder, with a 
 result which must be necessarily harmless. Leaping down 
 to the main-deck, Northwood restrained the Malay's hand 
 and shouted : " Don't fire over the prahu ! Train the gun 
 straight on the platform and kill Sidi Rahman ! " Cassim 
 showed that he had driven the wedge beneath the gun's 
 breech as far as it would go and that he could depress the 
 gun's muzzle no further. Looking round with a hunted 
 desperation in his eyes, Northwood happened to see a 
 spare spar lying on the deck. Suddenly bending down 
 he put forth the whole of his great strength, and lifting 
 the gun-carriage bodily, he got Cassim and another sailor 
 to roll the spar beneath it. Then taking a hasty look 
 along the sights he fired the gun. Before the smoke had 
 cleared away, dire yells arose from the pirate prahu, while 
 shouts of joy rang along the decks of the Lizzie Webber. 
 What Captain Northwood saw when he looked over his 
 bulwarks was a pile of wreckage in place of the famous 
 platform on which Sidi Rahman had so recklessly displayed 
 his scarlet coat. As for Sidi Rahman himself, a scarlet 
 patch in the water swirling around the sinking prahu 
 sufficiently accounted for the fiery Illanun chief. His 
 magic charm had failed him at the critical moment. 
 
 The other pirate vessels rescued as many as they could 
 from the sinking boat, under a hot fire from the Lizzie 
 Webber, and then pulled away from her. And now, a 
 gentle breeze at last springing up, the Lizzie Webber began 
 to get way on her. Captain Northwood thought once 
 more that he had escaped from the toils of his enemies. 
 Still he availed himself of this respite to put bis ship 
 
 31
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 in fighting trim. Guns and small arms were all loaded, 
 and the tired crew given their first meal during this terrible 
 day. 
 
 But the pirate fleet still hung round the brig, their 
 boats could still pull much faster than she could sail, and 
 it was clear that the foe was only waiting for darkness 
 to deliver his final attack. It was a grim and hopeless 
 prospect. However, the breeze was freshening all the time, 
 and as the Lizzie Webber began to slip through the water, 
 the pirates, thirsting for revenge as weU as plunder, closed 
 on her under the rays of an evening sun. 
 
 Once more the firing raged hotly on both sides, when 
 suddenly in the midst of the fighting Mrs. Northwood 
 appeared on the quarter-deck to tell her husband that 
 there were only six more kegs of powder left in the maga- 
 zine. It was not a message she could trust to other lips 
 than her own. " Very well ! " said Northwood. " Send 
 up the six kegs and leave the rest to me. Obey my orders 
 and go to your cabin." 
 
 The pirates were rapidly approaching the Lizzie Webber. 
 The six kegs of powder would just enable her guns to fire 
 one round apiece, with something to spare for the muskets. 
 The situation this time seemed perfectly desperate. North- 
 wood recalled the lines : 
 
 And in our hearts a dread despair 
 
 Too deep for words, too dark for prayer ! 
 
 But an inspiration came at the right moment. Sud- 
 denly he altered his tactics, and instead of flying from his 
 pursuers, he attacked them. Down went his helm, he 
 spilled his sails, and before the pirates could comprehend 
 his new move, he was sailing through their fleet, firing 
 his last broadside. One of the prahus was caught at a dis- 
 advantage. Springing to the wheel, Northwood altered 
 the Lizzie Webber's course by a few points. Next minute 
 there was a tremendous crash as the keel of the brig rode 
 over the wreck of the prahu. Some of the pirates were 
 
 3^
 
 Captain Northwood 
 
 shot as they swam in the water. Others, with the usual 
 agility of natives, actually managed to climb up the 
 ship's chains in an endeavour to reach the deck, but were 
 promptly cut down. Then came the sudden darkness of 
 the tropics, and in its welcome obscurity the Lizzie 
 Webber's sails filled and bore her into safety. The Illanun 
 pirates had sustained a bloody defeat in an attack which 
 lasted eight mortal hours on a mere brig manned by three 
 white men and some forty natives. 
 
 This affair of the Lizzie Webber had a very salutary 
 effect. Pirates conceived a horror of the very name of 
 Northwood and carefully refrained from molesting him 
 again. Indeed, they got something of a dislike against 
 attacking British ships in general after the death of Si 
 Rahman and the closing catastrophe which marked the 
 fight. That Si Rahman's magic charm should have failed 
 when victory was smiling on him must have impressed 
 the superstitious Illanuns much more deeply than 
 Europeans would think probable. 
 
 In due course the Lizzie Webber reached Singapore, where 
 her arrival made some sensation. Singapore merchants 
 were deeply interested in the suppression of piracy in 
 those days, and a few of them presented Northwood with 
 a piece of plate, while a good many people came off to see 
 the brig out of curiosity. Amongst others was that gallant 
 officer. Major Browning. The major intended sailing to 
 Labuan in the Lizzie Webber to inspect the batteries of 
 the island, but on visiting the brig, he was so horrified at 
 Captain Northwood's unprofessional conduct in rolling a 
 spare spar under a gun-carriage that he said he would be 
 eternally condemned if he sailed in the same ship with such 
 a fellow. Major Browning kept his word and ultimately 
 reached Labuan in a gunboat. 
 
 VOL. I. 33
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 LABUAN IN THE OLDEN DAYS 
 
 CAPTAIN NORTHWOOD bought the Don Pedro as 
 a mere speculation. To all appearance a finer 
 ship never floated ; but the barque had a bad 
 character. Nothing could make her sail ; her passages 
 were the longest on record, and in the hands of successive 
 masters she had proved to be a regular " pig " of a ship, 
 capable of doing anything but making a fast run from port 
 to port. Now, in the Borneo trade a fast sailer was 
 essential. The Don Pedro was going absurdly cheap, 
 it was true, but then the handsome barque, more than 
 twice the size of the Lizzie Webber, would be dear at a gift, 
 if she sailed like a haystack. 
 
 " Why the deuce can't the Don Pedro sail ? " anxiously 
 thought Northwood. Anyhow, he bought the handsome 
 sluggard for a mere song, much less than he got for the 
 fast-sailing Lizzie Webber, though she was not in the pink 
 of condition after her eight hours' fight with the lUanun 
 pirates. Having bought the Don Pedro, Northwood 
 seriously tackled the problem before him. He spent 
 many an hour figuring out a new sail plan for his new 
 ship, and finally made up his mind that amongst other 
 things the foremast was too near the mainmast. He went 
 to the expense of havmg the foremast taken out and 
 stepped a little distance forward — not more than three or 
 four feet. It seems a trifle, but it made all the difference. 
 With altered spars and a new set of sails made to her 
 captain's own plans, the Don Pedro looked a different ship. 
 When Northwood took her out for a trial spin after he 
 had made all his alterations, he found to his delight that 
 
 34
 
 Labuan in the Olden Days 
 
 she sailed like a witch, and was as handy as a top. The 
 man who sold the Don Pedro for a song began to say harsh 
 things about various wooden-headed skippers in his 
 employ, who had unanimously certified that the ship was 
 fit only to be broken up, but he readily recognized that 
 Northwood had paid his money, had run his risks, and was 
 fully entitled to the reward of his superior science as a sailor. 
 
 The Don Pedro was a lucky ship for Northwood from the 
 very start. On her maiden voyage for Labuan and Brunei, 
 she loaded a full cargo and, moreover, Northwood was 
 paid a handsome sum to carry a detachment of Indian 
 troops for Labuan. His cabins were taken at excellent 
 rates by the officers and their wives, and Major Barclay, 
 the officer in command of the detachment, proved to be 
 a nice genial fellow. 
 
 The Don Pedro was a very comfortable and even a 
 luxurious ship. There was a fine piano in her spacious 
 saloon, and the after-cabins were large and airy. They 
 were fitted up most comfortably, and had actual large 
 bedsteads in them, instead of the miserable bunks of 
 the modern mail steamer. Northwood kept an excellent 
 table, and possessed an agreeable manner, which did much 
 to keep his passengers happy and amused during a long 
 voyage. The first trip of the Don Pedro commenced 
 under the best of circumstances, and Northwood, after 
 going over his supercargo's freight-list, found that he should, 
 with average luck, clear the cost of his ship in three or 
 four voyages. 
 
 The Don Pedro made a very fine run to Labuan. The 
 time had passed away most agreeably for everybody on 
 board. Reading, chess, whist, music, and chatting and 
 lounging about in long chairs, with an occasional brandy 
 and soda and a Manila cheroot, sufficed to fill up spare 
 hours in various ways for various tastes. Major Barclay 
 and Captain Northwood had a real regard and liking for 
 one another before the voyage was ended, while their 
 wives swore eternal friendship after the manner of women. 
 VOL. I. 35 3*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 The Don Pedro made fast at the rambling, rickety wharf 
 in Labuan harbour, to which Northwood always brought 
 his ship, and landed his passengers, who were more than 
 half sorry to finish such a pleasant cruise. 
 
 Labuan harbour consists of a splendid bay for com- 
 mercial purposes. It possesses a very wide expanse of 
 deep, tranquil water, so that in places a ship can anchor at 
 a very short distance from the shore. Nature has very 
 kindly placed a group of small islands off the entrance to 
 the harbour, which act as natural breakwaters. The island 
 itself is on a fine trade-route ; and, as a beautiful harbour 
 with a coal-field within ten miles of it is a thing rarely to 
 be found, it undoubtedly has its attractions. Of natiural 
 beauties Labuan has very few, but considering the island 
 from a purely business point of view, there is perhaps no 
 other harbour in the whole Far East offering so many 
 facilities for the development of a mercantile port of the 
 first order. It seems regrettable, therefore, that Labuan, 
 after an existence of so many years, should stiU remain 
 a comparatively obscure and little frequented island. 
 
 At the time when Captain Northwood sailed the Don 
 Pedro into harbour, Labuan had reached the height of a 
 somewhat artificial prosperity. A native regim.ent, and 
 a battery or two of artillery, formed the garrison, and 
 gave a considerable amount of business and animation to 
 the place. Then the Scottish Oriental Coal Company had 
 taken the mines in hand on a grand scale. The con- 
 veniences offered by Labuan brought a great deal of trade 
 from the mainland and the other islands. 
 
 Rajah Brooke's successful expeditions against the 
 Seribas and Sekarang pirates had created a sense of security 
 along the Borneo coast for many a hundred miles beyond 
 the Sarawak territory. AU seemed to be progressing 
 favourably, and with ordinary good fortune the place 
 should have become a colony of great importance and one 
 of our most valued possessions in the Far East. 
 
 At this period of our story Labuan was a Crown Colony, 
 
 36
 
 Labuan in the Olden Days 
 
 under the rule of Mr, John Pope Hennessey, fated to be 
 better known in various parts of the world as Sir John 
 Pope Hennessey, G.C.M.G., etc., etc., etc. Northwood 
 took a great interest in Pope Hennessey, whom, by the 
 way, he used to call " The Pope," for short. John Pope 
 Hennessey was a very extraordinary man, who had a long 
 and picturesque public career. This, according to North- 
 wood, he commenced as a very young man, representing 
 an Irish constituency in the House of Commons. Gifted 
 with much ability and possessing an inordinate flow of 
 speech, he speedily became a rankling thorn in the side of 
 the Government of the day. Pope Hennessey was not only 
 " agin the Government," to which he had sworn allegiance, 
 but against any kind of government anywhere. To suit 
 his ends, he espoused the cause of Polish Freedom in the 
 House to such an extent that he probably encouraged 
 certain Polish patriots to get themselves killed in the 
 foolish belief that Great Britain would rise in arms to 
 deliver them from the Oppressor ! A number of Polish 
 patriots, wending their way to the end of all things earthly, 
 managed in the brief span of life yet accorded to them to 
 subscribe in their own gallant and generous way to present 
 a massive silver cup to their Irish saviour, into which was 
 let a vastly interesting collection of gold coins, displaying 
 the heads of ancient Polish kings. From a certain point of 
 view, the cup was priceless, but, according to Northwood, 
 Pope Hennessey's necessities at the moment were such 
 that he sold it for what it would fetch. 
 
 A phenomenon of much import to unhappy Labuan 
 occurred at this time. The penniless, eloquent and horribly 
 troublesome member for some remote Irish constituency 
 was suddenly offered a post in the very Far East. The 
 appointment in question was that of Governor of Labuan, 
 worth in hard cash some two thousand pounds per annum, 
 what with pay and allowances. The British Government put 
 up the job, and Mr. Pope Hennessey took it. Wherever 
 Pope Hennessey went he wrought mischief to British 
 
 37
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 interests. The British Government gave him a handle to 
 his name and one or more decorations, plus salaries rising 
 to five thousand pounds ; but, to do him justice, Pope 
 Hennessey remained to his last official moment the man 
 who was " agin the Government " and took its pay. In 
 the course of his career he set the blacks against the whites 
 in the West Indies, the French element against the British 
 element in the Mauritius, and, finally, he tried to make 
 some trouble in Hong-Kong. But perhaps Pope Hen- 
 nessey did his deadliest work in Labuan. 
 
 The budding colony wanted all the encouragement it 
 could get. It was not yet strong enough to stand a drastic 
 system of taxation. As there were no racial hatreds 
 handy, Pope Hennessey had a good look at Labuan, and 
 declared that " the place must pay its way." That is to 
 say, he saddled it with the cost of the garrison and put 
 taxes on everything that could be taxed, so that the life 
 was practically choked out of the little island. In those 
 days colonial governors were not hooked on to a telegraph 
 cable, and could do a vast deal in carrying out any parti- 
 cular policy before the Colonial Office could have any say 
 in the matter. 
 
 The Coal Company, which was to have been the glory 
 of the island, was merely spending money in various un- 
 profitable directions. There were frequent changes in the 
 management, and each manager's first care appeared to be 
 to reverse his predecessor's policy, and, above aU, to order 
 out a new cargo of machinery. One genius got out a very 
 expensive plant for distilling shale-oil. This was landed 
 on the beach and never got any further. The next manager 
 said that there was shale in the island, but that it would 
 be necessary to wait at least a million years before any- 
 body could get any oil out of it, as it was quite a new 
 formation of shale, and so it appears the other man's 
 geology was all wrong. As much of the oil-plant as the 
 Don Pedro could load without shutting out too much oi 
 other people's cargo was shipped to Singapore, where the 
 
 38
 
 Labuan in the Olden Days 
 
 company's agents sold it for considerably less than the 
 freight which they paid to Northwood for bringing it 
 back to Singapore. Meanwhile, the manager devoted his 
 energies to building an expensive wharf in the wTong 
 place. 
 
 During all this time Northwood was making money 
 fa.st, and investing his profits in promoting his direct in- 
 terests. He bought up house property in Labuan to such 
 an extent that in the end practically the whole of the little 
 town belonged to him. Again, if a Chinaman who was 
 in any way a decent sort of fellow wanted money to open 
 a sago-flour factory, or to buy jungle produce, Northwood 
 was always ready to advance him money, at what was 
 then the phenomenally cheap rate of twelve per cent, per 
 annum, always provided that the borrower signed a three- 
 years' contract to confine his freights solely to Northwood's 
 ships. He, on his side, guaranteed to find sufficient tonnage 
 for all requirements. 
 
 Northwood had no sort of material guarantee for the large 
 sums he thus advanced to open up the Borneo trade, but 
 he was a shrewd man, who made but few mistakes, and his 
 personal popularity was of the greatest assistance to him. 
 Almost everybody, whether white, yellow, or brown, liked 
 the captain. The Chinese and natives had the most abso- 
 lute trust in him. 
 
 Northwood's sagacious and far-sighted policy stood him 
 in good stead in the hour of stress. The Scottish Oriental 
 Coal Company, which did things on a great scale, sent 
 out a fleet of four fine steamers to carry the coals from 
 the Labuan mines to Singapore, and other ports in the Far 
 East. Unluckily for Northwood and all concerned, there 
 were hardly any coals to be exported from Labuan ; some- 
 thing, as usual, had gone wrong with the mines, and the 
 output was very small indeed. In these unfortunate cir- 
 cumstances the local manager decided to employ his steamers 
 as freighters, and incidentally to break up Northwood's 
 trade. To his vast amazement, he found that the thing 
 
 39
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 could not be done. The coal company's steamers were built 
 for carrying coal, and were quite unsuited for the very 
 mixed cargoes from the Borneo coast. Nor had they any 
 accommodation for either cabin or deck passengers. No- 
 body would have anything to do with the company's 
 steamers, and it was only then that it came to light what a 
 tremendous grip Northwood had got of the trade. The 
 shippers either could not or would not ship by the steamers. 
 Finally, in despair, the manager sent for Northwood and 
 offered him terms. He pointed out to the sailing ship cap- 
 tain that with " a rotten wooden barque " he had no 
 chance against four steamers owned by a wealthy com- 
 pany. The manager offered Northwood a very handsome 
 salary to run the company's steamers and the freight trade 
 on their behalf, subject, of course, to his becoming their 
 paid servant, and ceasing all operations on his account. 
 The offer was tempting enough, but Northwood would 
 have none of it. 
 
 The Don Pedro sailed for Singapore loaded as deep as 
 it was safe to load the ship. There was not a single cabin 
 to let, and her decks simply swarmed with native passengers. 
 The company's steamer left at the same time for Singapore, 
 with a few hundred tons of surface-coal dug up in a hurry. 
 Their engineer in charge of the pumps, having " gone 
 Fantee " with a case of brandy and a couple of native 
 women, had left the main-shaft to fill up with water. The 
 engineer in charge of the railway line was down with 
 Labuan fever, and so things went from bad to worse, while 
 a distracted manager wondered at Northwood's folly in 
 rushing to his own ruin. 
 
 On arriving at Singapore Northwood looked about for 
 a larger vessel than the Don Pedro, and finally bought for 
 a handsome price the Samson, a beautiful full-rigged ship, 
 in every way suited for his trade. He did not hke the idea 
 of parting with the Don Pedro, so he decided to put the 
 barque on the Saigon trade, under the command of his 
 chief officer, Simpson, who had been badly wounded during 
 
 40
 
 Labuan in the Olden Days 
 
 the Lizzie Webber affair. Captain Simpson was very 
 grateful to Northwood for his promotion, but, unfortunately, 
 did not live very long to enjoy it. 
 
 The Samson proved to be a very successful and popular 
 ship. The only thing which bothered Northwood was 
 the dead calms which are to be encountered in those waters, 
 and which sometimes last for a long time. On some 
 voyages he had known what it was to take six weeks to 
 drift the eight hundred miles which separate Labuan from 
 Singapore, whereas ^^ith a fair wind he would run the 
 distance in the same number of days. 
 
 One fine evening the Samson was lying alongside the 
 wharf at Labuan, quite ready for sea, and was to sail at 
 daybreak the following morning. Captain Northwood 
 was giving a farewell bachelor dinner on board. Captain 
 Barkspur and a couple of the officers from H.M.S. Sharp- 
 shooter were amongst the guests. Then there were also 
 present. Major Barclay and two of his officers, while Dr. 
 McPhun and three or four civiUans made up the party. 
 Northwood made it an iron rule to be a strict teetotaller at 
 sea, but once he was in port he used to enjoy his bottle of 
 wine as much as any man. The dinners given on board of 
 the Samson were always very excellent, but those were 
 days when gentlemen sometimes drank just a little too 
 much wine. When poor Dr. McPhun thought it about 
 time to retiurn to the bosom of his family, he saw two 
 gangways instead of one, and choosing the imaginary 
 instead of the wooden one, fell incontinently into the sea 
 with a loud splash. 
 
 Major Barclay looked over the side and said, philo- 
 sophically enough : " The old Doctor has gone overboard, 
 but he's much too fat to sink. He's floatin' about all 
 right ! " 
 
 Northwood, in his turn, had a look at the Doctor, and 
 exclaimed in horrified tones : " But he's floating wrong 
 side up ! " 
 
 He was a very strong and expert swimmer, so, kicking off 
 
 41
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 his shoes he went overboard to the rescue. Without too 
 much effort the half -drowned doctor was got on board, 
 carefully dried, and put to bed until next morning. North- 
 wood having got into a fresh set of white ducks, came on 
 deck again, and sat down to have a final chat with his other 
 guests. 
 
 Now H.M.S. Sharpshooter was a surve3ang-ship, and 
 Captain Barkspur was indebted to Northwood for much 
 valuable assistance in making his new chart of Borneo 
 waters. In any event, Barkspur had a great liking for 
 the hospitable and genial skipper of the Samson, and men- 
 tioning that the Sharpshooter was about to steam for Singa- 
 pore, asked if he could take any letters for his host. 
 
 " Well," said Northwood, " I wish you would take me 
 with you instead ! " 
 
 " What ! take you as a passenger ? " 
 
 " No, not quite that ; but it's nothing .but dead calms all 
 round just now ; the sea is just like a sheet of glass. Good- 
 ness knows when the Samson will ever get to Singapore ! 
 Now, if you would only give my ship a friendly tow across, 
 it would mean a small fortune for me ! " 
 
 Barkspur said the thing was absurd ; then somehow 
 the idea seemed less ridiculous than at first, and he finally 
 consented to the proposal. Shortly after this the festive 
 gathering broke up, and Northwood's guests reached their 
 respective destinations without any further incident. 
 
 Very early next morning Captain Barkspur was 
 awakened from his brief slumbers by an unusual trampling 
 and bustle overhead. Then he realized that he was suffer- 
 ing from what is vulgarly known in the Far East as " a 
 stiff head." The captain of H.M.S. Sharpshooter soxro^wiv^y 
 admitted to himself that this was the result of topping 
 off a quantity of champagne with a few brandies and sodas. 
 Too many cheroots also, beyond a doubt ! Meanwhile, 
 he rang a bell and sent a marine on deck to find out the 
 cause of the unseemly noises overhead, and to bid them 
 to cease instantly. 
 
 42
 
 Labuan in the Olden Days 
 
 The marine returned to say that it was only Captain 
 Northwood bending his cables. The horrified Barkspur 
 simply jumped into a uniform and hastened on deck, 
 where he found Northwood, looking as fresh as paint, 
 contemplating with a beatific smile a couple of fine Manila 
 hawsers, artistically made fast to the Sharpshooter's 
 bitts. 
 
 " What's the meaning of all this ? " roared Barkspur. 
 
 " Well ! " calmly responded Northwood, " Mr. Shovells, 
 your chief engineer, said you might be getting under way 
 very shortly, so I thought I would get everything ready 
 in good time for the tow. ..." 
 
 '' Tow! ! !" 
 
 " Why, yes ! You're going to tow the Samson to Singa- 
 pore, aren't you ? At least, you promised to do so last 
 night. I say, Simpson, I think you heard Captain Barkspur 
 say he would do so ! " 
 
 Lieutenant Simpson, one of Northwood's guests at his 
 dinner, had been an amazed listener to the conversation 
 about towing the Samson. He turned rather red in the 
 face, and said that he beheved that Captain Northwood 
 was stating facts correctly. 
 
 " Then that settles the matter," quoth Northwood. 
 
 Barkspur promptly retorted that he wanted certain 
 condemned Manila hawsers taken off his quarter-deck at 
 once, as he intended to leave for Singapore without any 
 further delay. 
 
 " Do you mean to say that you actually think that I am 
 going to tow that outrageous old East Indiaman of yours 
 all the way to Singapore ? " he asked. 
 
 Here Barkspur looked angrily at the towering masts 
 and spars of the Samson just astern of him. Northwood 
 simply expressed his undying confidence in Captain Bark- 
 spur's word, and taking out a spotless white handkerchief, 
 blew some imaginary tears down his nose. 
 
 " This comes of dining with a merchant skipper," growled 
 Barkspur. " I've got a head on me Hke a toyshop, and 
 
 43
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 find I'm expected to tow a monstrous wind-jammer from 
 here to Jerusalem ! " 
 
 " If you wiU invite me to your cabin, I daresay I can 
 relieve you of that little headache in a brace of shakes, and 
 we can talk over other things afterwards." 
 
 So the two captains went below, and once they were 
 comfortably seated in Barkspur's cabin, it turned out that 
 Northwood's prescription was " a hair of the dog," in other 
 words, just a little champagne with a few drops of Angos- 
 tura bitters in it. So a " small bottle " with the attendant 
 Angostura was put on the table, and when the champagne 
 was finished, Barkspur's headache had somehow disap- 
 peared, whilst Northwood feelingly observed that he had 
 never felt better in his life. 
 
 " Mind you ! " said Barkspur, as they rose from the 
 table, " I cast you off at the Horsburgh Light. I'm not 
 going to tow your Samson right into Singapore harbour. 
 And you are not to say a word about it to anybody." 
 
 To these conditions Captain Northwood wiUingly con- 
 sented, and forthwith went on board his ship. 
 
 A couple of hours later the good folks of Labuan were 
 more than a httle surprised to see H.M.S. Sharpshooter 
 steaming at full speed out of the harbour, whilst astern 
 of her the Samson strained gallantly at her tow-ropes, and 
 glided gaily through a crystal sea, without so much as 
 a stitch of canvas set. 
 
 Life in Labuan was very unconventional in those distant 
 days, when all sorts of odd things used to happen with- 
 out causing any great surprise to anybody. Some of the 
 men sent out to the island on good salaries seemed to 
 make it their object to do as little as possible in return 
 for the money which they received ; and as Labuan has 
 an enervating climate, and is but a poor place for sport 
 or other healthy forms of amusement, they naturally took 
 to drinking and dissipation. A few who got ambitious, 
 or simply could not help it, would overwork themselves 
 and go down under the Labuan fever. The men who got 
 
 44
 
 Labuan in the Olden Days 
 
 on best were those who were moderate in their work, 
 as in everything else. Even His Excellency the Governor, 
 in his very fine residence standing in a beautiful park, could 
 get bored and find time passing all too slowly. 
 
 One of the successors of Mr. Pope Hennessey, who was 
 a very economical Governor, took to keeping cows as a 
 hobby. As he could get as many native convicts as he 
 required to look after his cows, it was not a costly amuse- 
 ment. Then he started making butter, in quantities 
 considerably in excess of the requirements of his house- 
 hold. Nothing would induce His Excellency to give 
 away any of his surplus butter while it was sweet and 
 fresh. It was all carefully potted and stored. By and 
 by, when the butter got so strong that either the Governor 
 or It would have to quit the house, then would His 
 Excellency pen a few of the polite notes which he knew 
 so well how to write, and during the same day aU the 
 prominent citizens of Labuan were afflicted with a present 
 of the Governor's butter. It was a painful sight to see a 
 prominent citizen's wife writing a slavish and palpably 
 insincere letter of thanks to His Excellency, for his " wel- 
 come and delightful gift," while her husband was standing 
 over the gardener to see that he dug a certain hole deep 
 enough. As for the Governor, he would go through his 
 little pile of grateful and appreciative letters with much 
 gratification, and then go ahead making some more 
 butter. 
 
 Another Governor, Mr. Hugh Low, took up the study of 
 fruit and flowers. In due course he produced what was 
 probably the most delicious fruit in the world, the Labuan 
 pomelo, the result of grafting oranges on pomelo trees. 
 For fragrance, flavour and juiciness, the Labuan pomelo 
 was without its equal. When this fruit was in season, 
 Northwood never sailed from Labuan without a good supply 
 of pomeloes, which were the delight of his friends in 
 Singapore. As Resident of Perak, in later years, Sir 
 Hugh Low rose to great distinction, but the island of 
 
 45
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Labuan never appeared to give him the scope necessary 
 for his abilities. 
 
 Indeed, a horrid blight settled on the unfortunate 
 colony and its affairs. The great Coal Company, after 
 an extravagant expenditure of capital, went into liquida- 
 tion. Its steamers were transferred to the China coast, 
 and formed into a separate concern, which as the Scottish 
 Oriental Steam Navigation Company had a long and, pre- 
 sumably, a fairly prosperous career, with a considerable 
 increase in the number of its steamers. But in the end 
 the Germans bought up the whole fleet and transferred it 
 to their own flag. 
 
 Perhaps one of the most striking features in the story 
 of the Labuan trade is that, while the neighbouring State 
 of Sarawak, some four hundred miles away from Labuan, 
 had a regular and efficient steamship service between 
 Kuching and Singapore ever since 1856, it was nearly 
 twenty years later before Captain Northwood put his first 
 steamer on the line between Singapore, Labuan and Brunei. 
 At this day Sarawak is progressive and prosperous, while 
 Labuan, in spite of its unequalled advantages, is by no 
 means appreciated at its real value. 
 
 46
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 SINGAPORE IN THE OLDEN DAYS 
 
 AS agreed, H.M.S. Sharpshooter cast off the Samson 
 when the two vessels had reached the Horsburgh 
 Lighthouse, and the same afternoon Captain Bark- 
 spur was at his moorings at the man-of-war anchorage of 
 Singapore harbour. The Samson drifted in next morning, 
 and Northwood dropped his anchor in the roads and went 
 ashore to look after his affairs. In due course he worked 
 round to McAlister's, the ship-chandler's, the rendezvous 
 of all the skippers in the port, where they would smoke 
 and swap yarns about themselves and their ships, all to 
 the ultimate benefit of the worthy McAlister, with whom 
 they ran up long biUs at very taU prices. 
 
 Somehow it got round that the Samson had made a 
 wonderful passage from Labuan, apparently in a dead 
 calm. The skippers rubbed their eyes, and when North- 
 wood entered the shop, he was hailed with a shower of 
 questions. 
 
 Captain Shelback, of the Flying Cloud, was the first 
 to tackle him. 
 
 " I say, Northwood, how long d'ye say you took from 
 Labuan to here ? " he cried. 
 
 " Six days and a half, sir." 
 
 " Nonsense ! Rot ! D'ye think you're talking to 
 idiots ? " 
 
 " Well," intervened Captain Speker, of the Spindrift, 
 " I've just come from the Harbour Master's office and 
 seen the Samson's papers, and she's sailed the voyage 
 all right in a little over six days." 
 
 47
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Shelback was completely taken aback, and after a while 
 asked how the devil he did it ? 
 
 " By good navigation, my dear sir, just good naviga- 
 tion ! " replied North wood in a careless tone as he left 
 the shop to avoid any more awkward questions. 
 
 He never said a word about his passage himself, but in 
 the course of a day or two the truth inevitably leaked out 
 through other sources. Captain Shelback never liked 
 Northwood before, but now he hated him, and held out 
 angrily and at length about Northwood's " cheek." How 
 the man escaped being kicked over the ship's side, instead 
 of getting a tow from H.M.S. Sharpshooter, was an 
 impenetrable mystery to the envious master of the Flying 
 Cloud. The other captains said it was like Northwood's 
 luck, and took it out of him by chaffing him unmercifully 
 about his smart passage. 
 
 For all this Northwood cared nothing ; but, happening 
 to run across Captain Barkspur in Raffles Square, he met 
 with the briefest recognition from the captain of H.M.S. 
 Sharpshooter. With his usual sagacity Northwood recog- 
 nized that he was one man to Barkspur in Labuan and 
 quite another in Singapore, so he simply passed by with 
 a touch of his hat. Yet it so happened that long years 
 afterwards, Barkspur and Northwood met each other 
 in a London club and talked over old times in Labuan 
 with a zest which can be imagined. 
 
 The old-time merchant skipper of Singapore put on a 
 good deal of style. For instance, there was Captain Bangs, 
 of the Zephyr, who never went forth without three of his 
 sailors in his train. One held a green-lined umbrella 
 over his sacred head, another carried a smaU coil of 
 smouldering rope in his hand, in case Captain Bangs might 
 want to light a cigar, while yet a third ^^'as in charge of 
 a japanned deed-box, supposed to contain papers of con- 
 siderable value. Bangs and his satellites used to take 
 up a good deal of room as they sauntered up the Battery 
 Road ; but occasionally he would take the Zephyr to some 
 
 48
 
 Singapore in the Olden Days 
 
 mysterious cruising-ground of his own, somewhere in 
 Dutch Borneo, and then the population of Singapore 
 was able to breathe freely and have some elbow-room 
 until Bangs came back again with bags of Dutch guilders, 
 Dutch spices, and other ill-gotten gains, to the general 
 confusion of the traffic of Singapore. 
 
 It is now necessary to return for a while to the purely 
 domestic affairs of the Northwoods. They lost their 
 first-born in the waters of Melbourne harbour. In after 
 days they had a son and a daughter, both of whom died 
 of Labuan fever. About a year after the death of their 
 third child, their fourth and last was born at Singapore, 
 the boy of whom we have already heard in the story of 
 the fight with the lUanun pirates. Christened John Dillon, 
 after his father, this youngster was affectionately known 
 as " Johnnie," not only to his parents, but soon to all and 
 sundry. 
 
 Johnnie was born in a fine, handsome house in Beach 
 Road. It is not given to everyone to know the exact 
 moment of his birth, but Mrs. Northwood often told her 
 son in later days that he was born on the 15th December, 
 1856, exactly as the morning-gun was fired from Fort 
 Canning — ^that is to say, at five a.m. 
 
 While the preceding Northwood children had been fine 
 strapping kiddies, poor little Johnnie was a weakling, 
 who gave endless anxiety to his parents, and was only 
 saved from a premature grave by his mother's constant 
 care. However, Johnnie grew up to manhood. It would 
 have been much better for his father's financial position 
 in later life if his feeble existence had flickered out, but 
 this is anticipating the course of history. 
 
 After the birth of Johnnie, Mrs. Northwood remained 
 on shore a good deal, instead of constantly accompanying 
 her husband on his voyages as hitherto. She went with 
 him every second or third trip wdth Master Johnnie, but 
 the Northwoods were terribly afraid of his being carried 
 off by the Labuan fever. On one voyage, indeed, the 
 VOL. 1. 49 4
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Captain's ship was taken up the Sarawak river to Kuching, 
 because httle Johnnie's teething was giving trouble. That 
 brave and worthy man, Bishop Macdougal, performed 
 some such kindly office as lancing the baby's gums, where- 
 upon the ship dropped down the river and resumed her 
 interrupted voyage. 
 
 Johnnie, in spite of his feeble health, grew up to be a 
 very bright and daring lad. He loved his father's ship, 
 just as he loved the fine old rambling mansion on the 
 Beach Road, which had formerly been the American 
 Consulate. The house was surrounded by a great garden, 
 full of flowering bushes and lovely trees, and there then 
 was a charming colonnade — a playground for the youngster 
 of which he was never tired. 
 
 Johnnie was always in trouble. His father, who had 
 great ideas of a robust life for a young child and of the 
 necessity of "hardening him," bought a donkey for his 
 son. Johnnie and his donkey were, like Captain Bangs and 
 his tail of retainers, a sore trial to the Singapore public. 
 It was Johnnie's delight to career round the esplanade 
 on his steed, regardless of collisions with quite important 
 people, or bruises and contusions to himself. As for the 
 donkey, it bore a charmed life, and never turned a hair. 
 
 If Caroline Northwood spoilt her son, it was otherwise 
 with the lad's father, who had a sailor's ideas about " molly- 
 coddling." His theory of education was very simple 
 indeed. Lying and cow^ardice were to him scarlet sins, 
 and he believed that if his son grew up to be truthful 
 and manly, his feet would be set on the right road. More 
 he did not demand of him. Johnnie was naturally a very 
 simple and honest lad, free from the vice of lying, which 
 is so closely allied to cowardice. But Northwood would 
 go so far as to whip his son if he cried when he fell down 
 and hurt himself. A few whippings taught Johnnie at a 
 very earl}^ age the secret of suffering in silence ; and it is a 
 valuable secret ! 
 
 As the boy reached to his sixth year of age, his parents 
 
 50
 
 Singapore in the Olden Days 
 
 could no longer blink the fact that he was getting feebler 
 and dwindling away. It was absolutely necessary to send 
 him home. Mrs. Northwood refused point-blank to leave 
 her husband in order to take Johnnie to England. But, 
 she said, Matthew Small was taking his wife and family 
 home next spring. Why should not Johnnie go with 
 them ? So next day Northwood had a talk with his friend 
 Matthew, and he very kindly consented to take the child 
 to England, where the Captain had made arrangements 
 that he should be taken care of in an old friend's family 
 until he should be ready to go to school. 
 
 John Small's store was then the one indispensable 
 feature of life in Singapore. It seemed so refreshing to 
 step from the heat and glare of the Square into the cool 
 shades of John Small's spacious premises. On one side 
 was the watch-making and jewellery department, glitter- 
 ing with trinkets. Behind it the book department was 
 a great attraction. There was a large section given up 
 to Chinese and Japanese porcelains and lacquers, and 
 always full of pretty things. There were other depart- 
 ments for laces and ribbons ; rifles, guns and saddles for 
 young sportsmen ; yet another for the best brands of 
 brandy, pale ale, and various comestibles. In fact, there 
 was always some excuse for looking in at John Small's. 
 One met such nice people there, anyway. Nobody 
 dreamed of paying cash for anything. Everything was 
 put down in the bill, which was punctually sent in at the 
 end of the month, and sometimes paid. 
 
 In those days John Small's buildings had an entrance 
 facing the sea. The sea then rolled over where CoUyer 
 Quay and great blocks of solid buildings now stand, and 
 John Small was able to unload cargo-boats at his own 
 door. 
 
 Northwood kept a very large account with John Small, 
 
 because so many people in Labuan commissioned him to 
 
 execute their orders for them, and the Samson was always 
 
 wanting something or other. Northwood was a particularly 
 
 VOL. I. 51 4*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 desirable customer, because he always paid for everything 
 he bought whether it was for his own or anybody else's 
 account. In a secluded corner of John Small's, North- 
 wood had a big safe, which generally contained very con- 
 siderable sums of money, and when Small's wanted a 
 settlement they had merely to suggest a visit to the safe 
 and the thing was done. 
 
 Originally the firm had been Banner] ee. Small and Co., 
 the Parsee finding the money, and the Englishman the 
 ability and energy to work the business. Banner] ee was 
 a very agreeable kind of Parsee, who kept open house 
 and spent a great deal of money in various ways. He was 
 one of the few people in Singapore at the time who kept 
 a carriage and pair. It was a gorgeous affair — a big 
 barouche hung on Cee springs, lined with white silk, and 
 drawn by a pair of big Calcutta horses. The syces' liveries 
 were a blaze of colour. Nothing could match the soft 
 complacency of Banner jee being driven round the Esplanade 
 in his chariot. He was far too busy about other things 
 to attend to business, which he left to Matthew Small. 
 He had heaps of money, and was inordinately vain of his 
 accomplishments. He devoted long hours to the study 
 of the British poets, and being gifted with a remarkable 
 memory he never lost a chance of spouting columns of 
 Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, and various stray poets who 
 need not be mentioned. He was a keen Freemason. His 
 speeches, which were always of inordinate length whenever 
 he got on his legs at the banquets of that mystic fraternity, 
 were the terror of Zetland in the East. 
 
 In an evil hour. Banner] ee made the acquaintance of 
 Colonel Shendall, commanding the 99th Bombay In- 
 vincibles, at that time stationed at Singapore. The Colonel 
 was a fine, handsome, irresponsible soldier, through whose 
 fingers money slipped like melted butter. The Colonel's 
 wife had died young. Mere gossips said she had been 
 worried into an early grave, because she had never been 
 able to see the colour of a rupee, while all sorts of persons 
 
 52
 
 Singapore in the Olden Days 
 
 wanted to be paid. But before departing this life poor 
 Mrs. Shendall gave birth to a daughter, who at the time 
 of our story had grown up to be a splendid brunette. She 
 was of the type of beauty which Singapore ladies called 
 " bold," but it was most effective. Miss Julia Shendall 
 was a finished coquette, who had learned a great deal of 
 worldly wisdom from her graceless but fascinating father. 
 Exactly how an intimacy sprang up between Colonel 
 Shendall and Banner] ee the Parsee, it is hard to say. The 
 Colonel found it pleasant in the first place that he was 
 never asked to pay his bills, and then Banner] ee was such 
 a civil chap, who knew his own place. He was rather more 
 than surprised when one fine afternoon Banner] ee, very 
 timidly and with an extraordinary amount of circumlo- 
 cution, begged the honour of his presence at a little dinner 
 which he was giving at his humble residence, picturesquely 
 named Elysium. The Colonel was a bit nonplussed, 
 but said he would accept the invitation. Banner] ee sent 
 his famous barouche to bring his honoured guest from his 
 bungalow to Elysium. The Colonel found quite a good 
 lot of men invited to meet him ; the dinner was about 
 perfect, the wines were really good, and Banner] ee's vast 
 rooms were cool and comfortable. After dinnner, there 
 was a nice game of cards on the verandah, from which 
 the Colonel rose the winner of a considerable pile. As the 
 Colonel drove back to his quarters in the big barouche, 
 he thought that he had not spent such a pleasant evening 
 for a long time. He particularly admired the agreeable 
 way in which his Parsee host lost his money at cards. 
 " Wish they were all like Banner] ee ! " he mused. 
 
 After this, the intimacy ripened like Jonah's gourd. 
 The lovely Miss Shendall graced Elysium with her 
 presence if other ladies were invited, and as the fascinated 
 Parsee offered her the use of his carriage whenever she 
 wanted it, she took him at his word. Julia found a carriage 
 and pair a convenient substitute for a hack-gharry, and 
 besides, it cost nothing. She was always driving about 
 
 53 tsi
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 in Banner] ee's equipage, and if spiteful people talked 
 about the " Shendall barouche," what did it matter to 
 her ? And she rather liked the gay evenings at Elysium ; 
 they were such a contrast to the dull times in her father's 
 little bit of a bungalow at the Tanglin Barracks. True, 
 Banner] ee rather bored her at times by reciting yards of 
 " Lalla Rookh " and other poems at her, but this he partly 
 made up for, by his quaint and laboriously acquired 
 little bits of slang with which he enlivened his conversa- 
 tion. Banner] ee set up to be a past master of the English 
 language. 
 
 If Julia had no scruples, her father had his qualms. 
 In India, the Colonel would not condescend to associate 
 with the whitest of white civilians unless he happened to 
 be in the service of the H. E. I. C. As for dining with 
 " a nigger," he would as soon have thought of saying his 
 prayers ! However, it was only a little place like Singapore, 
 where there was no military society, so what was the harm ? 
 And, again, when Shendall had made a bad book at the 
 races, and was really in a deuce of a hole, who was it but 
 the ever- obliging Banner] ee who begged him as a favour to 
 borrow a little money, which was nothing but a burden 
 and anxiety to his humble friend ? It was the Colonel 
 himself who, with his usual heedlessness, let out that it 
 was Banner] ee who had come to the rescue at the critical 
 moment. The idea that the Parsee had any designs on 
 his daughter never so much as entered his mind. 
 
 Colonel Shendall was, therefore, rather mystified when 
 one fine morning he received a long letter filled with clouds 
 of compliments, from which it appeared that Banner] ee 
 desired an interview on private and urgent business. 
 
 " What is the beggar up to ? " growled the Colonel. 
 " If he wants to get some money out of me, what's all 
 this rot about me and Wellington, Lord Clive, Warren 
 Hastings, and the velvet eyes of beauty ? Hanged if I can 
 make it out ! It may be Banner] ee's way of putting on the 
 screw, but I've never seen it done this way before ! " 
 
 54
 
 Singapore in the Olden Days 
 
 The perplexed soldier was pacing up and down his 
 verandah, when Banner] ee drove up in his barouche. A 
 long and bewildering conversation took place on that little 
 verandah, in the course of which the unhappy Colonel 
 lost himself in the midst of very jungles of poetry and 
 prose. 
 
 Spurred by the Colonel to come to the point, the luckless 
 Banner] ee gasped : "If the peerless and incomparable 
 fair Julia will have me, my hand, my heart, my fortune 
 and the barouche, they are all hers, straight from the 
 word Go ! My intentions are strictly Honnerable, and no 
 blooming error ! " 
 
 " What ! " roared the Colonel, in a towering rage. 
 
 " D'ye mean to say " But here he choked. Then he 
 
 called his visitor " a damned nigger," and being a man 
 of violence all round, both in word and deed, he seized 
 the poor Parsee by the nape of his neck and literally kicked 
 him downstairs ! 
 
 Banner] ee crawled into his carriage, a crushed and in- 
 sulted man, and drove home to Elysium in a sort of 
 Oriental delirium. Next day he sent for Mr. Angus, 
 the estate agent, to find a buyer for Elysium, and sold out 
 his interest in the firm to Matthew Small ; while the coach 
 and horses, which had so often whirled Julia along the 
 Singapore roads, were disposed of at the next Saturday's 
 auction to the highest bidder. 
 
 The broken-hearted Banner] ee, having settled his affairs, 
 embarked for his native land, where, if the stern truth 
 must be told, a number of wives were anxiously waiting 
 for him. He also took with him a couple of helpmeets, 
 who were relegated to very secluded corners of Elysium 
 what time the gallant Parsee entertained Julia and the 
 Colonel in its marble halls. 
 
 For a few days, Colonel Shendall felt a bit uncomfort- 
 able at times concerning his summary ejectment of 
 Banner] ee, but when it transpired that the magnanimous 
 Parsee had no desire to trouble him about certain matters 
 
 55
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 of account between them, still less to take a revenge on 
 the man who kicked him downstairs, why, what could be 
 better ? Of course, poor Julia knew nothing of the Parsee's 
 aspirations, and congratulated her father on having got rid 
 of the man so cheap. Two years later, Julia made a 
 brilliant marriage in Calcutta society, in which she became 
 the " glass of fashion and the mould of form," as Ban- 
 ner] ee would have said. The Parsee partner having gone 
 his ways, the now purely British firm of John Small and 
 Co. started on a career of increasing usefulness and 
 prosperity. 
 
 To return to our story, as Small was not leaving until 
 three months later, the Captain decided to take his son 
 for a last cruise on the Samson. 
 
 The loading of the Samson being completed, Captain 
 Northwood, with his wife and son on board, set sail for 
 Labuan. It was destined to be the last voyage which 
 Master Johnnie ever made in the fine old ship, and came 
 perilously near to being his father's last trip in that or any 
 other vessel. The}' had not been more than two or three 
 days at sea, when Captain Northwood found to his annoy- 
 ance that the new crew, which he had just signed on at 
 Singapore, was largely composed of very undesirable 
 elements. No doubt the ghaut serang had run in some 
 bad characters amongst his men. The ordinar}- discipline 
 of the ship was nowhere, and she was being sailed almost 
 anyhow. Then there was trouble over thefts and dis- 
 reputable fights amongst the sailors. 
 
 To a man like Northwood this sort of thing was in- 
 tolerable, so the next time that trouble arose he had half 
 a dozen of his " wasters " soundly flogged. The procedure 
 was very simple. The culprits were made fast to the 
 rigging by their wrists, Mhen Cassim and his two mates 
 flogged them in turn, with a thing called a " colt " — a 
 short length of rope, tightly wound round with twine 
 and beeswax and terminating in a pointed end. This 
 " colt " could hurt a good deal without causing much 
 
 56
 
 Singapore in the Olden Days 
 
 real damage to the sufferer. The necessary number of 
 lashes having been inflicted by Cassim and his tindals, 
 the men were cast off and sent below. 
 
 Northwood hoped that such a lesson would have the 
 desired effect. That night, when he took his watch on 
 deck, the weather was fine, with a moderate breeze, and 
 the Samson was doing her five or six knots. The Captain, 
 unsuspecting and unarmed, was pacing up and dowTi his 
 quarter-deck, when suddenly a band of native sailors 
 made a rush at him. He promptly knocked down two 
 of them. Then a knife flashed through the air, and he 
 sank, bleeding profusely, on the deck. The mutineers, in 
 a hurry to carry out the rest of their plan, which was to 
 throw their captain overboard, had some difficulty in lift- 
 ing such a heav>' man. But they had got him nearly to 
 the level of the rail when Mrs. Northwood, rushing 
 through the crowd, flung herself on her husband's body 
 and caused him to fall back on the deck. 
 
 By this time Cassim arrived on the scene, closely fol- 
 lowed by Mr. Jenkins, who, without any further ado, 
 fired his revolver and shot one of the mutineers dead. 
 That shot cowed the other ruf&ans, who allowed themselves 
 to be put in irons. The Captain was carried to his cabin, 
 where it was discovered that his wound consisted of a 
 great gash right across the forehead, which had cut to 
 the bone. He carried a big scar on his forehead to the 
 end of his days, but though there had been a considerable 
 loss of blood, the wound in itself was not particularly 
 dangerous. 
 
 At any rate. Captain Northwood stood on his main- 
 deck next afternoon, with a bandaged head, while Cassim 
 and his mates were at work on the mutineers. This time 
 they laid in with a will, and had not Captain Northwood 
 stopped them in time they would have literally flogged the 
 treacherous scoundrels to death. As it was, they were not 
 worth much when they were cut down from their seizings 
 and carried below. On the arrival of the Samson at 
 
 57
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Labuan they were handed over to the police, and after a 
 brief trial were sent to work for several years in the chain- 
 gangs on the roads of the colony. 
 
 Captain Northwood never again experienced any trouble 
 of the kind, but he had had a very narrow escape. But 
 for the devotion of his wife he certainly would have been 
 thrown overboard by the mutineers. 
 
 The rest of the voyage passed pleasantly and quietly 
 enough. At times " Baba Johnnie " was allowed to go with 
 his ayah to have a talk with Cassim and his friends. Won- 
 derful tales they were which Cassim told him, of pirates, 
 of wizards, and of treasures guarded by fabulous monsters. 
 The little boy took a deep interest in these stories and was 
 never tired of hearing them. 
 
 In the natural course of events the Samson sailed into 
 Singapore harbour again, and on one sorrowful afternoon 
 a few days later (it was in April, 1864), Johnnie Northwood 
 was handed over to the kind care of Mr. and Mrs. Matthew 
 Small, on board of the P. & O. steamer Emu. The boy 
 was heartbroken at finding himself at sea without his 
 parents, and would not at first be comforted ; but child- 
 like it was not very long before he was running about the 
 decks of the Emu. It pleased him greatly to explain to 
 the Smalls' children what a vastly inferior packet the 
 P. &■ O. liner was, compared to his father's ship the 
 Samson. 
 
 It was some twelve years later before Johnnie saw 
 Singapore again, and during that time the place had 
 changed as much as he had himself. The fine old houses 
 on the Beach Road had disappeared, to make way for a 
 foul-smelling and howling Chinese quarter. Many other 
 notable developments were in progress, consequent on 
 the increasing trade and importance of the place, and the 
 opening of the Suez Canal. 
 
 But the old Singapore was the best. The society of the 
 olden days was hospitable, informal, and truly pleasant ; 
 while the colonists all round enjoyed a good measure of 
 
 58
 
 Singapore in the Olden Days 
 
 prosperity. People then thought nothing of dropping 
 in unexpectedly on their neighbours at dinner-time, and 
 if they brought a friend or two with them, why, so much 
 the better. Impromptu dances were got up at half an 
 hour's notice, and young people got married without 
 thinking that the equilibrium of the earth would be dis- 
 turbed in consequence. The Singaporeans of those times 
 had no submarine telegraph-cables or telephones, no 
 trains, tramways, or rickshaws, and scarcely any Germans 
 in their midst. How the benighted beings of that distant 
 day got on without these and many other blessings which 
 have since been lavished on Singapore it is hard to say. 
 But somehow they seemed to enjoy life in their lovely 
 island, and though it must seem almost incredible, these 
 primitive people made quite a lot of money by selling 
 British manufactures imported in British bottoms, and by 
 shipping Straits produce to the United Kingdom under 
 their own flag. Nous avons change tout cela I 
 
 59
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 CAPTAIN NORTHWOOD MAKES A VOYAGE TO SAIGON 
 
 CAPTAIN SIMPSON sailed the Don Pedro on the 
 Saigon trade with considerable success, and made the 
 ship pay very nicely ; but the poor fellow caught a 
 fever and died of it. By rights the command of the Don 
 Pedro ought to have gone to Mr. Jenkins ; but when it was 
 offered to him, Jenkins preferred to remain as chief officer 
 of the Samson. Northwood was then got at by a certain 
 Captain Blewitt, who had lost his ship near the Natunas, 
 and had not since been able to get another command. 
 There seemed to be nothing discreditable about the loss of 
 Blewitt's ship. Misfortunes will happen to master mariners 
 — though it may be noted that, throughout his long career 
 as a seaman, Northwood himself never lost a ship. North- 
 wood, however, had an expensive taste for helping lame 
 dogs over all sorts of stiles, and as Blewitt was out of a job 
 he gave him the command of the Don Pedro. 
 
 There was something about Captain Blewitt which 
 Northwood did not quite like, yet the new commander 
 of the Don Pedro was a taking sort of man, a good-looking 
 fellow of some forty years of age, well educated, and well- 
 connected, as it afterwards appeared. There was nothing 
 unsatisfactory about the new captain for several voyages. 
 Indeed, he showed himself to be a smart sailor, who could 
 make quick passages. But after a certain time. North- 
 wood had occasion to remark that, once the Don Pedro 
 got into harbour, the barque rode at her anchors until 
 she threatened to " ground on her beef bones," and that 
 the captain himself seemed to be a man much given up 
 to his pleasures when in port. 
 
 60
 
 Captain Northwood makes a YoysLge to Saigon 
 
 So Northwood talked very seriously to Blewitt about 
 his methods of transacting business for owner's account ; 
 for in those days the master of a ship acted as agent and 
 everything else. But the plausible Blewitt had always 
 a story with which to explain away unpleasant details. 
 One day he greatly astonished Northwood by making 
 inquiries about the son at home, his age, etc. It appeared 
 that one of Blewitt's uncles was a governor of Christ's 
 Hospital. A " presentation," that is to say a gift amount- 
 ing to a free education of the Northwood boy in the Blue 
 Coat School, could be arranged without much difficulty, 
 he said. 
 
 Northwood had a pretty fair idea of what the Blue 
 Coat School really was at that time. It meant a rough 
 and hardy life for a lad, which would " knock the nonsense 
 out of him." As for the educational side of the system, 
 there was no reason why Johnnie should not become a 
 " Grecian " and rise to distinction by his own unaided 
 efforts. Northwood's unwillingness to cadge a free edu- 
 cation for his son was easily got over by his subscribing 
 to the funds of Christ's Hospital. The whole thing chimed 
 in with the father's plans for Johnnie's upbringing. 
 
 Mrs. Northwood, who, with a woman's insight into 
 character, hated Captain Blewitt and all his works most 
 heartily, protested in vain against her son being sent to the 
 Blue Coat School. Her objections were met with remarks 
 about " mollycoddling " and " making a man of him " 
 and other pronouncements equally wise, until she was 
 crushed beneath their weight, and reduced to despairing 
 silence on the subject which was nearest her heart. 
 
 So, thanks to Captain Blewitt, Johnnie Northwood was 
 sent to the Blue Coat School. 
 
 Henceforward, Blewitt did just as he pleased with the 
 Don Pedro. Once he got the barque to Saigon, there 
 seemed to be no end to her stay at that picturesque port. 
 In time Northwood got to hear that the captain's dinners 
 and dances on board the Don Pedro were the delight of a 
 
 6i
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 certain section of Saigon society. Finally, he wrote to 
 a friend in Saigon, requesting him to interview the skipper 
 of the Do7i Pedro, and ask him why he did not sail for Singa- 
 pore. The answer was quite crisp. It appeared that 
 Blewitt had not sailed for Singapore because he hadn't 
 spent his freight yet ! 
 
 Northwood sent the Samson away in charge of Mr. Jen- 
 kins, and remained at Singapore until such time as the 
 Don Pedro should arrive. One fine morning Captain Blewitt 
 actually did get with his ship to Singapore, and was promptly 
 invited by his owner to settle up his accounts. These were 
 simple enough — practically there were none ! All the 
 mone}^ that could be advanced on account of freights had 
 been drawn and spent to the last dollar. 
 
 So Captain Blewitt 's valuable services were no longer 
 required. Northwood decided to sail the Don Pedro to 
 Saigon himself, just to see how things really looked in that 
 quarter. Blewitt went about saying that Northwood was 
 a most ungrateful person, oblivious of services rendered 
 to his son, and altogether a man with whom it was not 
 safe to do business. Captain Shelback, happening to meet 
 Northwood in the Square, put the matter to him in a dis- 
 tinctly vulgar way : " So you've given Blewitt the dirty 
 kick out, have yer ? " he asked. Northwood simply had 
 to grin and bear it. 
 
 The situation was one which left him at a very con- 
 siderable loss. Whatever Shelback and one or two others 
 might say, Blewitt knew perfectly well that he would 
 never be able to get command of another ship as long as 
 he remained in Singapore. The captain who would not 
 sail until he spent his freight got to be more famous than 
 was quite comfortable, so he took a passage on the first 
 ship bound for Calcutta, after which nobody troubled 
 themselves any further about him. 
 
 Captain Northwood made a fast passage in the Don 
 Pedro to Saigon, and rounding Cape St. James, slowly 
 drifted down the snake-like curves of the mud-coloured 
 
 62
 
 Captain Northwood makes a Voyage to Saigon 
 
 river, and finally anchored in the stream off the 
 town. 
 
 Saigon in those days was a poor and squalid place, but 
 it was already the centre of a very important rice-trade. 
 The cathedral, the splendid palace of the Governor-General, 
 the palatial post office, the handsome boulevards lined 
 with fine shops and cafes, which make the modem Saigon 
 like a little Paris built in Indo-China, were not as yet in 
 existence. Saigon, as Northwood saw it, consisted of a 
 few plain whitewashed buildings, a rice-mill or two, and a 
 shabby perspective of thousands of paillotes, the huts in 
 which the native population swarmed. The best buUdings 
 were inhabited by the Chinese merchants. On every 
 side, as far as the eye could see, Saigon was surrounded 
 by endless miles of swampy paddy-fields. Nothing relieved 
 the flat monotony of the dreary scene. The Europeans 
 who lived in this sweltering climate all looked pallid and 
 unhealthy. There were lots of soldiers to be seen about, 
 but the poor fellows looked even worse than the civilians, 
 and numbers of them found their graves in the wretched 
 place. 
 
 When Northwood started to work, he came across more 
 results of the Blewitt system. A merchant said to him : 
 " So you are the new skipper of the Don Pedro ! Well, 
 I thought Blewitt was going it too strong altogether. 
 Now I'll tell you what I'll do with you. Captain. You 
 know perfectly well that the market-rate for Singapore is 
 fifty cents per picul, but if you'll sign a charter-party 
 at thirty-five cents, I'll give you five cents on the whole 
 freight for yourself. How does that strike you ? " 
 
 Northwood said it struck him very forcibly indeed ; 
 but that as he happened to be the owner of the Don 
 Pedro 
 
 Here the merchant whistled, and remarked, d propos de 
 bottes, that Saigon was a damned hole anyway ! How- 
 ever, he wanted the ship, and signed the charter-party at 
 the fuU rate. 
 
 63
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Northwood began to wonder how much Blewitt had 
 really cost him from first to last, but of course that was a 
 thing now beyond calculation. 
 
 The Don Pedro loaded in a few days, and making a good 
 run to Singapore, brought to an end a really profitable 
 voyage. But Northwood felt that he had had enough of 
 the Saigon trade, and as he had a very fair offer for the 
 Don Pedro he sold the barque. 
 
 Mr. Jenkins now reverted to his old position as chief 
 officer, with a handsome bonus as an acknowledgment 
 of his efficiency while acting as master of the Samson. 
 So business once more went back to the old lines, and 
 Captain Northwood sailed his favourite ship the Samson 
 to the Borneo coast, which he knew and loved so well. 
 
 64
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 NORTHWOOD, JUNIOR, BECOMES " SOMETHING IN THE 
 
 CITY " 
 
 THE education of Johnnie Northwood was a sad 
 mixture. At the Hertford branch of the Blue 
 
 Coat School, bullying, fagging and flogging went on 
 uninterruptedly, and the two years spent by the boy in 
 that institution were mostly spent in learning to take 
 lickings without flinching, and in fighting bigger boys 
 than himself. Incidentally he learned some Latin. When 
 his mother arrived in England, she was much displeased 
 with his surroundings and promptly transferred him to a 
 horribly expensive and fearfully suburban " Collegiate 
 School for Young Gentlemen." At this establishment he 
 acquired a thorough knowledge of French, thanks to his 
 aptitude for languages, and a liking for Moliere and other 
 French classics. Of anything else likely to be of the 
 slightest use to him he had not the faintest knowledge. 
 The dream of the lad's life was to enter the Navy. But 
 his father decided to make him a Merchant Prince. It was 
 the mistake of Captain Northwood's life. 
 
 First of all, the Captain wished his son, after leaving 
 school, to serve for a couple of years in a shipbroker's 
 ofiice in Liverpool ; but as the lad's mother, who was for 
 the present residing in London, seemed to think that one 
 office was just Uke another, and strongly objected to 
 leaving town, a place was found for him by Mr. Leigh — 
 the same old friend of the Captain's with whose family 
 Johnnie had stayed when he first reached England — in 
 the offices of Messrs. George Gray and Co., a highly re- 
 spectable firm of tea-brokers in one of the " Lanes " of 
 
 VOL. I. 65 5
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 the City. In 1873 tea-brokers thought a great deal of 
 themselves and made a lot of money. It was usual to 
 pay a premium of four hundred and twenty pounds in order 
 to get a young fellow into George Gray and Co.'s office in 
 Rood Lane ; but, thanks to Mr. Leigh's influence, this 
 fee was waived in Johnnie Northwood's case. Still, it 
 was considered a very great favour that he was allowed 
 to serve for nothing. 
 
 Johnnie was equipped for his commercial duties with 
 a new outfit, comprising a top-hat, a tail-coat, and a pair 
 of stiff, shiny gloves, aU of which were horrid abominations 
 to him, and thus attired was taken by Mr. Leigh into a 
 large room fitted with a skylight, and lined with canisters 
 of tea from top to bottom. Wide dressers provided with 
 drawers ran round the room. In front of one of these 
 dressers a group of men were busily employed sipping tea 
 out of little white china bowls, which tea they promptly 
 spat out again into a huge tin affair, shaped like a dice-box. 
 
 Mr. Leigh was very cordially greeted by these gentlemen, 
 and having introduced " Mr. Northwood " to Mr. George 
 Gray, Mr. Wooler and Mr. Dixon, he also started sipping 
 and spitting tea like the rest of them. After an animated 
 discussion, he said he would buy a " break " of two hundred 
 half -chests of Panyongs at one and ninepence three-farthings. 
 Johnnie anxiously inquired of Mr. Leigh what he was going 
 to do with such a lot of tea, whereupon everybody laughed. 
 
 Mr. George Gray, a stout, good-looking gentleman, with 
 a pleasant face, now assured Mr. Leigh that he would 
 take a special interest in his young friend ; and, Leigh 
 having taken his departure, Johnnie was left in Gray's 
 sale room. He stood about uncomfortably, feehng a 
 guy in his new clothes, until Mr. Wooler peremptorily 
 ordered him to wash up some pots and cups. 
 
 " What ? " Johnnie ejaculated in blank amazement. 
 But Mr. Wooler put a tray of pots and cups in his hands 
 and told him to wash them at the sink. 
 
 The boy did as he was ordered, broke the handle of a 
 
 66
 
 Northwood Junior becomes "Somethings in the City" 
 
 pot, chipped two cups, and brought the tray back to Mr. 
 Wooler, who seemed much put out because some of the 
 old tea-leaves had been left sticking to the crockery. 
 
 " You'll never make a tea-taster until you learn to wash 
 pots and cups ! " he growled. He took the tray back to the 
 sink himself, and washed and polished them until they 
 shone again. Then he put his beloved pots and cups on 
 a dresser and started in again at his old game of sipping 
 and spitting tea. It all seemed very strange to Johnnie, 
 who was greatly surprised to see a lot of grown-up men 
 amusing themselves with such a childish and messy 
 occupation. 
 
 Presently Mr. George Gray shouted to him : " Put the 
 kettle on the fire." Johnnie obediently picked up a small 
 copper kettle, which had a marble inside to prevent " fur- 
 ring," and put it on a flaming gas-ring. In five minutes 
 Mr. Gray said : " Bring me the kettle." As Johnnie 
 picked the kettle off the gas-ring, the bottom of the thing 
 dropped out, and a red-hot marble rolling up against Mr. 
 Gray's boot made that gentleman skip. 
 
 " WeU, I'm blest ! D'ye mean to say you never put any 
 water in the kettle ? " ejaculated Gray. 
 
 No, it had never occurred to Johnnie to do any such 
 thing ; he had never boiled kettles before. 
 
 " He's broken a pot and chipped two cups already," 
 growled Wooler, as he picked up the ruined kettle. 
 
 Mr. Dixon, for his part, calmly expressed the opinion 
 that Northwood was a nice young man, but that he would 
 compel George Gray and Co. to close their doors before 
 the week was out. 
 
 At one o'clock Johnnie was told he might go to lunch, 
 and that the " Oriental " across the way was as good a 
 place as any other. So he went to the " Oriental," and 
 greatly enjoyed a steak and potatoes, washed down with 
 half a pint of bitter. It seemed to him the only sensible 
 business of the day. 
 
 During the afternoon he cleaned some more pots and 
 VOL. I. 67 5*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 cups, and at six p.m. walked across London Bridge to 
 catch his train. His mother was overjoyed to see him 
 back safely, and had prepared a lovely Httle dinner for him 
 in honour of his first day's career as a business man. She 
 was now quite sure that her son had done with all stupid 
 ideas of being a soldier or a sailor, and was on his road to 
 success and wealth. She was more than surprised, however, 
 at his revelations concerning his first day's work in the City. 
 In Singapore, she said, merchants made fortunes in ship- 
 ping thousands of tons of gambler and pepper and things, 
 but Chinese compradores and coolies handled the actual 
 stuff, which was rarely so much as seen by the merchants 
 themselves. They sat in large offices, where they wrote 
 clever letters, and made up accounts in large books. That 
 was how money was made ! There was Mr. Jasper 
 Mackenzie, of the famous firm of Brownlow and Co., who 
 made a fortune before he was thirty, and who was now 
 a Member of Council and so rich that he actually did not 
 know what to do with all his money. As for Mr. Brown- 
 low himself, now managing the London house, he began 
 life as a poor boy in a shop, and now he could only manage 
 to keep himself from becoming indecently wealthy by 
 giving away to charities all that he made over three 
 hundred thousand pounds per annum. Both Brownlow 
 and Jasper Mackenzie were celebrated for writing clever 
 letters, and being awfully smart at accounts. She would 
 speak to Mr. Leigh about it at once. Washing pots and 
 cups indeed ! 
 
 Next day Johnnie was sent round with a bear-leader, 
 in the shape of Mr. Leslie, to deliver samples to different 
 dealers. The samples were neatly put up in paper packets, 
 inscribed with cabalistic heart- and diamond-shaped designs 
 with numbers, and weighed a few pounds. These were 
 put in a coarse blue bag, which Johnnie had to sling over 
 his shoulder as he tramped with Mr. Leslie to all sorts of 
 different tea-dealers' offices. 
 
 Young Leslie was the son of a wealthy hop-grower in 
 
 68
 
 Northwood Junior becomes "Something in the City" 
 
 Kent, who had paid four hundred guineas to get his boy 
 into George Gray and Co.'s office, and being senior in its 
 service by a couple of months, made Johnnie carry the 
 bag. The two young fellows had lunch together and soon 
 became excellent friends. 
 
 During the day Johnnie slipped round to see Mr. Leigh, 
 and astonished him by urgently requesting that he might 
 be allowed to wear a cap instead of the top-hat, which hurt 
 his head. Mr. Leigh represented that such a thing was 
 impossible, because tea-brokers were gentlemen, and had 
 to dress accordingly. Johnnie retorted that he did not 
 know that " pot -washers " and errand-boys were gentle- 
 men, and gave vent to alarming threats about going to 
 sea. 
 
 Mr. Leigh very kindly pacified him as best he could, 
 and said he would try to have his duties altered. That 
 evening he and Mrs. Northwood had a long conversation 
 about her son. Leigh pointed out that the Sale Room 
 was the executive branch of the business, and the most 
 highly esteemed department. Still, as Johnnie was not 
 actually going into the tea-trade, it might be better to get 
 him transferred to the counting house. 
 
 About this there was no difficulty. Mr. Gray was always 
 glad to have a vacancy in the sale room worth four hundred 
 guineas to him, while Mr. Wooler hailed Johnnie's departure 
 with indecent exultation. 
 
 Johnnie was promptly sent into the counting house, a 
 dingy sort of place, under the charge of an elderly and 
 morose person named Jones, who had half a dozen clerks 
 in his department. The whole lot of them spent their 
 time in writing things in big books and on sheets of paper. 
 East by, the senior clerk, tossed over to Johnnie a pile of 
 printed documents, which he discovered were weight -notes 
 relating to certain quantities of tea stored at Hay's Wharf. 
 Blank spaces were left at the bottom of the weight -notes 
 to be filled in with the price and total cost of so many 
 pounds of tea, less so much discount at a given rate. 
 
 69
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Johnnie read one or two of the documents very carefully 
 without in the least understanding their purport. Eastby 
 then " cast out " a few of these weight -notes with amazing 
 rapidity, and explained that that was how the thing was 
 done. Johnnie tried very hard to tackle his problem, but 
 produced no other result than some unseemly blots on 
 the top weight -note, and a scramble of very untidy figures 
 on a sheet of foolscap. 
 
 When Mr. Jones himself took his new assistant in hand, 
 he discovered that he was quite unable to calculate an 
 easy sum ; also, that he wrote a hand which nobody but 
 himself could read. Mr. Jones thereon had something to 
 say about rich men's sons being a useless lot, and the curse 
 of George Gray and Co. 
 
 So this was the result of Johnnie's education when it was 
 put to its first practical test ! His seemed to be an abso- 
 lutely hopeless case. After a time he was utilized to take 
 round cheques, buy postage stamps, draw tea-warrants 
 from the bank, and clear odd lots of tea at the customs 
 in cases when the duty to be paid amounted to a few 
 shillings. At best he was an unprofitable servant even 
 on no pay, and his cool impudence failed to recommend 
 him either to Mr. Jones or to Mr. Chandler, the junior 
 partner in George Gray and Co. 
 
 Chandler was a very precise and natty gentleman, to 
 whom young Northwood's free manners were a great 
 offence. A few months after he had joined, Johnnie got 
 skylarking with young Leslie and flung the petty cash 
 book at his head. The missile missed Leslie and went 
 crashing through a glass door into the partners' room, 
 where it fell on Chandler's desk amidst a lot of splintered 
 glass. Chandler, who was dreadfully upset by this unseemly 
 occurrence, sent for Johimie and summarily dismissed him 
 on the spot. 
 
 Johnnie's feelings on " getting the sack " were varied, 
 but, on the whole, he was glad. He had no taste for a 
 business life, and was thankful that his mercantile career 
 
 70
 
 Northwood Junior becomes "Something in the City" 
 
 had come to a close. He went round, of course, to tell 
 Mr, Leigh of his dismissal, only to find that his wise and 
 kind friend took a very different view of the matter. Dis- 
 missal was a disgraceful thing, which would grieve his 
 father and mother very much. Somehow the matter 
 would have to be arranged. So Mr. Leigh went off to see 
 George Gray. It was observed that he bought another 
 " break " of tea, which happened to be Oolongs this time, 
 but in the end Johnnie got reinstated after being severely 
 reprimanded. 
 
 As time went on, Johnnie got somewhat ashamed of his 
 inefficiency, and said as much to Mr. Leigh, who, with 
 his inexhaustible good nature, took the lad in hand, and in 
 the course of a few private lessons showed him how to 
 overcome the simple mystery of calculating weight -notes, 
 and other details of office work. Great was the astonish- 
 ment of East by when one fine morning Johnnie resolutely 
 tackled a pile of weight -notes, and having cast them out 
 correctly, handed them over to him. Mr. Jones was some- 
 what sour over this unexpected display of business ability, 
 and said something about a young humbug who could 
 work fast enough if he chose to do so. 
 
 Johnnie's home-life at this time was exceedingly happy. 
 His love for his mother dominated everything else, and 
 the delightful family circle of the Leighs was always open 
 to the Northwoods. If he was dull about business, he 
 took a precocious interest in everything else, and devoured 
 books and publications of every kind with voracity. Parti- 
 cularly did he keep up his studies in French, which turned 
 out to be in after life not merely an useful, but an indis- 
 pensable acquisition. 
 
 Johnnie, having entered George Gray's service at the 
 commencement of the year, was called into the partners' 
 room at Christmas-time and handed a cheque for five 
 poimds, with the gracious remark that it was a vast deal 
 more than he was worth to the firm. Johnnie was over- 
 joyed, however, and having got East by to give him five 
 
 71
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 sovereigns for his cheque, hurried off to a well-known 
 shop, where he invested the bulk of the money in an 
 elaborate, but futile wTiting-desk, with mother-of-pearl 
 fittings and inlayings, which he carried home with him. 
 He had always had an abundance of pocket-money, but 
 out of the first five pounds actually earned by him his most 
 urgent idea was to buy a present for his mother. Had he 
 presented her with a golden casket fuU of the most precious 
 jewels she could not have been more delighted. She 
 nearly hugged him to death, and wrote a long letter to 
 her husband to explain what a splendid boy their son 
 really was. 
 
 The succeeding Christmas, Johnnie, who was actually 
 becoming of some use at No. loi. Rood Lane, was once 
 more called into the partners' room, and handed a cheque 
 for ten pounds, without any remarks from either Mr. Gray 
 or Mr. Chandler, other than the compliments of the season. 
 It is true, however, that Mr. Dixon, who happened to be 
 present at the time, muttered that he always knew that 
 young Northwood would ultimately ruin George Gray and 
 Co., and that he was on the eve of accomplishing his 
 object. 
 
 But Johnnie was now about finished with George Gray 
 and Co. Captain Northwood was on his way to England 
 to take his wife and son back to Singapore, and Johnnie 
 was not to go back to loi. Rood Lane after the 31st 
 December. 
 
 At last one fine morning. Captain Northwood arrived in 
 the London Docks on board the Blue Funnel steamer 
 Agamemnon. Johnnie scrambled on board the vessel 
 directly the gangway was made fast, and had no difficulty 
 in picking out the towering form of his father, although 
 he had not seen him for so many years. Both were 
 delighted with each other. Johnnie thought his father 
 the grandest man he had ever beheld, while the captain 
 was evidently proud of his son, who was, indeed, a fine- 
 grown lad, with a bright, intelligent face. There was a 
 
 72
 
 '.5a. 
 
 'i-^ LPa/i^^<ru n-
 
 Northwood Junior becomes "Something in the City" 
 
 striking resemblance between the two which betrayed their 
 relationship at once. As time went on and Johnnie began 
 to unconsciously imitate his father's tricks of manner, and 
 this resemblance got to be quite absurd. 
 
 It was a very happy little party which was re-united that 
 day at Portobello Lodge, the commencement of many 
 glorious days for Johnnie, to whom life had suddenly 
 become a round of pleasures. There were delightful coach- 
 ing trips to Brighton, visits to Portsmouth, holidays in 
 the Isle of Wight, remembered long afterwards. Captain 
 Northwood was always a cheery and amiable companion, 
 whose quaint remarks were studded with sailor-like phrases, 
 which were sometimes more descriptive than elegant. One 
 day, when he was on the top of the Brighton coach, a man 
 driving a smart pony dashed past the team and almost 
 immediately afterwards upset his dog-cart and rolled out 
 into the road, whereupon the Captain, with a pull at his 
 Manila cheroot, observed to his son : " The lubber to 
 wind'ard has turned turtle." Johnnie was mightily 
 tickled with the remark, and talking next day to his 
 mother about somebody who had come to grief over some- 
 thing or another, referred to him as " the lubber to 
 wind'ard." Mrs. Northwood was anything but pleased, 
 and told Johnnie that in future he had better leave the use 
 of such expressions to his father. 
 
 Captain Northwood greatly enjoyed the charming 
 society of the Leigh family, with whom he had become a 
 great favourite. But in spite of the advantages offered 
 by the proximity of PortobeUo Lodge to Stainsbury House, 
 the home of the Leighs, a variety of business and social 
 considerations prompted Captain Northwood to shift his 
 camp to Bayswater, where at No. 21, Wellington Road he 
 hired a suite of large, though fairly dingy, rooms at a 
 considerable cost. 
 
 73
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 SINGAPORE IN BAYSWATER 
 
 IN former days it was supposed to be rather amusing to 
 call Bayswater " Asia Minor," on account of the 
 number of Anglo-Indians who used to congregate in that 
 particular district of London. Many of Captain North- 
 wood's own cronies hved near Wellington Street. Johnnie 
 now saw a good deal of gentlemen with different com- 
 plexions and different manners from most people, gentle- 
 men who had much to say with unusual emphasis about 
 gambier, pepper, and gutta-percha, freights, exchange 
 and piece goods — all of which mysterious things seemed 
 to lend themselves to speculations which evidently were 
 not always successful. Most of the Captain's friends were 
 in opulent circumstances, but others were clearly " broke " 
 and made no attempt to hide it. Gambier, pepper, or 
 perhaps the two together in combination with gutta- 
 percha, had ruined them. One of these fallen heroes would 
 make the most gallant efforts to equip himself with the 
 necessary capital for yet one more battle, whilst another 
 would broken-heartedly accept his doom, which was to 
 live meanly and obscurely for the rest of his life, glad 
 enough if (as happened from time to time) one of his more 
 prosperous brethren from Singapore would assist him 
 to eke out his scanty resources with a handful of sovereigns, 
 or, maybe, two or three bank-notes. 
 
 Merchants, lawyers, a doctor or two, and an occasional 
 captain from the seas of the Far East, were amongst the 
 general run of visitors at Wellington Street. Johnnie 
 noted with amazement the wonderful clothing, deport- 
 ment and language of these gentlemen. His own father 
 
 74
 
 Sing^apore in Bayswater 
 
 wore his small gold hunter suspended at the end of a very 
 thin, long gold chain, which he wore round his neck, and 
 pulled through his waistcoat in some marvellous way. Like 
 the rest, his father smoked a great many enormous Manila 
 cheroots, would drink a brandy and soda at odd times, 
 and converse in English so mixed up with Malay phrases 
 as to be unintelligible to the uninitiated. The ladies 
 who came to see Mrs. Northwood were also a revelation 
 to Johnnie. Some of them, especially the elder ladies, 
 were quite bronzed, while others were very pale and white. 
 They seemed to know quite as much about pepper, gambler, 
 and the financial resources of their friends as their own 
 husbands. They talked freely about subjects in which it 
 was evident that Johnnie was expected to take no interest ; 
 for if one of the ladies looked a bit significantly at him, 
 the conversation at once got so mixed with Malay that the 
 young man was quite out of it. If one of Mrs. North- 
 wood's friends felt that a brandy and soda would do her 
 more good than a cup of tea, she ordered it, and Mingo 
 brought the tall tumbler on a tray as naturally as possible. 
 
 This was all very interesting and astonishing to young 
 Northwood. There was a magnificent sans-gene about 
 these people. They all called him " Johnnie," and did not 
 scruple to tell his father or mother before his face that he 
 was a fine handsome lad, who would make a good use of 
 the Northwood dollars when the time came. Everybody 
 was exceedingly kind to him, and he enjoyed fife very much 
 at this period, but in his quiet moments he could not help 
 thinking occasionally of Mr. Chandler or the Leighs, and 
 what they would say of his present surroundings. 
 
 Captain Northwood was an indefatigable frequenter of 
 museums, picture-galleries, operas and theatres. He took 
 his son to Portsmouth to show him the navy yards, to 
 Brighton because he liked coaching. Mrs. Northwood 
 accompanied them in their expeditions to such beauty- 
 spots as the Isle of Wight, and altogether it was a very 
 happy time indeed. The elder Northwood was a keen and 
 
 75
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 sagacious observer. He had a very felicitous manner of 
 interesting his son in what they saw, and of developing his 
 perceptive and reasoning faculties. At Brighton and 
 Folkestone he taught his son to become a good swimmer, 
 an accomplishment to which the young man afterwards 
 owed his life on more than one occasion. The captain him- 
 self was like a fish in the water, and had saved several 
 people from drowning without thinking very much of it. 
 True, he had little ways which, while they were amusing 
 enough, were rather trying to his son's sense of dignity. 
 He never went out into the streets of London without a 
 large folding map of the great city in his pocket. Rather 
 than ask a poHceman or anybody else the way to a place, 
 he would consult his map, and, taking his bearings by a 
 couple of steeples, or any other prominent landmarks, 
 eventually navigate himself to his destination. On one 
 windy day, when he wanted to mark out his course for 
 an exceptionally long voyage, he calmly went up the steps 
 of a private dwelling-house, placed one corner of his disas- 
 trous map under the knocker and spread the rest of it all 
 over the door. He then proceeded to chart his projected 
 cruise with the greatest satisfaction. Meanwhile, his son 
 stood about on the pavement trying to appear as if his 
 father did not belong to him, and devoutly hoping that 
 nobody would require to open that door until his parent 
 had done with it. 
 
 Again, he would catch his father hobnobbing at a bar 
 or hotel smoking-room with perfect strangers on terms of 
 the most intimate familiarity. Should one of these newly- 
 found acquaintances want to borrow a sovereign on one 
 of the usual pretexts, Northwood would always let him 
 have it. In reply to remonstrances on the subject, he 
 would say : " Well ! what's the harm ? The poor devil 
 wants it more than I do." Then he would light the thin 
 end of yet another Manila cheroot, and sally forth appa- 
 rently much refreshed with the idea that he had ministered 
 to the wants of a fellow-man. 
 
 76
 
 Singapore in Bayswater 
 
 After much holiday-making, Johnnie was told on one 
 fine morning to get ready for a stroke of business, and to 
 that end to get into his frock-coat, top-hat, and a new pair 
 of gloves, provided for the occasion. His anxious father 
 told him that he was going to take him to visit the great 
 Jasper Mackenzie, who had long years ago promised that 
 Johnnie should enter the service of Brownlow and Co. A 
 desk in the Brownlow offices was considered equivalent to 
 a commission entitling the fortunate holder thereof to a 
 considerable fortune within a reasonable period. 
 
 Father and son got into a cab and drove to Newbolt 
 Court, in which were situated the London offices of the 
 great house of Brownlow. Arrived at their destination, 
 Captain Northwood took his son into the Court and began 
 carefully to scrutinize his general appearance. He fully 
 appreciated the lad's bright and open disposition, and 
 loved him for being such a really nice-looking, strapping 
 six-footer. But at this critical moment Johnnie's ap- 
 palling ignorance of business matters and his crass in- 
 difference to office routine weighed heavily on his spirits. 
 He suddenly decided that the less Jasper Mackenzie saw 
 of Johnnie the better ; so ordering his son to wait in the 
 courtyard until further orders. Captain Northwood passed 
 alone through the heavy swing-doors inscribed with the 
 name "BROWNLOW & CO." on the shiny brass 
 plates. 
 
 It seemed an interminable wait to poor Johnnie. As 
 a matter of fact, Jasper Mackenzie and Captain North- 
 wood were busily " gupping " about all sorts of things, 
 past and present, in far-off Singapore, and forgot all about 
 the young gentleman who had been cooling his heels in 
 Newbolt Court for the greater part of an hour. At last the 
 pair of them came through the swing-doors, when Captain 
 Northwood discovered that Johnnie, bored to extinction 
 by his long detention, had taken off his gloves, tipped his 
 top hat well on the back of his head, and hands in pockets 
 was strolling upon the stone courtyard, whistling a tune 
 
 77
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 from La Fille de Madame Angot with considerable shrill- 
 ness and accuracy. 
 
 " By the way, Jasper, this is my son," said Northwood. 
 
 " Oh, indeed ! " commented a tall and stately gentle- 
 man, of a decidedly stern aspect. Then addressing Johnnie 
 very abruptly, he said, "D'ye understand anything about 
 book-keeping ? " 
 
 " No, certainly not ! " retorted Johnnie, with the 
 astonished air of a good young man being suddenly asked 
 if he happens to be an habitual drunkard, or something 
 of the kind. The great man looked gloomily at the 
 phenomenon before him, turned to Northwood, and taking 
 him by the arm, said : " Come along ! and we'll have 
 some lunch." 
 
 Johnnie was astounded at not being included in the 
 invitation, and stared at Jasper Mackenzie until his father 
 curtly commanded, " Go home to your mother ! " and 
 walked off with his friend. 
 
 Poor Mrs. Northwood was greatly grieved when she heard 
 Johnnie's picturesque recital of the interview, and his 
 outspoken comments concerning the manners of merchant 
 princes. " You might have said, quite truthfully, that you 
 would learn all about book-keeping ! " she moaned. She 
 was afraid that Johnnie had ruined a plan upon which so 
 many hopes had been built ever since he was a mere child. 
 However, when Captain Northwood turned up later in the 
 day, he was quite cheerful, and said everything was all 
 right. He had no fault to find with Johnnie ; but as Jasper 
 Mackenzie expressed a wish that his new recruit should join 
 the Singapore staff at the commencement of the following 
 January, and the autumn was well advanced, Captain North- 
 wood proposed to break up the camp at Wellington Street 
 and take his family to the Far East. 
 
 The route selected was via Paris, Lyons, and Marseilles, 
 in easy stages, and by a Messageries Maritimes steamer 
 to Singapore. Northwood's decision pleased everybody. 
 Mrs. Northwood was longing to get back to Singapore just 
 
 78
 
 Singapore in Bayswater 
 
 as much as her son, who dimly remembered the place in 
 a sort of glorified haze ; and Mingo, their native servant, 
 for once lost his balance and chattered with joy at the 
 prospect of escaping another winter in England, and 
 returning to the sun-scorched but splendid East. 
 
 The Northwoods gave a farewell dinner-party before 
 leaving London to as many of their friends as their lodgings 
 in Wellington Street could comfortably accommodate. 
 Mingo had been busy the whole day cooking all sorts of 
 diabolical messes, which were hailed with enthusiasm by 
 the exiles from the Straits. All the gentlemen had some 
 sherry and bitters before dinner. They had some more 
 sherry with their mulligata^vny, a red-hot soup which 
 brought tears to Johnnie's eyes. Some excellent fish served 
 chiefly as a pretext for iced hock ; some of the guests drank 
 claret with the cutlets which followed, but the curries and 
 sambals were the great feature of the feast. Everybody 
 beamed with satisfaction at the piles of snowy rice, and 
 the endless varieties of fish, flesh and fowl artistically 
 curried, and giving forth the most aromatic and appetizing 
 odours. There were sambals in great abundance ; red fish 
 from the Straits of Macassar ; salt fish from Siam ; salted 
 eggs from China ; kropoks, or delightful biscuits made from 
 a sort of flour of prawns, which came from Java ; " Bombay 
 ducks " from Bombay; blachan from Malacca, and chutnies 
 from all over India. Mr. John Small sniffed the ambient 
 air greedily, and remarked to his son, an absurdly youthful 
 and precise reproduction of himself, that only Captain and 
 Mrs. Northwood were capable of providing their friends in 
 London with such a magnificent dinner. 
 
 Captain Lugard was positively watering at the mouth, 
 as he muttered that this was his first happy hour since 
 he left Bolongan — which happens to be somewhere in 
 Borneo. Mr. Valberg, the Senior Magistrate, who was 
 alwa5's so very careful about his dignity, rubbed his hands 
 in a sort of unholy glee, and nearly scared young Valentine 
 Valberg into a fit. Dr. Macleod, a splendidly handsome 
 
 79
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 man, could scarce control the workings of his massive 
 features. Mrs. Skinner, stout and spiteful, nodded genially 
 to her son Georgie, and urged him to have a good time of 
 it, and be sure to enjoy himself, and that gentle youth, 
 who had already been stuffing himself, felt thereby 
 encouraged to fresh efforts. The whole length of the 
 crowded table was in a state of animation seldom seen at 
 a dinner-party. 
 
 Captain Northwood was quite in his element at the head 
 of the table. Few things delighted him more than enter- 
 taining his friends in the largest numbers possible. His 
 stentorian voice was heard imploring his most distant 
 guests to have a little of this or of that, or telling the hired 
 waiters to fill a glass here or there. He set the example 
 of drinking pale ale with his rice and curry, and certainly, 
 as the carefully cooled amber ale creamed in a thin glass 
 goblet, it seemed both seductive and appropriate as a 
 beverage for palates set aflame with chillies, peppers, and 
 all sorts of spices. Nearly every one took pale ale with the 
 only course of the evening worth thinking about, but there 
 were exceptions. Old Mrs. Crabbe, the widow of an Indian 
 colonel, who departed this life while Johnnie was still a 
 baby, and her exceedingly pretty niece, Clara Campbell, 
 both drank water. " Ah, Johnnie ! " said the old lady, 
 " if ever you get to be as old as I am, you will find there is 
 nothing like cold water for such a meal as this. You 
 don't find the natives taking pale ale with their rice and 
 curry, and surely they ought to know something of it." Mr. 
 Sprawle, sometime Assistant Resident of one of the Native 
 States, and at present an explorer on his own account, was 
 apparently of the same opinion, for he also drank water, 
 but was evidently enjoying himself in his quiet way. Pretty 
 Mrs. Fanny Dawson — whose husband was supposed to be 
 doing something or other in Singapore — started with pale 
 ale, but when her neighbour pressed her to take cham- 
 pagne instead, she made no objection, and drank it out of 
 a tumbler. 
 
 So
 
 Singapore in Bayswater 
 
 At last the rice and curry business was over, and the 
 array of heathen dishes was taken away to be replaced 
 by a delicious display of choice fruits. Said old Mrs. 
 Crabbe to her niece, " Clara, my pet ! you may have a 
 glass of champagne with your fruit. We're as poor as 
 crows, and ' Simkin ' doesn't come our way very often." 
 
 At a signal from the hostess the ladies retired with her 
 to the drawing-room. Captain Lugard, with a sigh of 
 relief, called for a brandy and soda, and with feverish haste 
 commenced to light his pipe, a small, black, charred and 
 chipped old meerschaum, which he invariably smoked 
 upside down. Puffing clouds of smoke and scattering 
 ashes liberally all over the place, the Captain took repeated 
 pulls at his long tumbler of grog, and was completely 
 happy. The other men, with more decorum, smoked Manila 
 cheroots ; a few of them took to brandy and soda, others 
 preferred claret, while Johnnie observed with respectful 
 amazement that Mr. John Small elected to top off with 
 port wine, Northwood suggested that Lugard and 
 Johnnie should have a chat in the garden — the fact being 
 that he wanted to get rid of both of them. Valberg and 
 Small found that they had no present occasion for the 
 society of their sons, and sent them off to the garden also, 
 together with the young scapegrace Dickie Smithers, 
 Mrs. Crabbe's nephew. Captain Lugard re-loaded and 
 lit his horrible pipe, had his glass refilled, and clasping it 
 in his hand calmly shambled through the drawing-room to 
 the garden. As the door closed behind him, Northwood 
 said : " Lugard is an awfully decent fellow, and very 
 generous with his dollars if anybody happens to want some 
 of them, but off the quarter-deck of his old barque he is a 
 bit of a nuisance. He'll be half-seas over before he thinks 
 of going home to-night." Everybody concurred, and 
 everybody thought of the piles of money that Lugard made 
 out of his gutta-percha trade. 
 
 As Johnnie and his friends entered the drawing-room, 
 his mother had just risen from the piano — she had been 
 VOL. I. 8i 6
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 singing one or two of her pretty songs, to which no one 
 made any pretence of listening. 
 
 Fat Mrs. Skinner made room for her on the sofa, and 
 taking her by the hand, whispered in a particularly audible 
 tone : " So Mrs. Crabbe and that niece of hers have new 
 dresses on to-night ! What size cheque did the old cam- 
 paigner take out of your husband ? " Mrs. North wood 
 said " Hush ! " Poor Mrs. Crabbe, in a new but cheap 
 black dress, turned uneasUy in her chair, and Clara Camp- 
 bell, looking deliciously pretty in white muslin and blue 
 ribbons, blushed crimson, while the tears started to her 
 magnificent dark eyes. 
 
 Johnnie, much distressed at this incident, hurried his 
 friends into the garden, where Captain Lugard, settling 
 himself and his long brandy and soda on an iron seat, soon 
 had the lads interested in the oft-told story of how he and 
 his sailors stormed the Sultan of Bolongan's palace. The 
 yam set Johnnie's pulses beating again, while Dickie 
 Smithers begged Lugard to take him into his service. The 
 old skipper emptied his tumbler and said he would think 
 about it. " Mind you ! " he said, " there's other work 
 to do besides storming palaces, as you'll jolly well find 
 out if you come with me." Then, turning to Johnnie, he 
 said, "I'm sorry your father is going to put you into a 
 beastly office. You are cut out for working on the Borneo 
 coast ; though after all, now that your dad has gone in 
 for a damn steamer instead of the good old sailing-ships 
 which made his money, it perhaps doesn't matter so much." 
 
 Dickie Smithers declared that it was a settled thing 
 that he would go to sea with Captain Lugard, and crowed 
 over the other youngsters, whom he called milksops and 
 landlubbers, until the old skipper shut him up with a 
 forcible remark which need not be repeated. 
 
 Presently other people began to flock into the garden, 
 and in some way or another Johnnie found that he had 
 paired off with Clara Campbell, whom he found to be more 
 charming every minute he spent in her society. Dr. 
 
 82
 
 Singapore in Bayswater 
 
 Macleod and Mrs. Fanny Dawson also went round the 
 gravelled paths together. They talked in low tones, and 
 the lady laughed a good deal at what was being said to 
 her. 
 
 Upon Mrs. Crabbe's arrival to take possession of her 
 niece, Johnnie went back to the drawing-room, where he 
 found Mrs. Skinner pursuing her favourite amusement 
 with great vivacity. She had just been making some very 
 scandalous remarks to Mrs. Northwood and Mrs. Valberg 
 about Dr. Macleod and Mrs. Dawson. Upon Johnnie's 
 appearance she went upon another tack, and said to him : 
 *' So you are going to be a lady-killer, like your father ! 
 But do be careful about unmarried girls, or they wiQ get 
 you into no end of trouble, A young man of your position 
 should marry a fortune and a title as well, so don't you 
 get yourself mixed up with a common flirt like Clara ! " 
 
 Mrs. Northwood begged Mrs. Skinner not to talk non- 
 sense to Johnnie, who would have to work for his living 
 like anybody else, and marry some nice, sensible girl when 
 he was old enough to understand such things. 
 
 Mrs. Valberg, who was supposed to be almost half- 
 witted on account of her knack of looking into space while 
 she said things which, on the whole, were rather sensible, 
 now gazed fixedly at the ceiling and began talking to her- 
 self in the following strain : " Clara is very pretty, and 
 she is a good, clever, managing girl, who has been taught 
 the value of every penny. He will be a lucky man who 
 gets Clara. Johnnie Northwood is a very nice lad, but 
 he's none too good for Clara. If he has money enough 
 for two, why should he want more ? and however rich he 
 may become, what's the good of a wife with a title to him 
 if he hasn't got one himself ? It will be many a long year 
 before my poor Valentine can think of marrying, but I 
 wish I could live to see him settled down with a wife like 
 Clara. And I believe in early marriages." 
 
 Mrs. Skinner could hardly keep back her pent-up feelings 
 during this little speech, and Johnnie thought it about 
 VOL. I. 83 6*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 time he made his escape, so he ran into the garden, where 
 he was promptly captured by Dr. Macleod, who wanted 
 to have a chat with him. 
 
 " So, my bonnie boy," he said, " I've got you at last, 
 have I ? How do you like Mrs. Skinner ? A really great 
 institution, isn't she ? No tiffin or dinner-party is com- 
 plete without her. She is as indispensable as the pepper, 
 the ginger, and the chillies in a curry paste, and like them 
 she brings tears to a good many people's eyes. Man ! 
 it's a sad, demoralizing thing is curry ! Look at us all to- 
 night. We were comparatively decent folk when we arrived 
 here, but we were led astray by that artfully compounded 
 mulligatawny at the very commencement. The plain- 
 boiled fish and the cutlets restored us for a few brief minutes 
 to some kind of respectability, but what a downfall there 
 was when the rice and the curries and those delicious 
 sambals, cooked by that devil Mingo, were handed round ! 
 Original sin oozed out of us at every pore. I noted you 
 at the table, Johnnie ! Your eyes were starting out of 
 your head, you thought you had a live coal in your mouth 
 instead of a tongue, and the wame of ye was just glowing 
 hot. It was after that prawn-curry, you remember. No 
 human being can pretend to eat a prawn-curry and remain 
 virtuous. Prawn-curry has been the moral and physical 
 ruin of hundreds, ay ! of thousands of both sexes in the 
 Far East. But after a glass of pale ale, your burning 
 tongue was cooled, and the pain you felt became a sense 
 of piquant but pleasant voluptuousness. Ye began to 
 feel good all over, you young villain, and your eyes, instead 
 of glaring into nothingness, just became brilliant as they 
 gazed gratefully on the charming person of Miss Clara 
 Campbell. You would have proposed to her this very night 
 with half a chance ! Curried prawns, indeed ! I happen 
 to know something about them myself. If I had asked 
 Mrs. Fanny Dawson to run off with me just now, I doubt 
 she would have declined the honest proposal. But, for- 
 tunately for myself and others, I've come straight from my 
 
 84
 
 Singfapore in Bayswater 
 
 wife and family in Edinburgh, and the virtues recently 
 inhaled on my native soil were just strong enough to hold 
 me back on the verge of the precipice. Now that we've 
 enjoyed a nice two-handed crack, let us go to the dining- 
 room and see what your father and the rest of them are 
 doing. I'll go bail they're sitting up to their necks in some 
 precious scheme to make a few more dollars." 
 
 The Doctor was quite right. Northwood was settled 
 at the head of the table, with Sprawle on one side of him 
 and Valberg on the other. John Small and Lugard 
 formed the rest of the party. All had paper and pencil 
 before them, and were so deep in their business that Lugard 
 had actually let his pipe go out, and forgotten to empty 
 his long tumbler. Sprawle had found a tin-mine in the 
 Native States and got a concession for it. The thing 
 looked well enough, and so a small syndicate was being 
 formed to float a company to work the Fusing Orang Mines. 
 Sprawle was to exploit the property, Valberg took over the 
 financial and business management of the whole affair, 
 while Northwood, Small, and Lugard agreed to find the 
 required capital. All these details having been settled, 
 the little meeting rose, and Northwood and his friends 
 adjourned to the drawing-room. With the freedom of 
 manner permitted by a very long and intimate acquaintance, 
 Northwood patted Mrs. Skinner on her vast bare shoulders 
 as he said, " Now, my dear Mrs. Skinner, how goes the 
 School for Scandal ? ' A character dead at every word/ 
 as usual, I suppose, while no one has so much as a thought 
 for poor Skinner slaving away from morning to night in 
 Singapore." 
 
 " Keep your paws to yourself, you horrid sailor-man ! " 
 shrieked Mrs. Skinner, who could never forget that she 
 had once been a buxom but captivating pink- and- white 
 beauty. She had been, and still would be, as arrant a 
 flirt as Mrs. Dawson, or any of the other ladies of her social 
 circle, and was never happy out of men's society. Poor 
 Captain Skinner had married her for her prettiness many 
 
 85
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 a long year since, and had had ample leisure in which to 
 repent himself of his bargain. 
 
 " What have you been doing in the dining-room all 
 the evening ? " continued Mrs. Skinner. " Talking 
 business, indeed ! Getting up some pretty plan for robbing 
 the widow and the orphan, you mean ! " 
 
 While Captain Northwood and Mrs. Skinner were fighting 
 their battle, the clock sounded the hour of midnight. 
 Mr. Small told Thomas it was high time he was in bed, 
 while Mrs. Valberg sagaciously remarked to the carpet 
 that one could really have too much of a good thing, and 
 that a sound sleep was better than any amount of idle 
 conversation. The signal being given for the breaking-up 
 of the party, the guests took their departure in groups, 
 and left the Northwoods to their meditations on the events 
 of the evening. 
 
 The group of Singapore friends gathered together at 
 Wellington Street on this occasion were really very honest 
 and very nice people in their own way. Accustomed 
 to live as members of one great family in the open and 
 extraordinarily genial surroundings of the Singapore of that 
 day, they were never really at home or completely happy 
 in London, where they were chilled by restraints and con- 
 ventions of which they recked little in free and sunny 
 Singapore. When they were back there they always spoke 
 affectionately of England as " Home " ; but the place 
 they really loved with all their heart was the little island 
 in the Straits of Malacca. Men like Northwood, Lugard, 
 Small and Valberg did much to increase the trade and 
 influence of Singapore on purely British lines. They would 
 have been horrified to think that they were labouring to 
 improve the commerce of what was to become a German 
 colony for all practical purposes. However, such sad con- 
 siderations concerning a remote future gave no trouble at 
 Wellington Street. 
 
 Johnnie was putting away his mother's music for her, 
 when he looked wistfully at a very highly coloured view 
 
 86
 
 Singapore in Bayswater 
 
 of Venice illustrating a sentimental song, and said : " I 
 should like to go to Venice ! " 
 
 " Venice, indeed \ " his mother retorted. " Well, I 
 suppose you will go to Venice some day, if you set your 
 heart on it, but really your voyage to Singapore ought 
 to be enough to satisfy you for the time being." 
 
 Johnnie went to Venice all right in later days, just as 
 he found his way to many other places he wanted to see. 
 Incidentally he managed to get himself into some of the 
 most undesirable and dangerous spots of the earth. He 
 had trouble enough before him to daunt the stoutest heart 
 and try the strongest nerve ; but, fortunately for Johnnie, 
 he knew nothing of his dark future, and indulged incessantly 
 in rosy dreams. 
 
 When Northwood and his wife retired to their room 
 they talked over the young lads present at the evening's 
 entertainment. There was no difficulty about forecasting 
 the future for Thomas Small or Valentine Valberg. Both 
 were carefully educated, precise, and particularly smug 
 young men, who would do exactly what was expected of 
 them. Thomas would keep his father's big store in the 
 Square, and Valentine would conscientiously follow his 
 father's footsteps in the legal profession and ultimately 
 become a magistrate. The career of Dickie Smithers also 
 seemed to lay itself open before the experienced eyes of 
 Northwood, who had detected beneath the gaiety and 
 attractiveness of the handsome young fellow the vicious 
 propensities which had wrecked his father. 
 
 " Tommy and Valentine are all right in their own small 
 way," he said. " They will give no trouble to anybody, 
 and succeed their fathers without having a tithe of their 
 fathers' brains or their geniality. Dickie Smithers will 
 come to no good ! " 
 
 Subsequent events justified Northwood's forecast in 
 every detail. As for poor Dickie Smithers, finding service 
 with Captain Lugard very slow, he ultimately made his way 
 to the coast of China, where he led such a rapid existence 
 
 87
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 that he outran the constable, until the constable in his 
 turn outran Dickie and cast him into jail, which was pre 
 cisely the fate which Mrs. Skinner had been prophesying 
 for him almost as soon as he could toddle. 
 
 Meanwhile Northwood had anxious thoughts about his 
 own curly-pated Johnnie. 
 
 " He is a dear, good, affectionate boy ! " explained 
 Mrs. Northwood. 
 
 " Yes ! " rejoined his father. " Johnnie is good at heart, 
 thank God ! and he is clever, high-spirited, and plucky — 
 too much so, in fact, for his abilities are hardly of the right 
 sort for success nowadays, and his courage will get him 
 into trouble. He wants ballast, and it will take a terrific 
 lot of licking to get him into shape. He will get it too, 
 poor chap ! " 
 
 Mrs. Northwood sighed, and her anxious fears kept her 
 awake until nearly daylight. 
 
 Meanwhile Johnnie's slumbers were nothing like so 
 tranquil as usual. He was dreaming dreams of battles in 
 Borneo, of moonlit nights in Venice, of curried prawns of 
 unusual dimensions — and of Clara Campbell ! 
 
 88
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 EN ROUTE FOR SINGAPORE 
 
 AFTER idling pleasantly about Normandy, the North- 
 woods took up their quarters in Paris for a time. 
 Then they found their way to Macon for no other 
 reason than that the Captain took it into his head to go 
 there to buy a stock of Burgundy for his cellars in Singa- 
 pore. The Macon district was found to be a land of plenty, 
 brimming over with good wine and good things in general, 
 and a smiling country withal. 
 
 Johnnie proposed that the journey to Lyons should be 
 made by one of the river steamers instead of by the horrid, 
 prosaic railway, an idea which was gleefully hailed by his 
 father. So Johnnie negotiated with the skipper of one 
 of the boats which load with wine from Macon to Lyons 
 to take the Northwood family as passengers. Of course, 
 there was no accommodation for passengers on board the 
 little craft, the decks of which were piled high with casks 
 of wine, but the Frenchmen looked on the whole affair 
 as a huge joke, while the Northwoods entered thoroughly 
 into the spirit of the thing. The river voyage was a pure 
 dehght ; the fricassee of chicken deftly cooked in a minia- 
 ture galley by a black-bearded member of the crew was 
 almost too good to be true, and Johnnie thought that the 
 new, fizzy wine drawn from one of the casks on deck was 
 much nicer than the expensive stuff in bottles. 
 
 The Northwoods, having viewed the whirling waters 
 at the junction of the Saone and the Rhone, arrived safely 
 at the great city of Lyons, where they were most hospitably 
 entertained by a French family to whom they had had 
 the opportunity of showing some attention in London. 
 
 89
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 After a very agreeable stay at Lyons, the Northwoods 
 took the train to Marseilles. Here they had secured 
 exceedingly comfortable and spacious apartments in the 
 house of a French family, thanks to the introductions of 
 their friends at Lyons. The Captain promptly declared 
 that he did not particularly care how long he stayed at 
 Marseilles, and straightway advised the Messageries 
 Maritimes' agents that he intended to defer his departure. 
 
 " We'll make the best use we can of the last days of our 
 holiday," he would declare of a morning, and certainly, 
 being favoured as they were with beautiful weather, our 
 pilgrims had a splendid time of it. They went on all sorts 
 of excursions to quaint places, where the natives, instead 
 of robbing their English visitors, would insist on giving 
 them an excellent meal and as much wine as they wanted 
 for two or three francs per head. 
 
 Master Johnnie was desirous that they should all avail 
 themselves of the present opportunity to pay a visit to 
 Monte Carlo, but his father did not particularly care about 
 the idea, while his mother would not hear of her boy going 
 anywhere near such an iniquitous place. Johnnie had to 
 content himself with the determination to see Monte 
 Carlo for himself some other day, and it is hardly necessary 
 to say that in the fullness of time, and after many wander- 
 ings, he got to Monte Carlo at last. 
 
 Then Captain Northwood took it into his head to do some 
 shopping after his own fashion. First, he bought a couple 
 of lovely marble statues of heathen female divinities, 
 which, with their marble pedestals, cost a pot of money. 
 He said they would do all right for the lower verandah of 
 Woodleigh, his beautiful home in Singapore. Then he 
 bought no end of marble slabs to pave the lower verandah, 
 so that his statues should have a floor worthy of their 
 magnificence. He purchased next marble friezes and all 
 sorts of things for the beautification of Woodleigh. Then 
 he started buying bulbs and seeds, and packed up whole 
 cases of roots and vines for his garden in Singapore, which 
 
 90
 
 En route for Singapore 
 
 comprised many acres. Finally, he said that by the time 
 freight and charges and things were paid for, he had spent 
 enough money and had better hurry back to Singapore 
 to see about getting some of it back ! 
 
 So, one fine morning, the Northwoods left Marseilles 
 by the M. M. steamer Mekong, bound for the glorious Far 
 East. 
 
 The voyage was to Johnnie a prolonged and magnificent 
 picnic on a huge yacht. It was a lovely steamer, thronged 
 by delightful people. There were a number of sturdy 
 Ceylon planters amongst the passengers, who were Johnnie's 
 especial admiration. There were pretty young ladies also, 
 with some of whom the lad fell simultaneously in love, in 
 spite of his passion for Clara Campbell. Athletic sports, 
 dances on deck, and scratch concerts passed the time 
 very pleasantly. 
 
 During the voyage from Marseilles to Aden, Johnnie 
 had many delightful talks with his father as they paced 
 the quarter-deck together. Captain Northwood tried to 
 give his son " points " as to what he was to do when he 
 reached Singapore. Johnnie learned that Woodleigh was 
 rented to Sir Henry Neville, the Chief Justice, and that 
 as Sir Henry's lease had some months yet to run, arrange- 
 ments had been made for the Northwood family to live 
 with their intimate friends the HaUidays, at Greenbanks, 
 until Woodleigh was vacated. 
 
 Captain Northwood was careful to impress on the mind 
 of his son that Sir Henry Neville was one of the best of 
 men, while Mrs. Northwood, with an outlook on the social 
 side of things, told Johnnie that Lady Neville was very 
 young, very beautiful, and very fascinating. Mrs. North- 
 wood was anxious that Johnnie should stand well 
 with Lady Neville, and thus get an entree into the best of 
 Singapore society. 
 
 There was a passenger on board the Mekong, a certain 
 William Johnson, a lad of Johnnie's own age, and of much 
 the same venturesome and light-hearted disposition. He 
 
 91
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 was a good-looking fellow, and, like Johnnie, was a six- 
 footer ; but there the resemblance ended. Unlike Johnnie, 
 who had a wealthy father to look after him, William John- 
 son made no bones about it that " his cheek was his 
 fortune," and that he was going out to try his luck in 
 Singapore because his prospects at home were so exception- 
 ally poor. Captain Northwood was pleased to see a friend- 
 ship growing up between the two young men, because it 
 was easy to see that William Johnson was an honest, 
 vigorous young fellow, with no nonsense about him. It 
 was better that Johnnie should have a penniless lad of this 
 stamp for his friend than some of the other young men of 
 Singapore, who had more money to spend than was good 
 for them. 
 
 So Johnnie Northwood and William Johnson used to 
 spend their time in " jawing " to each other, or reading 
 one another's books, when they were not sky-larking all 
 over the decks and making themselves something of a 
 nuisance to the other passengers. 
 
 Aden, however, was the scene of a complete change in 
 Johnnie's condition. The Northwood party went ashore, 
 looked at the Arabs and their strings of camels, explored 
 the rubbishy little shops, and drove out to see the wonder- 
 ful tanks hewn out of the solid rock. As there had not 
 been a drop of rain in Aden for something like seven years, 
 the tanks were absolutely empty, and could be seen in all 
 their magnitude. After a shocking bad dinner at an hotel 
 of sorts kept by a Greek, the party got back to the Mekong, 
 aU of them feeling tired out by a day spent under the 
 blazing sun of Aden. Next day, the Mekong was at sea 
 again, but Johnnie Northwood, who had some difficulty in 
 getting on deck, was listless and clearly very imwell. The 
 ship's doctor sent him to bed, and after a certain time it 
 was discovered that he was down with typhoid fever. 
 
 A mail steamer is no place for a man suffering from a 
 raging fever, and the ship's doctor was no ^vizard at his 
 trade. So Johnnie Northwood went from bad to worse. 
 
 92
 
 En route for Singapore 
 
 By the time the steamer got to Colombo he was delirious 
 and, naturally, saw nothing of Ceylon. 
 
 At last, in the early days of December, 1875, the Mekong 
 arrived at Singapore. Johnnie appeared to be by this time 
 at the last extremity. He was carried ashore, and put 
 into a carriage, in which he was driven to Greenbanks. 
 For the next few weeks the lad was struggling for his life. 
 " The wind of Death's imperishable wing " was, to all 
 appearances, quietly fanning him to his grave. The 
 anguish of his father and mother during this terrible time 
 was unspeakable. Had they brought their only son to 
 Singapore to die ? Every care Wcis lavished on him, and 
 good old Dr. Small did his best with a case which sorely 
 puzzled the worthy man, until finally the lad's magnificent 
 constitution triumphed, and as soon as he was able to be 
 moved his father and mother hired a bungalow by the sea at 
 Passir Panjang, and devoted all their energies to nursing 
 him back to health and strength. 
 
 93
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE COMMENCEMENT OF A CAREER 
 
 IT was but a shadow of the Johnnie Northwood of 
 former days who returned from the bungalow at 
 Passir Panjang to his temporary home at Green- 
 banks. There he found himself in very delightful 
 surroundings. Greenbanks was a vast rambling house 
 of colonnades and verandahs, standing on the top of a hill 
 and surroimded by acres of grounds. 
 
 The great commodious pile of buildings was not more 
 attractive than its inmates. The Hallidays were altogether 
 delightful people. The widowed, white-haired Mrs. Halli- 
 day was the most charming and the wisest of old ladies. 
 Her son-in-law, Alexander Melville, quiet, dignified, and 
 gifted with a discreetly veiled sense of humour, was one 
 of Captain Northwood's best friends. Mrs. MelviUe was 
 quite as clever and companionable as her husband. 
 James HaUiday, a lad of twenty years of age, with bright 
 red hair, was full of gaiety and high spirits, and had (it 
 must be added) a terrible propensity for getting into 
 mischief. 
 
 The other inmate of Greenbanks was John Grinston, 
 a sturdy young man twenty-five years of age, with 
 strongly-marked features, and a character to match his 
 physique. His history was one of unmerited suffering 
 and reproach, endured with silent and sullen courage. 
 His father, one of the skippers of the ancient days, 
 had died penniless in Singapore while his son was 
 yet a mere child. Put into Raffles School because it was 
 cheap, young Grinston was educated amidst half-csistes 
 
 94
 
 The Commencement of a Career 
 
 and native boys. At " Raffles " he managed to leam 
 all about reading, writing and arithmetic, if not much 
 else, and when he had to leave the school and was 
 thrown on his own resources, he eked out a miserable 
 existence as a clerk in the Police Court, and subsequently 
 in the Harbour Master's office. Attached to him was the 
 odium of being what is called " a country born," a regular 
 millstone round his neck. True, Johnnie Northwood 
 had also been bom in Singapore ; but, then, he had been 
 educated in England, and was the son of a popular and 
 notoriously wealthy man, circumstances which made all 
 the difference. Still John Grinston struggled doggedly 
 under his handicap in life, and exhibited a great capacity 
 for work wherever he was employed. 
 
 At last the turning-point came in his seemingly hopeless 
 existence. Partly through Captain Northwood's good 
 offices, and chiefly because George Carlyle, managing 
 partner of Brownlow's Singapore house and an intimate 
 friend of the Captain, knew a good workman when he 
 saw him, John Grinston actually got a clerkship in Brown- 
 low and Company's service. At this crisis in his career 
 John Grinston subdued his stubborn pride to the extent of 
 asking Captain Northwood to lend him sufficient money to 
 enable him to keep up the respectable appearance necessary 
 to a man on the Brownlow staff. Naturally Northwood 
 lent the money and thought no more about it. Grinston 
 did very well at Brownlow's, and at the earliest moment 
 possible insisted on paying back his debt to Northwood 
 plus interest. Northwood was much annoyed at Grin- 
 ston's insistence about paying interest, and they nearly 
 had a quarrel on the point ; but, as usual, Grinston had 
 his way, and was free to consider that Northwood had 
 rendered him no service whatever since he had been re- 
 paid with interest. It was Grinston's way ! 
 
 Now, although Grinston was doing exceedingly well in 
 the Singapore branch, the home office never liked his 
 appointment. Grinston had got into their service in an 
 
 95
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 unusual manner, and had not been drafted out from 
 London in the regular course. It was finally decided, and 
 unjustly decided on the mere merits of the case, that 
 John Grinston should be dismissed. Unhappily, the 
 London letter conveying John Grinston's dismissal, also 
 announced that Mr. John Dillon Northwood would shortly 
 leave London to join the Singapore staff. Grinston, whose 
 appreciation of his own value was something inordinate, 
 immediately made up his mind that he had been cleared 
 out of the road to make room for young Northwood at 
 his father's instigation. The Captain endeavoured to 
 explain that his son's appointment was but the fulfilment 
 of Jasper Mackenzie's ancient promise, but while Grinston 
 appeared to accept the explanation, he would have none 
 of it in his own mind, and hated Johnnie accordingly. 
 And John Grinston was the worst of good haters. He 
 continually chewed the cud of bitter thoughts about the 
 Northwoods. It is a long lane which has no turning, 
 and Grinston made up his mind that if ever he could get 
 even with the Northwoods he would do so at the first 
 chance. 
 
 His dismissal from Brownlow's really laid the foundation 
 of his fortune, for after serving a few years with another 
 firm he was in a position to start in business on his 
 own account with great success under the style of 
 Grinston & Co. In after years he became quite a 
 celebrity in Singapore. 
 
 It was no part of Grinston's present plan to quarrel 
 openly with the Northwoods, and as he had an almost 
 complete control over his features and his actions, none 
 suspected his real feelings. In the meantime, the North- 
 woods, both father and son, were attracted by his grit 
 and his affectation of simple but solid worth. Grinston 
 was great at cricket, football and other athletic sports, 
 and this alone was quite enough to endear him to Johnnie 
 Northwood. 
 
 His son now being on the high road to recovering his 
 
 96
 
 The Commencement of a Career 
 
 usual health and vigour, Captain Northwood busied him- 
 self in his spare moments with unpacking the carriages 
 built for him by one of the most fashionable shops in Long 
 Acre. Then he had to buy horses for his carriages, plant 
 out his vines and things in the grounds of Woodleigh. 
 So altogether he was once more a busy and a happy 
 man. 
 
 One fine afternoon Mrs. Northwood drove Johnnie to 
 Woodleigh, to pay his first visit to Lady Neville, and inci- 
 dentally to get a glimpse of his future home. Johnnie 
 was simply delighted with the magnificent long avenue 
 leading up to Woodleigh, its beautiful lawns and lovely 
 trees, while the house itself on the summit of the gently 
 rising ground appeared to be quite palatial in its own 
 way. 
 
 Lady Neville's reception was attended by no small 
 contingent of the " nobility and gentry " of Singapore. 
 Numbers of exceedingly important gentlemen and very 
 fashionable ladies promenaded the lawn. Occasionally 
 some of them would accept a cup of tea or other of the 
 refreshments provided at convenient tables, served by 
 picturesque natives. 
 
 After a very gracious reception by Lady Neville and a 
 pleasant little chat with Sir Henry, Johnnie thought he 
 was at liberty to see something of Woodleigh. At the 
 very end of the lawn was a singularly beautiful tree of 
 huge dimensions. Johnnie's attention was drawn to it 
 by the fact that some of the leaves appeared to be 
 glued together in a peculiar way. His mother explained 
 to him that these were red ants' nests, which ought to 
 be burnt out, and urged him not to go near the tree, 
 because red ant bites are terribly painful things in their 
 way. 
 
 Shortly after this warning, Johnnie had the honour of 
 
 an introduction to that exceedingly important personage, 
 
 the Hon'ble Granville Brendor, the Attorney-General 
 
 for the Straits Settlements, etc., etc.^. etc. To his 
 
 VOL. I. 97 7
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 astonished gaze the important Mr. Brendor appeared to 
 consist chiefly of a very large grey top-hat, a very large face, 
 a large frock-coat, worn so as to display an unusually large 
 expanse of shirt-front and white waistcoat, and a pair of 
 diminutive shepherd's-plaid trousers, terminated by a pair 
 of tiny, varnished boots. Johnnie thought he was the most 
 absolutely top-heavy gentleman he had ever seen. 
 
 The great Mr. Brendor, after carefully scrutinizing 
 Johnnie through his eye-glass, condescendingly remarked 
 that the tree at the end of the lawn was a very fine 
 one, of an unusual species, which he would fain 
 examine more closely. Johnnie mumbled a warning 
 about red ants, and said something about, " Don't go 
 there, sir ! " 
 
 Mr. Brendor looked at Johnnie, much as Goliath at 
 David, and resolutely followed his lone star to the foot 
 of the tree. A few seconds afterwards the unhappy 
 gentleman was seen sprinting across the lawn at a 
 speed quite unusual for an Attorney-General, what time 
 he plucked at his garments in a manner bordering on 
 the unseemly. Tearing wildly down the avenue, Mr. 
 Brendor singled out his equipage near the head of 
 the long file of carriages, and after roaring out a 
 hoarse order to his syce, plunged into the depths of 
 his vehicle, which was what is known in Singapore as a 
 " palanquin," a sort of glorified box on wheels, with shutters 
 which let up and down. Before the syce could extricate 
 his palanquin from the rank, down slammed one of the 
 shutters and out flew a large grey top-hat, followed at a 
 brief interval by a frock-coat and an extra size of a white 
 shirt, which a playful breeze carried partly across the 
 lawn. When, however, a pair of very short shepherd's- 
 plaid breeks were flung out after the shirt, the situation 
 was too much for the company assembled on the lawn. 
 Johnnie laughed outright, to the great displeasure of 
 his mother, though she was sorely tempted to laugh 
 herself. 
 
 98
 
 The Commencement of a Career 
 
 The unfortunate Attorney-General was simply swarm- 
 ing with red ants, and maddened with the acrid stings of 
 the horrid insects. Their bite is just like having a red-hot 
 needle plunged into the flesh, causing a pain which is 
 unendurable. What the Attorney-General looked like 
 when he reached home and had to get out of his palanquin 
 can only be conjectured ; but it must have taken him all 
 his time to look dignified in such remarkable circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Next morning early, Captain Northwood, putting 
 down his telescope, told Johnnie that his steamer, the 
 Alastor, was signalled, and suggested they should go to 
 meet her. A pleasant drive in the cool morning air 
 took them to Johnston's Pier, and they were soon afloat 
 in one of the comfortable long sampans, puUing four 
 oars. 
 
 " That is the Alastor ! " said Northwood, and Johnnie 
 saw a long black steamer lying so low in the water that he 
 thought she must be sinking. But his father laughed, and 
 said she had a full cargo on board and a bit over. Sampans 
 and lighters swarmed round the steamer, whose decks were 
 crowded by a mob of people whose main business appeared 
 to be to run about shrieking and making a noise. The 
 native passengers were, for the most part, possessors of 
 pets, such as a Borneo sunbear, a monkey, a parrot, or a 
 goat, which got in everybody's way and added to the 
 general clamour. 
 
 Finally, the Northwoods got alongside the ship's ladder 
 and gained the quarter-deck, where alone was there some 
 semblance of order. Captain Hall made a short verbal 
 report of the voyage. The five European passengers had 
 already gone ashore, but hoped that Captain Northwood 
 would meet them at tiffin-time at the Hotel de I'Europe. 
 The Alastor had shut out three thousand bags of sago- 
 flour at Labuan, and about a hundred bullocks, as a deck- 
 load of rattans and rubber paid a better freight than cattle, 
 and left more room for native passengers. 
 
 VOL. I. 99 7*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 At this point in his recital Captain Hall was 
 interrupted by the dreadful yells of three very black 
 men with hardly any clothing, who were trying to 
 force their way past the serang and his satellites to 
 the quarter-deck. They were the expectant consignees 
 of the bullocks left behind at Labuan, and, very 
 naturally, feeling disappointed, they began to howl after 
 the manner of their kind, and to curse most horribly the 
 ship, the serang thereof, the captain, the owner, and their 
 wives and daughters. 
 
 The din these fellows made was intolerable, until 
 Northwood, looking round hastily, set eyes on a suit- 
 able instrument of correction, which happened to be 
 a belaying pin. He walked up to the yelling group, 
 and bidding them begone for immoral sons of unmen- 
 tionable mothers, he dealt them out a few smart raps 
 with his weapon. Whereupon the black men speedily shut 
 up and slunk into their sampan. 
 
 Northwood told Johnnie that he strongly disapproved 
 of striking natives, but that there was only one way 
 of getting rid of Klings whose cargo had been shut 
 out, and that was to hit them over the head. Otherwise 
 the sooty viQains would go howling up and down the ship 
 all day long. 
 
 After this little interlude all hands were piped to break- 
 fast. The quarter-deck breakfast was most excellent of 
 its kind. Such delicacies as " country captain " and " black 
 duck " are beyond praise, albeit considerably more pun- 
 gent in flavour than most dishes. The Alastor's curries 
 were famous, while some fragrant and juicy Labuan 
 pomeloes made an elegant finish to a meal which erred a 
 little on the side of redundancy. Then Captain North- 
 wood, having lit up his Manila cheroot, sent for Cassim, 
 to have a look at " Baba Johnnie." 
 
 Yes ! it was undoubtedly the same honest and cheery 
 Cassim, looking hardly a day older, who used to tell fairy- 
 tales and pirate stories to a certain little boy on board 
 
 100
 
 The Commencement of a Career 
 
 the Samson ; but Cassim could scarce believe that the 
 young fellow, who stood as high, inch for inch, as his 
 father, was the pet child of the olden days. Cassim was 
 bidden to come to Greenbanks that evening to see some- 
 thing more of " Baba Johnnie." 
 
 Captain Hall then deferentially intimated that Mr. 
 McCracken, the chief engineer, would fain have a word in 
 private. 
 
 " Send him along ! " roared Northwood. " I suppose 
 he wants new engines and boilers as usual ! " 
 
 The " chief " came along and wished to detain the 
 Alastor a few days to tinker up his engines. 
 
 " Rot ! " shouted Northwood, as he peeled off his coat 
 and dived into the engine-room, from which growling 
 sounds, suggesting a fight in a bear-pit, arose for the 
 next ten minutes. Then the two men emerged from 
 the nether regions, and Northwood said very emphati- 
 cally to McCracken : " Mind you ! I don't grudge 
 the money, but I can't spare the time. Do what you 
 like with your repairs, but the Alastor sails at noon 
 on Saturday, and if you can't run the engines I'll do 
 it myself ! " 
 
 He gave a comprehensive look round the ship's decks, 
 which by this time had been cleared of passengers, monkeys 
 and parrots, and no inconsiderable lot of rattans and 
 rubber. The hatches were all off, and the steam winches 
 rattling away for all they were worth with slings of sago- 
 flour, while the tindals kept up their monotonous chant 
 of satu, dua, tiga. 
 
 " Get her out as soon as you can. Captain Hall ; 
 there is enough cargo waiting to load us twice over, 
 and don't forget you sail at noon on Saturday to the 
 minute ! " 
 
 Thus saying, Northwood told his son to jump into the 
 long boat and look lively, and they were soon on their 
 way back to Johnston's Pier. They seated themselves 
 comfortably in the boat beneath the awning, and North- 
 
 lOI
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 wood remarked, between puffs at his cheroot : " You see, 
 Johnnie, it takes some savvy to run a trade Uke this ! Hall 
 is a pretty good and safe skipper, but he has always got one 
 eye on the square of the main-hatch, and has none too 
 much grit in him. Not the man to make a trade. I think 
 I know pretty well to a dollar what he makes for him- 
 self, though he doesn't think so. I'll let him know about 
 it one of these days. Then there's that Chinese thief, 
 Ah Ling, the chinchew, making another fortune out of me. 
 But he is so jolly smart and useful I can't do without him, 
 and he knows it. Never a package missing with Mr. Ah 
 Ling, and the way he collects freights is a wonder. 
 McCracken is a good ' chief,' or I wouldn't keep him, but if 
 he had his way the Alastor would make about two trips 
 a year, while he was engraving and gilding his blasted 
 engines. Why don't I put on another steamer ? Well, 
 I suppose I shall have to some day, but I have got things 
 so anchored down on the Borneo side that I need fear no 
 competition as yet, and sometimes one steamer pays better 
 than two ! The Alastor is a bonny boat, my boy, and, 
 what's more, she pays her way and a bit over ! " 
 
 As the Alastor had covered her cost price within the 
 first twelvemonth and left a nice balance over, she was, 
 indeed, " a bonny boat." North wood had bought her for 
 a mere song, and at the present moment she was bringing 
 in to her fortunate owner something like nine thousand 
 pounds per annum clear. 
 
 With all his apparent lavishness and indifference to 
 small economies, Northwood was careful to live within 
 one-third of this amount, and yet enjoy life to the top 
 of his bent. And he had other irons in the fire. He 
 had investments in Borneo which brought him in a 
 round twelve per cent, per annum. He had bought up 
 all the best properties in Labuan, and was now sagaciously 
 putting money into landed property in Singapore, which 
 was constantly and rapidly improving. 
 
 The Alastor was a really wonderful packet. Johnnie 
 
 102
 
 The Commencement of a Career 
 
 noticed the following inscription on her big steering wheel 
 aft: 
 
 Alastor, 
 1856. 
 
 Liverpool. 
 
 Johnnie was born in 1856, so it was an easy matter for 
 him to calculate that the Alastor was then something over 
 twenty years of age, the reason why his father had picked 
 her up so cheap. True, he had to go to the expense of 
 putting new boilers into her, but that was after she had 
 paid for herself two or three times over. As a matter of 
 fact, the Alastor was a mere chicken at twenty years of 
 age, and was destined to do yet another twenty years 
 of hard work, and to earn many a pile of money before 
 her career was closed. But the iron steamers built in 
 1856 were very different from the flimsy steel structures 
 of nowadays. 
 
 Originally designed for the Bilbao ore trade, the 
 Alastor was built of heavy iron plates with frames 
 twelve inches apart. Then Alfred Holt cut her in two, 
 lengthened her, put his own system of tandem engines 
 into the vessel and sent her out from Liverpool to China 
 via the Cape. 
 
 The Alastor, if facts have been correctly stated, was 
 the pioneer of that enormous fleet under Holt's flag, 
 which must be valued at some millions sterling to-day. 
 With the opening of the Suez Canal, and the revolution 
 in modern tonnage, the Alastor was hopelessly out of date 
 for long voyages, and being old and with boilers which 
 were shaky enough, she naturally went cheap to the 
 man who had the pluck to buy her. Northwood knew 
 Alfred Holt personally, and there was quite a pleasant 
 friendship established between the great shipowner and 
 the Singapore skipper. The Alastor was a pretty vessel 
 of the old-fashioned type, with a clipper bow and 
 fine run-aft. She was heavily masted and sparred, 
 
 103
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 quite like a sailing ship, to the immense satisfaction of 
 Northwood. 
 
 Johnnie thought over all these things more than enough. 
 His father was a rich man, and what sort of start in life 
 had he to favour him ? The whole of the Northwood estate 
 and business was developed out of a small condemned 
 revenue cutter, with a mainsail smaller than a large table- 
 cloth. Then there was that phenomenal Holt's Line. Was 
 that not buUt up out of the Alastor, the verj^ steamer 
 which his father now owned ? Why should there not be 
 a " Northwood Line," extending its tentacles over the Far 
 East and monopolizing a huge freight trade of fabulous 
 profits, and world-wide renown ? In such mischievous 
 meditations did Johnnie, with his easily fired imagina- 
 tion, employ the hours of his enforced idleness as a 
 convalescent. 
 
 Captain Northwood w^as, indeed, wise in his generation. 
 He knew intuitively that for one man who succeeds in the 
 Napoleonic scale of business, hundreds come to grief, and 
 was abundantly satisfied with his generous and comfortable 
 measure of success. His son learned his lesson of modera- 
 tion late in life, and a very expensive education it proved 
 to be to himself and others. 
 
 At last Dr. Small pronounced Johnnie to be fit for work, 
 and on one fine morning his father drove him in his smart 
 Long-Acre phaeton to Brownlow's offices on Collyer Quay. 
 During the drive Northwood said a little to his son 
 about his future career. " I want you to leave ship- 
 owning to me. I like you to take an intelligent interest 
 in my affairs, but you've got to stick your spurs into the 
 Brownlow business, and become a partner whenever you 
 are fit for the position. Til find the money to buy your 
 partnership when the time comes, which won't be for 
 some long years yet ! " 
 
 Johnnie said nothing, but his father's programme seemed 
 singularly distasteful to him. So he was to be a " beastly 
 clerk " for goodness knows how many years, instead of 
 
 104
 
 The Commencement of a Careef 
 
 running a superb steamship line of which he felt he could 
 take charge to-morrow ! It would be so much more 
 natural to imitate his father, and console disappointed 
 consignees by rapping them on the skull with a belaying-pin 
 instead of squatting at a desk to write eternal letters, and 
 copying out invoices and things. There was a want of 
 breeziness about his long future which did not at all suit 
 this clever young gentleman. However, he was much 
 too fond of his father to run counter to his wishes, so he 
 preserved a discreet silence, while he internally resolved 
 to get out of Brownlow's directly he could see his way 
 clear to starting that wonderful steamship-line. 
 
 Presently they walked up the big staircase leading to 
 Brownlow's offices, and were very cordially received by 
 George Carlyle. After a short chat Captain Northwood 
 took his departure, and Johnnie seated himself at a desk 
 which had been got ready for him. That day he did 
 nothing but watch his colleagues, who were really too busy 
 to take much notice of him. At five p.m. a tamby came 
 to tell him that his mother wanted him, and as nobody 
 else did, he was evidently free to do what he liked with 
 himself. 
 
 He found that his mother had driven down in her landau, 
 with the new pair of horses, to take him for a drive round 
 the Esplanade, where they would no doubt be able to pick 
 up his father. Thus terminated his first day as a business 
 man in Singapore. 
 
 The next day by no means improved matters. One of 
 the leading juniors of the office was Mr. William Wapshot, 
 some time of Glasgow, a short, thick-set and thick-skinned 
 young man, with a big bass voice to match the rest of his 
 outfit. 
 
 Mr. Wapshot was a nailing good hand at his work, 
 and tried to take charge of things accordingly. It occurred 
 to him to take Northwood in hand and set him to fetch 
 and carry for him. So he threw several sheets of china 
 paper covered with writing in pencil on the lad's desk, and 
 
 105
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 told him to make a fair copy of it, this being before the 
 era of typewriting machines. Poor Johnnie did his best, 
 but that best was bad — a dreadfully illegible scrawl, which 
 nobody could possibly read but himself. 
 
 " What's this ? " growled Wapshot. " Hebrew by the 
 looks of it ! Weren't you in some kind of ofhce ? Oh ! 
 a tea-broker's ! Ye're sure it wasn't a pawnbroker's ? 
 What's the good of pawnbroking or tea-broking in an office 
 like this ? My word ! If W^intlebinnie and Co. saw 
 a scratch like yon we'd lose their agency by the return mail, 
 confound you ! I'll just write it out myself to save the 
 Wintlebinnie connection." 
 
 In a couple of minutes Mr. Wapshot was back at Johnnie's 
 desk with several enormous sheets of paper ruled into aU 
 sorts of forbidding columns, and once more took up the 
 burden of his song. 
 
 " Since you've been in some sort of a broker's office, 
 perhaps ye can cipher if ye can't write. Just set to and 
 extend that manifest ! " 
 
 The manifest, which had to be calculated in all sorts of 
 strange weights, measures and currencies, was an utterly 
 hopeless job. Johnnie did his utmost, but produced 
 results which were sheer arithmetical nonsense to the 
 experienced eye of Wapshot, to whom the conversion of 
 piculs and catties into hundredweights, quarters, and 
 pounds was mere child's play. Wapshot gathered up the 
 result of Johnnie's work with a baleful grin, and carried it 
 up to George Carlyle. In a beautiful mild bellow, which 
 could be heard aU over the office, Wapshot thus delivered 
 himself : 
 
 " I don't think much of Mister Northwood ! Just 
 look at his hand write ! And here's what he makes of 
 a manifest ! He tells me that two-and-two is five, and 
 that five per cent, on twenty shillings is eighteenpence ! 
 His father's a rich man, they say ! Why doesn't he set up 
 his son in a circus, or start him as a pawnbroker or some- 
 thing of the kind ? What's the good of him here ? " 
 
 io6
 
 The Commencement of a Career 
 
 Carlyle brushed the papers impatiently to one side, and 
 told Wapshot to mind his own business and do his own 
 work, instead of trying to push it on to young Northwood. 
 The unabashed Wapshot picked up the papers in question, 
 and as he passed Northwood's desk he favoured him with a 
 deliberate and friendly wink ! 
 
 Johnnie was absolutely dumbfounded at the proceedings 
 of Mr. Wapshot. What were Mr. Chandler, Mr. Wooler, 
 Mr. Dixon, and the other persons of Rood Lane, compared 
 to a demon like this ? 
 
 Captain Northwood made very light of his son's grievances 
 that evening, and compared him to a young bear, whose 
 troubles were yet to come. 
 
 The next day, about one o'clock, Carlyle said to him : 
 " Come along and have your tifhn ! " The tifhn-room was 
 at the back of the office, amidst huge piles of Manchester 
 bales on one side and great mounds of coffee on the other. 
 The import and export departments met at this point. 
 Once in the tifhn-room Northwood unpacked his lunch, 
 which he had brought with him under the seat of his buggy 
 in a tiffin-basket, a lacquered wooden thing, of two or 
 three trays and a handle. The lunch itself consisted of 
 some cold fowl, bread, cheese, and a banana. Carlyle's 
 tiffin was even more simple, some soup in a small jar, and 
 a bit of dry bread. 
 
 As they settled down to their meal Carlyle began to 
 " draw " his young clerk about his past life. He learned 
 that during his two years in the City, Johnnie had never 
 so much as copied a letter or made out an invoice ; that 
 all he had done was to go round with samples, do some 
 custom-house work, and cast out weight-notes. 
 
 " Well ! " said Carlyle, " I suppose that since you left 
 the Blue Coat School you must have cost your father at 
 least three hundred pounds a year ? " 
 
 Johnnie admitted that as a probable figure. " Take 
 ten years at three hundred pounds a year," pursued 
 Carlyle, " that makes three thousand pounds ! And what 
 
 107
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 has your father got for his money ? Why, my dear boy, 
 you can't even write ! " 
 
 Seeing Johnnie looking very dejected, Carlyle told him to 
 " buck up," not to mind what Wapshot or anyone else 
 said, but just to go ahead and do his best and all would be 
 well. He told Johnnie, too, that he might do worse than 
 imitate his own handwriting. Now Carlyle wrote a sin- 
 gularly beautiful hand, clear and characteristic, evidently 
 the writing of a man of qualities far above the 
 average. 
 
 Johnnie felt greatly heartened and encouraged by his 
 chief's considerate kindness and immediately took a great 
 liking to him. From that time he Med up his spare hours 
 with copying Carlyle 's old letters from the press copy- 
 books. He noted Carlyle's style of composition while he 
 strove to write something like him. His colleagues used 
 to laugh at him for what they considered a harmless form 
 of lunacy ; but in an amazingly short time Johnnie began 
 to write a very legible and pretty hand, with some of 
 Carlyle's style in it, but without so much character. 
 
 Wapshot soon spotted the new clerk's development, and 
 promptly took him off copying old letters to making fair 
 copies of his own drafts. There was awful trouble when 
 one fine day young Northwood started criticizing Wapshot's 
 drafting, and suggested that his subject matter could be 
 better and more succinctly expressed in another way. 
 Wapshot glared at him and bellowed at him, but Johnnie 
 knew he was right and held his ground. After repeated 
 rows, it was discovered that the " young duffer " had the 
 gift of composition, which Wapshot certainly did not 
 possess. Carlyle put an end to the situation by telling the 
 indignant Wapshot that he had better just let Northwood 
 know what he wanted to write about, and allow him to 
 frame his letters in his own language. 
 
 Still Johnnie could not help feeling a bit of a fraud 
 when he was paid his salary at the end of the month. 
 Carlyle laughed merrily at this idea, and said : "Go it, 
 
 io8
 
 The Commencement of a Career 
 
 my boy ! I like your modesty ! Mind you don't come 
 prancing round some day saying that I don't pay you 
 enough. I've known young men who've had the bad 
 taste to do such a thing as that ! " 
 
 Meanwhile Johnnie's physical education was proceed- 
 ing considerably at Greenbanks. The household was 
 astir by six a.m., and after a cup of tea, the whole force 
 turned out for athletic sports under the management of 
 Captain Northwood. Very fresh and sweet was the early 
 morning air at Greenbanks before the intense heat of the 
 day drove everybody under cover. John Grinston, James 
 Halliday, Johnnie Northwood and William Johnson, who 
 lived in an adj acent bungalow, would sprint for all they were 
 worth barefooted over the grass. Or again they would 
 compete with each other in long and high jumps. Captain 
 Northwood entered heartily into such events as quoits, 
 throwing the hammer, dumb-bell exercises, and swinging 
 clubs, at which he was hard to beat. A couple of hours 
 of this kind of work every morning soon got the young 
 fellows very fit. After a refreshing cold bath and a good 
 breakfast, the lot of them would drive to their offices for 
 their day's work. 
 
 In the evening the young men would often amuse them- 
 selves with a rousing good bout at singlesticks, a pastime 
 indulged in under somewhat peculiar conditions. It being 
 much too hot to wear pads of any kind, the combatants 
 stripped to their undervests and white trousers, their 
 whole defensive armour consisting of an ordinary wire 
 fencing-mask to protect their eyes and faces. Thus 
 equipped, they laid into one another with more pluck 
 than science. 
 
 The usual plan of the gladiators' programme was 
 that Johnnie and Jimmy should each fight Grinston 
 in turn, and then take it out of each other. William 
 Johnson having tried his luck in two of these duels, 
 vehemently declared that he was not going to be 
 beaten black and blue to please anybody, and hencefofrth 
 
 109
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 was an enthusiastic and interested spectator. It was 
 Grinston who forced the fighting. He was at least five 
 years older than either of his youthful antagonists, and 
 was of a much heavier build, besides being as hard as 
 nails through his constant training. The carefully 
 concealed hatred of Grinston for both Johnnie and Jimmy 
 found a safe outlet in singlesticks. 
 
 Grinston, taking advantage of his weight and muscle, 
 simply tried to beat down the guard of the slender lads 
 opposed to him in their turn, and then hammer them 
 for all that his brute force was worth. Johnnie and Jimmy 
 were speedily covered with huge weals and bruises at this 
 game, but neither of them flinched for a moment. Johnnie's 
 Blue Coat School education served him well when he stood 
 up to be savagely punished by Grinston ; and as for James 
 Halliday, the more he was cut up the better he seemed 
 to like it, and the wider the cheerful grin extended across 
 his honest, freckled face. That was just sheer Scottish 
 pluck in the case of James Halliday. 
 
 One particular trick of Grinston's neither of the lads 
 could stand. The amiable fellow, after making one or 
 two clumsy feints, took a vast pleasure in rapping a 
 whistling cut at the unprotected ear of either of them. 
 That was hard to bear, but after a while the boys got 
 " up to trap," and soon learned to parry this particular 
 cut. Then when Grinston left himself wdde open, either 
 Johnnie or Jimmy would get home with a blow which 
 made their opponent wince. 
 
 Needless to say that Mrs. Northwood and the other 
 ladies did their best to stop this savage sport, but Captain 
 Northwood deliberately encouraged it, and liked Grinston 
 all the better because he flogged his son with a stout, 
 supple stick, which left the lad with scarcely a sound 
 square inch of skin on his body. " It wiU do the boy 
 good ! " Northwood would say as he rubbed his hands, 
 and nothing made him happier than the cheerful courage 
 with which his Johnnie took a drubbing which well- 
 no
 
 The Commencement of a Career 
 
 nigh made a cripple of the lad. It was Northwood's 
 way ! 
 
 Alternating with these sports were musical evenings, 
 when Johnnie played the piano, and his father would 
 sing to his accompaniment such old-fashioned songs as 
 the " White Squall " in a fine baritone. On such occasions 
 the genial Grinston retired to his room, to sit up far 
 through the night making out bills against the members 
 of the Singapore Cricket Club. He had no ear for music, 
 and when he could not cut up a friend with a good stout 
 basket -hilted ash plant, it soothed him to make out bills 
 which it puzzled certain young men to pay. 
 
 Ill
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 A " FAUX PAS " AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 
 
 AFTER a certain period young Northwood was put 
 in charge of a section of the Eurasian clerks, 
 who sat at high desks in a long row at the extreme 
 end of the general office, it being his principal duty to see 
 that they turned out their work correctly and within the 
 given time. He was interested in his dusky colleagues 
 and puzzled by their peculiarities. Some of them went by 
 resounding Spanish, Portuguese or Dutch names, such as 
 Albuquerque, Miranda, da Costa, or Magelhaens, while 
 yet another would call himself Donald Bain, or Gustav 
 Passman. The history of Malacca accounted for such 
 names as Albuquerque and Magelhaens, but the fact that 
 there still existed a firm in Raffles Square of the style of 
 Bain, McGlashan and Co., and that the offices of Gustav 
 Passman and Co. were next door, suggested that in the 
 earlier days of the colony a bygone Bain and a departed 
 Passman had taken unto themselves daughters of the 
 land, of whom certain clerks in Brownlow's office were the 
 mixed progeny. 
 
 Johnnie noted that his smaU squad of Eurasian clerks 
 had their little failings. If they could come to office late 
 and get away early they did so, and generally there was 
 an air of irresponsibility about them. They were also 
 much in the habit of getting into debt, and expended 
 much ingenuity in wheedling loans in advance of their 
 salary under varied pretexts. Relatives died suddenly in 
 circumstances of dire poverty, or twins made their appear- 
 ance at a moment of financial crisis, with amazing fre- 
 quency. Otherwise they were very decent cierks iaadeed, 
 
 112
 
 A Faux pas and its Consequences 
 
 who did their work excellently, provided some one kept 
 them up to it. 
 
 Such characteristics were abhorrent to the dowmright 
 nature of Johnnie, who, it is to be feared, was a bit of a 
 bully as a very young man. He had a leaning to the 
 " belaying pin " methods of his father, for which his 
 education and his position partly accounted. In his 
 own mind he accused the Eurasian staff of " soldiering," 
 and it can be easily understood that he soon became very 
 unpopular amongst them. He was soon to learn that he 
 must not presume too far on the docility of the Eurasians. 
 Angered by the neglect of his work, backed up by a certain 
 mild insolence on the part of Mr. Alfonso de Albuquerque, 
 he so far forgot himself as to call that gentleman " a 
 lazy snuff-coloured son of a gun " — a deplorable expression, 
 undoubtedly inspired by injudicious studies of the 
 " Ingoldsby Legends." The clerk with the long name 
 promptly put on his hat and left the office. Next day, 
 he came back with a sheet of foolscap in his hand, on which 
 he stated, in his most exquisite copperplate writing, that he 
 had been grossly insulted the previous day by Mr. North- 
 wood, who had called him " the son of a snuff-coloured 
 gun " before several people. All the years he had served 
 Brownlow and Co. he had been kindly treated until 
 Mr. Northwood came, and he finally tendered his resigna- 
 tion. This statement of his case he left on Mr. Carlyle's 
 desk, and went to his seat to await results. 
 
 Carlyle was very angry indeed over the affair. Albu- 
 querque was the finest penman in the whole office, and 
 turned out documents which looked as if they had been 
 engraved. Besides, his father had served in Brownlow's 
 before him, and that a respectable Eurasian should be so 
 treated was a thing not to be endured. So Northwood 
 was sent for to be regaled with a dose of his own medicine. 
 
 " Did you say any such thing as this to Albuquerque ? " 
 asked Carlyle. Johnnie rephed that he had not called 
 the gun " snuff-coloured," but the man himself. Carlyle 
 VOL. I. 113 8
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 then rubbed it into him handsomely that his conduct 
 was not only ungentlemanly, but mean and cowardly in 
 the extreme. Also that, from an office point of view, one 
 Albuquerque was worth two Northwoods. Finally Carlyle 
 ordered him to apologize to Albuquerque. This Northwood 
 absolutely declined to do, but he expressed his regret at 
 his conduct, and promised to be more careful of the 
 feelings of his Eurasian colleagues in future. 
 
 With this Carlyle had to be content, and doubtless the 
 thing had gone far enough already, for the young fellow's 
 rebuke was even more public than his insult to Albu- 
 querque. The general office was but a huge, white- 
 washed barn of a place, in which tables and desks were 
 scattered about. No hedge of privacy surrounded the per- 
 son of Carlyle, the managing partner and the supreme 
 authority. He simply sat at his desk in a particular 
 corner of the great room, from which he could keep every 
 member of his staff under his own personal supervision. 
 Some great men prefer to shut themselves up in stuffy 
 Httle rooms to which it is difficult to gain admittance. 
 But Carlyle sat boldly out in the open, where he could 
 see everybody, and everybody could see him. 
 
 The joy of the Eurasians over Northwood's disgrace 
 was manifested in grins and sniggers, which became so 
 indecently manifest that Carlyle sent for the two 
 principal offenders, told them that any disobedience 
 to Mr. Northwood's orders meant instant dismissal, 
 and invited them to say exactly when they intended 
 to repay certain moneys borrowed from Brownlow and Co. 
 The Eurasians were at once reduced to a singularly 
 knock-kneed condition, and business promptly resumed its 
 normal course in Brownlow's office. Johnnie took his 
 gruelling very quietly, because he knew that he had 
 been in the wTong, a view which was strongly impressed 
 upon him by his father also. 
 
 A few weeks later, however, he was doomed to get into 
 much more serious trouble over his Eurasian friends. 
 
 114
 
 A Faux pas and its Consequences 
 
 James Halliday, ever the soul of mischief, persuaded 
 Johnnie that it would be great fun for them to go to a 
 dance given by the Mirafiores family in honour of the 
 wedding of their eldest daughter. Invitations were easily 
 to be procured, and Jimmy undertook that they should 
 be welcome guests. So the yoimg men dressed themselves 
 elaborately and drove out to the Mirafiores residence 
 some distance away in the country. Jimmy, who knew 
 everybody, presented Johnnie to the Mirafiores family, 
 the bridegroom's family, the da Cost as, and many of the 
 notabilities of the Eurasian world. The fun had already 
 started. A Malacca band, composed chiefly of fiddlers, 
 was squeaking out quadrilles, waltzes and polkas in due 
 succession. Refreshments were offered in considerable 
 profusion, and our young men were nothing loth to 
 drink to the health of the bride and bridegroom in two 
 or three bumpers of champagne. 
 
 Then Jimmy whispered : " Do you notice how pretty 
 Laura de Mirafiores looks to-night ? " Johnnie had 
 practically looked at no one else since he came into the 
 room. The bride was merely pretty, but her younger 
 sister Laura was nothing short of beautiful. With a 
 wealth of curly dark hair set off by a single red rose, a 
 pair of the most lustrous eyes imaginable, a small straight 
 nose, and a charming mouth, she had indeed most fascina- 
 ting features which her clear olive complexion suited most 
 admirably. She had a perfectly delicious figure, set off to 
 much advantage by a plain white frock adorned by pink 
 ribbons ; her neck and arms were really lovely, while her 
 hands and feet were singularly small and well shaped. 
 Laura de Mirafiores was a phenomenon likely to be found 
 pleasing in the extreme by a much less fastidious critic 
 than a hot-blooded young man with nearly a bottle of 
 champagne in him. 
 
 Laura had but little conversation, but she danced 
 divinely, she waltzed by sheer instinct, and gave her en- 
 amoured partner the sensation of floating through space. 
 VOL. I. 115 8*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Pressed by young Northwood's urgent entreaties, she 
 gave him all the round dances, and sat out the squares 
 with him in the corner of a verandah. 
 
 Meanwhile, the son of the celebrated captain was creating 
 a sensation of which he little recked. An eager group 
 was formed round the worthy Mr. and Mrs. de Miraflores, 
 who devoted themselves to lively chatter about the North- 
 wood family. A sallow youth said : " I hear Captain 
 Northwood have at least five tousand dollar ! " Five 
 thousand dollars represented a colossal fortune to the luck- 
 less Eurasian, who drew a salary of twenty dollars a month 
 and had debts representing about five years of his pay, 
 " Five tousand dollar ! " shrieked another coloured gentle- 
 man, drawing forty dollars a month, and owing debts 
 in proportion, " the captin has one million dollar ! " This 
 magnificent sum set up a respectful hush, and soon all 
 eyes were bent on young Northwood floating round the 
 room, with his right arm firmly grasping the yielding 
 waist of the lovely Laura. Golden dreams flitted before 
 the eyes of certain persons. 
 
 All this time James Halliday had been amusing him- 
 self in his own way. His flaming red head, his cheery 
 smile, and his breezy coat-tails, were all over the place. 
 He was most unselfish and general in his attentions. 
 Whether he romped round the room with a pretty girl, 
 or nearly killed himself dragging about a fat and elderly 
 lady, it was all the same to Jimmy, who was the life and 
 soul of the party. At intervals, he would stop to have 
 something to drink, and chat with one or another of the 
 Eurasian gentlemen. 
 
 Things had gone pretty far between Laura and Johnnie 
 before Jimmy realized the situation. Then Jimmy sought 
 out his misguided friend, and persuaded him to take a 
 whisky and soda, just to put things straight. It was 
 Jimmy's intention to give Johnnie some hint in the way 
 of advice about the danger of making an exhibition of 
 himself with Laura, but just then the fiddles struck up 
 
 xi6
 
 A Faux pas and its Consequences 
 
 a polka, which Jimmy had to dance with a perfectly 
 delightful young lady, and off he went, leaving Johnnie 
 to his fate. 
 
 That whisky and soda did the trick ! Johnnie never 
 drank spirits, and on top of the champagne the treacher- 
 ous whisky finished him. He danced that particular polka 
 with Laura, and took her afterwards to the cool verandah, 
 shadowed by palms, and screened by ferns and flowers. 
 Daybreak was approaching, the very air seemed sweet 
 and sensuous. Taking Laura's hand in his, Johnnie 
 hastily poured forth warm words of love and admiration 
 which brought a hot blush to the lovely girl's face, and 
 transformed her into something of well-nigh irresistible 
 beauty. Hereupon Mr. John Dillon Northwood found 
 nothing better to do than to kiss her hand and charming 
 mouth, and to offer Laura his heart and hand. 
 
 Laura behaved with considerable decorum under such 
 unexpected circumstances. Still she returned the pressure 
 of his hand, and, after much difficulty, she allowed Johnnie 
 to kiss her again. The infatuated young man had just 
 promised Laura in a high-pitched speech of especial foolish- 
 ness, that he would speak to her father on the subject of 
 an early marriage, when certain sniggerings and teehees 
 broke disagreeably on his ear. The sound seemed horribly 
 familiar to Johnnie, while they so alarmed Laura that she 
 sprang to her feet and bolted. From behind a shrubbery 
 in the verandah there now crept forth Mr. Alfonso de Albu- 
 querque and Mr. Donald Bain, both of Brownlow and Co., 
 and both lost in grins and sniggers. 
 
 With the disappearance of Laura all manner of radiancy 
 had suddenly vanished from the scene, while a couple 
 of cobras would not have given Johnnie a greater shock 
 than the unexpected apparition of his two Eurasian 
 subordinates. The immediate situation was saved by 
 Jimmy Halliday, who came rushing in to say something 
 about daybreak, and the advisability of getting home. 
 Everybody stared and many smiled suggestively as the 
 
 117
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 young fellows made their adieux. Mrs. de Miraflores said, 
 in a particularly impressive manner, that she hoped Johnnie 
 would come to see them again very soon, while Mr. Mira- 
 flores talked of meeting Captain Northwood shortly. 
 Laura was conspicuous by her absence, but three or four 
 of her brothers, who Johnnie thought were rather 
 unpleasant young men, insisted on seeing him off and 
 shaking hands with him repeatedly. 
 
 The departing guests jumped into their buggy, and 
 Jimmy, grabbing the reins, drove off smartly. As soon, 
 however, as they had got into the main road, Jimmy 
 flung his red head back and laughed vociferously. 
 " You've done it this time ! " he shrieked. " Fancy 
 proposing to Laura de Miraflores the first time you see 
 her ! You're a real hot 'un at the game, Mr. John Dillon 
 Northwood ! " Jimmy was further exhilarated at the 
 prospect of one of the yoimg lady's brothers sticking a 
 knife into his friend's ribs if he " didn't run straight." 
 But Johnnie thought Jimmy was an ass, and told him 
 so. From his point of view there was nothing to laugh at, 
 as events promptly proved. 
 
 The young men arrived at Greenbanks before the house- 
 hold was astir, and Johnnie, after swearing Jimmy over 
 to temporary secrecy at least, took a cold bath and rolled 
 into his bed ; but, alas ! not to sleep. Johnnie's dullness 
 and taciturnity at the breakfast-table were put down to 
 fatigue. Jimmy polished off an enormous meal, and 
 bubbled over with mirth and high spirits. According to 
 his account the Miraflores' dance had been too delightful 
 for words. 
 
 Young Northwood drove his buggy into town in that 
 particularly austere frame of mind which frequently foUows 
 what his father called " a debosh." By George ! he was 
 going to slam into his work and make Albuquerque and 
 Co. sit up ! He was going to make them puU their weight 
 in the boat this fine day or he would know the reason 
 why ! He rattled his fast mare to the office at her top 
 
 ii8
 
 A Faux pas and its Consequences 
 
 speed, and got there a few minutes in advance of the usual 
 time. He was the first of the European staff to set foot 
 in the general office, to find his intended victims congre- 
 gated in a knot at the back, eagerly discussing his private 
 affairs. His brief, stern orders about the day's work were 
 received with shrieks of derisive laughter. 
 
 " HuUo, Johnnee ! " giggled Mr. Albuquerque. " How 
 you like my cousin Laura ? Soon you become my cousin 
 too ! Hee, hee ! " 
 
 Mr. Donald Bain then poked a lean finger into the 
 unhappy young man's ribs as he said : " You keess Laura 
 plenty ! Very prettee ! Very nice ! Plenty money got, 
 buggy got, everything got ! How soon the wedding ? " 
 
 Mr. Lopez de Castro continued the conversation as 
 follows : " One time I want to marry Laura my own self, 
 but old Miraflores teU me I have no dollar ! Mister Mira- 
 fiores want money for mortgage on house and for promis- 
 sory notes to chetties. My salary twenty doUar ! You 
 verry reech gentleman. Nice son-in-law for Miraflores." 
 
 At this stage Johnnie felt himself being affectionately 
 patted by hands that seemed to him to be hot and sticky. 
 He was just pulling himself together to make a final effort 
 to put down this friendly mutiny, when he observed that 
 the scene was being surveyed with much curiosity by 
 Mr. William Wapshot. That settled the business ! North- 
 wood savagely strode to his desk, with his brow clothed 
 in thunder, and forthwith began rummaging aimlessly 
 amongst a pile of papers, while Mr. Wapshot took his place 
 amidst the group of excited Eurasians. 
 
 When Wapshot had mastered the facts of the case, he 
 burst into a rolling roar of laughter, which re-echoed 
 through the general office, and shook an aged cockroach 
 off the ceiling into Lopez de Castro's inkpot. Just then 
 Mr. Carlyle put in his appearance, and with the arrival of 
 the chief things simmered down, and some semblance of 
 order was established. Fortunately the Brindisi mail 
 had just come in and some important telegrams demanded 
 
 119
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Carlyle's attention. But as soon as he had got through 
 his mail, the worthy Wapshot set the ball rolling again 
 by offering his congratulations to Northwood in his richest 
 and most sonorous tones. Wapshot's " congratulations " 
 were hard to bear ; indeed, were most indelicate. 
 
 " I hear," said the implacable one, " that she's a very 
 fine gurl indeed, and one that does credit to your heart 
 and mind. She comes, I understand, of a fine, prolific 
 stock, and that twins are the rule in the Miraflores family. 
 Man ! you'U be a patriarrch in no time ! What shall I 
 send you for a wedding-present ? What say you to a 
 double perambulator, my boy ? " 
 
 Poor Johnnie faced his persecutor bravely enough, and 
 begged Wapshot not to go to the expense of bu3ing a 
 double perambulator. The usual electro-plated toast- 
 rack would be much cheaper, and, perchance, quite as useful. 
 This return shot hit Wapshot pretty hard, because he 
 always gave cheap electro toast-racks as wedding-presents, 
 and, although habitually a most abstemious person, was 
 observed to drink champagne and destroy delicate viands 
 to an extent which repaid him several times over for the 
 cost of his toast-rack whenever he honoured a wedding- 
 breakfast with his massive presence. 
 
 " Yon's real guid ! "retorted Wapshot, with a wink and 
 a grin, and, so saying, he went to his desk, satisfied that 
 he had successfully perpetrated the mischief he intended. 
 
 Carlyle was necessarily much incensed about all that 
 was going on in the office, but he was a man who bided his 
 time, and he wisely determined to wait until events should 
 explain the mystery. A little after mid-day Northwood 
 caught Carlyle's eye, and things having by this time 
 become intolerable, he walked up to his chief's desk, and 
 said very quietly : " Mr. Carlyle, may I have tiffin with 
 you to-day ? " 
 
 " Certainly, Johnnie ! It's a bit early, but if you have 
 anything to say to me we may as well have tiffin at once, 
 before anyone else disturbs us." 
 
 120
 
 A Faux pas and its Consequences 
 
 So the pair of them went to the tiffin-room, and while 
 Carlyle set to work on his soup and toast, Johnnie trifled 
 with a bit of cold chicken, and nervously, but very clearly, 
 told his story. Carlyle suddenly dropped his spoon in 
 the soup while he brushed his toast off the table. Then he 
 stuck his hands into his pockets, and fixing his keen blue 
 eyes on Johnnie's face, gave vent to his feelings in a pro- 
 longed whistle. 
 
 " What will you do next ? " groaned Carljde. " \^^ly. 
 Johnnie, I wouldn't be your unfortunate father for all 
 Lombard Street ! " 
 
 Another aspect of the case was that Johnnie's position 
 in the general office had become untenable, because he had 
 lost all authority over his subordinates. 
 
 Just then Mr. Isaac Henson, the other Singapore partner, 
 entered the tiffin-room, and asked what was the matter. 
 Now while Johnnie respected and liked Henson, he stood 
 in some dread of this singularly austere, upright man, who, 
 tall, erect, clear-eyed and scrupulously neat, looked as if 
 he could never have committed a mean or incorrect action 
 in his life. An exceedingly abstemious and clean-living 
 man, he had an aversion which he never attempted to 
 cloak from anything in the way of deceitfulness, drunken- 
 ness, or immorality in any form. 
 
 " Well ! " said Mr. Henson, after he had been told the 
 tale, "it's a bad business, but if Northwood promised to 
 marry Miss Miraflores, he must keep his word. There is 
 no other way of looking at it. The famih' is most respect- 
 able, and the young woman's reputation must not suffer 
 through the actions of Mr. Northwood, or anyone else. 
 Not a suitable match, of course ! The Miraflores are 
 Roman Catholics, and Captain and Mrs. Northwood are 
 such good Presbyterians ! " 
 
 Here Mr. Henson heaved a bitter sigh and proceeded 
 to demolish his frugal tiffin. As for Northwood's future 
 position in the office, Henson bluntly expressed his opinion 
 that " outside " was the most suitable place for the young 
 
 121
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 man. To this proposition Carlyle would by no means 
 agree. He suggested to the astonished Henson that he 
 might do much worse than find a billet for young North- 
 wood on his own staff in the Sale Room. 
 
 Henson, with all his austerity, was in reality singularly 
 kind-hearted and charitably disposed, so it being under- 
 stood on all sides that Northwood should conduct himself 
 with due propriety and that his private affairs should be 
 suitably dealt with by his father, it was arranged there 
 and then that the young scapegrace should be transferred 
 to the Import Department. Henson said : " As a matter 
 of fact, Atkins says he has too much to do, and has been 
 asking me for some time past to give him a junior, so I 
 suppose Northwood will do as well as anyone else, if he 
 really will behave himself decently." 
 
 So Johnnie was forthwith transferred to the Sale Room, 
 and was handed over to Mr. Atkins as his junior. Mr, 
 Atkins was a smart, dapper man of about thirty, who 
 always had a cheerful and prepossessing air about him. 
 For some reason or another, he was known as " Drum 
 Atkins," and was wont, on occasion, to describe himself 
 as " the son of Wurkinjaw and Atkins, the eminent 
 solicitors next door." 
 
 Mr, Atkins was delighted with his new recruit, and said 
 to him in the most pleasant way, which contrasted grate- 
 fully with Wapshot's utterances : " Well ! I hear there 
 has been some trouble about a certain young lady. Don't 
 let that worry you too much. I daresay your father will 
 get you out of that little difficulty. Now, if you have 
 nothing better to do, I will show you how to write up 
 the Day Book and the Stock Books." 
 
 Johnnie, being on his mettle, set to work on the pon- 
 derous tomes with the appetite of a tiger, Atkins, who 
 simply loathed writing up these " beastly books," was 
 enchanted with his pupil, and prophesied golden days for 
 him in the Import Department of Brownlow and Co. 
 
 Having to go out on business during the afternoon, 
 
 122
 
 A Faux pas and its Consequences 
 
 Johnnie fell in with John Grinston, who greeted him with 
 a horrid, grating laugh and various coarse pleasantries 
 about Laura de Miraflores, which shook him up consider- 
 ably. Next, he fell into the clutches of Mr. Wilham 
 Johnson, who suggested a temporary way out of his diffi- 
 culties, namely, to serve as steward on board of a sailing 
 ship which his firm was sending to Greenock via the Cape 
 of Good Hope. It was William's idea that by the time 
 the vessel reached Greenock " things would settle down a 
 bit in Singapore ! " 
 
 When he reached Greenbanks, he found his father 
 looking particularly glum ; Alexander Melville seemed 
 to have something on his mind, and his mother, who was 
 trying to make herself agreeable to a lady visitor, had 
 red eyes, and had evidently been indulging in a flood of 
 tears. 
 
 Mrs. Dashwood, a pretty and most notorious flirt, hailed 
 Johnnie's arrival with enthusiasm. " Come here, you 
 bad boy, and tell me all about it," she said, as she led 
 him out to a secluded corner in the front verandah. 
 
 " Now then ! what have you done ? " she continued, 
 as she settled herself comfortably in a bamboo chair. 
 " Why, I thought you were in love with Clara Campbell, 
 and now it turns out to be Laura de Miraflores ! Besides 
 all that, I thought you were rather fond of me ! " added 
 the fair Flora, with a positively wicked flirt of her fan, 
 and the ghost of an over-worked blush. 
 
 Notwithstanding his abject misery, Johnnie had the 
 impudence to assure Mrs. Dashwood that, taken all round, 
 she was the only woman whom he had ever really loved, 
 a bare-faced statement, causing the lady to revel in peals 
 of silvery laughter, which jarred the nerves of the silly 
 boy's unhappy parents to an extent of which he little 
 recked. 
 
 Finally, Mrs. Dashwood took her departure, and the 
 inhabitants of Greenbanks sat down to their dinner. A 
 superb curry seemed tasteless to various people seated at 
 
 123
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 the table, while John Grinston discoursed at large about 
 breach-of-promise cases and the tragedies of the Divorce 
 Court. 
 
 After this dismal dinner, Alexander Melville had a word 
 to say to Johnnie. " My dear Don Juan ! Put yourself 
 in your father's hands, and do exactly what he tells you. 
 And, mind you, don't make a fool of yourself again, or 
 you and I part company ! " 
 
 Captain Northwood walked round the garden with his 
 son while he explained to him the folly of getting involved 
 with even the prettiest and best educated Eurasian girls. 
 There might be exceptions, but generally these very pretty 
 creatures faded very early. And then the children of 
 such unions gave rise to endless complications and unhap- 
 piness in later life. The father instanced a case of a well- 
 known man of considerable wealth, who shot himself 
 sooner than take his wife and family home to England 
 when circumstances made it necessary for him to leave 
 Singapore. Johnnie, who had heard quite enough of poor 
 innocent Laura by this time, professed his heartfelt 
 repentance, and left everything in the hands of his father. 
 He went to bed, feeling as if he had been tarred, feathered, 
 and flung into a mudbank. He slept from sheer exhaustion 
 and worry. 
 
 Next morning Captain Northwood spent the whole 
 morning with Mr. de Miraflores. Gossips said that the 
 wealthy shipowner took his cheque-book with him, and 
 that Mr. de Miraflores shortl}^ afterwards paid oft his mort- 
 gage and certain other liabilities which had been bother- 
 ing him for some time past. The unhappy Laura, who 
 had taken a violent fancy for Johnnie, whether he had 
 money or not, was sent off for a prolonged visit to certain 
 relatives in Malacca, whom she cordially detested. 
 
 So matters were settled after a fashion, but the whole 
 business made Johnnie feel several years older, and threw 
 a shadow over his life which saddened him for nearly a 
 fortnight. He applied himself to his work as a consolation, 
 
 124
 
 A Faux pas and its Consequences 
 
 to the unfeigned satisfaction of Mr. Atkins. In a short 
 time the latter found that he could leave the office to North- 
 wood while he went round the bazaar to look up the big 
 dealers in Boat Quay and Market Street. Northwood was 
 duly authorized to sign the delivery orders, which enabled 
 purchasers to obtain their goods from the big Brownlow 
 godowns in different parts of the town. 
 
 All was well until Atkins went on important business to 
 the Penang firm, leaving his young colleague in temporary 
 charge of the Rough Goods Department. Had he had 
 any inkling of the Napoleonic designs which Johnnie was 
 nursing at the back of his head, he would never have gone 
 to Penang. Johnnie's main idea was to revolutionize 
 the trade and show BrowTilow and Co. what he could do. 
 The godowns were full of merchandise, which could, and 
 should, be sold off promptly and replaced from Europe. 
 How it would astonish Atkins if on his return from Penang 
 he found his godowns practically empty, and the Singa- 
 pore house energetically cabling for fresh supplies. Of 
 course, a considerable expansion of the credit system 
 would be necessary to bring about this sublime result, but 
 Johnnie soon persuaded himself that this was all right, 
 and started in to work out his notable scheme. 
 
 Soon it got round the bazaar that Brownlow's kudaharu 
 [new horse) was keen on selling goods on three months' 
 credit, a thing which Tuan Atkins, now safely out of the 
 road in Penang, was singularly reluctant to so much as 
 consider. Atkins, with rare exceptions, wrote all his 
 delivery orders in red ink, thus indicating cash payments ; 
 a delivery order in black ink, indicating three months' 
 credit, was only granted by him on rare occasions, and 
 after unpleasing discussions as to who would back the 
 buyer's promissory note, and inquiries of a most personal 
 nature concerning the financial resources of the intending 
 purchaser. 
 
 Johnnie, having removed these imnatural barriers to 
 commerce on grand lines, was soon doing a rushing business. 
 
 125
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 He had Chinese clerks instead of Eurasians in the Import 
 Department, nice, sleek, yellow yomig men, with their 
 pigtails neatly plaited up with red, white, or blue silk 
 cords, as the case might be. They did not write the lovely 
 copperplate of the Eurasians, but they were observant 
 and intelligent — a trifle too intelligent, perhaps, for the 
 posts they occupied. They were baba Chinese, educated 
 in the Raffles School, They preserved to the full, how- 
 ever, the stolid indifference of the Chinese to all matters 
 not immediately concerning them. If their new chief, 
 the kuda baru, chose to make a fool of himself, that was 
 no business of theirs ! If he had chosen to consult them, 
 they could easily have told him whose credit was good and 
 whose was not ; but, unfortunately, Northwood, carried 
 away by the grandeur of his scheme, never thought of 
 taking anybody into his confidence. 
 
 The young man's desk was soon the centre of a crowd of 
 eager buyers, anxious to make hay while the sun shone. 
 The unwonted activity of things soon attracted the atten- 
 tion of such an alert man as Mr. Henson, who let things 
 take their course on the first day, but finding his junior 
 fairly mobbed on the second day, strode across to his 
 desk, and said suspiciously : " What are you doing. North- 
 wood ? Not cutting prices, I hope ? " 
 
 " Certainly not ! " replied our hero. " On the contrary, 
 I am putting five per cent, to ten per cent, on the 
 limits." 
 
 This puzzled Henson more than enough, until a horrid 
 thought occurred to him, as he said : " Give me your order- 
 book ! " He cast an experienced glance over the numerous 
 counterfoils of the delivery orders, and gasped as he said : 
 " Good gracious ! All in black ink ! Do you know what 
 that means ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ! " answered Northwood ; " three months' 
 credit ! " 
 
 Then the storm broke. " What's this ? " roared Henson 
 as he looked at the first of the counterfoils. " ' Hoo Kit 
 
 126
 
 A Faux pas and its Consequences 
 
 chop Bang Yu, one thousand cases of gin at five dollars.' 
 I never heard of Hoo Kit, or his precious chop, and here 
 you are giving him credit for five thousand dollars ! And 
 what's this again ? ' Ali Slopir Khan, twenty cases of 
 Enfield rifles and five hundred kegs of gunpowder ! ' " 
 
 Then suddenly realizing the seriousness of the position, 
 Henson shouted to the nearest Chinese clerk : " Here, 
 Boon Whatt ! Take a gharry at once, and drive round to 
 the godowns, to tell the storekeepers they are on no 
 account to deliver another package under orders signed 
 by Mr. Northwood. Look sharp ! And tell the store- 
 keepers I'll be round myself in five minutes ! " 
 
 Then Henson summoned Northwood into the presence 
 of Carlyle, the senior partner, and, white with rage, told 
 hJm of what had taken place. 
 
 " I knew something of the kind would happen. I told 
 you that outside was the only place for this young gentle- 
 man, but you wouldn't listen to me. I'd sooner he made 
 a fool of forty young women than ruin us like this ! That's 
 not exactly what I mean, perhaps; but you understand, 
 Carlyle, that I wash my hands of Mr. Northwood. He 
 mustn't so much as come near the Sale Room again ! Well, 
 I'm off ! " 
 
 So saying, he slipped into his coat and went racing down 
 the stairs to stem the tide of disaster as best he could. 
 
 Carlyle was absolutely aghast at the situation. " Well, 
 I'm hanged ! " he said. " What next ? I'm afraid we 
 shall have to give you the sack this time, Johnnie. I 
 don't see any other way out of it myself ! You had better 
 wait in the tifiin-room until Henson comes back and we 
 decide your fate." 
 
 Before Johnnie could reach this asylum, Mr. Wapshot, 
 to the hysterical delight of the clerks at the back desks, 
 urgently begged Johnnie to seU him a bottle of champagne 
 on three months' credit. Wapshot pleaded that, although 
 he mightn't be so rich as Hoo Kit, or so respectable " as 
 your friend the Khan," stiU, he was honest enough in his 
 
 127
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 way, and would meet his promissory note for " the bottle 
 of bubbly " when it fell due. 
 
 Amid the derisive laughter excited by this banter, 
 Johnnie took refuge in the tiffin-room and there sat down 
 to think. Presently he was roused from his meditations 
 by a tamby, who brought him a note as follows : 
 
 " Thursday. 
 "My dear Northwood, 
 
 " I am thinking of taking a trip to Monte Carlo, 
 Please let me know at what price you can sell me one 
 hundred casks of dollars. Of course, three months' credit 
 is understood. I will sign my promissory note directly I 
 get the goods. 
 
 " Yours sincerely, 
 
 " William Johnson." 
 
 Johnnie tore up the " chit," and told the astonished 
 tamby to go to the demon for the answer. Now Johnson 
 had instructed his messenger that he must not on any 
 account return without it, so Johnnie had quite a lot of 
 trouble in getting rid of the tamby. This was, of course, 
 only the beginning of the storm of chaff and ridicule 
 which he was to encounter in its full force a little later. 
 
 Presently Henson returned, looking very hot and tired. 
 Things were not so bad as they might have been. Hoo 
 Kit chop Bang Yu, had succeeded in getting away to Saigon 
 ■with his thousand cases of gin by a French steamer. Ali 
 Slopir Khan had sailed that very morn for the Isles of the 
 Blest, or some equally ill-defined destination, in a Bugis 
 prahu, with his cargo of rifles and powder. However, 
 Henson had stopped delivery of the great bulk of the 
 goods, and had recovered a quantity of valuable stuff 
 actually loaded in bullock-carts and cargo-boats. There 
 was such a congestion of vehicles and lighters round the 
 godowns that those which were already laden could not 
 get away, and this gave Henson his chance. 
 
 128
 
 A Faux pas and its Consequences 
 
 " Altogether, I don't think we stand to lose much over 
 fifteen thousand dollars, and considering the fact that our 
 enterprising young friend seems to have done a business 
 running into something like half a million dollars in two 
 days, we've got off pretty cheap. Send a telegram to 
 Atkins, ordering him to return from Penang by the first 
 steamer." 
 
 So sajdng Henson dropped into a chair, completely ex- 
 hausted with his efforts. 
 
 At this juncture Captain Northwood came striding 
 into the office, with a proposal to make good his son's losses, 
 but neither Henson nor Carlyle would hear of it. 
 
 " No ! " said the former, " your son was our clerk when 
 he sold our goods, and we must stand the loss, not you I 
 Besides, it will be the ruin of the lad if he feels you are 
 there to pay for his mistakes all the time ; he won't know 
 what mischief he is doing. However, it is very good of 
 you all the same. The next thing is, what are we going 
 to do about your son ? What do you think about it, 
 Carlyle ? " 
 
 Mr. Carlyle looked troubled for a moment, and then said : 
 " I am afraid. Captain Northwood, that we must ask you 
 to take your son out of our office. We have other young 
 men of about his own age on our staff, and if serious losses 
 are treated as a joke, there is an end of all discipline and 
 ef&ciency. It may be the best lesson for him in the end 
 if Johnnie is paid his salary up to the last day of the month 
 and dismissed in due form. Besides, I don't really know 
 what to do with him. He has been through two depart- 
 ments in a few weeks and made himself impossible in both." 
 
 Henson concurred ; and Captain Northwood, whUe 
 he regretted the decision, acquiesced in its justice. Johnnie 
 was therefore summoned from the tiffin-room to hear his 
 sentence, which, like his father, he accepted with a good 
 grace, which touched the group in front of him more 
 than a little. 
 
 Just at the final moment, however, deliverance came from 
 VOL. I. 129 9
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 a totally unexpected quarter. The grave and harmonious 
 voice of Mr. John Finlay, who had been watching the 
 proceedings with much interest, was suddenly raised on 
 Johnnie's behalf. " If nobody else wants young North- 
 wood, I think I should like to try him in the Chartering 
 Department, and see if I can make something of him." 
 
 Everybody was astounded, because John Finlay en- 
 joyed the reputation of being one of the most capable and 
 level-headed men in Singapore. Carlyle was secretly over- 
 joyed with this new turn of events, but he merely said : 
 " Well, Finlay ! If you want him, by aU means take him. 
 But have a care, or Mr. Northwood will either buy or sell 
 a fleet of steamers for our account before you know any- 
 thing about it." 
 
 Finlay smiled gravely, and remarked that he would 
 keep such an eventuality in view. 
 
 Henson chimed in with a cheerful remark, that he would 
 as soon be shut up in a powder-magazine with a young 
 lunatic provided with a blazing torch as have anything 
 to do with Johnnie Northwood. However, if Finlay would 
 hold himself responsible, he for one had no earthly objection, 
 and was only too glad to make things pleasant for his friend. 
 Captain Northwood. 
 
 Finlay walked his new assistant out of the General 
 Office, across a corridor, and into the Chartering Depart- 
 ment, and had a short chat with him in a quiet, friendly, 
 but impressive way. There was to be no nonsense, orders 
 had to be obeyed, and hard and constant work to be taken 
 as the natural order of things in the Chartering Depart- 
 ment. Finlay finally said : " If I had not been taking 
 particular notice of you, and made up my mind that there 
 is plenty of good stuff in }-ou, I should not have asked for 
 you this afternoon. But, mind you, Northwood, if you 
 find me a hard master it will be for your owti good. I 
 intend to be especially hard on you, and if you can't stand 
 the training, it means that you are that contemptible 
 creature, the worthless son of a rich man. Now, I think 
 
 130
 
 A Faux pas and its Consequences 
 
 you have had enough trouble for one day, so run off home 
 with your father, and mind that you are at your desk at 
 nine o'clock to-morrow morning. There are days when 
 I shall want you a good deal earlier." 
 
 Johnnie walked out of the Chartering Department mth 
 rather mingled feelings. It occurred to him transiently 
 that the " sack " which he so narrowly escaped would have 
 made things much easier for him ; but, after all, Finlay 
 had struck the right note. Johnnie swore to himself that 
 he was not going to be a waster or a slacker, and that he 
 would put up his owTi fight independently of his father's 
 dollars. 
 
 Captain Northwood drove his son to Greenbanks in a 
 singularly happy frame of mind. Johnnie was also cheerful 
 enough. His father warned him to say nothing about 
 his narrow escape from dismissal ; that was a little matter 
 which others might publish when the facts got known, 
 but as long as he was reinstated nobody could have 
 much to say about the whole affair. 
 
 At the dinner-table John Grinston was much chagrined 
 to find his most envenomed attacks fall flat. He had heard 
 a confused story, according to which Johnnie Northwood 
 had been bundled neck and crop out of the Brownlow 
 office on the discovery of his delinquencies. Why were 
 Captain Northwood and his son so happy ? Grinston 
 could never forget that Brownlow and Co. had given him 
 the sack. 
 
 James Halliday also tried to be funny at the expense of 
 his bosom friend, without raising any laugh except his 
 own. The complacency of the Northwood family under 
 such circumstances was most disconcerting. 
 
 The next day Johnnie started in on a sheer course of 
 slavery in the Chartering Department. Mr. Finlay, in 
 the gentlest way possible, made life a considerable burden 
 to the young man, while he drilled him remorselessly into 
 the intricacies of a singularly complicated business. 
 
 In due course Mr. Atkins arrived from Penang, in a 
 VOL. I. 131 9*
 
 Sixty Yean' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 highly indignant frame of mind at being so suddenly 
 recalled. But to Mr. Henson's amazement, he started in 
 to bewail the loss of his junior. He insisted that North- 
 wood was far and away the best " cub " he had ever seen. 
 Supposing that Northwood had committed a gross error 
 in giving credit to all and sundry, were not the consequences 
 a full and sufficient guarantee that he would never make 
 such a mistake again. Atkins swore by all his gods that 
 in future young Northwood would look on young women 
 and on men of straw as being equally dangerous persons. 
 He stormed into the Chartering Department and de- 
 manded that Northwood should be given back to him. 
 But Finlay answered him wdth a decisive " No ! " 
 
 " I can't make it out ! " grumbled Isaac Henson. 
 " Everybody seems to take a fancy to that young 
 scapegrace, and the worst of it is, I rather like him 
 myself ! " 
 
 n?
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 WOODLEIGH 
 
 AT last the glad tidings came that Sir Henry and Lady 
 Neville were going home, so that the Northwoods 
 could take up their residence at Woodleigh. 
 
 Lady Neville had experienced some of the domestic 
 troubles incidental to housekeeping in a place like Singa- 
 pore. A beautiful woman herself, she had brought out 
 a couple of exceedingly pretty maids with her to look after 
 her children. Alas ! the maids in question were much 
 too pretty for an island where pretty maids were scarce. 
 
 These young women took their walks abroad amidst a 
 sort of escort from the barracks, but as time progressed, 
 civilians holding responsible positions, and supposed to 
 be gentlemen, paid marked attentions to the Woodleigh 
 maids, who thereupon turned up their pretty noses at the 
 " tommies," to the huge vexation of these gallant men. 
 Finally Lady Neville had to make up her mind to send the 
 girls home before they got into serious mischief, and they 
 accordingly went back to England. Sir Henry, in discussing 
 the matter with Captain Northwood, grumbled a bit about 
 his being put to so much expense, on account of the scandal- 
 ous conduct of certain men who were of an age and position 
 to know better. After a sad experience of a number of 
 unsatisfactory native ayahs, Lady Neville found herself com- 
 pelled to get a European nurse for her children, and wrote 
 to her mother to select one for her, a decent woman of over 
 forty years of age, and positively ugly ! 
 
 In due course the new nurse arrived at Singapore. 
 Captain Northwood, having volunteered to meet Miss 
 
 133
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Jones on board the steamer, and take her and her belongings 
 to Woodleigh, the offer was gratefully accepted by Sir 
 Henry. Having carried out this useful duty, the Captain 
 reported the same evening at Greenbanks that the new 
 nurse was " a great strapping, slab-sided, block-faced 
 woman of fifty, with a tremendous squint," little likely to 
 attract the unwelcome notice of the profligates of Singapore. 
 Alas ! Miss Jones had not been at Woodleigh a month 
 before she proved irresistible to a lonely sergeant of the 
 " Invincibles," and in three weeks more she was Mrs. 
 O'Brien of the regiment. Poor Sir Henry had to make 
 this unprofitable person a present, and to pay for the 
 wedding-breakfast. He plaintively told Captain North- 
 wood that it was about time for him to take his family 
 to England. 
 
 When Johnnie went to pay his farewell visit to Lady 
 Neville, and to wish her a safe and pleasant voyage home, 
 he was accompanied by M. le Vicomte Armand Duplessis 
 de Belleville, a dissipated and somewhat dilapidated sprig 
 of nobility, who did the French Republic the honour to 
 represent it at Singapore. 
 
 This day the Vicomte had got himself up regardless of 
 expense, and wore the whole of his numerous decorations, 
 so that he looked a very imposing personage indeed. 
 
 During the drive to Woodleigh, the Consul insisted on 
 being coached up by Johnnie into learning a few sentences 
 in English suitable for the occasion. The whole thing 
 ended by the Vicomte saying " Good-bye, Madame ! " 
 to Lady Neville when he entered the drawing-room, and 
 " How do you do, Madame ? " when he left it. 
 
 The morning after the Nevilles sailed for Europe, the 
 Northwoods bade their grateful farewells to their kind 
 friends the Hallidays and the Melvilles. The Captain and 
 his son went to town as usual, but Mrs. Northwood drove 
 straight to her dear Woodleigh, to set about the pleasurable 
 task of getting her household in order. 
 
 Woodleigh, as has been said, was a big, substantial 
 
 134
 
 Woodleisfh 
 
 mansion, crowning the summit of a gentle hill, surrounded 
 by thirty-six acres of land, which Northwood had been 
 incessantly beautifying for many years. Lovely lawns and 
 flower-gardens surrounded the house. The Captain had 
 skilfully left a belt of native jungle standing on one side 
 of the carriage drive — a beautiful thing in itself, which 
 screened off the stables, cow-houses, poultry-runs and 
 other domestic offices. The slopes of the hills were planted 
 with a wonderful variety of orange-trees, transplanted at 
 great expense from all parts of the world. There was also 
 a superb grove of mangosteen-trees, which yielded an 
 abundant supply of this delicious fruit in perfection. 
 Clumps of bamboos agreeably diversified the grounds. 
 But perhaps the glory of the place was the waringin tree 
 at the immediate back of the house. This marvellous 
 tree grew in the centre of a quadrangle formed by the kitchen 
 and the servants' quarters. Like a banian tree, it had 
 several trunks, and was a miniature forest in itself, which, 
 growing to a considerable height, cast a cool and delightful 
 shade over the whole court. Few moments could be more 
 pleasantly passed in the early morn over a cup of tea in 
 the great back verandah than in watching the flocks of 
 birds animating the green depths of the great waringin 
 as the rising run flooded it with colour. 
 
 In a short time Northwood had the Woodleigh establish- 
 ment on its proper footing. It needed a force of thirty 
 gardeners to keep the grounds in order. There were half 
 a dozen syces for the stables, another half-dozen natives 
 to look after the cows and the poultry, while the cooks, 
 the native butler and his staff, the watermen, " boys " 
 and sweepers required another dozen or more people to 
 carry on the upkeep of such an establishment. Altogether 
 something like sixty servants of various kinds were on 
 the pay-roll of Woodleigh to attend to a family of exactly 
 three people. With their wives and families there were a 
 whole lot of dependents of varied races, as Klings, Javanese, 
 Chinese and Boyanese, whom Northwood ruled with a 
 
 135
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 firm but gentle hand. The only Malay on the establish- 
 ment was Johnnie's " boy " Lapis, who was his valet and 
 factotum in general. Lapis was a bright little gentleman 
 of some twelve years of age, who considered himself entirely 
 responsible for the well-being of his master, whom he 
 served for many a year with a dog-like fidelity. 
 
 Northwood had denied his son the luxury of a saddle- 
 horse as long as they lived at Greenbanks. He did not 
 desire that Johnnie should go in for anything beyond the 
 means of his friend James Halliday. 
 
 But once at Woodleigh, circumstances were different, 
 and the Captain soon had six well-selected horses standing 
 in his stables. The Captain's mount was a sturdy weight- 
 carrier, a bay " waler " called the " Doctor," who never 
 forgot his Australian buck-jumping ways. For Johnnie 
 he had bought a beautiful half-bred Arab mare, for which 
 he paid a wandering Cabulese a long price. For no par- 
 ticular reason, Johnnie named his mare " Lucy," and the 
 two were destined to be faithful friends for many years. 
 The other four were carriage-horses — a pair for Mrs. 
 Northwood, and a couple of " trappers " for the men's 
 buggies. 
 
 The rooms of Woodleigh were unusually spacious. The 
 great dining-room on the ground floor extended the whole 
 length of the house from the front to the back. The 
 drawing-room on the upper floor was of the same propor- 
 tions, opening into cool, roomy verandahs at each end. 
 A huge basket of roses, renewed every morning from the 
 gardens, was the chief ornament of the drawing-room, 
 of which the furniture was comfortable but simple. Still, 
 with its beautiful spotless flooring of the finest Calcutta 
 matting in a uniform shade of pale cream, and its white 
 walls and ceiling, the place was made to look very attractive, 
 albeit an Erard piano was perhaps the only really expensive 
 thing it contained. The bedrooms and bath-rooms were 
 large, lofty and comfortable. Each bedroom had its own 
 verandah, and everything was protected from the sun by 
 
 136
 
 Woodleigh 
 
 wide-spreading eaves, supported on columns of a native 
 hardwood of an enormous size, which would appear 
 phenomenal at the present day. 
 
 One of the beauties of Woodleigh was its pillared portico, 
 and the great marble vestibule behind it, adorned with 
 statues banked up in rich masses of the most delicate 
 ferns, flowering orchids, and other rare plants. This was 
 a favourite retreat of the Northwoods on such occasions 
 as a Sunday forenoon after breakfast. 
 
 Such, then, was the home of the young clerk, who was 
 drawing a salary of fifty dollars a month from Brownlow 
 and Co. 
 
 The social position of the Northwoods gave rise to much 
 cackle in Singapore society, divided into cliques, and greatly 
 given to gossip of an ill-natured kind. True, Sir Henry 
 and Lady Neville chose to be on very friendly terms with 
 the Northwoods, but the lease of Woodleigh to the Chief 
 Justice might possibly explain that little matter. His 
 Excellency Sir William Jervois, being Governor of the 
 Straits Settlements, Commander-in-Chief, &c., for the time 
 being, it was rather more difficult to understand why Lady 
 Jervois and her daughters should visit Mrs. Northwood. 
 Again, His Excellency the Governor of Labuan had been a 
 guest at Woodleigh for a whole fortnight. His Highness 
 the Rajah of Sarawak had also honoured Captain North- 
 wood with many civilities during one of his visits to Singa- 
 pore, and had accepted the lucky sailor's offer when he 
 suggested that Balaclava, which happened to be standing 
 empty at the time, might be a suitable residence for the 
 race week. The white Rajah paid Captain Northwood 
 so much for the rent of Balaclava for the time during 
 which he occupied one of the many houses owned by Captain 
 Northwood in the best parts of Tanglin, but there were 
 many attentions and much assistance in small domestic 
 details which could not be accounted for in mere cash. 
 
 Mr. Welford, the Colonial Astronomer-General, also 
 took up the Northwoods very heartily, and introduced 
 
 137
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 them into certain sacred circles of official society, until 
 he discovered that Johnnie Northwood had not the slightest 
 idea of marrjdng his somewhat full-blown daughter, 
 who had already been the victim of two or three unfortunate 
 " engagements " which had been mysteriously broken 
 off at the last moment. Then Mr. Welford gave his select 
 friends to understand that he had been somewhat deceived 
 concerning the Northwoods, whom he had discovered to 
 be very vulgar people, rolling in money, which he devoutly 
 hoped might not prove to be merely ill-gotten and illusory 
 gains. 
 
 In less distinguished circles the ways of the Northwoods 
 gave dire offence. The Captain literally kept open house. 
 All and sundry were welcome to his unstinted hospitality. 
 He made no distinction between rich or poor, and absolutely 
 refused to recognize the existence of cliques. To him 
 any man or woman was as good as another, always pro- 
 vided that there was any degree of actual merit or social 
 attractiveness in the said man or woman. He also, as has 
 been remarked, had a deplorable instinct for helping social 
 lame dogs over social stiles. 
 
 Many genteel people asked each other : " Who is Captain 
 Northwood, and who is his son, who goes clerking at Brown- 
 low's for fifty dollars a month ? " Questions indeed ! 
 Captain and Mrs. Northwood mixed their guests a little 
 bit too recklessly. It did not matter whether they had an 
 Excellency, or the Colonial Astronomer-General, or perhaps 
 the Colonel of the " Invincibles " to dinner with their 
 respective wives and daughters ; if Captain Lugard hap- 
 pened to drop in with his volcanic pipe, or Mr. Tom Jones 
 of the Telegraph Service chose to call about seven o'clock, 
 the Northwoods greeted them with the same welcome. 
 Indeed, they apparently were rather more pleased to see 
 Captain Lugard and Tom Jones, a really entertaining and 
 clever creature, than the most exalted persons of Singapore 
 society. 
 
 Mrs. Binkie, of Smithers, Binkie and Co., was scandalized 
 
 138
 
 Woodleigh 
 
 to find herself seated at table next to Mr. Tom Jones of 
 the Telegraph Service at one of the usual big dinners at 
 Woodleigh. She was still more indignant when Captain 
 Northwood explained to her, in a quiet corner of the front 
 verandah, that he, Northwood, was but a sailor-man, and, 
 according to his view, between a sailor-man and a telegraph- 
 man there was little to choose, both being equally dis- 
 reputable. He even told Mrs. Binkie that when he was 
 in Sydney in the " forties," he noted an inscription on 
 the cemetery gates, which ran as follows : " Dogs and 
 Sailors are not Admitted." 
 
 Next time Mrs. Northwood called on Mrs. Binkie, 
 Mrs. Binkie told her " boy " to tell Mrs. Northwood that 
 Mrs. Binkie was " out." Poor Captain Northwood's sin- 
 cerity and misplaced sense of humour made him some 
 enemies and got him into many minor troubles. 
 
 One of the Captain's best qualities was his constant 
 charity, his great goodness of heart. This won him the 
 esteem of men like Alexander Melville, Carlyle, Henson, 
 and a few others of the kind ; but a charitable disposition 
 did not in the slightest degree help him in society. After 
 all, the Northwoods had as many friends as they wanted, 
 and cared little if certain people were so superior that 
 they did not wish to know them. Northwood had already 
 had experience of more than one gentleman who was 
 only too glad to dine with him, and even borrow a few 
 hundred dollars from him, one week, and cut him dead at 
 Government House the next. 
 
 The dinners at Woodleigh were rather formidable affairs, 
 especially for such a hot climate. Sherry and angostura 
 bitters and olives were first served in the front verandah, 
 then everybody trooped downstairs to the dining-room. 
 The dinner generally consisted of two soups, the best 
 fish that could be got, entrees, a roast, various kinds of 
 poultry and game, rice and curry with sambals, sweets, and 
 fruit. The Woodleigh cellar was excellent, and the object 
 of much of Captain Northwood's study. The Rhine 
 
 139
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Ear East 
 
 wines, bordeaux, burgundies^and champagne were always 
 very good and nicely served^at the right temperature by 
 Joseph, the black butler. Many of the guests would 
 take their soup and fish, and then wait for the curries and 
 sambals, to them the only dishes worthy of attention ; 
 whilst others, and especially new-comers, would carefully 
 avoid the curried triumphs of the Woodleigh kitchen and 
 confine themselves to the purely European dishes. But 
 in any event, the menu was equal to the occasion. 
 
 After dinner the amusements were varied. The seniors 
 made up whist and poker parties in the verandahs, and, if 
 the truth must be told, they played for pretty high stakes, 
 and put down some brandies and sodas at varying intervals. 
 Meanwhile, there would be music in the drawing-room, 
 especially if Mrs. Swanson, who had a most delightful 
 voice, happened to be present ; or, failing actual music, 
 there was always somebody to relieve Johnnie at the 
 piano, playing quadrilles, polkas and waltzes. 
 
 Lastly, a certain amount of flirting went on as a general 
 rule. If, for instance, Mrs. Northwood noticed that 
 Mr. William Johnson had disappeared simultaneously with 
 Miss Gertie Lightford, she tripped downstairs with a 
 tolerable certainty of finding the fugitive couple behind 
 one of the statues in the vestibule. Mrs. Northwood always 
 liked to see flirtations between yoimg people, because she 
 had romantic hopes of their ending in wedding beUs. 
 " Now, Mr. Johnson ! So I've caught you, have I ? If 
 you have anything serious to say to Miss Lightford, why 
 not say it now ? No ! you need not pull that beautiful 
 orchid to bits ; it happens to be one of my favourites. 
 Well, we want another couple to make up a set of lancers, 
 so if you young people have nothing to do, you had better 
 come upstairs with me." The guilty couple were then 
 seen safely into the drawing-room, where they were not 
 likely to get into any further mischief. 
 
 In due course the long fine of carriages belonging to 
 the departing guests would make a procession lit up 
 
 140
 
 Woodleigh 
 
 with glaring lamps, and sooner or later everybody went 
 home. 
 
 No matter how late the Woodleigh household got to bed, 
 Captain Northwood insisted on his son being up by gun- 
 fire, and by daybreak the pair of them would be in the 
 saddle and enjoying the sweet, fresh morning air, 
 during the course of a long and brisk ride through the 
 beautiful country surrounding Tanglin. 
 
 Captain and Mrs. Hardy and Miss Hardy were frequent 
 visitors at Woodleigh as time wore on, and with them 
 occasionally came Captain and Mrs. Shelby, who were 
 destined in after life to have a great influence on the future 
 of the Northwood family. Captain Hardy was one of 
 Northwood's most cherished " Shellback " friends. He was 
 certainly a most magnificent old man, well over sixty, tall, 
 robust and healthy. His shock of pure white hair set off 
 a fine, shrewd, clean-shaven face, lit up by a pair of clear 
 blue eyes. Apt to be a bit cynical in his conversation, 
 he was genial enough at heart, and was evidently well 
 read and observant. Mrs. Hardy was a dignified and 
 well-bred woman, but Mary Hardy was the great attrac- 
 tion ! Standing six feet high, she was a splendid girl, 
 a trifle too much developed for her age perhaps, but her 
 liveliness, intelligence, and sweet disposition endeared 
 her to all. 
 
 Mrs. Northwood frequently told her son that Mary 
 would make an ideal wife for any man, be he rich or poor. 
 She was most anxious that her son should marry as soon 
 as possible, and to her mind he would never find a better 
 wife than Mary Hardy. Johnnie was often inclined to 
 agree with his mother on this point, but put off serious 
 consideration of such an important question until some 
 later date, especially as his father evidently did not wish 
 him to rush into matrimony at such an early age. 
 
 Captain Hardy sailed the Victory, a full-rigged ship, his 
 own property, and loaded with his own cargoes, between 
 Singapore and the Moluccas Islands. It must have been 
 
 141
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 a very profitable trade, for Hardy, without being as 
 wealthy as Captain Northwood, was a man of ample 
 means. 
 
 Captain Shelby had originally served as mate on board 
 of the Victory, but having got sufficient money to buy a 
 smart and staunch barque called the Ceylon, he married 
 Hardy's eldest daughter and started on his own account. 
 Although Shelby traded to the Celebes, and even as far as 
 New Guinea, he generally turned up at the Spice Islands 
 in the course of his long voyages, and thus trespassed on 
 his father-in-law's preserves to some extent. 
 
 Old Hardy certainly did not like the visits of the Ceylon 
 to Amboina, Ternate and Banda, but as long as it was 
 merely an incidental trade at long intervals, he did not 
 mind so much if his son-in-law did get possession of 
 certain supplies of nutmegs, mace and cloves. 
 
 Shelby was a fat, awkward sort of man, looking much 
 more like a farmer than a sailor, excellent seaman though 
 he actually was. He never looked to greater disadvantage 
 than when he was in evening dress, and knowing this, he 
 always insisted that he should never be asked to Wood- 
 leigh when any of the " swells " were expected. It was 
 extraordinary, however, how this dull-looking, lumpish 
 man could make himself interesting when he chose. In a 
 quiet and unassuming way he would manage to hold his 
 listener more or less spellbound, his chat being sooth- 
 ing and sensible, and relieved by flashes of mother wit. 
 Yes ! he was plausible enough, especially when he talked 
 business. 
 
 Johnnie used to take a singular pleasure in listening 
 to Shelby, who would tell him of the wonderful beauty 
 of the Spice Islands, what quaint and odd people the 
 Dutch colonies contained, and of the amount of money to 
 be made in those waters by anybody possessing sufficient 
 capital. Northwood, when he was told of all this, would 
 remind his son that Shelby was reaUy a Yankee, and 
 " guessed that he was gassing some ! " In any case, 
 
 142
 
 Woodleigh 
 
 Borneo was their field, not the Moluccas. But, notwith- 
 standing his father's remarks, Johnnie brooded a lot over 
 those mysterious Spice Islands, and to some purpose, 
 as we shall presently see. 
 
 The Melvilles frequently found their way to Woodleigh, 
 and so did James Halliday ; but the blatant prosperity 
 of the Northwoods was gall and wormwood to John Grin- 
 ston, and in spite of the most urgent invitations, nothing 
 would induce him to set foot in their house. 
 
 Occasionally unexpected visitors strayed in at Wood- 
 leigh. One fine Sunday forenoon, a Dutch naval officer 
 in full fig drove up in a gharry as Northwood and his 
 son were lounging about the vestibule discussing things 
 in general. The officer got out of his gharry, announced 
 himself audibly as Captain van Tromp, and with much 
 relief settled himself down in an easy bamboo chair. It 
 being a sweltering hot day, Captain van Tromp seemed 
 to find some nicely cooled Rhine wine very refreshing. 
 It was not until he asked Northwood whether he was the 
 colonel of the regiment that it got to be understood that 
 Captain van Tromp was trying to pay an official visit to 
 the adjacent Tanglin Barracks. However, the jolly Dutch- 
 man made the best of the situation, and gladly accepted 
 Northwood's very pressing invitation to stay to tiffin. 
 
 The Northwoods and Van Tromp struck up a very 
 hearty friendship over this little incident. Later, Van 
 Tromp introduced Johnnie to Captain Kater, a retired 
 naval officer, at that time acting as Resident of Pontianak. 
 Nothing would suit Johnnie but that they must both dine 
 at Woodleigh that evening. After dinner. Captain Kater 
 and Captain Northwood began comparing notes, and dis- 
 covered that they were the same Kater and the same 
 Northwood who, as mere lads, had sailed ages ago in a 
 Dutch East Indiaman on their way to HoUand. They 
 were both poor and friendless lads at the time, and that 
 they should meet after the lapse of so many long years in 
 such prosperous circumstances was an event duly cele- 
 
 143
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 brated in bumpers of champagne. After dinner, Captain 
 Kater showed Johnnie on a map of Dutch Borneo, that the 
 black dot representing the town of Pontianak is cut 
 through by the black line representing the Equator. The 
 Resident averred that by a series of careful observations 
 he had established the fact that the Equator ran right 
 through the centre of his bedroom. The last Kater baby 
 having a troublesome time with its teething and requiring 
 much nursing, the Resident calculated that he had crossed 
 the Line at least one hundred thousand times, that is to 
 say much oftener than any other man in the world ! 
 
 The neighbouring estate to Woodleigh was a large 
 property of about a hundred acres, belonging to the 
 Maharajah of Johore, but at that time was utterly deserted, 
 the great rambhng mansion being in ruins, and the grounds 
 overgrown with jungle. Johnnie would sometimes take his 
 gun, and, squeezing through the bamboo hedge dividing the 
 properties, bring home a few green pigeon, which were 
 remarkably good eating. 
 
 But the neighbouring jungle soon provided the young 
 sportsman with other shooting. It swarmed with monkeys, 
 horrible brutes who invaded the beautifully kept Wood- 
 leigh grounds and amused themselves by pulling up plants 
 and stripping the trees of fruit until they got to be an 
 intolerable nuisance, so Johnnie was told off to shoot them 
 down. He soon got to be an expert in shooting monkeys 
 dead, a wounded monkey being a harrowing object. But 
 one day he came to grief in an unexpected way over this 
 business. Near the house his father had planted some 
 tarap trees which he had brought from Brunei. They 
 are very beautiful trees, with an enormous wealth of ex- 
 ceedingly huge leaves, any one of which would have made 
 an ample apron for Mother Eve. They bear a fruit some- 
 thing of the jack-fruit tribe, beloved of natives, but having 
 a powerful odour repellent to the ordinary European. 
 One morning, as Johnnie was getting ready for his bath, 
 Lapis took down a gun from the rack and, running up to 
 
 144
 
 Woodleigh 
 
 his master, told him with great excitement that a whole 
 tribe of monkeys was in one of the tarap trees. Shpping 
 in a couple of cartridges, Johnnie ran after Lapis, and 
 sure enough a great tarap was the scene of much hidden 
 commotion, while the fruit was fast falling from the tree. 
 It was impossible to discern anything through the dense 
 screen of great leaves, and anything like a clean shot being 
 impossible, Johnnie let drive with both barrels into the 
 centre of the tree. A dismal howl followed the shots, and 
 to the sportsman's dismay a Chinaman fell with a thud to 
 the ground. It was the tukang ayer, the water man, shaking 
 the fruit off the branches, and not a drove of monkeys. 
 Lapis looked up at his master with a delightful grin and 
 said " Tuan suda dapat ! " (It is impossible to render 
 this into English, but perhaps " You've got him ! " is the 
 nearest translation.) By insinuation, Lapis more than 
 hinted that his master was out shooting Chinamen and 
 had bagged one of them at the first shot. 
 
 The young Englishman already knew that it does not 
 do to be taken at a disadvantage by a Chinaman or any 
 other native, so getting the luckless tukang ayer on his 
 feet, Johnnie said to him very sternly : " Next time you 
 do that, I shall be very angry with you ! " The China- 
 man, who had been pretty badly peppered about the legs 
 with a good dose of No. 4 shot, simply said : " Very well, 
 Tuan ! " and hobbled off to the servants' quarters. Mr. 
 Northwood gave the man a couple of dollars, and told 
 him to go to bed for the day. Next morning the tukang 
 ayer was at work again as if nothing had happened, but he 
 never cHmbed another tarap tree. 
 
 The monkeys also discovered that Woodleigh was an 
 unhealthy sort of spot. After numbers of them had been 
 killed, the mischievous brutes, as if by common accord, 
 confined themselves to the Maharajah's jungle, and Captain 
 Northwood was left to indulge unmolested in his gardening. 
 
 VOL. I. 145 10
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 AYER MANIS 
 
 CAPTAIN NORTHWOOD loved Woodleigh. But the 
 old sailor in him missed the sea-breezes, and with- 
 out the wash of the waves he could scarce exist. 
 So he set out to buy another property which should give 
 him an outlook on his beloved element. 
 
 The Captain thought he had got just what he wanted 
 when Pulo Tekong Kechil was for sale. Here was an 
 island, which Northwood fondly hoped to call his own. 
 True, it was small enough, but it was rocky, and indented 
 with little bays which resounded with the surge of the 
 sea. 
 
 The Tekong Kechil Island happens to lie close to 
 the Johore coast, and as soon as the Maharajah heard 
 that Captain Northwood was after this especial property, 
 he forestalled him and bought it at any cost. Northwood 
 was chagrined at having lost what he had already deemed 
 his own sea-girt stronghold, and the worst of it was that 
 islands for sale in the vicinity of Singapore are remarkably 
 scarce. 
 
 However, the Captain finally purchased a very beautiful 
 property of about four hundred acres on the seashore of 
 Singapore between Tanah Merah and Changhi. 
 
 This place is called, by the natives, Ayer Manis — 
 meaning " Sweet Waters," a name retained by Northwood. 
 Some twelve miles from Singapore town, the estate con- 
 sisted mainly of lovely jungle, facing the Changhi Road, and 
 this virgin forest Northwood carefuUy preserved. On the 
 red chff overlooking a ^\dde stretch of beautiful sands 
 
 146
 
 Ayer Manis 
 
 and sea beyond, the Captain built a spacious bungalow 
 amidst a grove of some thousands of coco-nut trees. 
 
 Johnnie was delighted with Ayer Manis. There was 
 a lot of mixed shooting in and about the property, and 
 his father, in order to keep up communication with Ayer 
 Manis by sea, allowed his son to have a fine sailing-boat 
 built for him on the best native model. Johnnie's yacht, 
 the Intan, manned by a crew of three Malays, was a source 
 of great pleasure to him and many of his friends. 
 
 The Captain spent many of his week-ends at Ayer Manis, 
 and speedily established himself as an authority along 
 the coast-line for some miles. Malays and other natives 
 would come from long distances to submit their differences 
 to him, and whatever decision was given by him was 
 always binding and final. No native dreamed of disputing 
 the Captain's judgment, and in this way Johnnie got a 
 considerable insight into native character, which was very 
 useful to him in future years. 
 
 Near the bungalow, and within sight of it, there was 
 a little village of native fishermen, who lived in squalid 
 and dirty huts, built of mouldering planks and some sort 
 of elementary palm-leaf thatch. These people were 
 " squatters," who had not the slightest right to be where 
 they were. Northwood could very easily have turned 
 them out of his estate, but that was not his way of doing 
 things. After talking the situation over with the fisher- 
 men, he offered to build them an entirely new and comfort- 
 able village on the banks of a stream which ran through 
 the property, where they would not be subject to the gaze 
 of Europeans, and be able to live under greatly improved 
 conditions. The fishermen debated this offer for some 
 weeks, and then proceeded in a body to the bungalow one 
 Sunday afternoon to tell Northwood that they would 
 accept it on condition that he would bind himself to give 
 each family a sack of white rice every month. This North- 
 wood absolutely refused to do, and the fishermen departed, 
 looking sullen and discontented. The next time the 
 VOL. I. 147 10*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Northwoods visited Ayer Manis, they found, to their amaze- 
 ment, that the village had vanished ! The fishermen had 
 voluntarily pulled down their huts and emigrated with 
 their bits of sticks and thatch to another spot at a distance 
 of several miles. 
 
 Nothing could possibly have suited the Northwoods 
 better, but it was a little difficult to follow the workings of 
 the native mind in this particular instance. The Captain 
 finally concluded that the fishermen must have thought 
 that if he was willing to go to the considerable expense of 
 building an entirely new village for them, he must have 
 some object in doing so, and that as they were evidently of 
 value to the estate, the white man should pay for them in 
 the shape of some two tons of white rice every month, a 
 particularly handy form of remuneration, practically ab- 
 solving them from the necessity of doing any work except 
 catching a little fish occasionally. When Northwood 
 refused to supply the rice, they got sulky, and evidently 
 thought the best way of punishing him was to deprive 
 him of their indispensable society ; so they pulled down 
 their miserable village and took it and themselves away. 
 
 The lovely soft sands stretching from the foot of the great 
 red cliff into a clear, transparent sea gave delightful facili- 
 ties for bathing. Built right into the sea was a pagar, 
 a roofed shed raised on stakes, under which swimmers 
 could disport themselves in the cool depths of delicious 
 water, protected from the rays of the sun. A fairly large 
 hut on the sands, sheltered by magnificent coco-nut trees, 
 served as a dressing-room. 
 
 The parties at Ayer Manis got to be so popular, that 
 the accommodations of the bungalow were taxed to their 
 utmost limits. With the handiness of a sailor Northwood 
 had some folding canvas cots made. When these were open 
 iron rods fixed at the ends supported a mosquito curtain. 
 When the bungalow was crowded the bedrooms were 
 handed over to the ladies and elders of the party, while the 
 bachelors camped out in the verandahs in their curtained 
 
 148
 
 Ayer Manis 
 
 canvas cots, which were just as comfortable to sleep in sis 
 any bed. Anyone, however, who stumbled across the 
 bungalow after bed-time would certainly think that it 
 was a field hospital of some kind. People at Ayer Manis 
 generally went to bed very late indeed, and rose shortly 
 after daybreak. It was a very jolly life, enjoyed to the 
 utmost when the Christmas and Easter holidays permitted 
 of a more prolonged visit than usual. 
 
 The shooting parties were also capital fun. Great was 
 Johnnie's delight when, having invited a party of officers 
 from Admiral Duperre's flagship, the Themis, one of his 
 guests killed a big deer with a fine shot, half an hour after 
 the sportsmen had left the hospitable bungalow. The 
 deer, after having been carefully stuffed with charcoal, 
 was put on board the Intan in triumph, and sent straight 
 away to the flagship. The next evening Johnnie had the 
 pleasure of dining on board the Themis, to partake of a 
 haunch of venison, superbly cooked by the admiral's chef. 
 
 At other times there were expeditions after wild pig, 
 green pigeon, snipe, or plover, which gave plenty of healthy 
 sport, besides providing game for the bungalow. 
 
 Ayer Manis was often in request by other people when 
 the Northwoods did not want the place themselves. The 
 Captain was by no means sorry to rent the bungalow on 
 occasions, because it rather grieved him that the attractions 
 of Ayer Manis should interfere with a proper and seemly 
 attendance at church on Sundays. If Johnnie had had 
 his way, the young heathen would have been at Ayer Manis 
 every Sunday, and missed the interminable exhortations 
 of the Chaplain altogether. But his father was the 
 Secretary and Treasurer of the Presbyterian Kirk at 
 Singapore, and took a very serious view of his duties. 
 A more indefatigable person was surely never engaged in 
 the uncongenial task of levying contributions for the new 
 building fund of the day. So, little as he liked it, there 
 were frequent occasions when Johnnie had to go to church 
 with his parents twice on Sundays. 
 
 149
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 The bungalow, in its lovely seclusion amidst palm- 
 groves and sunlit seas, was in particular request with newly- 
 wed couples desirous of spending their honeymoon in 
 romantic and comfortable surroundings. As the years 
 sped their way, observant people remarked that honey- 
 moons at Ayer Manis invariably resulted in the happy 
 couples being blessed at the proper interval with their 
 first little boy or little girl. 
 
 150
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 JOHNNIE NORTHWOOD STARTS BUSINESS ON HIS OWN 
 ACCOUNT 
 
 YOUNG Northwood served some two years or more 
 in Brownlow's office before he woke up to a 
 realization of his rather dismai future in the service 
 of the premier firm of Singapore. Finlay worked him 
 very hard, but that was a mere detail. Johnnie discovered 
 that however much he toiled, and whatever his aptitude for 
 business might be, he had a poor chance against Brownlow's 
 picked men with several years' seniority and experience 
 at the back of them. 
 
 True, he had money behind him, but money was pre- 
 cisely the commodity which Bro\\-nlow and Co. had in 
 superabundance. They wanted men and not money to 
 carry out the finest business in the Straits Settlements to 
 its highest development. In such circumstances a mere 
 lad like young Northwood did not count for much, even if 
 he were the possessor of millions. 
 
 It gradually dawned upon Johnnie's mind that he would 
 become quite an old man of thirty, or perhaps a grey- 
 bearded patriarch of thirty-five, with one foot in the grave, 
 before he could hope to become a partner in Brownlow and 
 Co. and inaugurate a new era of financial prosperity 
 unprecedented in the annals of the illustrious firm. 
 
 So that while he laboured manfully at his work, without 
 showing any symptom of slacking, Johnnie was getting very 
 unhappy about his prospects. Nor was he quite in his 
 place in Brownlow's office. As time went on, it seemed 
 more or less an absurdity that a young fellow who lived 
 
 151
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 in a mansion, and had all sorts of horses and carriages at 
 his disposal, should serve as a clerk at fifty dollars a 
 month. It had a disturbing effect on the whole office. 
 Johnnie's pay stuck at fifty dollars, although he was worth 
 a vast deal more, because it never occurred to Carlyle to 
 increase the salary of a man to whom money was no object, 
 and Johnnie and his father took precisely the same view 
 of the matter. The whole position was not a natural one, 
 and was bound, sooner or later, to prove untenable, not- 
 withstanding the goodwill of the parties principally con- 
 cerned. The meagre salary of fifty dollars by no means 
 covered expenses, light as they were. Any efficient Eura- 
 sian clerk in the office drew more pay than Northwood. 
 So at length Johnnie, getting tired of drawing doles from 
 his father, suggested that he should get a specified monthly 
 allowance, which should enable him to balance his budget 
 on fixed lines. The Captain said he would consider the 
 matter and give his decision the following day. 
 
 Next morning Captain Northwood strode into the Char- 
 tering Department of Messrs. Brownlow and Company's 
 office, and flung a cheque-book on his son's desk. " Here 
 you are, Johnnie ! there's 3^our cheque-book ! I have just 
 been to see Winton of the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Bank, 
 and arranged with him that you are to draw on my account 
 for as much as you want. Just take a specimen of your 
 signature round to the Bank, and the thing's done. Mind, 
 I trust to you to draw what you want in reason, without 
 having to come to me every time you want a hundred or 
 two hundred dollars, or whatever it may be ! " 
 
 Before Johnnie had time to stammer out his thanks 
 the Captain had shaken hands with Finlay and walked out 
 of the office. 
 
 Finlay looked at Johnnie and his cheque-book, and 
 said : " My word ! I've never seen the like of this ! If 
 you don't ruin your father, or your father does not ruin 
 you, I shall be much surprised. Get along with that 
 charter-party in the meantime, I want it sharp ! " 
 
 152
 
 Johnnie Northwood starts Business on his own Account 
 
 Truth to say, Johnnie, to his father's delight, made 
 an exceedingly moderate use of his first cheque-book. 
 He amused himself by writing out and signing cheques for 
 quite smaU sums, just to feel what it was like to have a 
 banking account. 
 
 But the story of the cheque-book soon got about. 
 Brokers and others tried to tempt the young fellow into aU 
 sorts of speculations, but the fear of his father's displeasure 
 effectually prevented him from falling into any trap of this 
 kind. Some of his friends were more successful in borrowing 
 various sums from him, which they did not always repay. 
 He was thinking of buying a smart little phaeton which 
 was on sale at Lambert's, when his plausible acquaintance, 
 Mr. Harry Quickston, a most sporting person, persuaded 
 him to lend him five hundred dollars, to be repaid in a week 
 at the latest. Mr. Quickston bought the phaeton with 
 Johnnie's money, for the express purpose, it would appear, 
 of driving Mrs. Golightly about on fine mornings and 
 evenings. Then, after a fortnight or so, he wearied of 
 such a tame contrivance as a phaeton ; sold it to a 
 Chinaman for half its value, and then bought on credit a 
 spanking dog-cart, which was standing in Abrams' yard, 
 and with it a very fast mare, which enabled him to whirl 
 Mrs. Golightly about the country at a tremendous pace. 
 
 When, long after the stipulated period, Johnnie ventured 
 to ask the ever-hilarious Harry Quickston for his money, 
 he was told in the most cheerful way possible that Abrams 
 would really have to be paid first. As a matter of fact, 
 neither Abrams nor Johnnie ever got a penny of their money, 
 the Quickston finances becoming more abstruse with, each 
 succeeding race-meeting. This little transaction taught 
 Johnnie a lesson for a httle while, but he found it impossible 
 to guard his cheque-book for any great length of time from 
 the insidious attacks of many Hght-hearted gentlemen 
 Hke Quickston, or the still more deadly approaches of 
 solemn humbugs who wanted money for charitable pur- 
 poses and kept it for themselves. 
 
 153
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Amongst others who had heard of Johnnie's cheque- 
 book was Captain Shelby, of the barque Ceylon. In his quiet 
 way he suggested that his young friend had had all the 
 office training that he required, and that the Moluccas 
 trade was ripe for the capitalist. There was, and had been 
 for some time, a shortage of spices in the Singapore market. 
 As a matter of fact they were bought up by Brownlow 
 and Co. for their American trade. Johnnie knew that his 
 firm was unable to execute pressing orders for first-class 
 houses in San Francisco, because they preferred to ship all 
 they could lay hands on to still more important clients of 
 longer standing in New York and Boston. San Francisco 
 offered a remarkable opening for any merchant able to 
 secure spices, and Captain Shelby offered to buy them for 
 him first hand in Amboina and Banda. The thing looked 
 sound enough. Just then Captain Hardy arrived in his 
 old ship, the Victory, from Amboina with four hundred 
 piculs of cloves on board, amongst other cargo. These, 
 after a hard bargain, he sold to Brownlow and Co. at forty- 
 four and three-quarter dollars per picul. The old sailor 
 confided to his friend, Northwood senior, that he had bought 
 these identical four hundred piculs at sixteen dollars, and 
 that he was off to buy another lot upon which he could lay 
 hands at Amboina, the crop being unexpectedly large that 
 year. Here was a profit of over one hundred and fifty 
 per cent, on the deal — a clear eleven thousand dollars made 
 on a little lot of some twenty-three tons of cloves. Captain 
 Hardy could easily have bought another thousand piculs 
 at the same rate, but he was afraid of throwing too great 
 a quantity of cloves on the market at once, and had re- 
 frained from buying them. As Shelby pointed out to 
 Johnnie, here was a profit of thirty thousand dollars thrown 
 away because Hardy did not know the state of the market, 
 and had been too unbusiness-like to take advantage of it. 
 The whole thing seemed fabulous, and even the experienced 
 Captain Northwood was singularly impressed with the 
 amazing prospects of the Moluccas trade. 
 
 154
 
 Johnnie Northwood starts Business on his own Account 
 
 A short conference between the Captain and his son 
 soon settled the whole matter. Northwood was essentially 
 a man of rapid resolution, and he suddenly took the view that 
 the life he had planned for his son with Jasper Mackenzie 
 was a huge mistake, and that the promise in Captain 
 Shelby's proposals outweighed all the distant prospects 
 offered by Brownlow and Co. 
 
 While these matters were being anxiously discussed 
 at Woodleigh, Captain Hardy was working night and day 
 to get his old ship, the Victory, loaded up with rice, kerosene, 
 cases of Dutch gin, and all sorts of odds and ends for the 
 Moluccas trade. His son-in-law was at a standstill with 
 his much faster barque, the Ceylon, because he had no 
 ready cash for trading purposes, having put all his available 
 money into the purchase of his vessel. The Ceylon had 
 therefore to swing to her anchors in Singapore harbour, 
 while she was very slowly loaded by Chinese traders, at 
 their own leisure, at the best freights which Captain Shelby 
 could get out of the shippers. Meanwhile, Captain Hardy, 
 having all the money he wanted, was off in the Victory 
 to reap a golden harvest. 
 
 Shelby tried very hard to get the Northwoods to advance 
 him sufficient money to get him out of his difficulties, and 
 to start him on a cruise in the Moluccas with an adequate 
 capital. But on this point Captain Northwood was abso- 
 lutely stubborn. It was his view that as Johnnie intended 
 to sell in the San Francisco market, he should leave 
 Brownlow and Co. before he ventured a penny on his 
 own account. " All must be square and above board," 
 insisted the Captain, " or Johnnie stays where he is ! " 
 
 So Shelby had perforce to sail under the old conditions, 
 it being promised that everything should be satisfactorily 
 arranged on his return to Singapore. 
 
 Johnnie next resigned his post at Brownlow and Co.'s, 
 where he had now been employed for three years. It was 
 not without some emotion that he went round the office to 
 shake hands with everybody on leaving the firm. 
 
 155
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Carlyle sincerely regretted losing him, and said so. 
 Isaac Henson wished him every success, but told him he 
 was a mere boy, and that the whole thing was an absurdity. 
 Why didn't he stay where he was ? "I hope," said 
 Henson, " that you are not going to set up an Import 
 Department ! If you do, mind that you don't seU on three 
 months' credit to everyone who wants your goods for 
 nothing. And you might marry that nice girl Mary Hardy 
 while you are about it, instead of playing the fool. Mar- 
 riage might possibly steady you a bit. Good-bye ! " 
 
 Mr. William Wapshot favoured him with several of his 
 finest winks, while he implored him not to smash up the old 
 firm, and reduce his friends in Brownlow's to poverty and 
 misery. 
 
 Albuquerque and the other Eurasians either hinted 
 mysteriously that the road to success lay in his securing 
 their services as partners, or openly recommended a string 
 of brothers and cousins as clerks possessing unusual business 
 capacity. These simple persons had made up their minds 
 that in some way or other Johnnie was just going to make 
 millions. 
 
 As for John Finlay, he sighed grievously. " I hoped that 
 we were going to row in the same boat for many a year 
 to come. WeU ! you'U find some work for your cheque- 
 book now ! And I've got to break in a new junior — train 
 another kuda bant ! Come and see me whenever you have 
 time, and do try to be careful with your father's money ! " 
 
 Young Northwood started in business quietly enough. 
 In a narrow lane on one side of John Small and Co.'s shop 
 was a little row of one-storied buildings, in which they 
 stored empty cases and lumber of sorts. Johnnie rented 
 these imassuming premises on very moderate terms. A 
 small white board nailed on one side of the office entrance 
 had his name and the style of his firm painted on it in plain 
 black letters thus : 
 
 JOHN DILLON NORTHWOOD, JUNIOR. 
 
 156
 
 Johnnie Northwood starts Business on his own Account 
 
 Such were the outward signs of the commencement of 
 a new career. 
 
 In the very plainly furnished little office on the first 
 floor there were two desks for his father and himself, while 
 a space was railed off in a room below for his Chinese store- 
 keeper and Chinese cashier. 
 
 Captain Northwood, who used to boast that he carried 
 his office in his pocket, in the shape of a pocket-book and 
 pencil, found it a great convenience to have a real office 
 of his own at last, and was in great good humour over the 
 whole affair. Meanwhile, Johnnie was busy corresponding 
 with San Francisco, and a firm in Marseilles recommended 
 to him by his friend, the Vicomte de Belleville. Oddly 
 enough, his first transaction of any importance was with 
 his old firm. On receipt of a certain cablegram from 
 Marseilles the young man began quietly buying up all 
 the Siam teelseed in the market. Having secured a large 
 quantity of the stuff, he walked into Brownlow's office, 
 and asked John Finlay to charter him a sailing ship for 
 Marseilles. Finlay laughed and remarked that this was 
 an unexpected pleasure, but nevertheless offered him the 
 American barque Anna Walsh, at that time in Singapore 
 harbour. Johnnie closed for her at one thousand five 
 hundred pounds, and Finlay told him that he knew enough 
 to see that the charter-party was in order, but he, Finlay, 
 was curious to know how the venture would result. 
 
 There was a little dispute when the ship was half loaded 
 and Johnnie wanted his bills of lading signed for the cargo 
 actually on board. They were made out at twenty-seven 
 shillings and sixpence, and Finlay declared that Johnnie 
 could not possibly make a freight of one thousand five 
 hundred pounds at such a low rate. In this Finlay was 
 supported by Carlyle, who demanded a written guarantee 
 from Johnnie that he would pay in cash any sum short of 
 one thousand five hundred pounds before the ship sailed. 
 Only on that condition would he allow the captain to 
 sign bills of lading at twenty-seven shillings and sixpence. 
 
 157
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Johnnie gave the guarantee and studied the loading of the 
 Anna Walsh with redoubled energy, and was constantly 
 on board the ship. Great was his satisfaction when she 
 was fuUy loaded to find that he had brought out his mani- 
 fest to a total of one thousand five hundred and ninety 
 pounds, and that both Carlyle and Finlay were out in their 
 calculations. 
 
 His former chiefs were bound to admit that the Anna 
 Walsh had been loaded exceedingly weU, and they handed 
 Johnnie back his letter of guarantee with remarks to the 
 effect that they had taught him his business just a little 
 too weU. Captain Northwood was delighted with this 
 proof of his son's energy and capacity. 
 
 In due course Captain Hardy returned from the 
 Moluccas in the Victory, and when young Northwood, 
 after a severe competition with Brownlow and Co., bought 
 the whole lot of his spices at something over the market 
 rate of the day, Carlyle began to think the young man a 
 bit of a nuisance, especially when he found that the spices 
 were being shipped to San Francisco. StiU, it was all 
 fair competition, and Carlyle took it in perfectly good part. 
 He very kindly went to see Johnnie one day in his modest 
 office, and told him that as his business was growing, he 
 ought to become a member of the Exchange, Chamber of 
 Commerce, and Singapore Club, and thus be able to meet 
 the other merchants of the place on a footing of equality. 
 Carlyle very generously offered to propose him as a member 
 of all three of these institutions. 
 
 Johnnie very gratefully accepted Carlyle's offer as 
 regards the Singapore Exchange, which would give him 
 certain facilities for transacting shipping business which 
 he wanted ; but, bold and venturesome as he was in most 
 respects, he was singularly shy in others, and refused to 
 enter either the Chamber of Commerce or join the Club, 
 on the score that his commercial status did not warrant 
 his doing so. So he was duly elected a member of the 
 Exchange, but never belonged to either the Chamber of 
 
 158
 
 Johnnie Northwood starts Business on his own Account 
 
 Commerce or the Club at which the magnates of Singapore 
 take their tiffin and talk business. 
 
 Meanwhile, Captain Hardy had no idea of the arrange- 
 ments which were on foot between the Northwoods and 
 his son-in-law. The Northwoods were averse to com- 
 peting with old Hardy, an objection which Shelby had 
 overcome by promising to bring him into the combination. 
 Shelby, however, had so urged secrecy as to their plans 
 until they were actually carried into effect, that the North- 
 woods, much against their wish, agreed to leave Hardy in 
 ignorance of what was being contemplated until a later 
 day. 
 
 Shelby came back from his cruise, and called upon the 
 Northwoods to make good their promises. It came as a 
 shock to them to find that Shelby had mortgaged the 
 Ceylon to McAlisterand Co., and owed them a lot of money 
 for supplies of all kinds. There was no help for it but to 
 pay off Shelby's various debts and put the man on a sound 
 footing, besides advancing him the funds necessary for the 
 spice trade. It was a much stiffer pull on their finances 
 than the Northwoods had ever anticipated. 
 
 Another severe check to the whole Moluccas scheme 
 came to pass with the arrival of Captain Hardy in the 
 Victory. 
 
 When Northwood placed the Shelby scheme in all its 
 details before his old friend, he found, to his astonishment, 
 that Hardy would have nothing to do with the affair under 
 any consideration whatever. The bluff old sailor, who 
 was in ample funds at the time, declared that he intended 
 to remain his own master, and had no intention of being 
 dragged into any combination by his precious son-in-law. 
 Hardy solemnly warned Northwood to have a care con- 
 cerning Ms former mate, whom he described as being " the 
 bight and both ends of a rogue ! " 
 
 However, there was no bad blood between either North- 
 wood or Hardy over the affair. The latter said that there 
 was ample room for ten ships in the trade, and that in 
 
 159
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 any case Shelby could be trusted to hang himself directly 
 he got enough rope. 
 
 These were not precisely comfortable reflections for 
 the Northwoods, but they considered themselves bound to 
 Shelby, and their Borneo trade was so phenomenally 
 prosperous at the time, that a prospective loss of a few thou- 
 sand dollars more or less in the Moluccas did not much 
 matter. On the other hand, Shelby might prove to be 
 right in spite of all appearances, in which case they would 
 make yet another fortune — not that it would be of any 
 earthly use to them when they had got it. 
 
 So the Northwoods decided to pay off Shelby's debts, 
 and start him afresh with ample funds. Shelby was care- 
 ful not to betray the slightest satisfaction over his vastly 
 altered circumstances, but contented himself with tran- 
 quilly assuring the Northwoods that he would give them 
 a royal return on their money. As a matter of fact, he 
 kept his word up to a certain point. Exceedingly clever, 
 but utterly unscrupulous, Shelby managed to show 
 astonishing profits on his very first voyage he made in the 
 Ceylon. According to the agreement he got one-third of 
 the nett profits as well as his wages as master, which paid 
 him vastly better, as he said, than carrying cargo for 
 Chinamen. 
 
 Meanwhile, father and son were piling on canvas at a 
 tremendous rate. The Alastor was clearly getting too 
 small for the Borneo trade, so Captain Northwood ordered 
 a new steamer of considerably greater tonnage through 
 Brownlow and Co. This he named the Brunei. He also 
 bought a small steamer called the Augusta, to run on the 
 Borneo coast, and finally he bought a very beautiful yacht, 
 the Flower of Yarrow, for something like five hundred 
 pounds, by auction, at Powell's rooms. Built at Cowes, 
 she had been purchased by a pearling concern, familiarly 
 kno\vn as " The Champagne Company," from her noble 
 owner for some fifteen thousand pounds. The yacht was 
 sent from Australia to Singapore to recruit native divers, 
 
 i6o
 
 *- .^^ 
 
 
 \'IE\VS OK SULU. 
 
 [rnriiitj p. KiO
 
 Johnnie Northwood starts Business on his own Account 
 
 when the Champagne Company, having done things on too 
 magnificent a scale thioughout, came to an end of their 
 resources and " went bust." By the order of some official 
 liquidator she was put up for auction at Singapore, with 
 the result that Captain Northwood got this lovely boat 
 for next to nothing, as she stood. After sailing her about 
 Singapore for a few weeks, he sent her to North Borneo 
 and Sulu, where she was once more employed in pearhng. 
 
 Finding that his Labuan property was returning him a 
 very handsome income. Captain Northwood began buying 
 land and houses in Singapore, and building in various 
 directions. These operations, being carried out with great 
 judgment and skill, soon began to yield the handsome 
 results anticipated. The Northwood estate in Singapore 
 rapidly developed itself into a splendid property. 
 
 Johnnie, on his side, was forging ahead with a rapidity 
 which was almost disconcerting to himself. His modest 
 little offices were getting too small for him, and his land- 
 lords, John Small and Co., complained that the pans of pitch, 
 with which he sealed up the joints of his nutmeg-boxes, 
 gave off an intolerable reek, which annoyed their customers 
 and damaged their goods. Would he be so kind as to 
 stop boiling pitch or go somewhere else ? It was impossible 
 for our young merchant to dispense with his pitch-pans, 
 so he began to look out for other quarters. At this juncture 
 old Mr. Wheever, of Wheever and Co., offered him a large 
 block of buildings in Battery Road, on a long lease. 
 Wheever said he was tired of business, and having made 
 enough money to keep him comfortably at home, he meant 
 to retire. Johnnie looked over the buildings, and was 
 aghast at their size ; they were nearly as big as the Brown- 
 low buildings on the Quay. Old Wheever pointed out to 
 young Northwood that he could always sublet premises 
 in such a central position, and proved that he made quite 
 a nice income by pressing and storing gambler for other 
 merchants without risking a cent. As Wheever offered 
 to sell his hydrauHc press and dispose of his lease on very 
 
 VOL. I. l6l II
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 favourable conditions Johnnie closed with him, and, to 
 John Small and Co.'s great relief, transferred himself and 
 his business to the big godowns in the Battery Road. 
 
 People began to open their eyes, and some of them 
 to shake their heads at all of these developments ; but 
 the general opinion was entirely in favour of the North- 
 woods. It was thought that the successful captain was 
 much too sagacious and sensible a man to undertake any- 
 thing which was really risky, while his son gave the im- 
 pression of being a very energetic young fellow, a veritable 
 " chip of the old block." 
 
 The Northwoods' credit stood very high indeed. It is 
 true that the old French tapioca-planter. Monsieur Chasse- 
 pot, who made a point of dining once a week at Woodleigh, 
 and grumbling vigorously throughout the whole of a most 
 excellent meal, had sarcastically dubbed the Captain 
 " le Marquis de Carabas," and predicted his ultimate down- 
 fall with a cheerful certainty which events did not seem 
 to justif}^ Captain Northwood cared nothing for the 
 Frenchman's vaticinations. He liked the old planter, 
 and was very glad that Johnnie should be able to go shoot- 
 ing at times over Chassepot's very fine estate, in the 
 company of his two sons, who were both very nice fellows. 
 
 Another extension of young Northwood's business neces- 
 sitated his proceeding to England via France. The prin- 
 cipal export of Labuan is sago-flour, of which the Alastor 
 brought across some thousands of tons in the course of 
 the year. Sago is one of the finest foods ever produced 
 by nature, but modern ingenuity treats this starch with 
 chemicals and turns it either into glucose for brewing pur- 
 poses or into size for linens. Whole forests of sago-palms 
 are cut down every year in the interests of beer and bleach- 
 ing, but they happen to be practically inexhaustible. 
 
 Johnnie Northwood had already been shipping sago-flour 
 to London to the British Patent Sugar Company, and was 
 desirous of getting the monopoly of their business, which 
 would give him a commanding position in this important 
 
 162
 
 Johnnie Northwood starts Business on his own Account 
 
 market. His London agent, Mr. Walter Forsyth, urged 
 him repeatedly to proceed to London and negotiate per- 
 sonally with the Directors of the Patent Sugar Company 
 concerning the supplies of their raw material. Northwood's 
 Marseilles interests also demanded his personal investiga- 
 tion. His office was now manned by a regular staff of 
 clerks, and it was arranged that Johnnie should make a 
 flying visit to Europe, while his father remained in charge 
 at Singapore. He was sorry to part with his father and 
 mother, and to leave his beautiful home at Woodleigh ; 
 but, at the same time, he yearned to see France and England 
 once more. 
 
 After a very agreeable passage in the Messageries Mari- 
 times steamer Yangtse, Johnnie arrived at Marseilles on a 
 certain December day. He was met on board the steamer 
 by M. de Beauregard, a fine handsome old gentleman, who 
 brought with him Madame de Beauregard, her two pretty 
 daughters, and his only son Jules. Johnnie at the end 
 of a few days seemed to have known the family for years. 
 They were very charming people, with a circle of delightful 
 acquaintances, amongst whom he found life to be full of 
 gaiety and innocent pleasures. He fell considerably in 
 love with both the de Beauregard girls, and would un- 
 doubtedly have married one of them had he been able to 
 discover definitely whether he was desperately enamoured 
 of Martha, or whether it was her younger sister Louise who 
 inspired him with a fervid passion. 
 
 Meanwhile, he worked hard during office hours, and 
 wrote fully by every mail to his Singapore office, as well 
 as to his father and mother. He spent the rest of his 
 time in a round of delicious dinners, followed by little 
 dances with pretty partners, varied by occasional theatre 
 and concert parties. M. de Beauregard had a magnificent 
 cellar, and initiated Johnnie into the mysteries of appre- 
 ciating fine old Burgundies by methods both practical and 
 agreeable. 
 
 With something of a struggle, Johnnie tore himself away 
 VOL. I. 163 II*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 from Marseilles. To most people Marseilles may be a 
 sufficiently prosaic and even malodorous port. But to 
 Johnnie it had an intimate and infinitely more gracious 
 aspect. Marseilles also recalled to him the happy days 
 with his father and mother, when they made all sorts of 
 pleasant excursions together. 
 
 From the enchanting town of Marseilles, Johnnie found 
 his way to London, and set to work with his agent, Walter 
 Forsyth. In due course Mr. John Dillon Northwood, 
 junior, was introduced to the Managing Director and the 
 other directors of the British Patent Sugar Company, 
 and various persons of importance. All these gentlemen 
 were vastly astonished at the extreme youth of their Singa- 
 pore correspondent, but in the end they had to admit that 
 he knew all about sago-flour, and that he had a privileged 
 position on a part of the Borneo coast, thanks to his father's 
 enterprise. Finally, he had the satisfaction of leaving 
 London with the assured monopoly of the huge business of 
 the British Patent Sugar Company. A more experienced 
 man of business would probably have seen to it that the 
 terms of the agreement were less elastic, but those were 
 brilliant times for Northwood junior, who, trusting to his 
 energy and ability, felt like sweeping everything before him. 
 
 Johnnie naturally saw as much as possible of his dear 
 old friends the Leigh family, and after a delightful fort- 
 night in Marseilles, sailed for Singapore in the Messageries 
 Maritimes liner Salazie. 
 
 After a splendid and most enjoyable passage, the Salazie 
 steamed through the beautiful new harbour of Singapore, 
 and took her berth at the Borneo Wharf. As the steamer 
 neared the wharf, Johnnie distinguished the tall figure of 
 his father towering over the heads of a small group of 
 people, and noticed that he held a white bag in one hand. 
 Captain Northwood was one of the first to gain the mail- 
 boat's deck, and greeted his son with hearty effusion. 
 When they got to the saloon, he threw the bag on the 
 table, on which it fell with a metallic chink. 
 
 164
 
 Johnnie Northwood starts Business on his own Account 
 
 " I thought you might want some money," said the 
 worthy captain, " and so I have brought these dollars with 
 me. 
 
 Johnnie was much touched with his father's kind fore- 
 thought. He grasped his father's hand as he said : " You 
 are reaUy too good to me ; as a matter of fact, I owe some 
 money on board, and shall be delighted to pay off my little 
 debts before leaving the ship." 
 
 The Captain laughed cheerily. " Young men generally 
 want money, don't they ? I thought I could hardly go 
 wrong in bringing some dollars with me." 
 
 As a matter of fact, Johnnie had been beguiled into 
 playing cards on the long voyage, and being a very poor 
 hand at that particular form of gambling, had lost various 
 sums, which, though of no great importance, were more 
 than enough to exhaust the cash he had taken on board 
 with him at Marseilles. 
 
 Captain Northwood's horses took him and his son 
 rapidly to Woodleigh, where Johnnie was tenderly greeted 
 by his mother. The rest of the day was spent in all sorts 
 of questions and answers about Johnnie's adventures and 
 successes in France and England, and in telling him what 
 had happened during his absence. 
 
 The next day the Northwoods, father and son, drove 
 early to their office, of which Johnnie at once took charge, 
 settling down, to work with his accustomed vigour. The 
 Captain relinquished his command with great relief, and 
 announced his intention of going to Borneo on the next 
 voyage of the Alastor. 
 
 The situation all round looked healthy and prosperous, 
 though it seemed a little difficult to understand Captain 
 Shelby's tactics. He continued to show very large profits 
 on paper, but kept back the surpluses for investment in 
 the Spice Islands. He had put his chief officer in command 
 of the Ceylon, while he remained at Amboina to collect her 
 cargo for her. He argued that it was no use to continue 
 the old system of making a ship a sort of floating shop and 
 
 165
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 warehouse, first selling the rice and cloth, and so on, and 
 then starting in to buy spices and gums for her. Shelby 
 wrote that such a system might suit Captain Hardy, who 
 had sailed the old Victory on this plan for the last forty 
 years, but it was eas}^ to see that with a store on shore 
 where goods could be kept during a vessel's cruise, and 
 into which her cargo could be landed immediately on 
 arrival, the Ceylon could sail two voyages to one of the 
 Victory or any other ship in the trade, with profits pro- 
 portionately increased. 
 
 Shelby also begged most urgently that the Northwoods 
 would send him a small brig or schooner, to trade between 
 Amboina and the other islands, and especially to bring 
 gum copal from the Papuan coast. 
 
 Captain Northwood remarked that when they first began 
 this trade, Shelby handed them back their money punc- 
 tually at the end of the voyage plus a profit of some 
 thirty per cent., which was a very agreeable way of doing 
 business. But now Shelby was putting up buildings in 
 Amboina, and keeping back their money to pay for them. 
 True, he promised a return of cent, per cent, when all 
 was in full swing; "but," said Northwood sagaciously, 
 " thirty per cent, on the old-fashioned lines is quite good 
 enough for me, or any other sailorman ! " 
 
 Both of the Northwoods, however, were struck by the 
 sensible and apparently secure lines on which Shelby pro- 
 posed to base his trade. In the end, and after looking into 
 their bank account and their resources generally, they 
 decided to support Shelby's scheme, and to send him the 
 small sailing ship for which he asked. Before many days 
 their house-flag was flying over a smart and strongly-built 
 schooner, which they re-christened the Amboina, and 
 which they immediately started to load with an assortment 
 of cargo suitable for the New Guinea trade. In due course 
 she sailed for the Moluccas under the command of a decent 
 skipper, named Murphy. 
 
 There was just one phrase in Shelby's correspondence 
 
 i66
 
 Johnnie Northwood starts Business on his own Account 
 
 which grated somewhat painfully. He wrote of " washing 
 out all his competitors." Captain Northwood remarked 
 that if Shelby intended to monopolize the entire trade of 
 the islands, he was taking on a big job, which would require 
 a big bank behind it. Nor did he want to see his old 
 friend Captain Hardy " washed out " of his own trade. 
 However, he finally made up his mind that it was some 
 of Shelby's " Yankee bluff," and thought no more about it. 
 
 167
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 ABOUT POLITICS IN BORNEO 
 
 CAPTAIN NORTHWOOD had always taken a prac- 
 tical part in the politics of Borneo, being a sup- 
 porter of the Sultan of Brunei. Of course, there 
 was not much good to be said of the Sultan's Government, 
 but he, at least, had a right to the throne, and his rule was 
 quite respectable compared to that of other Borneo princes. 
 Northwood had known the day when the Sultan was a 
 power in the land ; but as his prestige was weakened, 
 and as his authority declined, so did anarchy and disorder 
 spread through his dominions. The wisest course would 
 have been to hand over the kingdom of Brunei to the Rajah 
 of Sarawak, in the interests of peace and prosperity ; but 
 there were many difficulties in the way of such a prompt 
 and satisfactory solution of the problem. The Home 
 Government would certainly veto anything so sensible. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Sultan, always short of money w^here- 
 with to maintain his army of retainers and his hundreds 
 of wives, was becoming an object of interest to various 
 gentlemen desirous of getting concessions cheap and selling 
 them dear. 
 
 The Sultan had already offered Northwood a concession 
 over a huge district containing coal mines, petroleum, and 
 other valuable properties ; but the Captain refused to 
 accept it. He realized that if he took up such a conces- 
 sion, the administration of a considerable part of the 
 Sultan's territories would fall on his shoulders, and become 
 the burden of his life. He could, of course, take the con- 
 cession and sell it again, but he had no experience of 
 
 i68
 
 About Politics in Borneo 
 
 company-mongering, and the whole scheme failed to offer 
 any attraction to the sailor. As he said, he had quite 
 enough to look after as it was. 
 
 Two or three adventurers now presented themselves at 
 the Court of Brunei with gifts and proposals. The former 
 were promptly accepted, while the latter were considered 
 with such infinite deliberation as to break the heart of 
 the boldest concession-hunter. An American gentleman 
 seemed to have some chance of success, but his influence 
 waned ; and Captain Northwood, who strongly disap- 
 proved of American influence in Brunei, did his utmost to 
 bring about his discomfiture. 
 
 Then came the most formidable man of all, who really 
 looked as if he would carry everything before him. The 
 Austrian Baron Overbeck was a man gifted with both 
 courage and ability, and had considerable means at his 
 disposal. It was his avowed intention to interest the 
 Austrian Government in a really great and comprehensive 
 scheme for colonizing and developing a vast region of Borneo. 
 
 That any part of the island should pass under the 
 domination of Austria appeared to Northwood absolutely 
 intolerable. Apart from purely patriotic motives, which 
 had a very strong hold indeed on the British captain, he 
 saw in his mind's eye the country overrun by Austrians 
 and Germans, with unfortunate results to himself. North- 
 wood had been waging war against the Baron for the last 
 two or three years, but the clever Austrian had succeeded 
 in getting various concessions from different native chiefs 
 for considerations which the Captain thought miserably 
 inadequate. About this business he expressed his opinions 
 with sailor-like freedom. The Baron had not only gained 
 a position of some influence at the Court of Brunei, but 
 to Northwood's amazement he had to all appearance been 
 successful in getting some measure of approval to his scheme 
 from the Governor of Labuan, Mr. William Hood, after- 
 wards better known as Sir William Hood, K.C.M.G. 
 
 Between Mr. Hood and Captain Northwood there was 
 
 169
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 friendship of long standing. Both were men of unusual 
 ability and integrity, and, therefore, perfectly able to 
 understand one another. 
 
 The fact that Mr. Hood had been in London for the last 
 year prevented Northwood from discussing matters with 
 His Excellency, and in the Governor's absence, the Baron 
 was able to pursue his campaign without any effective 
 check upon his movements. 
 
 Northwood then resolved to place his views before the 
 then Secretary of State, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, and 
 to that end drafted a letter of considerable length, in which 
 he expressed his view of the situation with force and 
 ability. On leaving for one of his voyages, Northwood 
 handed his draft letter to Johnnie, with instructions to 
 make a fair copy of it and forward it to London. He had 
 his father's authority to sign it " John Dillon Northwood." 
 The signature was common to both of them, and the Cap- 
 tain did not see that it much mattered. Johnnie thought 
 it a very good letter, but objected that it did not offer 
 any criticism of Governor Hood's apparently benevolent 
 consideration of the Austrian Baron's designs. 
 
 " Well, perhaps you might put in something about Hood's 
 weakness at this juncture. I think myself that Hood is 
 too young to cope with such a singularly experienced and 
 diplomatic person as the Baron. You might roast Hood 
 a bit, but mind you don't say anything unjust about a 
 fine fellow, who has happened to make a mistake." 
 
 Johnnie saw his father off by the Alastor, and then set 
 to work on his diplomatic job with unholy glee. He 
 held all his father's views on the situation in Borneo, 
 intensified and inflamed by the hot-blooded and purely 
 partisan spirit of extreme youth. He saw in Baron Over- 
 beck a sort of Austrian Mephistopheles, inspired with the 
 fell design of seducing the hapless Governor of Labuan, 
 and subverting British interests for the benefit of an 
 alien empire. Happily, he thought, the Northwoods were 
 there to defend British interests in Borneo ! 
 
 170
 
 About Politics in Borneo 
 
 Animated by these noble ideas, Johnnie went to work 
 to engross his father's draft letter in his finest handwriting 
 on the best and thickest foolscap money could procure. 
 It was a labour of love. When he got to the end of his 
 father's draft, he exercised his discretionary power with 
 regard to the unhappy Governor of Labuan. Having a 
 great idea of his literary style, he fairly let himself go in 
 describing the youthful and innocent Governor as the 
 hapless victim of the old and diplomatic Baron. With 
 a final suggestion to the Secretary of State that a more 
 experienced hand than that of Mr. William Hood was 
 wanted at this critical moment to control the destinies of 
 Borneo, Johnnie completed his task to his infinite satis- 
 faction. Having signed the letter, he carefully sealed it 
 up in a parchment envelope, and sent it as a registered 
 packet to Sir Michael Hicks-Beach. He was pleased with 
 himself ! 
 
 It mattered nothing to him that in the letter which he 
 had signed, he had described himself as "a shipowner 
 trading on the Borneo coast for the last thirty years." That 
 was a mere detail. That on his o\vn account, but in his 
 father's name, he should deplore the youth and inexperience 
 of a man both older and wiser than himself was another 
 detail. He had merely mixed himself and his father up 
 in a most satisfactory and exhilarating way. Of course, 
 he kept no copy of the letter he had posted. 
 
 Captain Northwood, on his return from Labuan, seemed 
 rather to have lost interest in this letter. Johnnie gushed 
 to him a good deal about it, but his father said it was all 
 waste of time, as no soul in the Colonial Office or any- 
 where else would ever read it, and paid no more heed to 
 the thing. 
 
 Meanwhile, the two Northwoods were walking about 
 Singapore, in blissful ignorance of the fact that Johnnie's 
 letter had been printed in a Blue Book, and that Governor 
 Hood's attention had been dra\^^l to it in a most pointed 
 manner by a personage of some importance ! 
 
 171
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 In due course, Mr. Hood left Southampton by a P. and 
 O. steamer ; but as his presence was urgently required at 
 Labuan, the British gunboat Alert was ordered to take His 
 Excellency to his destination immediately on his arrival 
 at Singapore. 
 
 Mr. Hood ordinarily travelled between Singapore and 
 Labuan by the Alastor. Great, therefore, was the astonish- 
 ment of Captain Northwood to learn that the Governor 
 had passed through Singapore without his knowledge. 
 Why did not Hood, at least, give him some indication of 
 his movements in the usual friendly way ? This was a 
 problem insoluble to Captain Northwood. 
 
 Meanwhile, as Johnnie was absent in Europe, it severely 
 taxed Captain Northwood to give the necessary attention 
 to rapidly growing interests in Singapore and the Spice 
 Islands. Perforce, he had to leave his Borneo trade to his 
 agents, and he felt instinctively that all sorts of develop- 
 ments were taking place in the island of which he had no 
 trustworthy information. This agent at Labuan, Mr. 
 Gritz, was a handsome, plausible man, of about thirty 
 years of age, whom Northwood had picked up cheap, 
 partly because he was taken by his good looks, and partly 
 because Gritz was in trouble of sorts, including a plentiful 
 lack of cash. Gritz, in spite of his queer name, happened 
 to be an Englishman. 
 
 This man, as Northwood's agent, did not display much 
 zeal on his employer's behalf. He was lazy and indif- 
 ferent, and, rightly or wrongly, Northwood suspected him 
 of being influenced by Baron Overbeck. Ultimately Gritz 
 left Northwood's service, which, however, proved a stepping 
 stone to much higher destinies. Northwood similarly 
 made the fortunes of many men, deserving and otherwise, 
 during the course of his career. 
 
 When Johnnie returned from Europe, the Captain was 
 at last free to attend to his beloved Borneo, and after a 
 phenomenally long absence he once more set foot in Labuan. 
 When he called at Government House he was amazed at 
 
 172
 
 About Politics in Borneo 
 
 the cool and exceedingly official reception accorded to him 
 by Mr. Hood. He could not understand this at all, and 
 finally asked the Governor for the reason of such a marked 
 change in their relations. Hood looked at the Captain with 
 some surprise. He said that he was not bound to give 
 any explanation, but when Northwood chose to write a 
 letter to the Colonial Secretary, which was not only un- 
 friendly in its tone throughout, but actually ended by 
 suggesting that a certain Mr. William Hood was too young 
 and inexperienced to be the Governor of Labuan, and 
 should be replaced by a more capable man, it seemed about 
 time that friendly relations ceased. Northwood was abso- 
 lutely free to do as he pleased in these matters, but he 
 could scarcely demand the dismissal of a Governor and keep 
 up his personal friendship at the same moment. 
 
 Northwood swore that he had never written any such 
 letter, whereupon Hood, who began to doubt his visitor's 
 sanity, put a Blue Book before him and opened it at a 
 certain page. After a short interval he said drily to North- 
 wood : " I don't suppose there are two John Dillon North- 
 woods who have been trading on the Borneo coast for the 
 last thirty years, are there ? " 
 
 The Captain at last understood the situation, and ex- 
 plained to the astonished Governor that there really were 
 two Dromios. " It's that blessed son of mine ! " he said 
 with much vexation. " You can see for yourself that I 
 never wrote that bosh at the end of the letter ! " 
 
 Hood, having learnt that Johnnie was barely over twenty 
 when he wished to overturn governors on the score of 
 their youth, advised the Captain to have a care of his son. 
 He suggested keeping Johnnie in a nice airy cage, in which 
 he could enjoy himself without hurting other people. Or, as 
 an alternative, he thought that a good stout rattan applied 
 with the necessary frequency and vigour might benefit the 
 budding statesman to a marked extent. The Captain, 
 though inwardly furious over the whole affair, had to 
 join in the laugh against his son. Hood asked him to 
 
 173
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 dinner, and the old friendship between the two men was 
 renewed, to last until Northwood's death. 
 
 After dinner they sat and talked on the verandah of 
 Government House. Northwood learned that Baron 
 Overbeck had found, on his return to Vienna, that his 
 Government positively denied him the recognition and 
 support essential to the success of his scheme. A British 
 group in London then offered to take over the Baron's 
 concessions on terms which the disappointed Overbeck 
 was glad enough to accept, and thus vanished the dream 
 of Austrian domination in Borneo. A British Chartered 
 Company was now in course of formation with the aid of 
 such eminent men as Sir Harry Keppel, Sir Alfred Dent, 
 and others. The Governorship of the new territory had 
 already been offered to Hood, and he had practically 
 decided to accept it. Mr. Gritz was very keen on joining 
 the Chartered Company's service and had therefore left 
 his employer in ignorance of a movement which had been 
 kept as private as possible. Of course, Northwood 
 would have been admitted into a certain circle had it not 
 been for the letter to Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, which had 
 unfavourably impressed certain persons in London, who 
 had heard a good deal about the Captain without knowing 
 him personally. 
 
 After all, no great harm was done if Northwood would 
 cheerfully accept certain facts and assist the new company 
 in opening up their territory by providing the steamers 
 wanted for the posts which would shortly be opened for 
 trading purposes. Otherwise the company would have to 
 make their own arrangements for providing tonnage or 
 to invite competition. But Northwood was quite willing 
 to do what was required. Had he not a new steamer 
 building at home, especially designed for the coast ? As 
 for Mr. Gritz, if the company or anybody else wanted 
 him, they were welcome to him. He was not going to 
 make any trouble on the score of Mr. Gritz. 
 
 The Captain, having completed his business in Labuan 
 
 174
 
 i 
 
 #
 
 About Politics in Borneo 
 
 and Brunei, returned to Singapore. Poor Johnnie was 
 immensely discomfited over his despatch to Sir Michael, 
 which had come home to roost in such an unexpected 
 manner. " I don't see much use in putting me in a cage," 
 said the much humiliated diplomatist ; " but if either 
 Hood or you think I want a good hcking, I'll have a bout 
 at singlesticks with John Grinston, which will come to 
 exactly the same thing." 
 
 His father noted that this incident acted as a sort of 
 wholesome tonic on his son, who seemed to rather be in 
 want of a good dose of some moral medicine. 
 
 Very shortly afterwards the Chartered Company of 
 British North Borneo, with a capital of a million sterling, 
 was announced, whose task was to govern and develop 
 a country extending over an area of some thirty thousand 
 square miles. Sir Alfred Dent and Sir Walter Medhurst 
 arrived from China to confer with Mr. W. H. Read, the 
 highly esteemed senior of the old firm of A. L. Johnston 
 Co., who had been appointed the Singapore agents 
 of the Chartered Company. Captain Northwood was in 
 frequent consultation with these gentlemen, and finally 
 sailed in the Alastor with Sir Walter Medhurst. 
 
 Events now moved rapidly. Under an arrangement 
 mth the Colonial Office, Mr. Hood was appointed the first 
 Governor of the new State, Mr. Gritz becoming a member 
 of his staff. The Governor fixed upon Kudat, situated 
 in a bay of that name, as the site of his capital, and it 
 was settled that Captain Northwood should prolong his 
 voyages to that port. 
 
 I7f
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 JOHNNIE NORTHWOOD'S FIRST EXPEDITION 
 
 YOUNG Northwood, as time advanced, got his 
 firm into good working order with a small but 
 efficient staff. His right-hand man was Enrico 
 Busoni, a smart young Italian who was faithful and sincere. 
 Busoni held a responsible position in a great German 
 house which suddenly went smash as a consequence of 
 over-speculation in gambier. Northwood was only too 
 glad to get the services of Busoni. Mr. FuUer, of Brown- 
 low and Co., had induced Northwood to allow him 
 to send for his brother, who, accordingly, turned up and 
 joined the office in Battery Road. The younger Fuller 
 proved to be smart enough at his work ; but he unfortun- 
 ately had a taste for fast life, though this characteristic 
 did not exhibit itself to its fuU extent until later. The 
 book-keeping department was in the charge of Mr. Antony 
 Arratoon, a young Armenian gentleman, who obtained his 
 billet thanks to the influence of his uncle with Captain 
 Northwood. Tony was a first-class book-keeper, thoroughly 
 honest, and a very pleasant-mannered person, albeit touchy 
 concerning his personal dignity. There was, of course, 
 the usual team of Eurasian and Chinese copying clerks, 
 and native tambies, or office servants and messengers. 
 The offices themselves were spacious, airy, and simply 
 but very suitably furnished. The offices downstairs were 
 entirely under the control of Koh Say Kiat, a quiet, capable, 
 and faithful Chinaman, who selected the cashier and staff 
 of weighing clerks from amongst his own friends, and 
 
 176
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 was personally responsible for them. It was a very 
 mixed staff to manage, but the Northwoods were very 
 good masters to serve, and knew exactly how to handle 
 their people. A thoroughly good feehng reigned through- 
 out the Battery Road establishment, with the result that 
 the work was well done and in a friendly spirit. 
 
 The Brunei, when she arrived from England, proved to 
 be a satisfactory steamer in every way. Captain Fletcher, 
 who had brought her out, and Mr. John Brown, his chief 
 engineer, were confirmed in their appointment. Old 
 Captain Hall was ordered to hand over the command of the 
 Alastor to his chief officer, Mr. Bird, very much to his 
 disgust. Hall had been a steady and capable skipper 
 throughout, but he had availed himself so thoroughly of 
 the many opportunities of making money for himself in 
 the Borneo trade that he not only had a very comfortable 
 balance at his bankers, but also some remarkably nice 
 investments in property. 
 
 He had got quite out of hand, and it was so evident that 
 he considered his command of the Alastor merely as a 
 convenience for his own ends, without the slightest idea of 
 serving his employer's interests, that he had become quite 
 impossible. 
 
 On his dismissal. Hall went about Singapore trying 
 to get up a company to compete with Captain North- 
 wood in the Borneo trade, but people with money were 
 not slow to recognize the real facts of the case, and Hall's 
 prospectus being very much of the " heads I win, tails 
 you lose " order, he met with nothing but mortification 
 and disappointment. 
 
 Another disagreeable incident which happened at this 
 time was the defection of Washington Clarke, the super- 
 cargo of Northwood's coasting steamer, the Fairy Queen. 
 This gentleman had had the management of the Fairy 
 Queen entirely in his own hands, as she never came to 
 Singapore. It is true that Gritz, as the local agent at 
 Labuan, was supposed to see that Clarke ran the trade 
 VOL. I. 177 12
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 on right lines, but he had other fish to fry, and let Clarke 
 do exactly as he pleased. The Fairy Queen had never 
 been a paying proposition, albeit she steamed about the 
 Borneo coast loaded to her utmost capacity, and in the 
 normal course of business ought to have returned a hand- 
 some profit to her owner. However, " out of sight, out 
 of mind " is an old story, especially with shipowners, and 
 it now came out that Washington Clarke had saved enough 
 money to buy a larger and faster steamer than the Fairy 
 Queen, and to compete with his old master. Clarke was a 
 fine, showy kind of man, a most delightfully plausible 
 person, gifted with a good deal of ability of a certain sort, 
 and, like Captain Hall, had a remarkably keen eye for 
 the main chance. 
 
 Such a man was merely Northwood's supercargo exactly 
 as long as it suited him. To learn the trade at North- 
 wood's expense, and then to cut into it on his own. account 
 was the sort of business which fitted Clarke's moral calibre 
 to a nicety. The new Chartered Company gave him his 
 chance, and Clarke took it. 
 
 Matters were getting a bit complicated, and they were 
 made none the simpler by the arrival of Shelby as a pas- 
 senger in the Ceylon about a fortnight before the Brunei 
 dropped her anchor in Singapore harbour. Shelby 
 brought with him an unusually valuable cargo of 
 spices, gums, shells, and other produce, all of which 
 showed a handsome profit ; but he also brought with 
 him schemes involving a further large call on North- 
 wood's funds. 
 
 Shelby had amply justified his permanent estabhsh- 
 ment and warehouses at Amboina. As he had predicted, 
 the Ceylon had been easily able to make two voyages to 
 one of the Victory, because she was not laid up in port 
 for weeks together, but despatched on her return voyage 
 in the course of a few days. He kept his eyes and ears 
 wide open while he sat at his desk in the Battery Road 
 office. He had too much tact to rush his proposals until 
 
 178
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 he knew his ground, but when the time came he pushed 
 home his attack for all he was worth. 
 
 He now insisted that the time had come to put a steamer 
 on the Moluccas trade as well as the sailing ships. He also 
 asserted that he could sell the Fairy Queen for double her 
 value to a wealthy Dutch merchant of Temate, and yet 
 keep her employed as a tender to the Alastor, which he 
 urged the Northwoods to utilize in his trade. Lastly, he 
 demanded the establishment of a firm to be called North- 
 wood and Shelby, to open up the trade on regular business- 
 like lines. 
 
 These were large proposals, which required careful con- 
 sideration. The Northwoods had so many irons in the 
 fire that they did not concentrate themselves as they should 
 have done on the Borneo trade. 
 
 Johnnie, whose fighting instinct was ever at the top, pro- 
 posed to take strong measures against Washington Clarke, 
 whose conduct he strongly resented. The ex-supercargo 
 of the Fairy Queen had rendered no proper account of his 
 stewardship before sending in his resignation. Johnnie 
 proposed bringing an action against him, and arresting his 
 steamer in the meantime. More than one person was 
 asking how Clarke found sufficient money to purchase 
 a steamer. 
 
 Unluckily, Captain Northwood,- who carried generosity to 
 an absolute fault, disliked the idea of anything which 
 savoured of persecution, and further, he had a sailor-like 
 horror of lawyers and legal proceedings. He made another 
 mistake in under-estimating his enemy, and said with 
 cheerful sincerity : " Give the beggar enough rope and 
 he'll hang himself ! " 
 
 So Mr. Washington Clarke was allowed all the rope he 
 wanted. In the end, instead of hanging himself, he proved 
 himself to be a particularly expert climber of the rope ! 
 
 Captain Northwood, as might have been expected from 
 a man whose career had been a long history of continued 
 success, formed his decisions very rapidly, and expected 
 VOL. I. 179 12*
 
 Sixty Years Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 his orders to be carried into effect immediately. Calling 
 Shelby and his son into the office tiffin-room one after- 
 noon, he explained his plan of campaign. It was quite 
 clear that there was a shortage of rice and kerosene in the 
 Moluccas. Also that stocks of coal for the use of the Dutch 
 gunboats patrolling the Spice Islands and the New Guinea 
 coast were now exhausted. It was urgent, therefore, 
 that the Ceylon should get back to Amboina at the 
 earliest date possible. She was already partly loaded with 
 cargo for the return voyage, and would now be worked day 
 and night, leaving the No. i hold empty. The Brunei 
 would then tow her to Labuan, eight hundred miles on her 
 journey, and the Ceylon, having filled up her spare hold 
 with coal, would proceed under sail to Amboina. Johnnie 
 was to leave in the Alastor two or three days after the 
 departure of the Brunei with a further cargo, with which 
 to relieve the urgent necessities of the Moluccas market. 
 At Labuan he would find the Fairy Queen, and it was left 
 entirely to Johnnie's discretion whether he would con- 
 tinue to employ her on the Borneo coast, or send her for 
 sale to Ternate. In the latter event she would load with 
 coal at Labuan. As for the proposed partnership, that 
 would be a matter for consideration after Johnnie's return 
 from the Moluccas. The quarterly mail-boat being on the 
 point of sailing for the Moluccas, Northwood proposed that 
 Shelby should take a passage by the Dutch packet, so as 
 to arrive in Amboina before Johnnie would be there with 
 the Alastor. 
 
 It can be easily imagined that Shelby had nothing but 
 approval for Northwood's programme, while his son sup- 
 ported it enthusiastically. 
 
 Johnnie dreamed golden dreams that night. At last he 
 was to shake off the shackles of office-work, and sail at 
 the head of a veritable expedition, invested with fuU powers 
 to act as he pleased. At last he was to see the forgotten 
 Borneo coast, and behold the enchanting treasure-laden 
 Spice Islands. Never was such a happy mortal ! 
 
 1 80
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 One fine morning he sailed in the Alastor on his first 
 expedition, and four days afterwards arrived at Labuan. 
 He was delighted with the noble harbour, but the town 
 of Labuan itself seemed to be a very mean and ramshackle 
 place. The wooden wharves and untidy godowns looked 
 as if they were falling to pieces. The long rows of badly 
 whitewashed " shophouses " in the dirty road facing 
 the sea belonged to his father, and a precious poor kind of 
 property they looked. But this dismal, cheap-looking 
 place was swarming with activity. Piles of cargo were 
 being handled in all directions. Chinese towkays, fat or 
 lean, yelled at their gangs of coolies, all sorts of natives 
 were unloading their prahus and carrying their cargoes of 
 rattans, trepang, birds' nests, beeswax, rubber, etc., to 
 the shophouses across the road, to be traded to the Chinese 
 for cloth, brass-wire, beads, powder and shot, gin, and such 
 other articles as might suit their fancy. The Chinese 
 were doing a roaring trade and making a huge profit out of 
 it. As for sago-flour, it seemed to be everywhere. There 
 were boatloads of it alongside the Brunei, there were 
 thousands of sacks of the stuff piled up in the wharves 
 and in the godowns behind. Its finely divided particles 
 floated through the air. In a yard some little distance 
 from the wharves a herd of cattle were awaiting shipment 
 to Singapore. 
 
 Johnnie now understood that there was money in 
 Labuan. The whole trade of the place went through his 
 father's hands. The Chinese might exchange cheap goods 
 for valuable produce, but it all paid freight one way or 
 the other to Captain Northwood. As for sago-flour, 
 there was more of it waiting shipment than the Brunei 
 could load, although she was half as big again as the 
 Alastor. 
 
 Labuan harbour, usually so deserted, was particularly 
 animated. There were the Brunei, Alastor, Ceylon, Fairy 
 Queen, and the Flower of Yarrow just in with a cargo of 
 pearl-shell from Sulu, all flying the Northwoods' house- 
 
 i8i
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 flag. People told Johnnie that such a sight had never 
 been seen in Labuan harbour before, and he naturally felt 
 a little pride in his position at the moment. There was 
 quite a fleet, which he could move about exactly as he 
 chose ! There was one blot on the picture in the shape 
 of one steamer too many, a rather good-looking boat called 
 the Sultan, which flew the newly invented house-flag of 
 Mr. Washington Clarke. 
 
 The European population of Labuan was a very small 
 one indeed, and apparently much given to drinking 
 whiskies and sodas on board the Alastor and elsewhere. 
 
 The Chinese and native traders hailed Johnnie as an 
 old friend, many of them insisting that they knew him 
 when he was a little lad on board the Samson. But there 
 was a sense of disappointment, which no one attempted 
 to conceal, that Captain Northwood had not come himself 
 on the occasion of his new steamer the Brunei arriving 
 at Labuan for the first time. 
 
 Johnnie called at Government House, where Mr. Hood 
 received him with civility, but without much cordiality. 
 Until his successor arrived from home. Hood was still 
 Governor of Labuan, while directing the affairs of the 
 new State. 
 
 Hood was also disappointed that Captain Northwood 
 had not come himself instead of sending his son. Sir 
 Walter Medhurst, who looked in just then, said that it 
 was perfectly ridiculous. Hood asked whether Johnnie 
 had been writing any more letters to Her Majesty's 
 Ministers, whereupon Sir Walter laughed mirthlessly and 
 left the room. Johnnie began to feel a few of the diffi- 
 culties of a situation which seemed so full of charm a 
 few minutes earlier. However, the Governor accepted 
 Johnnie's invitation to a tiffin-party on board the Brunei 
 next day, and asked him to dine at Government House 
 the same evening. He said also that he wished to pay a 
 visit to certain points on the coast with Sir Walter Med- 
 hurst, and trusted that Johnnie would kindly detach one 
 
 182
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 of the vessels of his fleet for this particular service. On 
 Johnnie assuring the Governor that he had the greatest 
 desire to serve the State of British North Borneo in every 
 possible way, he was asked to make an appointment with 
 Mr. Gritz, who would give him all particulars. Gritz, 
 who was in the adjoining office, offered to drive back with 
 Johnnie to the Alastor and talk things over quietly. 
 
 Under the double awTiings over the quarter-deck of the 
 Alastor, Gritz and Johnnie sat in comfortable cane chairs, 
 wdth the inevitable whiskies and sodas close at hand. 
 The grilling heat of Labuan was conducive to a certain feeling 
 of languor and sleepiness. Johnnie, whose energies and 
 feelings had been a bit overtaxed since his arrival in 
 Labuan, felt as if he would like to take things easily 
 for a short space, until Gritz woke him up with a horrid 
 shock. 
 
 He explained to the luckless Johnnie that he made a 
 shocking poor substitute for his father in a moment of 
 crisis. As Mr. Hood and Sir Walter Medhurst wished to 
 visit the Northern ports, Gritz recommended Johnnie to 
 put his largest and most comfortable steamer at their 
 disposal. To this Johnnie demurred. The Brunei was 
 partly loaded for Singapore, and had to go South, while the 
 Alastor must go North in any case. Why could not the 
 gubernatorial party be content with the dear old Alastor ? 
 
 " Exactly so ! " retorted Gritz, " but your father would 
 certainly arrange, if he were here, to send the Governor 
 and his suite along the coast in the best steamer at his 
 disposal. However, do as you please about the matter ! " 
 
 In the course of further conversation, Johnnie elicited 
 the fact that the Governor and Sir Walter Medhurst in- 
 tended to return from the new Northern ports in the 
 Sultan. It appeared that the Sultan was to carry certain 
 Sikh troops to the north, although there was ample ac- 
 commodation for them in the Alastor. Gritz said that 
 Washington Clarke was on the point of concluding a con- 
 tract with the Chartered Company with a subsidy guaran- 
 
 183
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 teed to him, practically covering his working expenses, 
 and thus making him a difficult competitor to subdue. 
 This WcLS most unpleasant news, and much altered the 
 outlook. If Gritz had advised the Northwoods of the 
 impending danger, it might have been averted by sending 
 a finer vessel than either the Fairy Queen or the Sultan 
 to run without a subsidy. But now it was too late, so 
 Johnnie told Gritz that the Alastor was at the disposal of 
 His Excellency to go wherever he wished, but that he could 
 make no further alterations in his plans. Gritz, as he leaned 
 back in his comfortable chair, slowly lowered an iced 
 whisky and soda, a great luxury in Labuan, and then 
 grinned at Johnnie until Johnnie wanted to hit him. 
 
 Just then those two remarkable professional men. Dr. 
 Cockbum and Mr. Waister, the surveyor, strolled up the 
 deck. 
 
 " How do, Northwood ? " said the Doctor with an easy 
 grace, which was really admirable in its way. " How's 
 Papa ? All right ? That's good ! Finest man on the 
 coast bar none when he's here ! Hear you have some 
 ice on board ! We don't often get ice, do we, Waister ? 
 I see good old Gritz hasn't been missing any chances, has 
 he, Waister ? " 
 
 Gritz said he would have just one " peg " with his 
 friends and be off to Government House. In another 
 five minutes he was away, leaving Johnnie to the society 
 of his new acquaintances, who, naturally enough, stopped 
 to dinner. 
 
 They drank bottled beer to dinner, and a good deal of 
 brandy afterwards, before they discovered that whisky 
 and soda was the only beverage after all. They finally 
 declared that if Cassim would but sling a couple of ham- 
 mocks for them, they would be quite as comfy on board 
 as on shore. 
 
 The first thing next morning the worthy pair had one of 
 the " boys " at work for them, and were soon compounding 
 a mixture of gin, sugar, bitters, limes, crushed ice and 
 
 184
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 water, with the aid of a " swizzle-stick." While Johnnie 
 was taking his cup of tea, Mr. Waister explained that they 
 did not indulge like this every morning, but there was no 
 resisting a nicely-made gin-sling when iced ; it was so 
 seldom that a cold drink could be had in Labuan. Having 
 put down several " slings " apiece. Dr. Cockbum and 
 Mr. Waister at last started for the shore. As the Doctor 
 got to the gangway he said : " By the way, Johnnie, my 
 boy, Washington C. said a dashed good thing about you 
 yesterday. He wanted to know wh}^ the dashed young 
 admiral didn't hoist his dashed flag on his blooming battle- 
 ship, the Brunei ? Funny dog, ain't he ? But the Governor 
 and Sir Walter think no end of him. So long, Johnnie ! 
 Come along, Waister ! " 
 
 The tifhn-party on board the Brunei was well done in 
 every way. The menu was a delightful mixture of Euro- 
 pean and Asiatic dishes, so varied as to suit every taste. 
 Nearly everybody preferred bottled beer to wine, but both 
 were beautifully iced and much enjoyed. It was a large 
 party, including the Governor and his officials, the manager 
 of the coal-mines, the leading Chinese and native merchants, 
 and the captains of the Northwood ships in port. Washing- 
 ton Clarke was the only prominent personage of Labuan 
 who had not received an invitation. 
 
 The Governor briefly proposed, " Success to the 
 Brunei." Towkay Guan Moh made a long and flowery 
 speech in honour of Captain Northwood and " Baba 
 Johnnie ' ' ; while Sheikh Mahomed Farid wished that they 
 might live for a thousand years in the paths of the just, 
 that they would be the fathers of innumerable children, 
 and amass mountains of dollars. 
 
 Johnnie returned thanks for the various toasts and in 
 his turn drank to the prosperity of the new State and to the 
 health of the Governor, Mr. William Hood. Everything 
 went off exceedingly well, but there was a lack of en- 
 thusiasm about the affair which was very noticeable. 
 Johnnie overheard one of his guests saying to another : 
 
 185
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 " It's ever so much jollier when the Old Man is here ! " 
 to which his friend replied : " Yes, I should think so, 
 but why on earth isn't Old Northwood here to-day instead 
 of his son ! " 
 
 The guests, after having duly admired the new steamer, 
 took their departure in twos and threes, with the exception 
 of Dr. Cockburn and Mr. Waister, who, having started 
 operations very early indeed that morning, had to be 
 accommodated with a couple of berths in one of the cabins. 
 
 That evening Johnnie dined with His Excellency. He 
 thought Government House the only beautiful thing in 
 Labuan ; a spacious and picturesque mansion, embosomed 
 in trees and surrounded by lawns and gardens. 
 
 The party also consisted of the Governor, Sir Walter 
 Medhurst, Gritz, and a couple of other officials. After 
 a quiet and pleasant dinner, Johnnie found a comfortable 
 seat between the Governor and Sir Walter on the spacious 
 and cool front verandah. In due course the conversation 
 turned on the future of Borneo and its present development. 
 Johnnie ventured to say that Mr. Clarke was being very 
 much favoured at the expense of his father, the pioneer of 
 the trade. Why, for instance, were the Chartered Com- 
 pany's Sikhs being sent by the Sultmt, when there was 
 plenty of room for them on the Alastor ? 
 
 Sir Walter replied : " Perhaps, Mr. Northwood, it has 
 not occurred to j^ou that the Chartered Company may 
 wish to encourage others besides your father. The new 
 country wants new men, and Mr. Clarke appears to be 
 gifted with both ability and energy. Is he not to be given 
 some sort of a chance against your wealthy father ? " 
 
 Johnnie found this a rather difficult thrust to parry, and 
 mechanically turned to the Governor for support, with a 
 remark to the effect that his father's ex-supercargo had not 
 behaved very well in certain matters, and that a tried 
 friend might be trusted rather than a newcomer. 
 
 After a slight pause, Mr. Hood replied : " We are aU 
 aware of the eminent services rendered by your father 
 
 i86
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 in developing the trade of Borneo, which have found a 
 rich reward in the handsome fortune which he now 
 possesses. Your father made all his money out of Borneo, 
 and now that we are opening up a new State crying aloud 
 for every man and every dollar which can be attracted 
 to its soil, you and your father, the self-elected protectors 
 of British interests in Borneo, are actually at this moment 
 investing a very large capital in the Dutch colonies ! 
 Certainly you are free to do what you like with your money, 
 but don't ask us to grant you privileges amounting to a 
 monopoly of the sea-borne trade, while you are actively 
 engaging in the development of certain islands under a 
 foreign flag. Your father shall certainly have fair treat- 
 ment, but that is all ! " 
 
 Johnnie felt that he had lost his battle. He now realized 
 the force of the hostile movement which had been led against 
 the Northwood interests by Washington Clarke. He knew 
 that the man who had been so glad to take service with 
 them was now going round Labuan with the energy of an 
 Irish patriot, talking incessantly of the Northwoods as 
 monopolists, sweaters, and usurers. What did the North- 
 wood cub want in Labuan harbour with a whole fleet, 
 except to intimidate people from the Governor downwards 
 and force every one on the coast to accept the Northwood 
 monopoly ? Washington Clarke assured everybody, white, 
 yellow, and brown, that as long as he lived, and as long 
 as his house-flag flew at the Sultan's mast-head, he would 
 protect them from the oppression of the Northwoods. 
 This sort of thing went down amazingly well, and had its 
 distinct echo even on the cool verandah of Government 
 House. 
 
 Johnnie, finding his discomfiture complete, now bethought 
 himself of beating his retreat in the best order possible. 
 After a short conversation on indifferent subjects, Johnnie 
 pleaded fatigue, and begged to be allowed to go on board 
 his ship. After arranging with Mr. Hood that the Alastor 
 should leave Labuan at four p.m. the next day, Johnnie 
 
 187
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 made his adieux, got into a trap which was waiting for him, 
 and drove to the wharf. During the drive he had made 
 up his mind. Directly he got on board the Alastor he 
 ordered Captain Bird to be ready for sea by four p.m. 
 next day, and at the same time sent orders to Captain 
 Whistler of the Fairy Queen to get alongside the coal- 
 wharf at daylight, where he would fill his holds and 
 bunkers, take in his fresh water and provisions, etc., and be 
 ready to leave at short notice for the Moluccas. 
 
 The next afternoon the Governor, Sir Walter, Mr. Gritz, 
 a couple of other officials, together with their native ser- 
 vants, half a dozen Sikhs, the same number of ponies, and 
 a pile of stores and baggage, were all on board of the Alastor, 
 so that Captain Bird was able to sail punctually at four p.m. 
 The Alastor steamed within a cable's length of the Sultan 
 as she was loading a full cargo, chiefly of Government stores, 
 which, with a deck-load of troops, would pay very hand- 
 somely indeed. The Fairy Queen was filling up fast at 
 the coal-wharf, and was ordered to sail that night for 
 Ternate direct. The Ceylon had already sailed for Amboina. 
 The Brunei was to leave for Singapore the next day. 
 
 The Alastor steamed along the Borneo coast in glorious 
 weather. It was very pleasant to dine on deck in the cool 
 of the evening, and to stroll or lounge about with a cigar 
 and enjoy the fresh sea-breezes. No trouble or expense 
 had been spared to make the ship as comfortable as possible 
 for this especial voyage. Everyone simply wallowed in the 
 lap of luxury for the time being. In view of the number, 
 and especially of the quality, of the passengers on board, 
 the chief engineer and the other officers were relegated 
 to a separate mess of their own. This, it appears, gave old 
 McCracken dire offence, but it didn't prevent him from 
 calling himself the Mess President, and securing a large 
 share for himself and brother officers of the wines and 
 delicacies which were being supplied with such profusion 
 at the Captain's table. The Chinese and native " boys " 
 who waited at table were also having an exceptionally 
 
 i88
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 good time of it. The Alasfor, from the engine-room aft, 
 was a most jolly and festive ship. 
 
 Kudat was reached after a short passage, and no sooner 
 had the Alastor dropped her anchor, than a white-faced, 
 fever-stricken Resident hurried on board to report to His 
 Excellency the Governor. 
 
 Kudat at that day was a wild, desolate-looking sort 
 of place. As the sun beat on the green waters of the bay, 
 dark shadows beneath the surface betrayed the existence 
 of huge reefs with sinister suggestions of shipwreck. On 
 land the general prospect was most unprepossessing. 
 The prevailing impression was one of immense, gloomy, 
 impenetrable forests. In the foreground were the scanty 
 results of civilization. 
 
 The Residency, the chief feature of the town, was a very 
 large and exceedingly ugly square building, overlooking the 
 sea. No attempt had been yet made to have an^iihing 
 in the shape of a garden round the place, it being the day 
 when everything was limited to what was strictly necessary. 
 The Residency, therefore, stood in a sort of sultry, treeless, 
 barren waste. A rough road led to a row of plank and 
 attap buildings — the Sikh barracks. A little further was 
 a hideous corrugated-iron structure, which appeared to 
 be growing really red-hot — this was Kudat Jail. 
 
 On the sea-front were a couple of buildings in actual 
 brick-and-mortar of the unlovely shophouse type, so 
 common in Singapore and elsewhere. These were the 
 shops and residences of a couple of enterprising Chinamen, 
 who appeared to represent the whole trade of the place. 
 It is astonishing how a Chinaman takes to bricks-and- 
 mortar whenever he gets a chance. 
 
 Away amongst some rocks, an excessively dilapidated 
 and dirty native fishing- village was built over the water. 
 In the background were openings in the dense forest where 
 clearings had been attempted. The burning-off of the 
 undergrowth left a horrid track behind it of blackened 
 stumps, of charred limbs and ashes. In various places 
 
 189
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Icirge banks of newly thrown-up earth, raw and unsightly, 
 marked the commencement of some work or other. Right 
 abreast of the Alastor a row of roughly squared piles emerged 
 from the water, indicating that this was where the wharf 
 would be situated. Gangs of convicts, clanking in their 
 chains, as they hauled some heavy log of wood or other 
 burden, by no means added to the gaiety of the 
 scene. 
 
 Johnnie was aroused from the reveries into which the 
 first sight of Kudat had plunged him, by the robust voice 
 of Mr. McCracken : "I'm thinkin', Mr. Northwood, that 
 yon Kudat is like some whisky I had in Singapore the other 
 day. It's too new ! " 
 
 " It must have been pretty awful stuff if it was quite as 
 raw as this place," retorted Johnnie. 
 
 During the day the Governor invited Mr. Northwood 
 and Captain Bird to dine at the Residency. The dinner 
 was not a great success. The soup was plainly of the 
 tinned variety, the fish was all right, but the fowls were 
 leathery, and the curries were obviously cooked by a China- 
 man. Biscuits took the place of bread. Whisky of a 
 very inferior quality, and tepid water, partly cleared of 
 its impurities by a dripstone, formed the only drink which 
 the unfortunate Resident could offer his guests. Even 
 this entertainment, poor as it was, probably meant an 
 expense which the Resident could ill afford. The Chartered 
 Company got men to work very hard and to take great 
 risks for them. 
 
 Soon after sundown the intense heat of the day changed 
 to a sort of clammy chilliness, and Johnnie pitied the poor 
 Resident shivering in his white drill suit. And yet the 
 Residency of Kudat was a post for which a dozen good men 
 had competed fiercely. Sir Walter found Johnnie on the 
 big verandah gazing at the uninviting prospect before 
 them, and said : " You don't think much of Kudat, I 
 fear ! I should be surprised if you carried away any 
 favourable impression of the place, but, believe me, the 
 
 igo
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 potential wealth of Kudat is beyond the dreams of avarice. 
 These forests are full of the fmest and most valuable timbers 
 in existence ; they will yield enormous quantities of rattans, 
 rubber, beeswax, and other jungle produce. Beyond the 
 forest are vast rolling plains of the most fertile land in the 
 Far East, most admirably suited for tobacco. The time is 
 not distant when we shall have large tobacco-plantations 
 opening up in this district. I regret that Dutchmen and 
 Germans should be the pioneers of tobacco-planting in 
 Borneo. They will naturally get the finest estates into 
 their hands, leaving the rest to such British planters as may 
 have the pluck to follow in the footsteps of the more enter- 
 prising foreigner. I also hope to settle Chinese agriculturists 
 here. We have some Chinese already, the traders who 
 stay here for so many years, amass a large sum of money, 
 and in the end take the whole of it with them to China. 
 I intend to settle Chinese families on the soil, a farming 
 race who will come here, man, woman, and child, and 
 cultivate this fertile country — people who will grow their 
 o\vn crops and cattle, convert the wastes of Kudat into 
 vast gardens and make it a wealth-producing region. The 
 Chinese whom I shall select for this purpose will come 
 from the strong, prolific race who populate vast areas of 
 China, where there is scarce room for them. They are 
 the people who will live on the land, increase and multiply, 
 and do more than any others to populate and strengthen 
 Borneo. Without the Chinese we shall never do much in 
 Borneo." 
 
 Sir Walter was evidently an enthusiast in his great work, 
 but his glowing picture of the near future was in such vivid 
 contrast to the actual and visible state of things, that it 
 required a very robust faith to accept implicitly the fore- 
 cast so confidently outlined. 
 
 " Sir Walter is right," Mr. Hood said. " There is a great 
 future for Kudat, and it must necessarily become a place 
 of importance. When it has been drained and certain 
 swamps filled up, it will be healthy enough. The harbour 
 
 191
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 is not a bad one, and when the reefs are properly surveyed 
 and buoyed, they need not be considered as dangerous. 
 But, in my opinion, Kudat can never offer sufficient ad- 
 vantages as a port to become the permanent capital of 
 British North Borneo. Wait untU you see Sandakan 
 Bay, in which all the navies of the world can ride, and tell 
 me what you think of it as compared with Kudat. Some 
 day, I believe, our capital will be at Elopura in Sandakan 
 Bay. In the meantime Kudat will serve very conveniently 
 as our head- quarters." 
 
 After inviting the whole white population of Kudat to 
 tiffin next day on board the Alastor, Northwood and 
 Captain Bird started for their ship. They found Mr. Gritz 
 already comfortably seated in the stern of their boat. He 
 was going to sleep on board the Alastor, it appeared. 
 
 " Much better than sleeping in the hole they have given 
 me in the Residency ; besides, a bit of supper and a good 
 breakfast are worth having, when you can get anything 
 of the kind at Kudat. Glad you asked me to tiffin. North- 
 wood ! " 
 
 Mr. Gritz 's coolness was really refreshing, but he was 
 always good fun, and as Captain Bird was a particularly 
 reserved and taciturn young man, Mr. Gritz was rather 
 an acquisition in his way. 
 
 During an excellent cold supper Gritz pitied the " poor 
 devils in the Residency," and heartily congratulated him- 
 self on his superior wisdom in finding such good quarters 
 for himself. Next morning, after a remarkably fine break- 
 fast, he steered one of the ship's boats to the Residency, 
 " feeling good," as he expressed it. 
 
 The tifhn-party was a great success. The Resident and 
 his assistants having landed, the Alastor continued her 
 journey late in the afternoon. After dinner Johnnie 
 Northwood explained his view to the Governor and 
 Sir Walter that the wealth of Borneo was still in the 
 ground, while in the Spice Islands it lay on the surface, 
 and, in a manner of speech, the money had merely to 
 
 192
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 be taken away from places like Amboina, Banda and 
 Ternate. Centuries of civilization and cultivation had 
 made these islands very different from a virgin and 
 exceedingly difficult country, such as Borneo, while the 
 laziness and apathy of the modern Dutch colonists left the 
 door wide open for British competition. A further diffi- 
 culty which the Northwoods experienced in their Borneo 
 trade was the trouble of getting men who would serve 
 them faithfully, however well they were paid. In a few 
 months they had, for various reasons, lost Captain Hall, 
 Mr. Gritz, and Mr. Washington Clarke. Captain Hall had 
 amassed quite a little fortune, and, in any event, Mr. Clarke 
 must have done very well for himself in their service, since 
 he had been able to save or make enough money to buy a 
 smart steamer to run against his old master. This sort of 
 thing was discouraging enough. Finally, Johnnie urged 
 that if Shelby's promises were realized in full, as had 
 already been the case in part, his father would have ample 
 funds for investment in Borneo a little later. 
 
 Mr. Hood replied that he was pleased that this little 
 explanation had been made, and asked a number of ques- 
 tions about the Moluccas trade. Sir Walter, however, 
 preserved an unbroken silence throughout the whole 
 conversation. 
 
 Sir Walter Medhurst was a very handsome man, whose 
 commanding presence seemed but natural to the posses- 
 sion of a singularly gifted mind. It was no small grief to 
 Johnnie to think that he could not in any manner gain 
 the friendship of Sir Walter, who seemed in some silent 
 way to disapprove of his words and actions in every detail. 
 Mr. Hood, on the other hand, had gradually got to like 
 Johnnie, and was now very kind to the lad. 
 
 The next morning the Alastor was steaming very slowly 
 up a winding, muddy river. The continually repeated 
 cries of the Malay sailors in the chains announced shoaling 
 water. Captain Bird was on the bridge, but it was Cassim 
 who navigated the Alastor. Presently the engines were 
 VOL. I. 193 13
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 " rung off," and the rattle of a chain cable announced that 
 the ship had come to anchor. 
 
 Johnnie looked with amazement at the scene ; a dirty, 
 swirling stream, bordered on each side with huge, filthy, 
 sweltering mud-banks and miles of hideous mangrove 
 swamps. That was all ! And, although it was still early 
 morning, the heat was becoming oppressive. What in the 
 world was the Governor doing with the Alastor in such an 
 abominable and utterly desolate river ? 
 
 Just then Captain Bird appeared on the quarter-deck, 
 followed by Cassim, and said to the Governor : " Your Ex- 
 cellency, I can take the Alastor no further up the river. 
 We have very little water under our keel as it is, and shall 
 be on the mud most likely in another hour or two. The 
 Fort should not be much more than a mile from our present 
 anchorage, according to what Cassim states, and I under- 
 stand he knows the river." 
 
 " Very well. Captain Bird ! Be good enough to have 
 a couple of guns fired as a signal to the Fort." 
 
 Immediately Cassim and his sailors smartly cast off the 
 lashings of a couple of long brass guns which peered over 
 the Alastor' s stern, and promptly loaded and fired them 
 at an interval of a minute between each gun. The brass 
 guns made a tremendous row in those desolate wastes, but 
 barely had the echoes of the second discharge died away, 
 when the dull boom of a gun in the distance conveyed the 
 answering signal from the Fort. 
 
 Presently a long canoe, flying the Chartered Company's 
 flag, came dashing round the uppermost bend of the river 
 as fast as a dozen paddles could send it. The boat was soon 
 alongside the Alastor, and in another minute Mr. Everard, 
 the Resident of Abai, was on her quarter-deck. Johnnie 
 had met Everard at Woodleigh, when he was on his way 
 to Borneo, and thought him a very jolly fellow ; he was 
 surprised, therefore, to find that the Resident now seemed 
 to avoid him, and that while he was making all sorts of 
 arrangements for the landing of the Governor's party, he 
 
 194
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 carefully refrained from inviting Johnnie to the Residency. 
 As the Governor was preparing to make his adieux, Johnnie 
 said : " Breakfast will be on the table in a few minutes, 
 your Excellency, and as it's a long pull up the river, I 
 hope that we shall have the pleasure of your society for 
 just a little longer. Mr. Everard will, of course, join us." 
 
 Mr. Everard's brow seemed to clear visibly, while Mr. 
 Gritz said, with unusual emphasis : " That's what I call 
 a jolly good idea ! No use going up a river like this on an 
 empty stomach. It's beasth' dangerous ! " 
 
 Just then the breakfast bell rang, and everyone sat down 
 to an excellent meal. It was comical to witness the mixture 
 of surprise and delight with which Everard found himself 
 in front of an iced pate de foie gras. A long glass of cool 
 sparkling ale seemed to soak itself into his parched system 
 like drops of rain on a burning desert. He declined to have 
 any more bottled Bass purely out of good manners, but 
 Johnnie earned his undying gratitude by having his glass 
 filled up on the sly. 
 
 Before leaving the ship, Mr. Hood presented Johnnie 
 with a leather case containing a valuable and very beauti- 
 ful Rigby express rifle, together with a large supply of 
 cartridges, a gift which so delighted him that he could 
 scarce find words in which to express his thanks. 
 
 The distinguished passengers then took their leave. 
 Johnnie, still puzzled and offended because he had no 
 invitation from Everard, declined to visit Abai. 
 
 " WeU, there's not much to see at Abai in two or three 
 hours," said the Governor; " but there are square miles 
 of magnificent country in the vicinity of the Fort worth a 
 visit if you could give it two or three days." 
 
 Sir Walter, unrelenting to the last, thanked Johnnie for 
 his hospitality, but could not refrain from adding : " Some- 
 how I enjoy the voyage much better when your father is 
 on board ! " 
 
 " Come, Sir Walter ! " intervened the Governor. " Are 
 you not a little hard on our young friend ? " 
 
 VOL. I. 195 13*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 " Not at all ! " quoth Johnnie. " I love a compliment 
 paid to my father ! " 
 
 Finally, the whole party got away and proceeded up 
 the river. Meanwhile, other boats had come from the 
 Fort to take the Sikhs, the servants, ponies, baggage and 
 stores. When this was done and the bustle was over, the 
 Alastor seemed to be strangely silent and deserted. Johnnie 
 took his tifhn in the somewhat dull and uncongenial com- 
 pany of Captain Bird, Mr. McCracken, and the chief 
 officer. The heat grew to be something terrific ; the mud- 
 banks and the mangrove swamps swam in a quivering 
 haze which distressed the eyes, while the muddy river 
 seemed to be at something like boiling-point. 
 
 Johnnie drew his chair into the shadiest corner he could 
 find and sank into it with a feeling of complete exhaustion. 
 Just then his favourite dog Lion, a huge black mastiff, 
 believed by the natives to be his owner's familiar demon, 
 stepped gingerly over the heated decks, laid his huge head 
 on his master's knee, and gave him a reproachful look out 
 of his yellow-brown eyes which said, as clearly as possible : 
 " I say, master, why have you brought me to this terrible 
 place ? " Johnnie was busy soothing his gigantic pet, 
 as he knew how, when the chief officer reported that the 
 Resident's boat was coming alongside. 
 
 Mr. Everard was soon on deck, and at once plunged into 
 his subject : " I am sure, Mr. Northwood, that you must 
 think me an awful beast, after all your kindness to me, 
 so I managed to get away from the Fort under the pretence 
 of seeing about the landing of the Sikhs and stores and 
 things to tell you how matters really stand with me. I 
 knew nothing about the Alastor coming here, and it 
 wouldn't have mattered much if I did. I haven't a thing 
 at the Fort, and there is nowhere where I can get any- 
 thing. I ate m}^ last chicken ten days ago. I had a goat 
 
 tied up as a sort of reserve, but the d d brute seemed 
 
 to know that something was coming, because I'm blessed 
 if he didn't chew through his rope this very morning and 
 
 196
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 bolt into the jungle ! I couldn't ask you and Captain 
 Bird, because I'd nothing to give you. The natives have 
 stolen most of mjr cutler}^ and crockery, and I have nothing 
 left but a few bent knives and forks, and some chipped 
 and cracked plates. You should have seen the tiffin I 
 gave the Governor's lot to-day ! The few rusty tins of 
 stuff I had were opened, and I gave them some rice and a 
 dholl curry made by my Sikhs. You know the horrid 
 mess of split peas swimming in grease ? As for drinks, I 
 had the butt-end of a bottle of whisky, which I had loaded 
 up with quinine and kept by me for an emergency — the 
 next attack of fever. I gave them that in small doses 
 diluted with lukewarm water. Told them the quinine 
 was just the thing for Abai ! They didn't say much, but 
 the Governor hinted that the sooner the stores were landed 
 the better." 
 
 Johnnie looked sympathetically at the luckless Resident 
 as he said : " Poor old Everard ! I must really see what 
 can be done for you. Now just have a nice cool whisky 
 and soda with me while I send for Captain Bird." 
 
 An inspection of the mate's tally of the cargo for Abai 
 did not help matters much. The list comprised surveying 
 instruments, and man}^ other useful things ; but beyond 
 one case of tinned provisions and another of whisky, there 
 seemed to be nothing in the whole consignment which 
 would in the least degree help Everard in his dilemma. 
 The Resident, in the meantime, was gazing at an iced 
 whisky and soda in a sort of ecstasy. It was such a rare 
 and beautiful apparition to the poor fellow, that he 
 hardl}'' dared to drink it until Johnnie set him the 
 example. 
 
 It had been decided that the Alastor was to sail for 
 Ternate that evening, but Johnnie now altered his plans. 
 He gave Everard a very polite note to the Governor, in 
 which it was stated that as the tide did not serve until 
 next morning, he sincerely hoped that His Excellency 
 the Governor, Sir Walter Medhurst, and all his friends at 
 
 197
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Abai would do him the honour to be present at a farewell 
 dinner on board the Alastor that evening. 
 
 " Now, mind you put everything down to the state 
 of the tide," said Johnnie to Everard. " While you are 
 away, I'll get some fowls and ducks and things ready for 
 you. Send a boat for them as soon as you can. And I'll 
 put some wine and beer and soda-water, and anything else 
 I can think of, into the boat, as well as the rest of my ice. 
 Now, Everard, the sooner you are off to the Fort the 
 better ! " 
 
 The joyful Everard did as he was told, while Johnnie 
 set to work to order a champagne dinner, and to enjoy the 
 congenial task of provisioning the Fort at his owti expense. 
 
 Captain Bird and Mr. McCracken were hugely disgusted 
 on learning that the Alastor's departure was to be deferred 
 for a mere dinner-party. The chief engineer's wrath was 
 still further inflamed when he saw cases of delicate wines 
 and choice provisions, crates of poultry, and quantities of 
 ice carefully packed in sawdust being sent away to the 
 Fort. McCracken having no manner of fear of Johnnie, 
 swore loudly in his hearing that this kind of thing was just 
 
 d d foolery. Captain Northwood was given to a sort 
 
 of reckless ram-stam style of chucking his money away, 
 but his son was " just outrageous ! " Here was the 
 Governor and his gang swilling themselves with champagne 
 and living like prizefighters on board the Alastor, while they 
 sent a whole cargo and a regiment of Sikhs by the Sultan ! 
 A fine business truly ! And now every bottle and biscuit, 
 and every cock and hen on board their ship was being sent 
 off to the Fort — forbye burning coals for nothing ! Mebbe 
 the great Johnnie Northwood might soon be whistling for 
 the good goods he was hustling over the ship's side at such 
 a gate ! 
 
 All this was gross impertinence, but Johnnie knew 
 better than to take any notice of honest John McCracken 
 when he was on his hind legs. The sour silence of Captain 
 Bird annoyed him more than the open insolence of the 
 
 198
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 chief engineer. When the Resident's boat was once more 
 seen round the bend of the river, the Captain announced 
 that he felt too unwell to take the head of the table that 
 evening, and retired to sulk in his own cabin. Northwood 
 was only too delighted to get rid of him, and receiving his 
 guests with the utmost cordiality, took the head of the 
 table himself. 
 
 It proved to be a really delightful dinner. The guests 
 fully appreciated their host's kindly intentions, and 
 entered into the spirit of the thing most heartily. The 
 dinner itself proved to be excellent at all points. Fortu- 
 nately, also, it happened to be a moonlit night of excep- 
 tional brilliance, which made even the dismal anchorage 
 of the Alastor seem almost beautiful. Myriads of fireflies 
 flashed in the mangrove-swamps, illuminating the scene 
 in a most extraordinary way. In this weird, unholy kind 
 of river, a band of venturesome Englishmen dined and 
 drained their glasses in all good fellowship on the quarter- 
 deck of the Alastor. It was long past midnight before the 
 company broke up, and the Governor and his friends left 
 the ship for the Fort. Sir Walter said a few kind words 
 to Johnnie as he left the ship, which were destined to be 
 the last to be exchanged between them, for they never met 
 again. 
 
 At da3'light the next morning the Alastor dropped down 
 the river, and once in blue water, Captain Bird set his 
 course for the distant island of Ternate. 
 
 It was most exhilarating to escape from that pestilential, 
 stifling river. Profiting b}^ a favouring breeze, Bird set 
 every sail the Alastor could carry. This exhibited the old 
 vessel at her best. Heeling gracefully over under the 
 pressure of her big spread of canvas, with her engines 
 running easily, she ran gaily on her way to the Spice Islands 
 at her top speed. 
 
 Johnnie settled down to a healthy quiet life on board his 
 ship, which he enjoyed immensely. But after a couple 
 of days troubles of a minor order began to ruffle his 
 
 199
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 serenity. Two days after leaving Abai, when Johnnie 
 wanted some claret for tiffin, he was told there was none 
 left, nor was there any white wine, nor anything else 
 except two or three bottles of beer. Even the whisky was 
 all gone ! This was very disconcerting, because the 
 Alastor had been stocked with the greatest liberality for 
 the entire cruise to Borneo and the Moluccas and back to 
 Singapore. Captain Bird laughed, while McCracken was 
 boisterously gleeful over the fact that the Alastor was at 
 last to be a " teetottle ship." 
 
 Now that the mischief was done, everybody was eager 
 enough to tell Northwood what had been going on without 
 his knowledge. It appears that while Johnnie was ashore 
 at Kudat, Sir Walter Medhurst's " boy " had given a 
 banquet to all the other servants on board the ship, at 
 which champagne flowed freely, while delicacies such as 
 pates and ox-tongues were gobbled up freely. Sir Walter's 
 " boy " was even so good as to propose a toast in Chinese, 
 which was received with enthusiasm, and responded to in 
 other speeches amidst bumpers of champagne. " It was 
 a great sight ! " said McCracken. Sir Walter's " boy " 
 slept off the effects of the champagne in his master's bed. 
 He was so drunk, as McCracken explained, that he got 
 into bed wrong end first and slept with his feet on Sir 
 Walter's pillows. The captain, officers and engineers were 
 all highly delighted at the recital of the robberies at which 
 they had connived. Bird said that it was no business of 
 his to look after Sir Walter Medhurst's servant, while 
 McCracken explained that as he and the other officers 
 had been removed to a separate mess, they had a delicacy 
 about interfering mth anything which took place on the 
 quarter-deck from which they had been excluded ! Thai 
 was what had raised the devil in the hearts of the lot of 
 them ! They weren't good enough to sit down with the 
 Governor and Sir Walter, hey ? The physical fact that 
 there was not room for them all at the captain's table did 
 not weigh with them in the slightest ; they had felt them- 
 
 200
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 selves insulted, and would have their pett}' revenge. The 
 captain, having been especially coached for his examination 
 and promoted to his first command by Captain North- 
 wood, immediately sided with the malcontents — that 
 being in the natural order of things, and what might be 
 reasonabl}^ expected. 
 
 An examination of the stores showed that McCracken 
 and his friends had allowed the joke to be carried too far 
 altogether, and that it was about to recoil on their own 
 heads. The idea was to run Johnnie short of such 
 luxuries as champagne and claret, but an examination 
 showed a wholesale shortage of provisions which no amount 
 of waste or extravagance could explain. All the hams, 
 canned meats and vegetables had gone. Not a tin of 
 biscuit or a bag of flour was left ! Evidently there had 
 been robbery on a very large scale. 
 
 The matter was now gone into seriously, nor did it take 
 long to discover that large quantities of goods had been 
 sold to the two Chinese shopkeepers at Kudat, while the 
 Sikhs who had landed at Abai had taken what little was 
 left, besides managing to lift a couple of sheep and some 
 poultry in the general confusion. The Sikhs are born plun- 
 derers. Further, an examination of the tanks showed 
 that the Sikhs and other natives had been allowed to use 
 far too much water. 
 
 Johnnie, who had inherited his father's weakness for 
 helping lame dogs over stiles, might be responsible for 
 giving awa}^ some of the wines, which, after all, came 
 from the bins at Woodleigh, and various table-delicacies ; 
 but he had nothing to do with the disappearance of such 
 necessities, as flour and water. Everybody felt that their 
 youthful and sulky captain had been remiss in his duties, 
 but all the officers on board knew perfectly well that they 
 had tacitly encouraged the ship's servants to make free 
 with the cabin-stores, and thus set them to think of perpe- 
 trating further robberies. As Captain Bird would not act 
 in the matter, Mr. McCracken and the first and second 
 
 201
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 mates formed themselves into a small executive committee. 
 The first thing they did was to severely flog the cabin- 
 steward, and handcuff him to the rigging. Three of his 
 accomplices and the tindal in charge of the water were 
 treated the same way. The wages of all these men were 
 declared confiscated, and at sundown the chief culprit, 
 the cabin-steward, was kicked forward and told to serve 
 in the sailors' galley for the rest of the vo^^age. The whole 
 ship's company was put on short rations, both of food 
 and water. 
 
 The captain did not attempt to hide his disapproval of 
 what was taking place on board his ship, but Johnnie 
 could not support him in his contention that the punish- 
 ment of these men was brutal. What else was to be done ? 
 Evidently something had to be done with a lot of well- 
 paid and well-fed rufhans, who deliberately sold the ship's 
 stores for their own profit. 
 
 As each day passed the menu got scantier, and the meals 
 finally resolved themselves into a monotonous fare of rice 
 and potatoes, of which there was fortunatel}^ a supply still 
 available. The water, however, had to be very carefully 
 watched, and it had also got thick and discoloured. Johnnie 
 did not in the least mind living on rice and potatoes, and 
 a short allowance of bad water, but it cut him to the heart 
 to have to starve Lion, and let him go thirsty. Every 
 drop of his allowance of water which could be spared 
 went to the poor dog. 
 
 During the long run from Abai to Ternate, Northwood 
 had ample opportunities of studying that very singular 
 young man, Captain Bird. A handsome, well-set-up 
 Australian, twenty-seven years of age. Bird easily took 
 the fancy of those who met him. An excellent seaman, he 
 had been as good a chief officer as Captain Northwood 
 had ever employed. Owing chiefly to his Austrahan 
 education in some sort of very odd surroundings, Bird had 
 got filled up with a mixture of religion and socialism which 
 threw his mind completely out of balance. He made 
 
 202
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 himself unhappy because a lad like Northwood was the 
 master of a fleet of ships while old men had to struggle 
 for their bread. The unfortunate man went so far as to 
 reproach himself for being a captain at twenty-seven, 
 while grey-headed mariners were thankful to serve as 
 mates. He bitterly repented having taken part in cham- 
 pagne dinners on board the Alastor, which he was convinced 
 were wicked and sinful orgies. Just before he left Singa- 
 pore, he got word that his old father, who apparently was 
 a person upright and austere even unto impleasantness, 
 had suddenly taken it into his head to marry a girl of 
 eighteen. This news plunged him into the blackest despair. 
 To Captain Bird his father's dishonour was a matter of 
 no uncertainty. Northwood tried in vain to persuade 
 him that it was quite possible for his youthful mother-in- 
 law to remain an honest woman ; but Bird would not be 
 comforted. The family disgrace became an obsession, 
 which poisoned every minute of his hfe. The wretched 
 man also entertained the behef that the end of the world 
 was now due, and he was prepared to welcome the general 
 catastrophe \\dth a bitter joy. The one ray of hght which 
 illuminated this dismal soul consisted in the oft-cherished 
 vision of the dire destruction which would ere long over- 
 take youthful shipowners who drank champagne, and 
 young girls who married old men in order to deceive 
 them. 
 
 In spite of all drawbacks, Johnnie enjoyed his cruise 
 immensely. The pure sea air acted as a constant tonic ; 
 perchance the scanty food, which he ate with, great relish, 
 to the disgust of a man with a queasy stomach Uke Bird 
 or a gross feeder like McCracken, was good for the young 
 fellow. Above all, the change from his long spell of office 
 work made his present life a jolly one in spite of all its 
 drawbacks. 
 
 He loved to race up and down the decks of the Alastor 
 in a pair of bathing drawers at the flush of dawn, and get 
 the sailors washing the decks to turn the hose on him. 
 
 203
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 He spent some of his time very usefully catching fish, with 
 a stout line ending in a big brass hook, baited with a bit 
 of rag. He often got big fish weighing their thirty pounds 
 or so, which made a delightful adcUtion to the rice and 
 potatoes which were served three times a day at the 
 captain's table. Another amusement was to throw empty 
 bottles over the steamer's stern and smash them with his 
 unerring Rigby rifle. At one time he would be scampering 
 up the rigging, and at another lying right out on the bow- 
 sprit, watching the forefoot of the Alastor shearing through 
 the brilliant sea. 
 
 The contempt with which these antics filled Bird and 
 McCracken need not be described, but the lad had to keep 
 himself amused. He had read or given away all his books — 
 Captain Bird's library consisted of half a dozen well- 
 thumbed works, on theology and sociahsm, which Johnnie 
 could not tackle. McCracken, in his spare moments, used 
 to read up the volumes of a medical dictionary upon which 
 he set great store, alleging that this useful publication had 
 enabled him to save the lives of sundry and divers persons. 
 
 But Johnnie, feeling as he looked at it that he began 
 to develop every horrible disease under A and B, refused 
 to have anything further to do with it. 
 
 The Alastor was eight days out from Abai when Captain 
 Bird, in response to repeated inquiries, said that all being 
 well he expected to make Ternate at daylight next day. 
 The glad news flew all over the ship that their long run of 
 over sixteen hundred miles was nearly over, and that 
 before long everybody on board might revel in fresh pro- 
 visions and fresh water. 
 
 The Alastor had sighted nothing but a few native craft 
 during her cruise through these deserted seas, but on the 
 last evening of their voyage a cloud of smoke was visible 
 right ahead of them. As Captain Bird correctly surmised, 
 they had overtaken the Fairy Queen just as she was getting 
 near Ternate. The two ships exchanged signals, and by 
 Northwood's orders the Alastor' s speed was reduced to that 
 
 204
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 of the Fairy Queen, so that both vessels should steam 
 into Ternate harbour together. 
 
 Next morning Northwood was on deck before sun- 
 rise, anxiously waiting for the light of day. As soon as it 
 was possible to do so, he signalled to the Fairy Queen to 
 steam into Ternate ahead of the Alastor. 
 
 It broke a superb morning. The cool land-breezes 
 brought with them dehcious odours, which rejoiced every 
 heart on board, and set Lion scampering about the decks 
 perfectly mad with joy. Presently the Alastor steamed in 
 between the mighty volcanoes of Ternate and Tidore. 
 Never had any one on board beheld a scene of such perfect 
 loveliness. The two great mountains, mirrored in the sea, 
 are five miles apart from one another, although the distance 
 in a very transparent air looked much less. A number of 
 smaller islands graced the surface of what appeared to 
 be a vast lake. Soft white sands, fairy-like palm-groves, 
 and dense masses of virgin forest growing to the very 
 summit of the great volcanoes, were vividly reflected in a 
 dehcious crystal medium so lovely and so transparent that 
 it could scarcely be sea-water. Such a vision of colour 
 was peculiarly striking to those who had come direct 
 from the savage squalor of Kudat and Abai. Johnnie 
 stood spellbound. He could hardly beheve himself still 
 on earth, until he heard McCracken say : " My God ! but 
 it's lovely ! " 
 
 As the Alastor neared the shore, the delightful white 
 residences of the Dutch inhabitants, surrounded by beautiful 
 gardens, and the clean and pretty native villages, imparted a 
 sense of peace and prosperity such as befitted the wondrous 
 beauty of the scene. Descending to more prosaic details, 
 Johnnie noticed a Dutch gunboat occupying the only 
 wharf in the place, while about a mile off the shore Captain 
 Hardy's old ship, the Victory, was at anchor. There were 
 plenty of native craft to be seen, but no other European 
 vessels. 
 
 Northwood's ships having come to an anchor, it was not 
 
 205
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 long before a large boat flying the Dutch flag put off Jrom 
 the shore and boarded the Alastor. 
 
 With the Dutch officials came a short, stout, dapper 
 gentleman, whose clear, coffee-coloured complexion an- 
 nounced the generous admixture of native blood which 
 flowed in his veins. This very polite person announced 
 himself as CorneHus van Papendrecht, a name which North- 
 wood immediately recognized as that of the Ternate agent 
 selected by Shelby. Van Papendrecht placed himself 
 entirely at Northwood's disposal, assuring him that there 
 could be no more welcome sight in Ternate than the North- 
 wood house-flag, a white St. Andrew's Cross displayed on 
 a blue and red field, already made familiar in the Moluccas 
 by the Ceylon and Amboina. 
 
 Northwood was rather taken by the appearance of his 
 Ternate agent and made friends with him at once. 
 
 Meanwhile, a whole fleet of native boats had crowded 
 round the Alastor. Eager natives offered fresh coco- 
 nuts, bananas, fruit and vegetables of aU kinds to the 
 famished crew of the Alastor, and did a roaring trade. 
 Other natives came off with boatloads of monkeys, parra- 
 keets, and all manner of strange beasts and birds, which 
 also found a ready market. It was a great day for 
 Ternate. 
 
 Johnnie, having noticed a jar of water in one of the 
 canoes, immediately insisted on buying it, and pouring 
 the contents into a tub, had the satisfaction of seeing 
 Lion dipping his great muzzle into the clear, sweet liquid 
 and slaking his thirst. After he had enjoyed his swill 
 to the utmost. Lion walked up to his master and offered 
 him his right paw, which was heartily shaken in all 
 friendship. 
 
 As the Dutch boat was going off to the Fairy Queen, 
 Northwood had one of his own boats lowered and got 
 into it with Van Papendrecht. Lion produced an un- 
 rehearsed effect by bounding into the boat and nearly 
 upsetting it, but when he finished up by sitting between 
 
 206
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 his master's legs the sailors recovered from their momentary 
 confusion, and settling down to their work were soon 
 alongside a bamboo jetty in front of Van Papendrecht's 
 residence. A walk through a delightful garden brought 
 them to the Dutchman's villa, a spacious, lofty and very 
 handsome building all on one floor, adorned with marble 
 pillars and floors, altogether a luxurious and comfort- 
 able place with a grateful sense of coolness pervading it. 
 Evidently Mr. van Papendrecht was a man of some 
 wealth. 
 
 They talked over business quietly for some time, dis- 
 cussing Captain Hardy, the Bat j an Company, Shelby, 
 the New Guinea trade, and so on, until a native servant 
 respectfully announced that tiffin, or, rather, the rijstafel, 
 was ready. 
 
 Once in the dining-room a preliminary pahit, or gin 
 and bitters, was insisted upon by the hospitable Cornelius, 
 and the pair of them sat down to a meal consisting of so 
 many delicacies that it really appeared as if there was no 
 end to them. The cuisine was based on native ideas from 
 start to finish, with few exceptions. The choicest and 
 finest fish and poultry were served with aromatic sauces 
 simply beyond praise. Then came an interminable series 
 of curries and sambals of a remarkable pungency and flavour 
 which bore witness to long and scientific preparation. It 
 was not possible to resist the manifold temptations of these 
 delightful dishes. 
 
 Johnnie, wearied enough of his diet of rice, potatoes 
 and muddy water on board of the Alastor, stuffed himself 
 disgracefully. Some of the curried prawns were so hot 
 in the mouth that they brought tears to Johnnie's eyes, 
 to the great delight of the case-hardened Cornelius. 
 Good eating deserveth good drinking. Johnnie found 
 Van Papendrecht's hock and apollinaris beyond re- 
 proach. In the later stages of the meal, he was induced to 
 substitute a light German beer for the wine, and thought 
 it an excellent idea. Van Papendrecht had no ice. but 
 
 207
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 there was a deep well in his grounds, in which he cooled 
 his drinks to a nicety. 
 
 During this singular feast, Cornelius, who devoured at 
 least three times the quantity which his famished guest 
 could eat, chatted at intervals as best he could. It 
 appeared that his father, Papendrecht I., had made a lot 
 of money in Ternate. But, urged Cornelius, those were 
 the old days of sailing ships. With steamers it would 
 be possible to make more money in a day than could be 
 earned by the old " windjammers " in a month. Steam 
 tonnage was the key to wealth in the Moluccas and New 
 Guinea. 
 
 To this disjointed chat, pregnant with golden promise, 
 our hero lent something of a distracted ear. He could not 
 help noticing a bevy of young and very good-looking native 
 women hovering about the verandahs, who had evidently 
 busied themselves in producing a truly delicious repast. 
 A perfect swarm of bonnie coloured children, aU of whom 
 somehow reminded Johnnie of Cornelius van Papendrecht, 
 played in careless glee aU over the villa. The worthy 
 Cornelius ignored the very existence of the various women 
 and children most successfully. To him they were no 
 more than the birds in the trees ! 
 
 This gorgeous repast being at last ended by a cup of 
 reaUy exquisite coffee, Cornelius Kt a fragrant cigar, and 
 to Johnnie's astonishment told him it was now time to go 
 to bed, until, say, five p.m., when they would go for a 
 drive and call on the Resident. Cornelius further suggested 
 that if Johnnie did not care to sleep alone, he would send 
 down to the kampong and get a pretty partner for him. 
 Evidently Cornelius van Papendrecht was a person of 
 patriarchal habits. This was the " height of hospitality " 
 indeed, and CorneHus was nonplussed by the British 
 prudery which rejected it. Finally, CorneUus saw his guest 
 into a great cool bedroom, where Johnnie, totally un- 
 accustomed to anything of the kind, undressed himself, 
 and laid himself to rest with nothing more compromising 
 
 208
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 than the long, stiff bolster known throughout the Fax 
 East as a " Dutch wife." 
 
 Just then, Lion, who had also been gorging himself, 
 shuffled in, and after having shoved his great black head 
 between the mosquito-curtains and had a sniff of his master, 
 took up his quarters under the bed with a gentle growl 
 of contentment. 
 
 Johnnie stretched his Umbs in the luxurious bed and 
 tried to think about the position. What an odd way of 
 doing business ? When did people like Van Papendrecht 
 ever do any work ? If they never worked, how were they 
 going to make their millions ? In the meantime, a drowsy 
 sensuous air, laden wdth the perfumes of sweet flowers, 
 pervaded the great, silent room. Feeling completely 
 enervated, Johnnie at last roUed over on his side and 
 went to sleep. 
 
 It was a very delightful slumber, which seemed to last 
 about five minutes, when he was awakened by Lion growhng 
 at a native servant who was too frightened to enter the 
 room. Once he was fairly roused, it didn't take long to 
 make Master Johnnie realize that something had gone 
 wrong with him. To judge by his immediate sensations, 
 some one had been kind enough to feed him with bricks 
 and then hit him on the head with a maUet. He felt so 
 heavy and stupid that he did not know what to do with 
 himself. The siesta is a deadly indulgence to those who 
 have not acquired the habit by daily practice. A 
 nice cool bath braced him up wonderfully, and he felt 
 as if a cup of tea would make him aU right again. 
 When he got on the verandah, however, he found Van 
 Papendrecht sitting at a round, marble table on which 
 was a brass tray with about two dozen liqueur glasses of 
 pahit on it. " Have a pahit, Mr. Northwood ; it wdU do you 
 good. What did you say ? Tea ? If you are sick I 
 wiU call the doctor ! No ! we have no tea in the house, 
 but I will get some." 
 
 Northwood, who did not feel like drinking gin and 
 VOL. I. 209 14
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 bitters, finally compromised with Cornelius for a tumbler 
 of hock and apollinaris. Presently a Dutch neighbour 
 dropped in, bowed ceremoniously, said something in his 
 native tongue to Cornehus, absorbed at least half a dozen 
 pahits, and solemnly took his departure. Another gentle- 
 man dropped in, every whit as polite in his way, and who, 
 with some assistance from Van Papendrecht, absolutely 
 polished off the rest of the pahits on the tray. 
 
 Just then, a pair of very pretty ponies rattled up with 
 a nice roomy phaeton, whereupon the visitor took his 
 departure. Cornehus and his guest then got into the 
 carriage, and with Lion galloping behind them, drove 
 off to see the Resident, who lived at a distance of some 
 three miles away, in a charming place surrounded by a 
 beautiful park. 
 
 The Resident was a fine, dignified ex-army officer, and 
 a very kindly man withal, who assured his English visitor 
 that he should have every assistance and encouragement 
 in his new venture. Naturally the inevitable pahits were 
 trotted out, and Johnnie had the greatest difficulty in 
 excusing himself from taking more than one glass, on the 
 score of some relentless malady which made the absorption 
 of gin and bitters all but fatal. The Resident contemplated 
 his visitor with an eager but melancholy interest. Privately 
 he thought that this young Englishman ought to be stuffed 
 and sent to a museum. 
 
 Even that one glass of pahit had made Johnnie feel 
 dizzy for the moment, and when they rose to take their 
 departure, he suggested that they should walk home. 
 " Walk ! " gasped the astounded Cornelius. " What for ? 
 We have a very good carriage, have we not ? " They drove 
 off in silence, Johnnie trying to think out how these 
 colonial Dutchmen manage to avert the sudden death 
 which they were so continually provoking, while Van 
 Papendrecht wondered whether all Englishmen wanted 
 to drink tea and walk, when there was no apparent necessity 
 for doing either of these things. 
 
 210
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 Presently Johnnie roused himself and inquired at what 
 time it was usual in Ternate to transact business, 
 
 " Business ! " said Van Papendrecht briskly. " Ah ! 
 you like to do some business ! Well, you shall have as 
 much business as you want between this evening and sun- 
 rise to-morrow. To-night we dine with my brother-in- 
 law, Van Swoll, who wants to buy your Fairy Queen. 
 In your place I would not sell your steamer, but Shelby 
 says you don't want to run her under the Dutch flag, and 
 prefer to make a friendly arrangement with Van Swoll. 
 Well and good ! Only I tell you, make up your mind before 
 dinner what price you will ask and stick to it, for my 
 brother-in-law, who was formerly an officer in our Navy, 
 drinks terribly, especially champagne, but is never drunk. 
 Also you have a cargo of coal in the Fairy Queen. That 
 is most lucky, because there is none here. The Amstel 
 cannot leave for her cruise on the New Guinea coast because 
 she is short of coal, I will sell your coal for such a price 
 as you do not expect, but the Fairy Queen is your busi- 
 ness. You understand, I do not care to sell a steamer 
 to my own brother-in-law." 
 
 By this time the ponies were whirling them through yet 
 another lovely garden, and drew up at the marble portico 
 of a villa even more palatial than Van Papendrecht 's. 
 
 In another moment Northwood was presented to Van 
 Swoll and Madame van Swoll. The ex-naval officer was 
 a man of fine, commanding presence, arrayed in spotless 
 white, who wore his decoration of the Netherlands Lion 
 with an easy dignity which characterized all his actions, 
 Madame van Swoll, who looked young enough to be his 
 daughter, was Van Papendrecht 's sister, but what a 
 contrast there was between this slender, elegant girl and 
 her fat and almost shapeless brother ! AU traces of native 
 blood had somehow disappeared in the lady, who would 
 have passed anywhere as a very distinguished European 
 brunette. She possessed a very lovely olive complexion, 
 with a faint flush of colour which was most charming. 
 VOL. I. 211 14*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Perhaps people who are skilled in such details might have 
 detected a strain of native blood in the colour and curve 
 of her finger-nails, but that was a very minute detail of 
 which Northwood knew nothing. It struck him very 
 forcibly, however, that Cornelius looked a veritable nigger 
 in comparison with his sister, who was not only exceed- 
 ingly pretty but gifted with a great charm of manner, 
 a native as well as a distinctly cultured grace. 
 
 Later in the evening Northwood learned that Coralie 
 van Swoll had spent three or four years of her life in Paris. 
 Meantime, his hostess made not the slightest effort to come 
 the Parisienne over him. Whatever toilettes Madame 
 van Swoll might have in her hanging wardrobes, they 
 remained there for that night. She simply presented 
 herself on this occasion in the purely native sarong and 
 kahayah, so frequentl}^ worn by Dutch ladies in Nether- 
 lands India. It is true that the snowy kahayah was a 
 costly creation of linen batiste and lace, while a perfectly 
 marvellous sarong was kept in its place by a broad belt of 
 native gold. Madame van Swoll had not troubled to put 
 on so much as a pair of stockings. Her exquisitely pretty 
 feet were protected by a pair of velvet shoes embroidered 
 in seed pearls, set off by gilt heels. As often as not she 
 would slip one of her feet out of her slippers. Her per- 
 fectly regular features and beautiful eyes were singularly 
 expressive and winsome, and she allowed a wealth of de- 
 lightful soft, dark-brown hair to hang to her waist. 
 
 Of course, the woman was a horrid coquette. Johnnie 
 was rather scandalized to find that she had really so very 
 little clothing about her, but, after all, it appeared to 
 him that that was Van SwoU's affair, and Van Swoll 
 seemed to be quite happy and pleased about everything 
 in general. 
 
 The dinner was a good deal more European in its style 
 than the beautiful but barbaric tiffin at Van Papendrecht's. 
 There was a julienne soup which might have made its 
 appearance at any table in London ; a remarkably fine fish, 
 
 212
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 served plain boiled, with sauce aux ecrevisses, and some 
 excellent preserved asparagus with sauce hollandaise kept 
 up the illusion of European civilization in Ternate, until 
 it was dispelled by the apparition of some of the most 
 heavenly and varied curries and sambals ever cooked by 
 human fingers. Johnnie tasted his first land-crab, a queer 
 creature, more like a lobster than a crab in appearance, 
 which, instead of swimming in the briny ocean, con- 
 tentedly climbs coco-nut trees, and, breaking the nuts open 
 with its powerful claws, devours the contents, which 
 impart a particularly delicious flavour to its flesh. 
 
 Johnnie found himself, malgre lui, pitching into these 
 captivating dishes with a perfectly unholy gusto. Van 
 Swoll showed himself a powerful trencherman ; Van Papen- 
 drecht made a perfect pig of himself, while even Madame 
 played a very pretty knife and fork — and spoon ! With 
 the European dishes a very choice Liebfraumilch was 
 served, but when it came to the curries and sambals Van 
 Swoll roundly declared that if beer was good, champagne 
 was even better at such a time. Accordingly a splendid 
 champagne of one of the best vintages now foamed in 
 their glasses. It went nobly with the curries. Un- 
 doubtedly Van Swoll was quite right. The two Dutch- 
 men drank up their wine like the veritable sandbanks 
 which they happened to be, while they constantly urged 
 Johnnie to follow their example. Madame drank two or 
 three, or perhaps even four, glasses on this rare and parti- 
 cular occasion. Johnnie was not quite sure whether at 
 one time he did not feel the soft, delicate pressure of a 
 very small bare foot on his thin shoe. 
 
 The dinner came to an end with sweets, fruits, superb 
 coffee, with some notable cognac, and various seductive 
 liqueurs labelled Marie Brizard and Roger. 
 
 After dinner everybody went to the big moonlit verandah 
 to enjoy the soft night air. The two Dutchmen walked 
 up and down the whole length of it, eagerly discussing 
 something which absorbed their whole attention. Mean- 
 
 213
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 while, Coralie van Swoll and Johnnie had automatically 
 drifted into a dark corner of the verandah, and were soon 
 talking in subdued tones of Paris, Fontainebleau, Barbizon, 
 and places far away. A sort of subtle perfume, which 
 emanated from the woman, enervated and excited Johnnie. 
 He began to lose his head. Finally, he said dreamUy : 
 " Not even in France can you find such a delicious scene 
 as this ! " They gazed for a moment on the fairyland 
 and the glittering waters before them, and then their 
 eyes met. Coralie van Swoll slipped her hand in 
 his, as she answered him : "It is beautiful, it is lovely ; 
 but if you only knew ! Si vous saviez ! " 
 
 But Johnnie was destined to know nothing more on this 
 particular occasion, because just then the guttural voice 
 of Cornelius broke upon his ear \\dth : " Well, Mr. North- 
 wood, what about business ? I promised you some busi- 
 ness for this evening ! " Johnnie pulled himself together, 
 with the feeling that he had been getting into pretty dan- 
 gerous ground half a minute before. However, he expressed 
 himself quite ready for the fray, whUe he marvelled at 
 people who slept all day, with intervals for eating and 
 drinking, and did their business by moonlight. Madame, 
 as cheerful and collected as ever, wished everyone a bright 
 good-night, and melted out of their sight through a moon- 
 lit archway, a veritable vision of grace and loveliness. 
 
 " Now," said Cornelius, " we must make out a plan of 
 campaign this evening ; but just one word in private with 
 you. How much do you Wcint for the Fairy Queen ? Have 
 you quite made up your mind ? " 
 
 " Certainly I have. My price is one hundred thousand 
 guilders exactly ! " 
 
 " It's a lot of money, but I daresay you will get it. If 
 that is your price, stick to it. Just wait a minute. I 
 will write it down for you in case you forget it ! " 
 
 To Northwood's amusement Cornelius tore a leaf out of 
 his pocket-book, wrote one himdred thousand guilders on 
 it and handed it to him. 
 
 214
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 Then they went into Van Swell's cabinet, where they 
 found him sitting at a huge mahogany table with drawers 
 fitted in it, and elaborately decorated with bronze 
 devices of very fine workmanship, a singularly massive 
 piece of furniture and evidently of another century. At 
 such a table might have sat a Spanish Governor, a Spanish 
 General, and a Familiar of the Holy Church, planning one 
 of the massacres which were so frequent in the blood- 
 stained annals of the Spice Islands. 
 
 However, to-night the meeting was of quite another 
 description. First of all Van Papendrecht wanted to 
 know what was to be done about Captain Hardy, now at 
 Temate with a cargo of rice, petroleum, etc. Since his 
 arrival at Ternate Hardy had been denouncing the North- 
 woods as bloodsuckers and monopolists, although he 
 blamed " that scoundrel Shelby " for being at the bottom 
 of his misfortunes. Hardy did not mind Shelby trading 
 in the Ceylon, but when it came to the North woods' estab- 
 lishing him at Amboina, and setting up agencies and trading- 
 posts everywhere, while they worked with both sailing 
 vessels and steamers against his one old ship, he felt that 
 he had no chance, and was being infamously treated by 
 his own son-in-law, Shelby, and his oldest friend. North- 
 wood. However, Hardy was putting up a bold fight, as 
 might have been expected of such a man. He had plenty of 
 money, and his avowed plan was to keep prices of the 
 staple articles lower in the Moluccas than in Singapore, 
 while he could disorganize the produce-market by offer- 
 ing more for cloves and nutmegs than they could possibly 
 fetch when sold again. Of course, as Hardy said, such a 
 policy would cost him a lot of money, but it would make 
 things very hot indeed for the Northwood-Shelby lot, 
 especially as their expenses must be at least ten times 
 his own. Hardy said he would win in the end and keep 
 his own trade. In pursuance of his ideas he had pro- 
 claimed by drum and beU a series of auctions, at which 
 rice and other valuable cargo were to be knocked down 
 
 215
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 for anything which buyers chose to offer, just to break the 
 market for Northwood and teach him a lesson. Such a 
 thing had never been attempted in sleepy Ternate before, 
 and there was great excitement about it. 
 
 Cornelius suggested a diabolical plan of his own for 
 putting up a man of straw to bu}^ up Hardy's cargo very 
 cheap and then hold it for normal prices, and thus fighting 
 the devil with fire, make a handsome profit out of their 
 enemy. 
 
 Young Northwood took charge of the situation at once. 
 He said ; " Hardy's plan is all nonsense, and chiefly bluff. 
 He cannot beat us in the way he proposes, for the simple 
 reason that he and his old Victory cannot be in half a 
 dozen places at once. Now I want it distinctly understood 
 that I have no wish to ruin Hardy. Van Papendrecht will 
 excuse me if I say his suggestion is nonsense also, because 
 old Hardy knows this market much too well to allow us 
 to buy much of his cargo through a man of straw. Now, 
 I am going to leave the Ternate market to Captain Hardy 
 this trip, that is to say, I am not going to land any rice 
 or oil to compete with his shipments in the Victory. You 
 can have as much of the other cargo in the Alastor as you 
 require. I understand you want corrugated iron, nails 
 and screws, and all sorts of things which Shelby ordered 
 for you. You have the manifest, and if you will just 
 tick off what you want and give me a list before I go off 
 to the ship to-night, I will have it all ready to be discharged 
 into your boats directly they come alongside. But no 
 rice or oil. And, please let it be once more understood 
 that I wish no harm to old Captain Hardy. There is 
 plenty of room for him in the Moluccas ! " 
 
 Cornelius van Papendrecht was much astonished at 
 this declaration. He knew perfectly well that it was 
 Shelby's plan to drive his old father-in-law out of the 
 islands as rapidly as possible, and here was young North- 
 wood, instead of profiting by a splendid chance to deal 
 a heav}' blow at Captain Hardy, actually protecting his 
 
 216
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 interests, and making a market for his enemy in Temate ! 
 Was it champagne ? Van Swoll, with a much clearer 
 perception of the actual position, rose from his chair and 
 grasped Northwood's hand warmly as he said : " I under- 
 stand ! It shall be done as you wish." 
 
 Cornelius thought this sort of thing was the biggest non- 
 sense imaginable, and felt completely mystified. 
 
 The next thing to be settled was the cruise of the 
 Alastor. Van Papendrecht sketched it out thus ; Amboina, 
 Banda, and then the New Guinea coast, a run of some 
 twelve hundred miles to Geelvink Bay, taking Manzanam 
 and Doreh on the outward run, and calling at Waigiou and 
 Salawati on the homeward route, which was to include 
 another call at the three principal ports of the Spice Islands, 
 and then the Alastor would be free to sail with a full and 
 valuable cargo of gums and spices for Singapore. It was 
 a big proposition, but Van Papendrecht knew what he 
 was talking about, and put his case very clearly. Van 
 Swoll gave the whole scheme his approval, and when Van 
 Papendrecht volunteered to join the Alastor on her cruise 
 to New Guinea, Northwood unhesitatingly accepted his 
 proposals. 
 
 It appeared that Van Papendrecht did a queer and singu- 
 larly lucrative trade with Paris in the skins of birds of 
 paradise, and other rare and beautiful birds, which appa- 
 rently were sold to museums and miUiners at enormous 
 prices. Van Papendrecht wanted to take fifty hunters 
 with him to shoot birds, while Van Swoll was anxious to 
 send some thirty or forty divers for pearl-sheU. Terms 
 were agreed for the transport of all these people, which 
 left a large profit for Northwood. A freight contract was 
 also agreed, which left an exceedingly generous margin, 
 though the two Dutchmen could easily afford it, as they 
 were making some hundreds per cent, out of the business. 
 
 These important points being settled. Van Swoll rang 
 a beU, which summoned as if by magic some sort of native 
 sprite with a silver tray, on which were displayed a bottle 
 
 217
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 of champagne and three large and very thin glasses. " It 
 is very hot," said Van SwoU, " and all this talking makes 
 me thirsty ! " The three crystal goblets being filled, Van 
 SwoU drank to Northwood's health. The graceless Cor- 
 nelius had already drained his glass, and was now ringing 
 for another bottle. 
 
 The weightiest matter of all now came on the board. 
 Van Swoll refilled the glasses, and said carelessly enough 
 to Northwood : " Now, what will you take for the Fairy 
 Queen ? " 
 
 " Exactly one hundred thousand guilders ! No more, 
 no less ! " answered Northwood. 
 
 Van Swoll professed to treat this offer as an attempt to 
 be funny. 
 
 " Say fifty thousand, my young friend. Isn't that 
 enough ? " 
 
 Meanwhile, Cornelius had finished yet another bottle, 
 felt sleepy, reeled to a long chair, into which he fell in 
 a lump, and began to snore so tremendously, that the 
 victim of too much champagne became a nuisance and an 
 interruption to serious conversation. The ever alert Van 
 Swoll rang his little silver bell, and indicated with a nod 
 of his head his slumbering brother-in-law. In a trice four 
 servants came in, who, silently lifting the long chair from 
 the floor, walked off bodily with Van Papendrecht. 
 
 " They will put him to bed, and you will see that by six 
 o'clock to-morrow morning he will be all right. If Cornelius 
 had not been drinking five or six dozen pahits during the 
 day, together with some bottles of beer and a few bottles 
 of wine, he would not have got so sleepy over my cham- 
 pagne — which, by the way, I took much trouble in 
 selecting." 
 
 So said Van Swoll, as he ordered yet another bottle of 
 his favourite drink. 
 
 The debate about the Fairy Queen was resumed, and 
 when after a long discussion Van Swoll had increased his 
 offer to ninety thousand guilders, Northwood, from sheer 
 
 218
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 weariness and champagne combined, felt inclined to give 
 in. But he remembered Cornelius's little slip of paper, 
 which he took out of his pocket and laid on the table, much 
 as a man plays a trump card. Van Swoll laughed as he 
 looked at it and said : " Well, if you and Cornelius have 
 settled the price between you, I may as well pay it. It is 
 therefore decided that I pay you one hundred thousand 
 guilders for the Fairy Queen. Let us say fifty thousand 
 in cash to-morrow and fifty thousand in three months. 
 Will that suit you ? Of course, I know I am paying a big 
 price for a small steamer that is not very new, but I want 
 such a boat very much ; and, besides, it is not so difficult 
 to make a hundred thousand guilders in these islands if 
 one knows how ! " 
 
 The Fairy Queen being sold to Van Swoll on terms which 
 were entirely acceptable and most profitable, Northwood 
 prepared to take his leave. He much regretted that he 
 could not accept an invitation to sleep on shore that night, 
 as he had pressing work in the early morn, and a boat's 
 crew waiting for him on the beach. Nor would he hear of 
 a carriage being ordered for him. He insisted that a walk 
 to the beach would do him all the good in the world. So, 
 after a final bumper to celebrate the Fairy Queen trans- 
 action, Johnnie was at last able to say good-night to the 
 hospitable Van Swoll, who urged him to come to the house 
 as often as he could, and to make it his home. 
 
 Although the moon shone brilliantly, two servants 
 bearing lanterns marched before Northwood to escort him 
 to his boat, while Lion brought up the rear of the little 
 procession. A brisk walk soon took the party within 
 sight of the white boat lying on the beach, when Johnnie 
 dismissed the servants. But on reaching the boat he 
 could find no saUors. In vain did he search and shout for 
 his men. Lion barked long and loud without any other 
 result than that of terribly frightening the inhabitants of 
 the neighbouring kampong. The predicament was provok- 
 ing enough. Suddenly Johnnie noticed the masts and spars 
 
 219
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 of the Amstel lying at the wharf, and as a last resource he 
 determined to see what assistance he could get on board the 
 Dutch gunboat. Soon the crazy wharf creaked under his 
 footsteps, and a minute later he was on the main-deck of 
 His Netherlands Majesty's ship Amstel. He was promptly 
 challenged by a native quartermaster, to whom he ex- 
 plained the situation. The quartermaster went for an 
 officer, a very polite young lieutenant, who did not seem 
 to object in the least to being roused from his slumbers. 
 
 Finding that his nocturnal visitor could not speak Dutch, 
 the lieutenant said in Malay : "I am afraid your sailors 
 have deserted. It is a great trouble in all these islands 
 that the men run away from their ships. It is a very easy 
 life, and the women are a great temptation. I shall be 
 very glad to send you off to your steamer in one of our 
 boats." 
 
 Johnnie expressed his apologies and warmest thanks, 
 and the boat having been manned silently and rapidly, it 
 only remained to seat himself in it. Lion took his place 
 by his master with much dignity. He was already getting 
 used to ladders and boats. 
 
 As he was being rowed over the moonlit waters, Johnnie 
 wondered what would happen to a wandering Dutchman 
 turning up on the deck of a British gunboat at two a.m. ? 
 His thoughts speedily turned in other directions, however. 
 It had been a day of varied incidents, and he had enough to 
 think about at the moment. 
 
 There being apparently no watch of any kind kept by 
 the Alastor's crew that night, Johnnie and Lion got on 
 board quite unperceived. and after a final look at the 
 glories of Ternate the young man turned in at about three 
 in the morning. He was aroused shortly after daybreak 
 by the noise of the sailors washing decks overhead, where- 
 upon he put himself into a pair of bathing-drawers and ran 
 on deck. Here he found Lion eagerly waiting for him. The 
 pair of them then went overboard for a splendid swim in 
 deliciously clear cool water. Feeling mightily revived by 
 
 220
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 his bath, Johnnie regained his cabin, and donning a white 
 drill suit went on the quarter-deck. 
 
 He had just settled down to his tea and biscuits, when 
 to his surprise he saw Van Papendrecht before him, got 
 up with his usual neatness in spotless white, looking as 
 fresh as paint, and as if he had never seen a bottle of 
 champagne in his life. Coffee having been ordered for his 
 visitor, the closing events of the previous night were 
 recited for the benefit of Van Papendrecht, who was 
 much pleased that the Fairy Queen had been sold on 
 terms which were satisfactory to all concerned. It 
 appeared that Van SwoU had estates in Ternate, Am- 
 boina and Banda, besides a pearling fishery near Manza- 
 nam, so that a handy little steamer could be employed 
 by him most usefully and profitably. 
 
 Captain Bird grumbled dreadfully when he heard of 
 the desertion of his sailors. There was nothing for it, 
 however, but to send Cassim on shore with a party to find 
 the missing men if possible, and to bring back the 
 ship's gig. 
 
 Van Papendrecht's boats having come alongside, and 
 the cargo started, Northwood and his agent went on shore. 
 Here there was great excitement. Between a man beating 
 a drum and another ringing a bell walked a native crier 
 shouting at the top of his voice that at ten a.m. Captain 
 Hardy of the Victory would commence selling a cargo of 
 rice, petroleum, etc., at the lowest prices ever heard of in 
 Ternate. Further, that at four p.m. that day, Tuan 
 Blarembergh, of the Bat j an Company, would sell by auction 
 splendid cottons, shirtings, linens and all sorts of manu- 
 factures which the said Tuan was prepared to huang (throw 
 away), whereupon the drum was beaten and the bell rung 
 with redoubled vigour, to the amusement of the crowd. 
 
 Van Papendrecht said : " I don't believe there has 
 been a lelong (auction) in Ternate for any number of years, 
 and now there are to be two in one day ! No wonder 
 the market is excited ! " 
 
 221
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Just then they met Captain Hardy, Johnnie walked 
 up to him and wished him good-morning, but the old 
 sailor simply glared at him and turned his back, Johnnie 
 felt sorry enough about the situation, 
 
 " Captain Hardy takes it very badly," Cornehus said. 
 " He grabbed that huge umbrella of his by the middle as 
 if he would like to have knocked you down with it." 
 
 Nobody had ever seen Captain Hardy use his famous 
 umbrella as a defence against either wind or rain, and 
 its loose folds hung uselessly round a huge hardwood stick, 
 terminating in a formidable knob. It was believed that 
 this umbrella was built during the Spanish conquest of the 
 Moluccas, and that it was the only one of its kind in 
 existence. 
 
 Van Papendrecht wished Johnnie to attend the auction, 
 but this he declined to do out of respect for old Hardy's 
 feelings. So it was settled between them that Cornelius 
 should remain to see what happened, while Johnnie went 
 off to consult Blarembergh about some Bat j an business. 
 
 The Bat j an Company's building was but a short distance 
 from the market-place in which Captain Hardy's auction 
 was to be held. Crossing a wide verandah, Johnnie found 
 himself in a large room, of which the walls were tapestried 
 with different samples of cloth, piles of which material 
 were to be seen on all sides. Coils of brass wire, barrels 
 of beads, kegs of nails, cases of axes, saws, gin, and a 
 vast selection of other merchandise littered the place in 
 amazing variety. 
 
 Four silent natives appeared to mount guard over this 
 emporium. In a private room leading off this deserted 
 bazaar, Johnnie beheld a taU, good-looking young man, 
 with a fine head of fair hair and a nice curly beard, reclining 
 fuU length on a long chair, deep in the opening pages of 
 a French novel. Conveniently to his hand stood a long 
 tumbler nearly fuU of a pale amber fluid, which looked as 
 if it might be cool and nice to drink. As Johnnie was 
 ushered into this private room by one of the natives, the 
 
 222
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 young blonde giant, who wore a light pyjama suit, slid 
 out of his chair with an easy grace, and remarked : " Trenck 
 van Blarembergh ! " to which Johnnie promptly replied : 
 " Northwood ! " 
 
 " Ah ! and so you are the Mr, Northwood of whom 
 we have heard so much. Pray be seated, and try to make 
 yourself comfortable. It is most kind of you to honour 
 me with a visit ! " 
 
 The Dutchman rattled out his greeting in a most delight- 
 fully pronounced English, and Johnnie took to him at once. 
 
 Blarembergh was the descendant of a very ancient 
 Dutch family. He possessed such an unending string of 
 names, that the wits of Ternate used to assert that he 
 never knew one half of them himself. In that respect 
 and in many others he was like a Spanish Grandee. 
 
 His first care was to see that his visitor had something 
 to drink. " Try my mixture, wiU you not ? " said the 
 hospitable Dutchman. " Just some Moselblumchen with 
 a little apollinaris stirred up with half a teaspoonful of 
 sugar. It is quite nice and can do you no harm." 
 
 Johnnie found that a good MoseUe treated in this way 
 was most refreshing on a hot morning. Having accommo- 
 dated his visitor with another long chair and told off a native 
 to fan him, Blarembergh began to talk business. He 
 wanted the Alastor to go to Bat] an for a variety of purposes, 
 and would pay handsomely for the service rendered. His 
 company was having a steamer built especially for the 
 trade, but in the meantime communications with Batjan 
 were difficult. 
 
 The terms about the Alastor being settled in something 
 like five minutes, Blarembergh started on indifferent 
 subjects. He wanted to know why his visitor took so little 
 interest in Captain Hardy's famous auction. 
 
 Johnnie explained as best he could his position with 
 regard to Hardy. 
 
 Blarembergh listened to him, and then said, very quietly : 
 " I see you are a different kind of man altogether from 
 
 223
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Shelby ! Well, Captain Hardy's auction put it into my 
 head to have one of my own to clear off all the rubbish 
 I have in that shop outside. I came to the Moluccas 
 with the idea that the Bat] an Company, which has a 
 great capital, would employ me in working the magnificent 
 forests and mines of their island, or something of that 
 kind. But I find that I am expected to sell pieces of cloth 
 and bottles of gin ! However, it mil come all right in 
 time. This is but a probationary stage ! " 
 
 Just then Van Papendrecht, usually so phlegmatic, 
 burst into the room wild with excitement and convulsed 
 with laughter. " What do you think ? " he shouted ; 
 " the auction is over already ! Captain Hardy put up a 
 thousand bags of Rangoon white rice as the first lot. After 
 saying a lot of horrible things about you and Shelby, he 
 declared that he would sell at any price to drive you out 
 of Ternate. When he called for bids Towkay Kim Seng, 
 the fat Capitan China, had the impudence to offer one 
 guilder per bag, about what it will cost to land the rice from 
 the Victory. Old Hardy got blue in the face ; he first of 
 all called the towkay a siUy, squinting, block-faced son of 
 a Chinese what's-her-name, and before anybody could 
 stop him he had his umbrella up in the air and brought the 
 knob of it down on the skull of the Capitan China, who 
 fell on the ground howling, and had to be carried away 
 by his friends. Old Hardy simply said ' lelong suda 
 hahis ' (the auction is finished), then he got into his boat 
 and went off to the Victory ! The Chinese are furious about 
 it ! A deputation of them has gone to the Resident to 
 petition him to refuse Captain Hardy his clearance papers, 
 so that they can have time to prosecute him and have him 
 sent to prison. A nice mess Captain Hardy has made 
 of it with his auction ! You should have seen how the 
 people bolted when he knocked the Capitan China down ! " 
 
 At this point Cornelius helped himself to a glass of 
 Moselle, and once more laughed uproariously as he recalled 
 the scene which he had just witnessed. 
 
 224
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 Captain Hardy's ideas of conducting an auction were 
 so original as to be almost amusing, but it was easy to see 
 that by his rashness the old sailor had put himself in a serious 
 position. Now was the time to attack him, and deal him 
 a blow that he could hardly withstand. Cornelius urged 
 our hero to sell the Alastor's cargo in Ternate, leaving the 
 Ceylon's cargo for Amboina and Banda. This would leave 
 the Captain \\dthout a market. The Alastor could be 
 back again in Ternate with a fresh cargo before Hardy 
 could get over his difficulties mth the Chinese, or sell his 
 own cargo still on board the Victory. It would be quite 
 an easy thing practically to ruin Hardy, and thus get rid 
 of his competition. 
 
 But Northwood did not show the sHghtest desire to 
 crush his opponent, and turned the conversation in another 
 direction. 
 
 Blarembergh insisted on keeping both his visitors to a 
 very excellent tiifin, after which they drove off to Van 
 Papendrecht's home, the host to indulge in a siesta, and 
 Johnnie to write letters in the Hbrary. 
 
 About four p.m. Cornelius said : " Let us see how 
 Blarembergh gets on with his auction ! It is time we 
 went." 
 
 In a few minutes they were back at the Bat j an Company's 
 oifices. The verandahs and the large store-room were 
 crowded with excited natives, eager to buy all sorts of 
 things very cheap. The auction of the morning and its 
 sudden coUapse was the topic of the day, but everybody 
 said that there was no fear of Tuan Blarembergh striking 
 anyone, and that with him they were quite safe. Although 
 it was past the appointed hour, there was no sign of 
 Blarembergh yet. 
 
 Forcing their way through the crowd Cornelius and 
 Johnnie got a glimpse of him through the nearly closed 
 door of his private room. Gently opening the door, they now 
 got a good view of him, still lying at full length with his 
 nose in the concluding pages of his French novel. The 
 VOL. I. 225 15
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 sound of the unusual noise and bustle outside seemed 
 to worry him, for he suddenly asked his major-domo what 
 it meant. On his being reminded that it was already time 
 for the auction to commence, Blarembergh said, irritably 
 enough : " Lelong ? Bilang sia suda penat ! Auction ? 
 Say I am tired ! Tell the people to go away at once. 
 There will be no auction to-day. Shut that door behind 
 me!" 
 
 As the door closed on him, Blarembergh plunged into 
 his romance with greater avidity than ever. His very 
 beautiful but highly improper heroine had got into a French 
 dilemma of such complexity that Blarembergh found it 
 quite impossible to tear himself away from her in order 
 to conduct a vulgar sale by auction. The natives filed 
 slowly and discontentedly out of the place. They were 
 horribly disappointed. Some of them said it would have 
 been much better if Tuan Blarembergh knocked one or 
 two of them doMH, rather than play them a trick like this ! 
 Cornelius was once more bubbling over with merriment. 
 " They will never be able to sell anything more by auction 
 in Temate ! " he cried. " Fancy two auctions in one day, 
 and the only lot knocked down is the Capitan China ! " 
 
 Once more chez Cornehus and Johnnie suggested a small 
 dinner on board the Alastor, to which Blarembergh might 
 be invited. Johnnie had taken care to have ample supplies 
 sent on board, including some very sound wines, such as 
 are to be found in the Dutch colonies. Cornelius thought 
 the idea was a good one, especially as Blarembergh must 
 have finished his French novel by this time. 
 
 The dinner on board the Alastor made a pleasant change 
 in its way for Blarembergh and Van Papendrecht, which 
 both of them appreciated immensely. Incidentally, a 
 whole lot of exceedingly useful business details were settled. 
 Northwood arranged that the Alastor would sail the next 
 evening for Amboina and via various ports to Geelvink 
 Bay. There being plenty of cabins to spare, Northwood's 
 guests slept on board the Alastor that night. 
 
 226
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 No sooner had he landed next morning with his friends, 
 than he was met by Van Swoll, who reproached him for 
 having neglected him most shamefully. " My wife really 
 does not know what to think of you ! " he said. 
 
 In these circumstances Johnnie cheerfully accepted 
 Van SwoU's invitation to tiffin. 
 
 Coralie van Swoll greeted her guests most graciously. 
 This time she was got up in a white linen frock, of an 
 absolutely perfect cut, reminiscent of Paris. Everything, 
 from the artistic arrangement of her beautiful hair to her 
 exceedingly dainty stockings and shoes, was in harmony. 
 Every trace of the Asiatic had vanished. Madame van 
 Swoll playfully rallied Northwood about his giving a 
 dinner on board the Alastor without inviting any ladies, 
 and represented herself as having waited in vain for him 
 the whole of the previous day. 
 
 After the usual superb rijstafel, loaded \\dth delicacies, 
 neither Van Swoll nor his brother-in-law could resist their 
 longing for a siesta, and went to their rooms for an after- 
 noon nap, leaving Coralie and Johnnie together. It was 
 not long before the young couple were on very dangerous 
 ground. That Coralie flirted outrageously was soon 
 apparent. But afterwards she began to talk seriously, 
 to regret her life in Paris, and finally to tell Johnnie that 
 though her husband was kind enough in his way, yet she 
 had ceased to have any attraction for him. She was a 
 wife in name only. Others pleased Van Swoll much more 
 than she did, and as she made this confession the tears 
 dimmed her lovely eyes. 
 
 Johnnie was profoundly stirred. Mad, unconsidered words 
 poured from his lips in a torrent. He moved towards 
 her and in a moment Coralie was in his arms, covering his 
 face with burning kisses. As Johnnie was not made of 
 quite the same material as Captain Hardy's umbrella he 
 returned her caresses with interest. The time flew in a 
 wild and by no means commendable conversation, somewhat 
 on the lines of Blarembergh's French novel, until the 
 VOL. I. 227 15*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 sounds about the house told the indiscreet couple that the 
 hour of siesta was over, and that they had better behave 
 themselves like ordinary members of society. 
 
 Presently, the two Dutchmen came into view, deeply 
 immersed in a conversation about business affairs. To 
 Johnnie, who had barely recovered his composure, the 
 absolute indifference of Van Swoll to his beautiful young 
 wife seemed to be most marked. 
 
 After a short consultation it was agreed that all present 
 should dine on board the Alastor, and that the steamer 
 should proceed some time during the evening to Amboina. 
 
 The Httle dinner on board of the Alastor was quite gay 
 and delightful in every way. Madame van Swoll seemed 
 loth to quit the ship, in spite of Captain Bird's broadest 
 hints to the effect that he wanted to clear certain dangers 
 while the light of the moon was still bright. Finally the 
 Van Swolls got into their boat, and before long Johnnie 
 Northwood was waving his handkerchief to Coralie over 
 the stern of his ship, as the churning screw sped her 
 through the still waters of Ternate harbour. 
 
 Johnnie httle thought that he was fated to see Corahe 
 only once more for a terribly brief moment under some of 
 the most tragic circumstances that human imagination 
 can conceive. 
 
 After gazing at the glorious scene before him, which 
 somehow soothed his tumultuous thoughts, Johnnie turned 
 round with a thumping heart, and said to Cornehus : " How 
 perfectly lovely it all is, and what a happy man you are to 
 live in a paradise like this ! " 
 
 " Yes," Cornelius replied indifferently. " It is very fine, 
 but Ternate is not always Hke this. It has its dangers 
 also ! " and he pointed significantly to the summit of the 
 volcano, from which a thin film of vapour floated. 
 
 After a fine passage the Alastor steamed into the harbour 
 of Amboina, and Captain Bird anchored her astern of the 
 Ceylon. Shelby was soon on board, anxious to have the 
 latest news. He got perfectly furious when he heard of 
 
 228
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 his father-in-law's escape from ruin, or something very 
 much Uke it, thanks to Northwood's tactics. His little 
 pigs'-eyes glared with fury, and his ugly face looked so 
 utterly villainous that Johnnie's soul quaked within him at 
 the thought that he intended to make this man his 
 partner. 
 
 Shelby finally said something about young Northwood's 
 " selling the lot of them for the sake of Mary Hardy." 
 
 This was more than Johnnie could stand, and after a 
 violent scene Shelby quieted down, and even made some 
 sort of apology. " I am sorry ! " he grumbled, " but Old 
 Hardy knows the Moluccas and the people know old Hardy. 
 You had him at yoiu" mercy, and some day you will be 
 the very first to regret that you didn't hit him when he was 
 down. I've sailed with Old Hardy, and I know the kind 
 of man he is ! The first chance he gets he'll stick his knife 
 into you right up to the handle. He'll take it as an insult 
 to his infernal pride that you left him the Ternate market 
 open, instead of capturing it for us. That's what Hardy 
 would call a fair fight, but he'U never forgive you for letting 
 him off as you've done ! " 
 
 Unfortunately even Johnnie could not help but feel that 
 there was a good deal of truth in what Shelby said. How- 
 ever, the quarrel was now over. It was no doubt regrettable 
 that it had taken place in the presence of Van Papendrecht, 
 Bird, and McCracken, who all seemed mightily interested 
 in the scene. 
 
 Something like peace and order having been restored, 
 Northwood was at liberty to have a look at Amboina. 
 There is a vast difference between Ternate and Amboina. 
 It is vain to seek in the latter place the splendours of Ternate 
 and Tidore. But Amboina has its o^^•n peculiar charm. 
 The long, narrow, sheltered inlet which forms the harbour 
 is surrounded by soft, rolling hiUs covered with the most 
 glorious forests imaginable. A serene atmosphere of 
 peace and quiet characterizes the place. 
 
 No volcanoes threatened the tranquillity of Amboina, but 
 
 229
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 the town, mildly prosperous, resembles that of Ternate. 
 White villas surrounded by shady gardens, neat native 
 kampongs, a little bit of a fort flying the Dutch colours, 
 and a little bit of a Dutch gunboat, made up the picture 
 as it appeared to Northwood from the deck of the 
 Alastor. 
 
 Shelby's house was very much on the same plan as the 
 villas of Van Papendrecht and Van Swoll, but whitewashed 
 brick pillars and tiles replaced the marble columns and 
 pavements of the wealthy Dutchmen. The Shelby estab- 
 lishment was surrounded by blocks of godowns mostly 
 crammed with merchandise of all kinds. The whole 
 establishment suggested an overflowing prosperity, 
 
 Shelby was a man of very moderate habits, who in- 
 stinctively preferred water to any other beverage. If he 
 ever drank anything else, he did so purely for business 
 pruposes. If there was anything like a " deal " in hand, 
 he would drink gin or champagne with his Dutch friends 
 until aU was blue, just as he would have drunk so much 
 petroleum if sufficient inducement offered. He also ate 
 astonishingly little, hardly anything, in fact, and was 
 yet prodigiously fat. A most remarkable man altogether ! 
 
 Mrs. Shelby received Northwood very kindly. She 
 afforded a great contrast to her younger sister, the beautiful 
 and stately Mary Hardy. Mrs. Shelby struck Johnnie as 
 being rather a commonplace young woman, of about the 
 average height, with nothing to recommend her but a 
 pleasant, unaffected manner, which in some mysterious 
 way caused everyone to like her enormously at first sight. 
 Why she had elected to marry a penniless brute like her 
 father's chief officer had been one of the conundrums 
 of Singapore for a few brief hours. But Shelby was 
 a strong man, who having made up his mind to marry 
 the elder Miss Hardy, succeeded in this, as in many other 
 matters. 
 
 After tiffin, the captain, who had acquired the siesta 
 habit, went to bed, leaving his wife to entertain Johnnie 
 
 230
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 Northwood. Our luckless hero found himself in for 
 another sensational experience during the hottest hours 
 of a blazing afternoon, when all other living creatures 
 slunk into such shadows as could be found for shelter from 
 the quivering air. Poor Mrs. Shelby, who had been told 
 by her husband in the crudest terms what had happened 
 at Ternate, was torn by conflicting emotions. She was 
 absolutely loyal to her husband, she was desperately 
 devoted to her fine old father, and she looked, upon 
 Johnnie as the only man in the world fit to marry her 
 beautiful and adored sister Mary. The situation was 
 rather too much for a very sweet woman of no great strength 
 of character. While the snores of the sleeping Shelby 
 shook the house, his devoted wife was trying to reconcile 
 the most conflicting interests with the aid of Johnnie North- 
 wood, whom she knew to be a kind-hearted and honest 
 creature. 
 
 Johnnie soon made it clear to her that the difficulties 
 before them were not of his creation, but arose entirely from 
 the obstinacy of her father and the greed of her husband. 
 Mrs. Shelby suddenly saw the situation with all its con- 
 sequences in the blackest colours, and burst into a flood 
 of tears. How it all happened goodness knows, but 
 the poor lady, feeling that she must cling to some- 
 thing, threw herself into Johnnie's arms and wept freely 
 all over him. Just then Captain Bird and Mr. McCracken 
 entered the room. Mrs. Shelby fled to her bedroom with 
 a wild shriek loud enough to wake the dead — though 
 it left her husband still snoring — thus placing the three 
 men in a very awkward position. Bird was evidently in 
 a poisonous frame of mind, and McCracken as obviously 
 discomposed. 
 
 " Have you come to see me ? " asked Johnnie, somewhat 
 irritably, of his captain. 
 
 " Yes, we did," said Bird ; " but we will explain our 
 business some other time. In the meantime, I may tell 
 you that I feel it my duty in the cause of morality to 
 
 231
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 inform Captain Shelby at the first opportunity of what 
 I have just seen in his house ! " 
 
 " You may tell the devil if it suits you ! " roared Johnnie 
 Northwood in high dudgeon. " I wish you would look 
 after your ship instead of spying about on shore into 
 things which don't in the least concern you. Go away, 
 both of you ! " 
 
 The men went sullenly away, leaving Johnnie to reflect 
 that in some mysterious manner trouble breeds with mar- 
 vellous rapidity in islands blessed with too much loveliness 
 and fertility. 
 
 Shortly afterwards Captain and Mrs. Shelby returned 
 from their rooms, and they all sat down to tea in the 
 verandah. Johnnie told Shelby exactly what had taken 
 place, and the mischief which might be made of the inci- 
 dent on board the Alastor. Shelby simply laughed. He 
 knew better than to imagine that there could be love- 
 passages between the mother of his children and Johnnie 
 Northwood. 
 
 Captain Shelby realized, however, that it was a thing 
 not to be made into a scandal, and said that he would put 
 a stop to it. Meanwhile, Mrs. Shelby would take Johnnie 
 for a drive, while he walked to the office in order to have it 
 out with the indiscreet visitors, who were no doubt anxiously 
 watching their opportunity. Well, they should have it ! 
 
 The two conspirators had been eagerly discussing the 
 position. Here was Northwood, though so much in love 
 with Mary Hardy as to allow her father to ruin the North- 
 wood and Shelby interests in Ternate, discovered with 
 Shelby's wife in his arms the very day of his arrival at 
 Amboina ! 
 
 " Such a man is a monster of iniquity, who must be 
 exposed and punished ! " shouted Captain Bird. 
 
 The more cautious McCracken suggested that they might 
 wait a little for more ample proofs of the guilt of the erring 
 couple ; but Bird was for instant action and would brook 
 no delay. He would take the matter in hand himself ; 
 
 232
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 all that McCracken had to do was to bear witness to his 
 statements. 
 
 On entering his office, Shelby was confronted by the 
 pair of moralists eager to acquit themselves of their pain- 
 ful duty. He pretended not to be able to understand 
 why they wanted to talk to him privately. However, as 
 Bird insisted that the matter was both private and urgent, 
 he took them into an inner room and closed the door, with : 
 " Now, gentlemen, fire away and let's hear what this 
 wonderful business is ! Found a gold-mine ? Struck oil ? 
 or what is it ? " 
 
 With various remarks about the cause of morality, the 
 sacredness of the marriage-tie, and personal dishonour in 
 its most horrible form. Captain Bird finally told Shelby 
 of his wife's misconduct with Johnnie Northwood. 
 
 " So that's your story ! " cried the angry husband. " You 
 are a nice pair of blackguards ! I guess you hounds don't 
 know that Johnnie Northwood has been brought up with 
 the Hardy children as a baby, almost from the day he was 
 born ? But what's that got to do with a pair of dirty 
 ruffians like you ? If Mr. Northwood marries Miss Hardy, 
 does it concern two slinking skunks like you ? If my 
 wife looks on Mr. Northwood as her brother, is it my busi- 
 ness or yours ? You are a couple of curs anyway ! 
 Nothing to do on board your ship, eh ? So you earn your 
 wages by coming sneaking and spying round on shore ! 
 You, Bird ! You got your first command from Captain 
 Northwood, and as for you, McCracken, you've been 
 eating the Northwood bread for years and buttered it 
 handsomely, I guess ! I hear your bills at McAlister's 
 are something great ! " 
 
 At this point he stopped for a moment to enjoy the 
 hangdog look of the two moralists ; then, stepping up to 
 Bird, he dealt that good young man a smart rap on the 
 nose, evidently causing considerable pain. 
 
 " How dare you strike me ! " yelled the captain of the 
 Alastor. 
 
 233
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 " I'm not exactly striking you," said Shelby. "I'm 
 giving you a hint ! That little punch on the nose was 
 just a hint that you had better keep it out of my family 
 affairs." 
 
 "I'd bash it in for him altogether ! Or, if you like, I'll 
 knock the stuf&n' out of him myself for bringing me here 
 to make a fool of me ! " 
 
 Thus spoke the wily and shameless McCracken, who 
 hastened to go over to the winning side without loss of 
 time. 
 
 But Shelby merely replied : "I've had enough of this ! 
 I want you two scoundrels to go ! There's the door ! 
 Get!" 
 
 Suiting the action to the word, he bundled them out of 
 the office and chuckled to himself as he watched them 
 shuffling down the road, quarrelling and wrangling with 
 each other at every step. 
 
 Johnnie spent that evening pleasantly enough with the 
 Shelby family, and had a good laugh at the discomfiture 
 of his marine moralists. With Shelby, however, he agreed 
 that it meant dismissing Bird immediately the Alastor re- 
 turned to Singapore. Shelby was quite at his best and 
 soothed his guest with prospects, solid and almost tangible, 
 of brilliant success in the near future. 
 
 The next morning Northwood received a letter from 
 Captain Bird, handing in his resignation. Northwood 
 simply tore the thing up and took no notice of it. 
 
 In the afternoon he called by appointment on the Resi- 
 dent. Driving along a splendid road, level as a billiard- 
 table, and bordered with magnificent trees, his equipage 
 drew up in front of a very handsome villa standing in 
 spacious grounds, to which lawns, shrubberies, fountains, 
 and masses of flowers lent their charm. 
 
 The whole place looked singularly English to North- 
 wood's eyes. Nor was he far wrong ! The roads, the 
 avenues, the very Residency itself were but the monu- 
 ments of British enterprise in this forgotten island. We 
 
 234
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 made the roads and built the Residency for the benefit 
 of the Dutchmen of to-da}^* 
 
 A bare-footed native soldier turned out of his sentry-box 
 as Northwood drove up to the gates of the Residency. 
 Lion had galloped all the way behind his master's car- 
 riage, and naturally wanted to go into the house with him, 
 but the sentr\' strongly objected to itu anjing, so the poor 
 dog had to be told to stop outside. 
 
 The Resident received his English visitor very politely, 
 and after a short conversation on the blessings of steam 
 navigation Northwood took his leave. On arriving at the 
 gate he found Lion sitting solemnly in the sentry-box 
 while the excited and perfectly furious native soldier was 
 trying to turn him out of it. Every time the sentry made 
 a pass at him with his bayonet Lion let out one of his 
 magnificent deep barks, and the man shrank back. Lion 
 immediately came bounding to the carriage in response 
 to his master's call. 
 
 Northwood found that Shelby had organized everything 
 very well indeed in Amboina. His wharves and ware- 
 houses were cleverly constructed and answered their 
 purpose admirably. He was rather disgusted to find that 
 
 * The history of the Moluccas can be related only in a work of con- 
 siderable length, and must therefore be treated very briefly here. Suffice 
 it to say for the moment, that the Portuguese, after many adventures, 
 captured Amboina in 15 12. In 1605 the Dutch took the island from 
 them. During 1623 occurred the infamous Massacre of Amboina, when 
 the Dutch attacked the British Factory, authorized by the Netherlands 
 Government to trade in cloves and other spices. The unhappy in- 
 habitants of the British Factory were put to death by the Dutch under 
 atrocious circumstances. Torture of the most barbarous description 
 preceded the destruction of our countrymen, murdered for the simple 
 reason that they interfered with the Dutch monopoly of the trade in spices, 
 which at that time yielded fabulous profits. 
 
 In 1796 the British Admiral Rainier captured Amboina, but the Dutch 
 got the island back again on the signature of the peace of Amiens. We 
 recaptured Amboina in 18 10, only to surrender the island with many other 
 priceless possessions to the Dutch in 18 14. The sheer imbecility of British 
 policy in the Far East defies description*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Shelby had opened a toko, or sort of retail store, in another 
 part of the town. 
 
 " It makes its hundred per cent. ! " urged Shelby. 
 
 " Well, isn't thirty or forty per cent, enough for you ? " 
 retorted Northwood. " Don't you see that your toko 
 will make an enemy of every Dutchman in the island ? 
 You are in a position to undersell them in the retail trades, 
 and, of course, they will curse us for being monopolists 
 and bloodsuckers. Why can't you live and let live ? " 
 
 This was a policy which Shelby could never grasp. He 
 was a most insatiable man, and knowing that Northwood 
 had half the purchase-money of the Fairy Queen on board 
 of the Alastor was deep in a scheme for its absorption. 
 He took Northwood over part of a very fine property, 
 through which a small river ran, navigable for barges for 
 a considerable distance. Several hundred acres in extent, 
 this property bore some thousands of the very finest sago- 
 palms Northwood had ever seen. Shelby proposed to 
 erect a sago factory on the banks of the river, while an 
 urgently-needed petroleum depot and wharf could be 
 placed at the mouth of the river, where the Alastor or 
 Ceylon would be able to discharge case-oU under such con- 
 ditions as to kill all competition in the petroleum trade. 
 The whole of this splendid estate was for sale at fifty 
 thousand guilders, precisely the sum then lying on board 
 the Alastor. 
 
 " I'll guarantee to get that much out of the petroleum 
 trade alone in less than three months," said Selby, "and 
 the profits of the sago proposition ought to be double that 
 much. Say the property with wharf, depot and factory 
 costs a hundred thousand guilders, you'll get your money 
 back and a lot more besides every six months ! How's 
 that for a return on j^our money ? You know right well 
 you sold the Fairy Queen for at least double her value, so 
 you can afford to go in for this property, which you can 
 see for yourself is worth far more than the fifty thousand 
 guilders asked for it." 
 
 236
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 It was all very well for Shelby to talk like this, but he 
 wanted money aU the time. The more he made, the 
 greater were his demands. North wood thought rather 
 ruefuU}' that if he bought the estate, Shelby would next 
 want a million guilders for some other particularly 
 lucrative scheme. The man, clever and able as he had 
 proved to be throughout, had an unquenchable thirst for 
 clear cash, which needed something like the Bank of 
 England to satisfy. 
 
 StiU, the sago industry was a strong point with young 
 Northwood ; indeed, it had almost irresistible attractions 
 for him, and when the wily Shelby promised to close his 
 toko if Northwood would buy the Sungei Mas property, 
 the thing was done. Our hero consented to bu}^ the estate. 
 Shelby got his way as usual, and it may be casually noted 
 that he never closed his sinful toko, in which he sold gin, 
 petroleum, and other necessaries of life at a clear profit 
 of one hundred per cent. 
 
 Next day the boxes containing Van Swoll's first pay- 
 ment of fifty thousand guilders were put on shore and 
 handed over to the owner of the Sungei Mas estate, a little 
 dried-up notary, who merely required fifty thousand 
 guilders in order that he might get himself comfortably 
 buried in some particular spot in Holland, in which 
 charming country he proposed to die at an early and 
 convenient occasion. 
 
 When Van Papendrecht, who had been busy aU the time 
 amongst his Dutch friends in Amboina, heard of the deal, 
 he said it was all right in its way, but that if he had been 
 consulted the consideration might have been somewhat 
 reduced. He even went so far as to say that the worthy 
 Notarius, so anxious to depart this life and to be buried 
 somewhere near Haarlem, was a notorious hard-liver, who 
 bought the Sungei Mas estate some years previously for 
 a case of gin ! 
 
 Shelby, however, bluffed for aU he was worth. Van 
 Papendrecht's yams were merely the outcome of a jocular 
 
 237
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 spirit. The Sungei Mas was really to be a Golden River, 
 as its native name indicated ! 
 
 Next morning the steamer which Northwood had sold 
 in Ternate arrived, flying the Dutch flag. She had been 
 rechristened the Coralie van Swoll. 
 
 Van Swoll himself was a passenger on board of his 
 steamer, and expressed himself as being delighted with his 
 purchase. He brought the cheery news that he had sold 
 all the coal that could be spared to H. N. M.'s gunboat 
 Amstel at the comfortable rate of certain guflders, equal 
 to three pounds per ton — which left Northwood a profit 
 of about forty shfllings per ton after paying commission 
 and all other expenses. 
 
 The young man felt quite " velvety " over this stroke 
 of business, and thanked his stars that it had occurred to 
 him to send some coal to Amboina in the Ceylon. Indeed, 
 the scarcity of coal was such, that without the reserve 
 brought by the sailing ship, it would have been impossible 
 for the Alastor to start on her cruise to sundry islands and 
 New Guinea. 
 
 Van Swoll also brought tidings that Captain Hardy, 
 having sent Towkay Kim Seng a very valuable and massive 
 silver bowl, a telescope, and several pieces of scarlet silk, 
 had made his peace with that magnate, who could not 
 find it in his heart to refuse the old sailor's presents, which 
 he greatly coveted. Captain Hardy was selling his cargo 
 as fast as he liked, having persuaded the fickle folk of 
 Ternate that Northwood was a " child of the devil," who 
 would soon be punished by Tuan Allah in such a way 
 as to make all mankind feel sorry for the wretched youth 
 who had not dared to offer a single package of his cargo 
 while the good old Victory rode to her anchors off Ternate. 
 
 Captain Bird had been sulking in his cabin ever since his 
 interview with Shelby. The chief officer had taken charge 
 of his ship under orders from the ofiice. As the Alastor 
 was about ready to sail, Northwood sent for Captain Bird, 
 and after severely reprimanding him, asked him whether 
 
 238
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 he intended to return to his duty, or to travel as a pas- 
 senger to Singapore, where he would be dismissed in any 
 case. 
 
 Bird had just sufficient sense to see that it would hardly 
 suit his future career to throw up his first command in 
 the middle of the voyage, nor would it be quite agreeable 
 for him to hand over the captain's cabin and the chart- 
 room to his chief officer, while he took up his quarters in 
 the saloon ; so in his surly way he said he would retain 
 the command of the Alastor until the end of the voyage. 
 Northwood looked hard at his captain to see if there was 
 the least sign of regret, or of returning good- will in his 
 face ; but Bird was a hard-mouthed, stiff-necked young 
 man, whose whole physiognomy convej^'ed mulish ob- 
 stinacy and ill-feeling. Northwood sighed. He would 
 like to have been able to take Bird's hand once more 
 and make it up with him, but the thing was im- 
 possible. 
 
 After a long sta}^ at Amboina the Alastor left for Banda. 
 Owing to the state of affairs on board, Northwood and 
 Van Papendrecht were left in undisturbed possession of 
 the saloon and quarter-deck, an arrangement which they 
 found very quiet and comfortable. 
 
 The island of Banda, which is really nothing but a vol- 
 canic peak, rising from the midst of the sea — the water 
 being so deep all round the island that the Alastor was 
 berthed at the end of the main streets of the place — 
 supplies the whole world with its wants in the way of 
 nutmegs and mace. It is truly a beautiful sight to see 
 the dark-green nutmeg trees bending beneath the weight 
 of their golden, peach-like fruit, transforming the whole 
 island into one vast bouquet, mirrored with exquisite effect 
 in its lovely waters. Away above the great nutmeg 
 plantations rises the peak of Gunong Api, from which a 
 column of smoke nearly always rises. It is looked upon 
 as a bad sign, an indication of volcanic disturbance near 
 at hand, when the peak shows quite clear. 
 
 239
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Banda is fortunate to be adorned with the only structure 
 likely to heighten the interest and beauty of its landscape. 
 The walls and towers of " Belgica " cro\vn a hill dominating 
 the town, adding a charm of surprise to the scene. 
 This " Belgica," built in the sixteenth century, is some- 
 thing like Carisbrooke Castle, and is still held by a small 
 garrison of Dutch soldiers. 
 
 At Banda a certain Mr. Theodoor Blankert, having been 
 appointed Northwood's agent, he, together with Van 
 Papendrecht, arranged all business matters, leaving Johnnie 
 with plenty of time to look about him and enjoy himself. 
 He never wearied of taking one of the ship's boats in 
 which to float over the marvellous " sea gardens " of the 
 island. The floor of the sea in the vicinity is absolutely 
 carpeted with a marvellous collection of the most gloriously- 
 coloured shells, corals, seaweeds and marine growths of 
 all kinds. Shoals of fish glowing with all the colours of 
 the rainbow give animation to the submarine scenery. 
 
 On one of his excursions Johnnie Northwood took it 
 into his head to possess himself of a particularly rare 
 and beautiful shell which lay gleaming splendidly just 
 beneath his boat. To fling off his clothes and jump 
 overboard was the work of a few moments, but he never 
 reached that tempting shell. It was not until he had half 
 drowned himself, expert swimmer and diver as he was, 
 and was pulled panting into the boat, that he finally 
 realized that the glittering prize, which in those trans- 
 lucent waters seemed almost within his grasp, lay many 
 fathoms deep ! 
 
 Another amusement which fitted in with the romantic 
 twist of Johnnie Northwood's character was to moon 
 about " Belgica," meditating on its terrific history. He 
 had had the luck to get hold of a copy of Argensola's 
 " History of the Moluccas," a very ancient book translated 
 into monkish French by a forgotten priest. He had 
 industriously pored over this book during the voyage, 
 and as he gazed from one of the towers of the castle over 
 
 240
 
 Johnnie! Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 the fairy-like scene, he tried to realize the bloody scenes 
 of the olden days, when the Portuguese, Spaniards and 
 Dutchmen warred on each other to obtain possession of 
 Banda. There was a day when Sir Francis Drake pillaged 
 the place to some purpose. Argensola has much to say 
 about " Frangois Dracq, le pirate anglais," and goes so 
 far as to call the great English sailor a " heretic." To 
 any man who has sailed these waters, the daring and skill 
 of Drake and his crews, who found and fought their way 
 through these unknown seas in their httle bits of ships, 
 seems to be nothing short of miraculous. 
 
 Northwood, having the right introductions, was most 
 hospitably entertained by the genial Dutchmen of Banda. 
 He was allowed to roam as he pleased about " Belgica." 
 The delightful old castle has long since lost any possible 
 value as a defensive work, and is now used as a sort of 
 military prison for peccant soldiers, who seem to be on 
 the most friendly terms with their guards, and to enjoy 
 themselves to an astonishing degree. 
 
 Meanwhile various shipments of nutmegs and mace 
 had been arranged for the return voyage. From Banda 
 the Alastor was to sail for Batjan with a Dutch colonel, 
 who was to take over the administration of the island, a 
 number of Chinese miners, and a whole crowd of native 
 carpenters, workmen and servants. Besides the pas- 
 sengers, there were large shipments of stores and materials 
 for Batjan and the New Guinea coast. 
 
 Everything having been satisfactorily settled, the Alastor 
 sailed for Batjan. During the voyage Johnnie found time 
 to study his very curious passenger, the ex-colonel of 
 the Dutch army, who would for a certain period, at least, 
 control the destinies of Batjan. He was a small, wizened- 
 looking creature, whose uninviting appearance was 
 heightened by a kind of greyish goat's beard, which came 
 to a point. The colonel had a trick of pulling and twisting 
 the beard in all directions, sometimes with a rather weird 
 effect. He had a very handsome, well-growTi native body- 
 
 VOL. I. 241 16
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 servant with him, who contrasted very favourably indeed 
 with his imperious master. 
 
 Johnnie was surprised to see this fine native crouch 
 on all fours and strike his forehead on the deck every 
 time he came to ask his master for his orders. " Ah ! 
 you are surprised ! " remarked the colonel, " Thus shaU 
 every native of Bat j an do in my presence. I will train 
 them to it ! It is my right ! " 
 
 According to his own confession, the colonel was of a 
 cruel and licentious disposition. Also, he was without 
 the slightest indication of anything in the shape of the 
 ability required to develop a colony on mercantile lines ; 
 yet this was precisely what his business happened to be. 
 As a matter of fact, the colonel's days in Bat j an were 
 few and evil. 
 
 Bat j an proved itself to be a very fine island, possessing 
 an exceptionally commodious and sheltered harbour. 
 It had not the florid loveliness of Ternate or Banda, but 
 a certain wild beauty of its own was its especial charm. 
 The island is covered with magnificent forests, which are 
 said to contain endless quantities of very valuable timber, 
 while its mineral resources are reputed to be something 
 wonderful. 
 
 As the Alastor swung to her anchors off the Port of 
 Penamboeah, Johnnie perceived that considerable sums 
 of money had been spent in such works as wharves, ware- 
 houses, and roads which somehow had a trick of leaving 
 off in the middle and remaining perfectly useless. 
 
 Once the colonel and his people were landed, no soul 
 in Bat j an seemed to have any further interest in the 
 Alastor and her movements. Johnnie was burning to dis- 
 charge his Batjan cargo and to be off on his long cruise 
 to New Guinea. The worthy Cornelius did at last manage 
 to get some cargo-boats alongside, which were promptly 
 fiUed with building materials and stores of aU kinds ; but 
 when the barges got to the shore, nobody could be found 
 to discharge them, and so the rest of the cargo had to re- 
 
 242
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 main on board of the Alastor. What ought to have been a 
 magnificent freight was being gradually wasted in endless 
 waiting. 
 
 One morning Johnnie, in sheer despair, accepted the 
 invitation of a native chief to go hunting. Taking his 
 Rigby rifle with him, it was not long before he had the 
 satisfaction of bringing down a splendid stag with a fine 
 shot, to the delight of the natives. The rest of the morning 
 he spent in watching the latter hunt in their own fashion, 
 and saw them spearing at least half a dozen deer. 
 
 The Batjanese appeared to Johnnie to be of an entirely 
 different race to the effeminate Bandanese or Ambonese. 
 They are a fine, sturdy race, much given to hunting, 
 fishing, cock-fighting, or any other form of sport, and have 
 a truly aboriginal abhorrence of any form of work whatso- 
 ever. When things get very dull, they amuse themselves 
 by carrjdng off each other's wives, daughters and cattle, 
 and it is said that the ensuing fighting is of the very best. 
 These are the people whom the ex-colonel hoped to see 
 smiting the earth with their foreheads whenever he did 
 them the honour to pass that way ! 
 
 At last, by dint of sending the ship's crew ashore to 
 ■unload the lighters, the Alastor had landed all her Bat j an 
 cargo, her anchors were being catted, and she was steaming 
 merrily out to sea, when Captain Bird made one of his 
 rare appearances on the quarter-deck to inform North- 
 wood he had just discovered that six of his sailors had gone 
 ashore in the last boat and had deserted the ship. This 
 was bad news indeed ! Although several deserters had been 
 captured and brought back by the police at Amboina and 
 Banda, yet four men had managed to get clear away, and 
 now there were six more missing ! It would be impossible 
 to work cargo with a short-handed crew in ports where 
 there were no labour facilities. Besides, the ship's 
 discipUne was going to pieces, and very soon there would 
 be no crew left. 
 
 There was nothing for it but to get possession of the 
 
 VOL. I. 243 16*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 deserters, and with a heavy heart Northwood ordered the 
 Alastor back to her anchorage at Penamboeah, Imme- 
 diately on arriving there, Johnnie went with Cornehns to 
 see their sporting friend the chief, to whom the trouble 
 was explained. " Would their elder brother catch these 
 six sailors for a reward of ten dollars per head ? " 
 
 The old chief grinned vigorously. The men of his tribe 
 would hunt down the sailors and bring them on board 
 in a very short time. 
 
 Surely enough, that afternoon a large prahu brought off 
 the chief and some of his men guarding six dejected-looking 
 sailors, whose hands were tied behind them. The party 
 having come on deck, the sixty dollars were paid to the 
 chief before the deserters, who were informed that this 
 money would be docked from their wages, and that they 
 would be severely punished next morning. The Alastor 
 then headed out to sea once more. 
 
 The question of punishing the men now remained to be 
 settled. It was obviously no punishment whatever to 
 dock the wages of men who were determined to desert 
 at the next chance. Cassim told Johnnie that his father 
 would certainly have flogged the men. There were three 
 bad characters on board who had deserted at every port, 
 and who were making the crew discontented and 
 mutinous. To flog these three men weU and let off the 
 rest Wcis Cassim's advice, and Johnnie determined to 
 act on it. 
 
 Naturally, Captain Bird objected to any such proceed- 
 ings, and even McCracken, who knew something of Captain 
 Northwood's ways, said it was a dangerous thing to 
 attempt in a spot so far away from civilization. But 
 Johnnie swore that he would flog the men with his own 
 hand if necessary, but that flogged they should be. Bird 
 said it did not greatly matter to him what happened, but 
 that he threw the whole responsibility of the affair and aU 
 its consequences on Mr. Northwood's shoulders. Mean- 
 while, Cassim was left to settle various details, which he 
 
 244
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 quite understood, as floggings had been by no means rare 
 on board the Samson in the good old sailing-ship days. 
 
 Next morning the Alastor's crew was ranked on the upper 
 deck. On the bridge stood Northwood, Bird and his 
 two mates, McCracken and Van Papendrecht, it being 
 as well that all the Europeans who could be got together 
 should be present. 
 
 Cassim, after telling the deserters what he thought of 
 them, and that he was only doing as " Capitan Nortood " 
 would order, announced to the three ringleaders that they 
 would get eighteen lashes apiece, but that the young 
 tuan had been pleased to forgive the other three deserters, 
 in the hope that they would remember his mercy. Cassim's 
 mates thereupon stripped the three men to the waist, and 
 made them fast to the rigging of the mainmast by their 
 wrists. The instrument of punishment was a " colt," 
 a short length of new one-inch rope, of which the end 
 was served with twine and wax, and brought to a point — 
 evidently a thing which could inflict severe punishment 
 if desired. Cassim, taking up the " colt," administered 
 a couple of sharp cuts with it to each of the culprits, passed 
 it on to the tindal, who, after administering his two blows, 
 passed it on to a sailor, then the " colt " was passed from 
 hand to hand, so as to implicate as many as possible of 
 the crew in the infliction of the punishment. 
 
 The men who were being flogged evidently suffered some 
 pain, but nothing very acute, as the sailors obviously 
 refrained from putting all their muscle into the lashes 
 which they laid on to the backs of their comrades. How- 
 ever, after each of the deserters had had a dozen lashes, 
 Cassim looked up to the bridge and got the expected signal 
 from Johnnie Northwood to discontinue the flogging. 
 
 Then the unexpected happened. Standing on the 
 deck was a queer and disreputable protege of Captain 
 Bird's, a lad from some Austrahan reformatory ship, named 
 Jerry McGrath, whom Bird was trying to save from 
 perdition. McGrath, a tremendously powerful lad, no sooner 
 
 245
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 saw the signal from the bridge, than swearing with a vile 
 oath that the deserters hadn't had half enough, he picked 
 up the " colt " and began to lash into the bare backs of 
 the men still made fast to the rigging with all his might. 
 Blood spurted at every stroke, and there was yelling and 
 confusion on every side. Bird and his two officers rushed 
 down to the main deck, and after a violent struggle over- 
 came the young ruffian and had him put into irons. The 
 deserters were cast off and carried into the forecastle, 
 bleeding and senseless. It was a sickening affair. 
 
 " This is a nice morning's work ! " remarked Bird as 
 he regained the bridge. " We shall hear more about it 
 when we get to Singapore. I shall think myself lucky 
 if I get off with six months in jail. What's going to 
 happen if any of those wretched men die I don't hke 
 to think ! " 
 
 " Don't you trouble about Singapore jail, captain ! " 
 said McCracken cheerily. " We'll aU have our throats cut 
 the night ! None of us will ever see another sunrise ! 
 That's going to be the end of this business ! " 
 
 So saying, McCracken tapped the butt of his revolver 
 significantly and went to his cabin to make his will. 
 
 Van Papendrecht's opinion was that Jerry McGrath, 
 instead of being in irons, ought to be rewarded. The 
 " colt " in his hands was a terrible thing. Thanks to 
 him, the men had been really flogged, and the whole crew 
 given a lesson which was much wanted. Cornelius was 
 in no wise alarmed, because he had fifty of his hunters on 
 board, each armed with a gun. 
 
 Next morning the sun rose without any cutting of throats 
 having taken place. Cassim reported that the men were 
 cowed and much impressed by what had taken place, and 
 that the three ringleaders who had been so severely flogged 
 were now most humble and would give no further trouble. 
 
 As a matter of fact, the entire crew behaved very well 
 indeed for the rest of the voyage, and all insubordination 
 and deserting came to an end. Besides, Cassim was always 
 
 246
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 telling them that the flogging was according to the law of 
 " Capitan Nortood," which was a just and good law. 
 Natives are soon impressed by any exhibition of either 
 strength or weakness. None of the crew had any com- 
 plaint to make to the Master Attendant when the ship 
 finally returned to Singapore. 
 
 The Alastor arrived in due course at Manzanam, the first 
 of her New Guinea ports, where the visit of a steamer 
 was a great event. The scenery of the coast, destined to 
 become very monotonous on the long run, offered no 
 particular interest after a voyage through the Moluccas. 
 The general impression is that of vast belts of sago-palms 
 near the coast, consisting hterally of millions of trees ; of 
 never-ending and impenetrable forests ; while in the dim 
 distance rise the crests of immense untrodden mountain 
 ranges. The climate on the coast is hot, steamy, and 
 depressing, and albeit Dutch New Guinea conceals incal- 
 culable riches of every kind, it is an uninviting country, 
 whose treasures are guarded by so many dangers that it 
 will be many a long year before even the boldest of men 
 will make any serious attempt to rifle them. But, of 
 course, the day wiU come when much which is seemingly 
 impossible now will be achieved mth comparative ease, 
 and Dutch New Guinea will be forced to give up at least 
 a portion of its amazing wealth. No doubt a splendid 
 climate wiU be found amidst its towering mountain ranges, 
 and much else besides. As British territory, the country 
 might have a splendid future before it. 
 
 Political considerations did not happen to trouble Johnnie 
 Northwood just then. He had met a few Papuans in the 
 Moluccas, but here he saw them in the mass. It seemed 
 astonishing that such fine, big, strapping men and women, 
 with well-defined and bold features, could be so intensely 
 idiotic. They were nearly, and sometimes absolutely, 
 naked. The men's bodies were disfigured with the coarsest 
 tattooing or hideous patterns burned on their skins with 
 hot irons. Man}^ had filed their teeth into points like 
 
 247
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 those of sharks. The women, by dint of many years of 
 hard and constant work, had succeeded in increasing the 
 drums of wood inserted into the lobes of their ears to such 
 a size and weight that their ears touched their shoulders. 
 All wore a huge bush of coarse, black, crinkly hair, which 
 they were constantly prodding with carved wooden prongs 
 for an obvious purpose. 
 
 Some of their customs are unprintable, nor do the Papuans 
 as a rule smell very sweet. The men walk about with 
 one or more spears in their hands, made of ironwood, 
 carved with infernal ingenuit}^ at the upper end, and 
 the hideous barbs practically draw out the inside of a 
 man, if plunged into his body and withdrawn as the 
 Papuans know how to do full well. A curious race, but 
 quiet enough withal, until they get on the warpath. 
 
 Johnnie was hugely interested in the Dutch Mission at 
 Manzanam, consisting of a solitary Dutch pastor and his 
 wife, sent out to this wild place by some society in Holland. 
 He did not particularly care about the pastor, a some- 
 what sanctimonious, unwashed, and unwholesome-looking 
 person, with as keen an eye to the guilders as Shelby him- 
 self. His wife, on the other hand, was a bright, winsome 
 person, who appeared to enjoy life in this desolate place 
 in the company of her repellent husband and her two pretty 
 children, born at Manzanam. 
 
 The missionaries belonging to this society are compelled 
 to marry before they leave Holland, and should any one 
 of them have the misfortune to lose his wife, another one 
 is sent out to replace her without delay — the missionary 
 must have a wife, whatever happens. 
 
 Cornelius told a story to the effect that one of these 
 reverend gentlemen, having married a red-haired girl before 
 leaving Holland, had the misfortune to lose her shortly 
 after their arrival in New Guinea. The society in Holland 
 sent him out another lady ^^^ith a splendid head of the 
 most radiant auburn hair. This poor thing also died, 
 whereupon a third bride was shipped out to the bereaved 
 
 248
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 patriarch. He went to Batavia to meet her, and on being 
 introduced to his future wife by the captain of the mail 
 steamer, he perceived, to his astonishment, that she was 
 absolutely carroty ! According to Cornelius, the reverend 
 person's language on this occasion did him but little 
 credit ; but then it was not always wise to place 
 implicit confidence in history as related by Cornelius 
 van Papendrecht. 
 
 Johnnie bought some birdskins and curios from the 
 missionary at prices which Cornelius declared were horribly 
 dear. At the pastor's invitation our hero attended the 
 service in the church on Sunday. The mission buildings 
 were extensive and surrounded far and wide by carefully- 
 tilled fields of native tobacco and other crops. The church, 
 a ver}^ simple structure, was much larger than any other 
 of the buildings, and astonished Johnnie by its size. Big 
 as it was, it was crammed with Papuans ; these savages 
 really seemed to be an unexpectedly devout lot. After 
 a short service, however, the padre took his place at the 
 main door and as each aborigine filed out, he made up a 
 sort of account with the missionary and was paid some- 
 thing. It seemed to be quite a new idea for the preacher 
 to pay his congregation, though not half a bad one. 
 
 Investigation brought to light in due course that the 
 worthy missionary, who farmed the fields and traded in 
 many things, paid all his wages and accounts immediately 
 after the service held each Sunday. People who did not 
 go to church did not get paid. It was a simple but bright 
 idea, which drew record congregations to the church in 
 Manzanam. Doubtless many a pious soul in far-away 
 Holland must have been comforted to learn of these poor 
 Papuans attending divine service in such gratifying 
 numbers at Manzanam. 
 
 Johnnie had not failed to supply the Mission with sundry 
 creature comforts from his abundant stores of them, but 
 when the Alastor was about to leave, he thought he would 
 like to send the missionary's wife some little present which 
 
 249
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 should be personal to herself and not merely something 
 more likely than not to be gobbled up by her husband. 
 He happened to come across a very prettily-decorated box 
 of Parisian perfumes, which he had intended to give to 
 Madame van SwoU, but had forgotten to do so. He 
 thought that this elegant trifle might have its special 
 charm for a pretty woman buried alive in Manzanam, 
 so he sent it off to the Mission by Lapis. 
 
 Presentl}^ Lapis came back to the ship, wdth the packet 
 still in his hand, which he returned to his master with the 
 news that the " Mem Padre " was much obliged and sent 
 many thanks for the present, which, however, she returned, 
 as she would much rather have a case of beer instead of 
 it! 
 
 Cornelius laughed heartily when he heard about this 
 little affair and advised Johnnie to arrange matters so that 
 next time he wanted to make a missionary's wife a present, 
 her husband should know nothing about it. Of course 
 the case of beer had necessarily to be sent to the Mission. 
 
 The Alastor, having loaded a quantity of pearl-shell, 
 and some packets of valuable pearls locked up in the ship's 
 safe, started on her long cruise in New Guinea waters. 
 
 Next morning Cornelius told Johnnie of rumours brought 
 to him by the natives of Manzanam^ of fighting in the 
 vicinity of Ansoes, whither they were bound. Cornelius 
 supposed that it was the old story of the mountain 
 tribes harrying and plundering the coast and wanting to 
 bum his warehouses. If the mountaineers succeeded in 
 their raid it was a serious matter, because if Van Papen- 
 drecht's trading-station had been destroyed, the Alastor's 
 voyage of some two thousand miles or more would be 
 Almost or quite useless. Still Cornelius hoped for the 
 best ; his people were pretty well armed, and if Captain 
 Murphy happened to be anywhere near the scene of action 
 with his schooner, he could certainly make it very hot for 
 the invaders. The Amhoina mounted four guns and her 
 crew were armed with Winchester repeating rifles. 
 
 250
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 Johnnie's heart beat with the mere idea of getting into a 
 fight. He and Cassim were busy with flannel and powder 
 making their own cartridges for the Alastor's two brass 
 guns, while there was a great overhauling of rifles and 
 revolvers. 
 
 After a fine voyage through numbers of large islands, 
 the Alastor arrived at Ansoes, the principal anchorage in 
 the great island of Doreh, off the New Guinea coast. Van 
 Papendrecht cast an anxious eye over the desolate scene. 
 The remains of a couple of burned villages were prominent, 
 but thank goodness ! the great rough sheds in which were 
 piled the Alastor's cargo were intact. Their voyage was 
 not in vain. 
 
 Soon a whole flotUla of boats emerged from hidden 
 creeks, and the Alastor was surrounded by a floating 
 population of howling but friendly Papuans. It appeared 
 that Captain Murphy turned up at Ansoes just at the 
 critical moment, and running the Amhoina close in shore, 
 opened a tremendous fire on the enemy, which killed them 
 in great numbers, and caused them to fly in the wildest 
 confusion, closely pursued by their intended victims. 
 Having landed what he had on board and seeing that all 
 was safe at Ansoes, Captain Murphy, in a business-like 
 way, had sailed along the coast for another cargo of 
 gum copal, with which he might be expected back very 
 shortly. 
 
 So far so good. Johnnie was disappointed at having 
 arrived too late to see some fighting, but Cornelius was 
 delighted with the turn of events. The mountain tribes 
 had had a lesson which they would not forget for a long 
 time. Moreover, in their desperate flight they had thrown 
 away all their muskets and other weapons, so that it could 
 reasonably be hoped that there would be peace in this wild 
 region for an unusually prolonged period. 
 
 The " friendly " Papuans were, however, inclined to be 
 insolent over their victory, and as they are a treacherous 
 race, whose cupidity might be excited by the quantities of 
 
 251
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 " trade " on board the Alastor, Van Papendrecht fre- 
 quently warned Northwood and Bird of the danger of 
 allowing too many of them on board at the same time. 
 But the big, powerful fellows were all over the ship. They 
 were as active as monkeys and swarmed up the rigging 
 when Cassim and his sailors tried to chase them over the 
 side. The situation was getting intolerable ; the shouts 
 and yells from the canoes alongside were deafening, while 
 on deck a mob of Papuan sight-seers prevented any work 
 from being done. 
 
 In a happy moment it occurred to Van Papendrecht to 
 have the Alastor's guns fired over the boats alongside. 
 The guns were already loaded, and the idea was carried 
 into effect at once. The roar of the brass guns and the 
 ominous whistling of the shot, which struck the water 
 harmlessly enough at a distance from the ship, produced 
 a magical effect. The hideous row made by the Papuans 
 was instantly hushed, several of them jumped from the 
 steamer into the sea, and then their canoes started in a 
 mad, panic-stricken race for the shore. One of the Alastor's 
 cutters was then put into the water, manned by an armed 
 crew in charge of one of the ship's officers to act as a police 
 boat. At last it was possible to get the cargo-boats along- 
 side and to start work in earnest. 
 
 It was necessary to be careful with these Papuans, because 
 sinister rumours were current in Ansoes about the fate 
 of the captain and crew of the Coredo, a Dutch ship trading 
 on the coast. Captain Murphy, arriving in the Amhoina, 
 was able to confirm beyond a doubt that the Dutch 
 captain and his crew had been slaughtered to a man, and 
 the ship looted and set on fire. 
 
 Northwood and Van Papendrecht thanked Murphy for 
 his plucky and effective action at a critical moment. They 
 presented him with a gold watch and chain, a first-class 
 revolver, and a handsome amount in guilders. But Bird 
 expressed the opinion that his brother captain " ought 
 to be hung " instead of receiving rewards for his conduct I 
 
 252
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 The business of the place being entirely in the hand 
 of Van Papendrecht, his half-breed agent, and Captain 
 Murphy, Northwood had practically nothing to do. 
 Cornelius made up a crew of the best Papuans he could 
 find, one or two of whom spoke some smattering of Malay, 
 and with these strange companions, Johnnie went on 
 shooting expeditions which enabled him to see some- 
 thing of the country. Lion inspired the natives with a 
 very wholesome terror. They had never seen an 
 animal like him before. 
 
 This silent, lifeless country made a deep impression 
 on Johnnie's imagination, as he saw it from a Papuan canoe. 
 Vast bays and illimitable expanses of the open sea beyond 
 were succeeded in the course of the day by narrow, tortuous 
 channels between an intricate network of islands. These 
 waterways, overhung by huge trees, the branches of which 
 met overhead, were exceedingly gloomy. Everywhere 
 dense masses of forest, dark and repellent, formed a 
 dominant feature of the scenery. The Papuans handled 
 their craft with great skill, avoiding sunken rocks and 
 trees and fighting boiling currents with a dexterity which 
 excited the admiration of their passenger to no small 
 degree. They were indefatigable at their paddles, and in 
 smooth water shot their canoe along at an exhilarating 
 speed. 
 
 Sometimes at a distance of two or three miles from the 
 coast they would come across a huge, odd-looking structure, 
 built on piles over a sunken reef, with great war-canoes and 
 various smaller craft for fishing slung underneath it. This 
 was the home of a Papuan community of many families, 
 numbering, perhaps, some two or three himdred souls. 
 It is the way adopted by the coast Papuan to defend him- 
 self against sudden attack by the hill tribes. Isolated by 
 miles of water, it is impossible for the Papuans living in 
 these queer quarters to be taken by surprise. 
 
 Presents of a few strings of beads and other cheap 
 articles gave Johnnie an easy access to these marine homes, 
 
 253
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 which proved to be most interesting. The different families 
 were divided off from each other by walls of attaps, or 
 leaves of the sago-palm stitched together by fibres. The 
 whole arrangement of the sea-girt villages of the Papuans 
 is orderly to an unexpected degree, and even indicates 
 a certain amount of rough comfort. In the corridors of 
 the building, Papuans, male and female, loafed about stark 
 naked. The Malay sailors of the Alastor called Dutch 
 New Guinea " negri orang telanjang" or " the coimtry of 
 the naked people." That such primitive people should 
 be able to drive enormous hardwood piles into a 
 sunken reef is a fact which only the extraordinary 
 character of natives in general can explain. 
 
 As a sporting country Dutch New Guinea is one of the 
 poorest in the world, as Johnnie found to his cost. It is 
 strange that this vast island has no big game. Birds of 
 the rarest beauty abound, but the nature of the country 
 makes it exceedingly difficult to get at them. 
 
 On one occasion, Johnnie's Papuans landed him on a 
 beach at the foot of a very steep cliff. Half the crew 
 swarmed up the cliff like monkeys, but when Johnnie tried 
 to follow them he found that no human being in boots could 
 attempt the ascent with any degree of safety. In a very 
 short time, however, the Papuans cut some sort of rattans 
 in the forest, which they twisted into a rope with a loop 
 at the end of it. Johnnie threw his long legs into this loop 
 and was hauled up the face of the cliff by the Papuans. 
 He got to the top all right, after a lot of rather painful 
 scraping and bumping, but it was a foolhardy thing to 
 undertake such a risk for no particular purpose. Still, 
 he shot a few rare and beautiful birds on that day. 
 
 Next day he had a row with his Papuans. Feeling 
 languid and played-out in the middle of the day, he ordered 
 his men to take him back to the Alastor at once. To this 
 the Papuans demurred ; they had business of their own 
 with a chief a few miles down the coast, and wished to go 
 to see him first. 
 
 254
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 Johnnie stormed out his orders and insisted on being 
 obeyed, whereupon the Papuans hung about in knots, and 
 finally, getting very insolent, began to talk about the 
 Coredo, and to brandish their hideous spears. Johnnie 
 saw that he was in a tight place. He had actually given 
 his gun to one of the natives to carry, as it was a reeking 
 hot day, so that he was unarmed. He saw his chance, 
 however, and walking up to the biggest Papuan of the lot, 
 he dealt him a smashing blow between the eyes, which he 
 followed up with a rib-roaster which sent the sooty ruffian 
 end over end. To his surprise the rest of the Papuans 
 broke out into roars of laughter. They had never seen 
 fighting before which knocked a man over without killing 
 him, and the whole thing appealed strongly to their 
 aboriginal sense of humour. Mulvaney's tactics, which 
 consist of hitting your enemy " first and frequent " in- 
 variably lead to victory. 
 
 The vanquished Papuan, having picked himself up, re- 
 frained from joining in the general merriment, and seemed 
 much concerned about the condition of various parts of 
 himself, but the whole thing ended in a friendly way and 
 Johnnie was put on board the Alastor without loss of time. 
 
 Here was a case in which a shot from either pistol or 
 gun would have been fatal to the man who fired it, while 
 it would have been equally dangerous not to have resented 
 the insult offered by the treacherous Papuans. When 
 Van Papendrecht heard of the affair, he promptly vetoed 
 any more solitary shooting-trips, but promised to organize 
 a grand battue of birds of paradise for Johnnie's especial 
 benefit. 
 
 For the next day or two Johnnie loafed about Van 
 Papendrecht's very primitive establishment on shore. 
 Compared with Ansoes, Manzanam lingered delightfully 
 in the memory as a centre of civilization ; a gorgeous 
 capital which boasted of the presence of no less than one 
 white woman. Here, at Ansoes, all was steeped in the 
 deepest depths of the blackest barbarism. 
 
 255
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 It amused Johnnie to watch Cornehus sorting out the 
 skins of birds of paradise with practised hands. He 
 thought it a " mug's game," but therein he made a pro- 
 found mistake. There are endless varieties of these birds, 
 and there is money in the trade. 
 
 Sorting a pile of skins, Cornelius suddenly happened 
 on a couple of beautifully stuifed birds, of a very elegant 
 shape, with two splendid long tail-feathers. These bird- 
 skins seemed to be a merely glossy black of a rather 
 funereal appearance until Cornelius began mechanically 
 to turn them round by the bit of cane stuffed be- 
 tween their beaks. Then, as the light caught the skins, 
 they flashed out into the most glorious colours. An 
 emerald gleamed in the head of the bird, a collar of 
 rubies round its neck, while the long tail-feathers were 
 simply dazzling. 
 
 " I've never seen anything like it before ! " shouted 
 Cornelius. " It's an entirely new variety ! Do take one 
 as a present from me, and I'll send the other to Paris to 
 see what thej- think of it." 
 
 The history of these two specimens may as well be told 
 at once. Cornehus sent his to Paris ; Johnnie gave his 
 to Mrs. Dashwood, who wanted it for her hat. Cornelius 
 wroteto Johnnie, telhng him that his black bird of paradise 
 had been sold for two thousand five hundred francs, and 
 suggesting that he had better post his specimen to Paris. 
 Mrs. Dashwood, on hearing of this, said to Johnnie very 
 icily : " Oh, indeed ! Then I must send you back your 
 bird. I had no idea I was accepting such a valuable 
 present. Let me see ! that's about one hundred pounds, 
 isn't it ? " 
 
 The foohsh young man implored her not to hurt his 
 feehngs, and wreck his future happiness over a birdskin. 
 The lady relented, and next day took the bird out of her 
 hat, smoothed it out nicely with her pretty hands, and 
 sent it to a certain address in London. What she got for 
 her black bird of paradise is her own innocent secret. 
 
 256
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 Cornelius got his great hunting-party together, number" 
 ing nearly a hundred guns. Captain Bird, who had not 
 yet been ashore, desired to join it, so he was given a nice 
 twelve-bore and an abundant supply of cartridges, and 
 told that he had better accompany the expedition in 
 one of the ship's boats. The whole party moved off in 
 excellent order and in the highest spirits. 
 
 They were after the common or yellow bird of paradise, 
 a gregarious variety, which flies about in large bands. 
 During the daytime these beautiful birds skim about the 
 lofty tree-tops well out of gimshot, but towards sundown 
 they get sleepy, and invariably roost on the lower branches 
 of the trees, when they fall an easy prey to the Papuan 
 hunters, who, like the birds themselves, go about in bands. 
 Of course, the object of the hunters is to bring down as 
 many as possible of these shy birds at the first volley. 
 
 After the expedition had been under way for something 
 like four hours, a shout from Duivensbode's canoe directed 
 Johnnie's attention to a great pack of the birds in the 
 distance ; there appeared to be some hundreds of them. 
 To follow that fluttering golden cloud for the rest of the 
 day was the exciting task of the expedition. Towards 
 sundown they were seen wheeling round the tops of some 
 lofty trees on a small island, on which they evidently 
 intended to settle for the night. As each boat reached 
 the shore, Cornelius, who had landed first, gave all the 
 hunters clear instructions and had them all carefully 
 posted. He was to give the signal to fire with his own 
 gun. He made a sign to Johnnie to follow him. 
 
 As they went silently through the forest, Johnnie noticed 
 what he had already seen several times in his expeditions 
 — a neat pyramid of human skulls piled about four feet 
 high, the topmost skull of the lot grinning from a cheap 
 soup-plate, and forming a pretty finish to the whole affair. 
 Somehow this dismal monument affected Johnnie very 
 disagreeably on this occasion. The skull in the soup- 
 plate — probably that of some departed chief — seemed t' 
 
 VOL. I. 257 17
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 grin at them in a nasty way, which boded no good to the 
 expedition. 
 
 In the meantime the hunters had all been posted. Cap- 
 tain Bird's boat alone had not arrived ; it had last been 
 seen a mere white speck in the distance. Perhaps the 
 captain had taken a heavy boat, or his Malay sailors had 
 got fagged. Anyhow, it was decided to proceed with- 
 out the skipper, so he was dropped out of their calculations, 
 though this proved to be a grievous mistake. How such 
 a careful general as Cornelius could overlook an important 
 factor in the fortunes of the day, it is hard to say. 
 
 Ah ! those fidgety, restless, beautiful devils of birds ! 
 It really seemed as if they would never settle do-wn. They 
 went whirling about perpetually, as if they knew that 
 silent and deadly enemies lay in wait for them in the 
 dark forest glades. More than one Papuan crept stealthily 
 to Cornehus to tell him that further away a large number 
 of birds were surrounded at an easy range ; but their 
 leader wanted to make a big bag, and refused permission 
 for anyone to fire until he gave the signal. Time sped 
 on ; the birds were getting quieter and dancing about a 
 good deal less. In reply to an inquiring look from Johnnie, 
 Cornelius consulted his watch and whispered : " I'll just 
 give them two minutes more, and then I'll open fire." 
 
 Just at that precise moment a couple of shots rang out 
 on the other side of the island, followed in rapid succession 
 by two other shots, so that evidently someone was at 
 work with a breechloader. In a moment aU was con- 
 fusion, and there was a sort of golden whirl as the fright- 
 ened birds disappeared through the lofty tree-tops into 
 the sky beyond. 
 
 " Fire ! " shouted Van Papendrecht, as he pressed his 
 trigger. Johnnie was fortimate enough to bring down a 
 couple of the birds v^ith a right and left. There wels a 
 spluttering fire from the Papuans, which did very httle 
 execution, and the thing was over. 
 
 Van Papendrecht, perfectly yeUow with rage, rushed 
 
 258
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 over to the other side of the island, where he beheld Cap- 
 tain Bird comfortably seated in his boat, from which he 
 had been bombarding the birds of paradise at a range of 
 well over two hundred yards. 
 
 " Hello ! " shouted the captain. " I must have knocked 
 over a rare lot of them ! " 
 
 Poor Cornelius used some sad words in Dutch and other 
 foreign languages and disappeared. A force of consider- 
 ably over a hundred men had been out all day to get 
 exactly nine birds of paradise. Nine skins ! 
 
 The return to the Alastor was a tedious affair. Cor- 
 nelius was in an execrable humour, the men were sulky 
 and tired, and it was late at night before the ship was 
 reached. 
 
 The next day the Alastor left Ansoes wdth a cargo on 
 board of considerable value, and anchored off the island 
 of Waigiou. The King of Waigiou came off to the ship 
 in his state prahu, with flags flying and drums beating 
 merrily. His Highness was a very genial monarch indeed, 
 who got exceedingly drunk during quite a short visit. 
 
 To the astonishment of all on board, there was a good- 
 looking young Englishman in the king's train. He told 
 Johnnie that his name was Paterson, that he had escaped 
 from the wreck of a pearhng schooner, and had lived for 
 about three years in Waigiou without seeing a single white 
 man during that time. Although Paterson was dressed 
 in native clothing, it was evident that he was a man of 
 education and refinement. Johnnie naturally offered him 
 a passage to Singapore, which was greedily accepted. 
 
 'Twas whisky which brought about the downfall of 
 His Majesty of Waigiou. The King, who had hitherto 
 believed that gin was the sublimest drink on earth, was 
 fated to taste whisky for the first time in his life ! Johnnie 
 offered Paterson a whisky and soda. No sooner was the 
 tray brought on deck, than the King walked up to it, 
 and with a sort of royal instinct seized the bottle of old 
 Glenlivet by the neck and poured himself out a tumbler 
 VOL. I. 259 17*
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 of the neat spirit, which he immediately drank to the last 
 drop. Then with a beaming smile he started to refill his 
 glass. 
 
 The King being carried off to his prahu by his faithful 
 courtiers — who were nearly dead with sheer envy of him 
 — Johnnie, Cornelius and Paterson went ashore in one 
 of the ship's boats. 
 
 Waigiou appeared a pretty and agreeable place after 
 Ansoes. The people were of the soft and pleasant Am- 
 bonese type, hving in comfortable villages. The island 
 possesses natural wealth of various kinds, and no doubt 
 a trade could be organized. 
 
 The next morning Johnnie went to pay the King his 
 farewell visit. By special request a case of whisky had 
 been added to the other gifts offered. After a very cordial 
 interview, Johnnie returned to the shore, where he saw 
 a number of men bearing something which looked very 
 much Hke a human body on their shoulders. To his 
 surprise, it was put into his boat, and proved to be a very 
 fine young woman sent to Johnnie by a grateful monarch. 
 
 Paterson said it would never do to send the girl back, 
 as it would constitute a deadly insult, and very hkely end 
 in her being put to death. It might be arranged, so 
 Paterson thought, to land her at Salawatti next day. 
 
 So there was nothing for it but to take the young woman 
 on board. Paterson told the necessary lies about Johnnie's 
 gratitude for the King's most acceptable gift and the boat 
 shoved off. It was a real treat to watch the expression of 
 Captain Bird's face as he saw his owner bringing a hand- 
 some native woman on board with him. Of course, to his 
 charitable mind there was only one possible construction 
 of such a phenomenon. The girl was lodged in a deck 
 cabin, near which no one could go without being observed, 
 and she WcLS placed under the special protection of the 
 faithful Cassim. 
 
 Next day Salawatti was reached, a fine island, having 
 the general characteristics of Waigiou. The Sultan of 
 
 260
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 Salawatti was, however, much more dignified and less 
 sociable than his brother of Waigiou. He received Johnnie 
 and his gilts, however, which included the young woman, 
 whom Paterson guaranteed was unmated, with much 
 gratification. The gift of a girl seems to be considered 
 a very delicate attention in the best society at Salawatti, 
 and Johnnie at once passed for a person of considerable 
 distinction. The girl herself, who seemed deUghted to 
 find herself on dry land again, expressed herself as being 
 quite contented with the arrangement. It was difficult 
 to do anything else with her. 
 
 After a short visit the Alastor sailed from Salawatti, 
 and the expedition seemed to have left its luck behind 
 it in that remote island ; for nothing went right from 
 that moment. Barely had the steamer got under way 
 when Johnnie thought Cornelius looked very queer and 
 told him so. 
 
 " Fever ! " said the Dutchman. " Diet and quinine ! 
 Better take your own temperature ! " and so saying, he 
 handed Johnnie a clinical thermometer, who was very 
 much disgusted to find that he was in a high fever. 
 Even poor Lion was down with fever, as the dog's languid- 
 ness and his staring coat testified. Captain Bird and 
 everybody else on board were all right, but they had not 
 been continually on shore like Johnnie, Cornelius and 
 Lion. So the sick ones starved themselves and swallowed 
 quinine, feeling imhappy and miserable all the time. 
 
 One fine day the Alastor was bowling through the Pitt's 
 Straits under a full head of steam and all sail set, when 
 suddenly the sun went yellow, a sickly glare spread over 
 the sky, the smooth sea seethed with white foam, the ship 
 reeled and trembled, and there was a horrid feeling as 
 though she was being sucked down in some mysterious 
 and irresistible way. Aloft all was confusion, sails and 
 spars, ropes and blocks were flying about in all directions. 
 Luckily the Alastor carried a big crew, or it would have 
 been the end of her. Barely had she had the canvas 
 
 261
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 taken off her, when the sky went black, the wind blew 
 heavens hard, and a tremendous sea started running. 
 
 " What is this ! " cried the fever-stricken Cornelius, 
 as he shd out of his long chair and staggered across the 
 reeling deck, " I say, Northwood, I can't stand it ! I'm 
 going to my cabin." 
 
 Johnnie also started for his spacious cabin, whither he 
 was followed by Lion. Undressing himself (for he was 
 soaked with sea-water), he rolled into his bed and got 
 Lapis to pile all the blankets he could find on top of him. 
 The fever had now got a good grip of the young feUow. 
 He could hear in a dim sort of way the washing of sweep- 
 ing seas over the decks, and the shrill shriek of the hurri- 
 cane, but to him it mattered very little. Shivering beneath 
 his blankets, it was all one to him what became of the 
 Alastor. He dozed feverishly for about thirty miserable 
 hours, when his skin got a httle moister, and he aroused 
 himself from the lethargy which oppressed him. 
 
 Totally unconscious of the lapse of time, Johnnie puUed 
 himself together and determined to find out what was 
 taking place. The violent jerking motions of the ship, 
 the racing of the propeller constantly flung into the air, 
 and various other phenomena, indicated that the force 
 of the hurricane had not abated in the shghtest degree. 
 Getting into his warmest clothing and oilskins and sou'- 
 wester, he got on deck and struggled on to the bridge, 
 where he found Bird and Cassim taking the Alastor into 
 the teeth of the storm. 
 
 Haggard, weary, and with bloodshot eyes, these two 
 brave men stuck sleeplessly to their post. For that 
 matter, the officers and crew of the Alastor were coming 
 splendidly out of a very cruel test. 
 
 " She is doing magnificently ! " shouted Captain Bird. 
 " I have never seen a finer sea-boat than the Alastor. 
 We shall get to Banda all right if our coals hold out. You 
 see that httle black limip on the horizon ? That's 
 Banda 1 " 
 
 262
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 Johnnie thanked the captain as best he could, but feeling 
 deadly ill, he crawled back to his cabin. 
 
 No attempt was made to cook anything on board of 
 the Alastor in such circumstances, but Lapis managed to 
 warm a tin of soup over a spirit-lamp, and to get his 
 master to take some of it in a cup, the only food he had 
 tasted during forty-eight hours. Fortified to this extent, 
 Johnnie once more struggled on to the bridge and found 
 that the time was about six p.m. To his dismay the Httle 
 round lump in the far distance, which was Banda, was 
 hardly any larger than it was in the morning. Captain 
 Bird explained hoarsely to him that the Alastor was making 
 barely a knot an hour in the face of a hurricane such as 
 seldom swept the seas. 
 
 A mile an hour ! thought Johnnie to himself. When 
 shall we ever get to Banda ? Then he felt sick and 
 dizzy, and had to be taken to his cabin by a couple of 
 sailors. 
 
 Next morning Lapis roused him with the glad news 
 that they were steaming into their anchorage at Banda. 
 Johnnie felt that the vessel was still knocking about most 
 fearfully, and that the weather had not abated. Still 
 the thought that he might actually be on shore within 
 an hour or two, that he might get medical advice, and 
 perhaps sleep in a clean, sweet, big room on dry land that 
 night, braced him up and gave him new life. 
 
 When he got on deck, however, he found the wind stiU 
 blowing very hard indeed. Captain Bird had anchored 
 the Alastor fore and aft. He had made fast with a good 
 hawser to a half-buried cannon on shore, and the ship's 
 life-boat was painfully towing a stout manila cable to 
 a little islet on her starboard side, where it was made fast 
 round the trunk of a great tree. Moreover, Captain Bird 
 was keeping up a good head of steam in case of emer- 
 gencies. A glance on shore revealed the reason for these 
 precautions. The custom-house buildings were unroofed 
 and nearly up to their window-siUs in water. Trees were 
 
 263
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 uprooted, and the main street of Banda looked like a 
 muddy torrent streaming into the sea. Such a spectacle 
 of desolation can hardly be conceived. 
 
 Johnnie found Paterson coolly munching some bread 
 and cheese as he walked briskly up and down the quarter- 
 deck. He said that he was not going on shore. 
 
 Going below for a minute, Johnnie had a brief inter- 
 view with Cornelius, who, quaking with fever under his 
 blankets, begged as an especial favour that he might be 
 allowed to die in peace. 
 
 Johnnie got on shore somehow, and started to ford his 
 lonely way against the current, which nearly took him 
 off his legs. Finally, he discovered Blankert's house, 
 which was only partially unroofed. He found Blankert 
 wading about in his ofhce, collecting books and papers 
 with the assistance of some natives and transporting them 
 to the only dry comer left to him. 
 
 On perceiving Johnnie, Blankert started as if he had 
 seen a ghost, and shrieked : " What are you doing in 
 Banda ? Why have you come to this cursed place ? Go 
 away ! Take my advice and go away at once 1 " 
 
 Calming down a bit, he told Johnnie that business in 
 Banda was sheer nonsense. Dragging him to the door, 
 he showed him the peak of Gunong Api, standing out 
 clear and black against an angry sky, without the slightest 
 film of vapour or smoke to veil its sharp outlines. That 
 meant mischief ! 
 
 "Go on board your ship at once and get away without 
 losing a moment ! That is good advice ! Stay, I will 
 go with you ! " 
 
 The plucky Dutchman seized Johnnie by the arm, and 
 the pair of them started dowTi the torrent which swept 
 the street, on their way to the Alastor. The wind was 
 behind their backs, and they found great difficulty in 
 keeping their feet. Barely had they left the house, when 
 several sheets of corrugated iron whirled high over their 
 heads like so many bits of paper. 
 
 264
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 " Another nutmeg-godown unroofed and another valuable 
 stock ruined ! " groaned Blankert. 
 
 Johnnie looked at the dripping Dutchman, and said, 
 with a wan smile : " WeU ! you are a proper wet Blankert 
 this time, aren't you ? " 
 
 " Ha ! what is that you say ? " bawled Blankert, who 
 had just heard his name and no more. Then Johnnie 
 suddenly remembered that it is not seemly to joke with 
 Dutchmen. 
 
 As they made their way down the flooded street, they 
 had a full view of the Alastor blowing off steam before them 
 all the time. Suddenly a tremendous rush of wind caught 
 the two men. Johnnie, weakened by fever and want of 
 nourishment, could not withstand its violent pressure, 
 and with a cry fell headlong into the turbid, raging stream. 
 But for Blankert's timely aid the lad would have been 
 drowned surely enough. However, the gust having 
 passed, Blankert got him on his feet again. But when 
 the pair started to resume their painful journey, they 
 found to their horror that the Alastor had disappeared. 
 Chain cables and manila ropes had snapped like pack- 
 threads and the vessel swept out to sea ! 
 
 Under the spur of excitement the two men, followed 
 by some natives, got to the end of the street, from which 
 they could see the Alastor steaming out to sea and appa- 
 rently well under control. Had Captain Bird not kept up 
 a full head of steam the vessel would have been a wreck 
 in five minutes, or even less. 
 
 Then a strange sight met the gaze of the two men. 
 They suddenly saw the Dutch quarterly mail-boat — a 
 steamer much larger and more powerful than the Alastor — 
 trjang to get in to her usual berth. All seemed going 
 well with the big Dutch boat until her captain, apparently 
 nervous in such awful weather about taking his ship 
 inside the reefs and the small island already mentioned, 
 altered his course so as to pass outside of these dangers. 
 At least, so it seemed to the watchers from the shore. 
 
 265
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 There was another terrific roar of wind, a white smother 
 out at sea, some shrieks heard faintly through the storm, 
 and the Dutch steamer was gone ! The spectators looked 
 at each other in sheer horror. Was it a reality that they 
 had witnessed this catastrophe ? Surely not ! But a few 
 minutes afterwards the sea cast up almost at their feet 
 some wreckage, to which clung three wretched native 
 sailors, the sole survivors of the mail-boat Batavia. 
 Captain, officers, crew and passengers had all gone to 
 their doom in a few seconds, save these three shivering 
 wretches. 
 
 Sick at heart, Johnnie and Blankert took refuge in the 
 upper floor of the unroofed custom-house. Here, at least, 
 they were not up to their knees in water, while the walls 
 offered some protection from the wind. To Johnnie the 
 position was serious enough. He felt that he no longer 
 possessed sufficient strength to force his way up that 
 fearful street again. He could barely stand upright, and 
 his weakness was fast increasing. What could poor 
 Blankert do for him in any event ? 
 
 The position seemed hopeless. Johnnie felt that a few 
 hours more of this exposure would kill him, and from 
 this issue there appeared to be no escape. So he crouched 
 in a corner of the unroofed house to wait for the end. 
 
 Suddenly the natives below rushed up with the news 
 that the Alastor was returning. 
 
 " Surely not," gasped Blankert. " Why, your captain 
 must be mad ! He has lost all his anchors and the storm 
 is worse than ever. He will lose his ship also ! Two 
 fine ships gone in one afternoon at Banda ! " 
 
 Johnnie shivered, his brain was numbed, a cloud was 
 before his eyes. It seemed to him that Death was very 
 near. But in a few seconds the cloud passed away, the 
 brain worked once more, and the sick lad made a last 
 rally. 
 
 " Listen, Blankert ! I expect Captain Bird is risking 
 everything to take me off the island. I am nearly dead 
 
 266
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 with fever, but I want to save the ship. Get the natives 
 to man a prahu, and offer them one thousand, two thousand 
 guilders, or anything they want if they will put me on 
 board the Alastor before she gets inside the dangers." 
 
 " Yes," said the tough little Dutchman. " That is 
 a good idea ! Better pay them a lot than lose the steamer 
 and all on board ! " 
 
 Tempted by a sum which to them was enormous, a 
 party of native boatmen offered to make an attempt to 
 board. Johnnie was roused and taken to a sheltered 
 creek near at hand, where, saying good-bye to the brave 
 and excellent Blankert, he got on board a large canoe 
 manned by a strong crew. Once out of the creek the 
 canoe went flpng out to sea before the storm. She was 
 practically unsinkable and the natives handled her very 
 well. Presently it was evident that the Alastor' s people 
 understood what was being attempted, for the steamer 
 was kept hove to, outside the dangers. The canoe was 
 rapidly approaching the steamer ; with remarkable skill 
 and courage the natives went straight for the ship. 
 
 Johnnie suddenly saw the Alasior's deck beneath him 
 as she rolled in the trough of the sea and the canoe rose 
 on the crest of a wave. 
 
 " Jump ! " yelled the natives. " Quick ! " 
 
 Johnnie made a spring, just grasped the rail of the 
 Alastor, and was dragged on board barely in the nick of 
 time by Cassim and a couple of sailors. 
 
 " All right, Mr. Northwood ? " shouted Captain Bird 
 from the bridge. 
 
 " Yes ! Many thanks ! Amboina ! " 
 
 " All right, sir ! Amboina ! " 
 
 It was no moment for talking. Johnnie had no idea his 
 cabin could look such a heavenly place. It was actually 
 dry, and a dry spot seemed to him the finest possession 
 of a human being. He took some more tinned soup, a 
 big dose of quinine, and got beneath his blankets once 
 more. 
 
 267
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 It can be imagined what a blessed relief it was to the 
 sorely tried people of the Alastor when she at last steamed 
 up the sheltered waters of Amboina harbour and was in 
 safety, 
 
 Shelby, who had been very anxious about the fate of 
 the Alastor, lost no time in getting on board of her. He 
 was shocked at the cadaverous look of young North- 
 wood. He had him put into a carriage and drove off home 
 with him. Once he was in Shelby's house and in bed, the 
 worthy old doctor from the regiment said our hero was 
 very ill indeed. However, thanks to the excellent nursing 
 of Mrs. Shelby and her servants, he rallied with great 
 rapidity, but was still exceedingly weak. 
 
 Van Papendrecht declared that he was too ill to continue 
 his journey and would stay in Amboina untU he was fit 
 to travel. The doctor and all his friends urged Johnnie 
 to let the Alastor sail without him. But he would hear of 
 no such thing. 
 
 Meanwhile, Paterson puzzled Shelby to no small degree. 
 Shelby, who found him very much at home on the quarter- 
 deck of the Alastor, looking very nice and cool in North- 
 wood's clothes, which fitted him remarkably well, put 
 Paterson through a regular cross-examination, but could 
 make nothing of him. He got suspicious of a man who 
 would say nothing of himself except that he had been 
 wrecked in a pearling schooner and knew nothing of what 
 had become of the rest of the crew. 
 
 "It's a very fishy story," said Shelby, " and if I were 
 you I'd carry the fellow no further unless he tells you who 
 and what he is ! He's shipped under a fancy name, any 
 way. He ain't Paterson any more than I am ! That 
 fellow is up to mischief and you had better get quit of 
 him ! " 
 
 Neither Shelby nor Northwood ever penetrated the 
 mystery of a man so strangely picked up in a remote 
 island. Always polite, the so-called Paterson was always 
 on his guard. It was impossible to extract anything from 
 
 268
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 one of such impenetrable reserve. He maintained his 
 usual cool attitude until the Alastor reached Singapore, 
 when he requested Northwood to lend him a couple of 
 hundred dollars to cable to his friends for a remittance. 
 Very much doubting whether he should see his money 
 again, Johnnie let him have it. Paterson thereupon 
 thanked him in a formal, almost perfunctory, way, and 
 went on shore. The remittance must have been cabled 
 all right, for a couple of days afterwards a hotel messenger 
 brought two hundred dollars to Northwood's office, and 
 asked for a receipt on behalf of Mr. Paterson for the 
 money. 
 
 Captain Northwood called at the hotel to see this re- 
 markable person, but was told to his amazement that Mr. 
 Paterson was staying at Government House ! Now 
 Government House was not notorious for its hospitality. 
 Very few people indeed were invited actually to live in 
 the Governor's palace for twenty-four hours — perhaps 
 half a dozen favoured individuals in the course of a century. 
 Who, then, was this " Paterson " that he should be distin- 
 guished in this way ? Of course. His Excellency must 
 have known who he was before he invited him ! Mrs. 
 Northwood was not the only lady in Singapore who was 
 weaving romances about the mysterious stranger rescued 
 by Johnnie and by him brought back to civilization and 
 Government House. 
 
 Whoever " Paterson " was, gratitude was not his be- 
 setting sin. He paid back the money he had borrowed, 
 but some thanks off the ice-chest was all that Johnnie 
 got for bringing the Governor's guest all the way from 
 Waigiou. " Paterson " sailed by the next P. and O. mail 
 and Johnnie never heard of him again. 
 
 The man was one of the many phenomenal people who 
 pass through Singapore, and give its inhabitants food for 
 reflection if nothing else. But he was quite a harmless 
 specimen of the kind compared to some. 
 
 The Alastor, having loaded her Amboina cargo, was on 
 
 269
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 the point of sailing for Ternate. Every effort was made 
 to induce Northwood to stay in Amboina, but in vain ! 
 Shelby told him, as they were driving to the steamer, 
 that he was going right into the volcanic region once more, 
 and might get into worse trouble than he had already 
 experienced at Banda. That Gunong Api showed up 
 clear during a cyclone was a very bad sign, in Shelby's 
 opinion, and meant trouble somewhere ; perhaps not in 
 Banda itself, but in some other region of the volcanic belt. 
 Unfortunately, Shelby, with his intimate knowledge of 
 these waters, proved to be perfectly correct in what he said. 
 
 The weather was a bit squally as the Alastor steamed 
 out of Amboina harbour, but that was all. Next morning, 
 however, Captain Bird was looking very anxious. The 
 barometer confirmed Shelby's forebodings, and the sea 
 was running higher with every hour on the voyage to 
 Ternate. 
 
 Presently a red glare flamed on the black sky — it was 
 Ternate in eruption. Just then the chief officer came 
 to see that the rudder and rudder chains were all secure, 
 and took the opportunity to say to Johnnie : "It looks 
 to me, sir, as if Banda was a mere joke compared to 
 what we're in for now ! What do you think of running 
 for shelter on the other side of Tidore, or amongst some 
 of the islands ? " 
 
 " That's a matter for Captain Bird to decide ! He can 
 do exactly what he likes." 
 
 " Well, the captain says the end of the world has come, 
 and I'm thinking that it looks a bit like it ! " 
 
 So saying, the young sailor, having finished his round 
 of inspection, went forward to report to the captain that 
 the steering-gear was all right. 
 
 Captain Bird, bearing Shelby's warnings in mind, had 
 sent down all his topmasts and spars whOe there was stiU 
 time to do so, and the Alastor went steaming through the 
 storm under bare poles. The ship was fast nearing 
 Ternate. 
 
 270
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 The sky was like black marble veined with a fiery net- 
 work of lightning flashes. Vast columns of flame roared 
 at the summit of the volcano, a gleaming river of molten 
 lava flowed from the crater through blazing forests and 
 plantations, until it ended its course in the sea amidst 
 stupendous clouds of steam. The sounds of the storm 
 were dominated by the awful roar of the volcano. The 
 sea was rolling in huge never-ending waves of flame and 
 blood. As Johnnie looked shorewards he saw a couple 
 of buildings totter and come crashing to the ground amidst 
 clouds of dust. Ternate was being racked by an earth- 
 quake. 
 
 Spellbound by this tremendous scene, Johnnie, despite 
 his strong nerves, began to give way to a dread appre- 
 hension of something worse than destruction in an awful 
 form, of things supernatural and unholy. 
 
 Suddenly the fury of the elements redoubled, the light- 
 ning flashes filled the air with sheets of flame which never 
 ceased. Sky, sea and land were all enwrapped in fire. 
 The Alastor seemed to have sailed into a flaming hell. 
 
 Just then Johnnie thought he felt a slight shock for- 
 ward, and Captain Bird came racing along the deck, 
 shouting : " We've sunk a large prahu ! Look ! " 
 
 Surely enough, some wreckage swirled by the rail of the 
 ship. Just then the violence of the storm flung her fore- 
 foot high in the air as the stern dipped deep into the trough 
 of the sea, her propeller seemed to churn up something, 
 and the body of a woman came to the surface with her 
 arms extended and her long brown hair floating round her 
 face. A long flash of white flame lit up the woman's 
 body as the wave bore it upwards. With a wild shriek of 
 " Coralie ! " Johnnie made a tremendous effort to seize 
 the woman, for she appeared to be almost within his 
 grasp ! But a wave struck the ship's counter and all but 
 washed him overboard. He was half over the taffrail when 
 Captain Bird managed to rescue him. 
 
 Once more in that strangely illuminated sea Johnnie 
 
 271
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 saw Coralie van SwoU on the crest of a wave almost as if 
 she were reposing upon it, and one of her naked arms 
 moved as if she were beckoning to him ! 
 
 " That woman lost her life trying to get on board this 
 ship to meet you ! " thundered Captain Bird. Then in a 
 maniacal fit he shouted that the End of the World was 
 come ; the Day of Doom and Damnation for harlots and 
 their lovers, for monopolists and bloodsuckers ! With a 
 waxen face and blazing, bloodshot eyes, the Captain 
 screamed out a string of the most awful curses devised 
 by human malignity. 
 
 Another huge wave rolled over the stern of the Alastor. 
 Captain Bird, still apostrophizing the blazing heavens 
 with uplifted hands, was caught and lifted off his feet 
 by the surge of the sea, and in a few brief seconds he 
 would have been overboard, but for Johnnie's rapid clutch 
 at him. After a desperate struggle, they both retained 
 their foothold on the narrow deck, which was awash with 
 the raging seas around them. The shock seemed partially 
 to recall Captain Bird to his senses. " You saved my 
 life that time. It's quits ! " he cried. Then the racing 
 seas swirling through great jagged rocks, suddenly threw 
 a new light upon his disordered mind. " My God ! " 
 he yelled. " We're right in amongst the reefs ! It will 
 be all over in two or three minutes ! '* 
 
 But the sailor instinct had got the upper hand of his 
 fanaticism. He sped off to the bridge to make a final 
 endeavour to save the Alastor. For the moment, he forgot 
 about the End of the World. It was his duty to keep 
 his ship off the deadly reefs surrounding him, and his 
 distracted mind whirled round to that paramount idea. 
 
 Meanwhile Johnnie, left alone on the quarter-deck, 
 beheld with dismay the stern of the Alastor shaving by a 
 few inches great masses of what seemed to be incandescent 
 rocks lashed by fiery foam. Whether it was day or night, 
 he did not know. It did not matter in those infernal 
 regions ! 
 
 272
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 Suddenly the Alastor struck on the tail of a reef with a 
 horrid, grinding shock. The ship quivered and shook 
 on her rocky bed. It seemed as if she would go to pieces 
 at any moment. The wind, which had shifted to every 
 point of the compass, came down with hurricane force 
 on the Alastor's port side and swept her off the reef. Her 
 thick iron plates and frames had enabled the old steamer 
 to withstand a shock which would have crumpled up a 
 modem steel vessel like an eggshell. 
 
 From that time the Alastor raced her way through 
 a boning torrent of rocks under water, but in the end 
 Captain Bird got her through the dangers which menaced 
 her on every side. The madman had piloted the ship 
 through perils which would in all probability have 
 ended her existence had a cool and calculating skipper 
 been on the bridge during that wild dash through the 
 reefs. 
 
 Johnnie North wood realized that the Alastor was now 
 in comparative safety in the open sea. He felt chilled 
 to the heart ; he had been tested so cruelly, he was so 
 broken down physically and morally, that his one desire 
 was to crawl away to some corner where he might die 
 in peace. 
 
 With aching eyes he once more surveyed the flaming 
 scene that he was leaving behind him. Then somehow 
 he reached his cabin and, soaking wet as he was, he got 
 into his berth. Sleep was out of the question. His 
 fevered imagination glowed with all sorts of horrors. Could 
 he have rescued Coralie with a greater effort than that 
 which he had exerted ? Was Coralie alive or dead when he 
 last saw her floating on the crest of a crimson wave under 
 the glare of a livid sheet of lightning ? Was it true that 
 she lost her life in attempting to get on board the 
 Alastor ? 
 
 Finally he went off into a sort of dull torpor, in the 
 midst of which he was conscious at times that Lapis 
 brought him medicine or soup. Then his cabin-door 
 VOL. I. 273 18
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 was flung open and he heard McCracken's rough voice 
 saying : " Come, Mr. Northwood, rouse a bit ! We've 
 got into lovely weather. It'll do you good to get on 
 deck ! " 
 
 So with some trouble he got on deck, to find the Alastor 
 steaming through tranquil and sunlit seas. How strange it 
 seemed ! 
 
 Johnnie spent most of his time in a long chair on the 
 quarter-deck, dreaming dreams. Sometimes he could 
 picture the Sea Gardens of Banda, and very often a certain 
 moonlit colonnade at Temate. Other visions would 
 bring tears to his eyes or distort his wasted face with an 
 expression of agony. 
 
 These dreams were sapping his strength and killing him 
 as surely as the malarial fever from which he was suffering. 
 Even to the indifferent eyes of the people on board, it was 
 evident that he was rapidly getting weaker and could 
 not last very much longer. He overheard the chief ofl&cer 
 sajdng to somebody : " The skipper says that the end 
 of the Owner is near at hand, thank God ! That young 
 brute wall never see Singapore again. He's a damned 
 scoundrel, anyway ! " 
 
 Johnnie had always been particularly amiable with the 
 chief officer, who drew excellent wages and had a very 
 comfortable billet of it. Why should this man exult in his 
 death ? While he was trying to solve this question he 
 fell asleep in his chair from sheer weariness. 
 
 At last he got too weak to leave his cabin. But he 
 reached Singapore after all. One fine morning Lapis 
 came into his master's cabin with the great news that 
 Singapore was in sight. 
 
 With a great effort he dressed himself and got on deck. 
 From his long chair he could see with pleasure, and even 
 some sort of hope, the famihar features of the harbour. 
 There was Fort Canning, and St. Andrew's Cathedral, and 
 the Obelisk — Yes ! and who were in that boat coming 
 alongside ?
 
 Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition 
 
 Barely had the Alastor dropped her anchor than Captain 
 and Mrs. Northwood came on board to meet their son. 
 He was carried very carefully and lovingly into the boat 
 by his father and mother — no very heavy task, so utterly 
 wasted away was he. 
 
 Thus ended Johnnie Northwood's First Expedition ! 
 
 VOL. I. 275 18*
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE FIRM OF NORTHWOOD AND SON 
 
 IT seemed very sweet to Johnnie Northwood to find 
 himself once more in his beautiful, cool rooms in the 
 old house surrounded by trees, la-wns, and flowers, 
 to see his father again, and to be nursed back to Hfe by 
 his mother. Dr. Macleod shook his head over the lad's 
 condition, but said that he would pull him through all 
 right. Fever was not the only mischief in this case. A 
 severe attack of dysentery supervened, and a trouble was set 
 up which in due time necessitated a very painfiil operation. 
 It is the after-consequences of these terrible fevers which 
 are the most to be dreaded. 
 
 Johnnie had good reason to know that explorations in 
 dangerous coimtries are not to be undertaken without 
 very serious risks. 
 
 However, he regained a measure of strength with astonish- 
 ing rapidity. When he was well enough to hear anything 
 about business, he learned that things were not going 
 weU at Battery Road. Busoni was capable and zealous, 
 but he seemed to have no luck. True, he was doing a huge 
 business in sago-flour, but the British Sugar Company cut 
 prices so fine that there was no profit in the business, while 
 certain arbitrations as to the quality of the sago held 
 in London, resulted in heavy damages against the shippers 
 being awarded, representing serious losses, which were 
 wholly unforeseen. Busoni thought the awards quite 
 imjustifiable, but that in no way altered the position of 
 affairs, London brokers appeared to be remarkably 
 
 276
 
 The Firm of Northwood and Son 
 
 smart in getting up claims and enforcing their payment, 
 and that was all that could be said about it. 
 
 The sensible thing would have been to give up the whole 
 sago-flour trade there and then ; but this involved such 
 a radical alteration of their whole business system, that 
 it was resolved to keep things going in order to see if 
 nothing could be done to save the situation. 
 
 The Marseilles business was doing badly also, and leaving 
 more losses than profits. The Borneo trade, however, was 
 never better, and the Moluccas venture was showing 
 splendid results on paper. Taken all round, the position 
 need not inspire any actual anxiety. 
 
 Meanwhile, Northwood senior had trouble enough on 
 his hands in other directions. Captain Bird sent in his 
 resignation on the day of his arrival, refused the gratuity 
 offered to him, on account of the exceptional difiiculties 
 experienced by him during his command of the Alastor, 
 and went about denouncing the Northwoods in the bitterest 
 terms to all who would hsten to him. 
 
 New arrangements had to be made. Captain John 
 Fletcher remained in command of the Brunei. His brother 
 James, who had come out to Singapore " on spec," was 
 appointed to the Alastor. Then Mr. John Brown, the 
 chief engineer of the Brunei wanted to leave in order to 
 join a small iron foimdry business in Singapore, in which 
 the sagacious Scotsman detected fine possibihties, and 
 urged Captain Northwood to lend him five thousand 
 dollars with which to buy a share of the business. The 
 Captain, who had every confidence in Brown, and was much 
 vexed at the idea of losing him, promised to lend him 
 the money, if he would serve until his younger brother 
 Robert, came out from home to reheve him. So, after a 
 lot of worry, everything was got into working order again. 
 
 When Johnnie was well enough to go to the office in 
 Battery Road, one of his first tasks was to consider his 
 financial position. Busoni required laxge sums of money 
 from time to time, and these the banks refused to advance 
 
 277
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 unless Captain Northwood guaranteed the re-payment 
 of the loans. This was a system which had its incon- 
 veniences and for which Captain Northwood had a strong 
 dislike. One of the bank managers now pointed out to 
 Johnnie that he and his father worked hand in hand to 
 such an extent that they practically represented one 
 interest. Why not make a partnership of it ? Then the 
 firm would have all the credit it wanted. The idea seemed 
 to be a good one — at least, so the Northwoods thought — 
 and forthwith lawyers and accountants were set to work 
 on the formation of the new firm. Two accountants, 
 one of whom belonged to their bankers, certified that 
 Captain Northwood, after writing down all his properties 
 to the lowest value, and making full provision for de- 
 preciation of steamers, bad debts, and losses, was worth 
 four hundred and ninety-eight thousand dollars — a sum 
 equal at the exchange of the day to more than eighty- 
 five thousand pounds sterling. This was an ample capital, 
 and nothing but ordinary prudence was required to secure 
 a very handsome return on it. 
 
 In due course a short, business-like circular advised 
 those whom it might interest that Captain John Dillon 
 Northwood and his son John Dillon Northwood had 
 entered into partnership, and that their business as ship- 
 owners and merchants would henceforth be conducted by 
 the firm of Northwood and Son. 
 
 278
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 A LITTLE " CORNER " IN SAGO-FLOUR 
 
 AS most readers know, a " corner " is an attempt to 
 control the entire supplies of any one article. 
 There is nothing finer than a " corner " when it 
 succeeds, which is not very often ; otherwise it ends in 
 a very bad spill indeed. 
 
 Northwood had sold very considerable lots of Brunei 
 and Labuan sago-flour to Mr. Lewis Wallis, of the firm of 
 Morison, Wallis and Co. This was a very old-established 
 firm. Morison had dissolved partnership many years 
 before, and established himself as Morison and Co. in 
 various ports of Java, with wonderful success. The 
 Singapore business was left to Wallis. The firm was now 
 managed by Wallis the Second, the son of the founder of 
 the joint house. 
 
 Wallis sent all his sago-flour to Liverpool, so that his 
 trade did not in any way clash with Northwoods'. In 
 the end a business friendship sprang up between the two 
 men, in spite of the great difference between their ages ; 
 for Walhs was an elderly man, whose hair was silvery 
 white. 
 
 Northwood was seriously thinking of getting out of the 
 sago-flour business altogether, when the Chinese traders 
 came to him with long faces, complaining that the Singa- 
 pore Chamber of Commerce had suddenly cut down the 
 price of the gunnybags, in which sago is packed, by one 
 half — from thirty to fifteen cents. No doubt thirty cents 
 was an exorbitant charge for a sack, and the Chamber 
 
 279
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 was quite right in cutting down the old rate, which had 
 been suffered far too long ; but the Chinese felt that they 
 had been defrauded of a profit which they had enjoyed 
 so long that they could not do without it, 
 
 Northwood had declined to join the Chamber of 
 Commerce and did not see how he could help his Chinese 
 friends in any way, until Lewis Wallis came forward with 
 his plan. Briefly, the scheme of the elder man was to take 
 advantage of the acute discontent of the Chinese traders 
 to " corner " the market. If Morison, Wallis and Co. 
 and Northwood and Son combined to offer the Chinese 
 the old rate of thirty cents per sack in defiance of the 
 Chamber of Commerce, it would be an easy matter in the 
 present state of the market to contract for all the visible 
 supplies for the next twelve months, and then to move 
 up prices far in excess of the fifteen cents extra for the cost 
 of the mere sack, which did not amount to so very much 
 after all. The thing was to profit by the exasperation 
 of the Chinese to run a monopoly of this staple. 
 
 Morison, Wallis and Co. were members of the Chamber 
 of Commerce, but Lewis Wallis said he had voted against the 
 reduction, and that he intended to act independently of the 
 decision of the Chamber in this matter. It is thus that 
 a single recalcitrant member can nullify the vote of a 
 whole Chamber, Northwood and Son were absolutely free 
 to do what they chose, as they did not belong to this 
 organization. 
 
 Captain Northwood thought Lewis Wallis's scheme a 
 good one. It was to his interest in the Borneo trade that 
 the price of sago-flour should be maintained on a paying 
 level. Unless sago paid good profits his mortgages on the 
 Brunei and Labuan factories were practically worthless. 
 Busoni thought the scheme a splendid one and urged its 
 being put into force at once. 
 
 It wanted, however, a lot of money to finance this thing. 
 Lewis Wallis said he could get aU the fimds he needed. 
 Northwoods' bankers said that the scheme seemed all 
 
 280
 
 A Little "Corner" in Sago-flour 
 
 right, especially if it originated with a man of Lewis Wallis's 
 experience. The firm of Morison, Wallis and Co. was one of 
 the oldest and most respectable in Singapore, and its 
 credit was excellent. If Northwood and Son wanted 
 money to finance their share of the business they could 
 be quite certain of having it at their disposal. 
 
 The support of the banks settled the thing. The business 
 had to be done promptly and quietly, if at all ; and one 
 fine morning, while most people were taking their morning 
 rides or walks, a particularly early meeting was being 
 held in the offices of Northwood and Son, which were 
 crowded by the numerous Chinese interested in the sago- 
 flour trade. Captain Northwood led the negotiations, 
 while Lewis WaUis, Johnnie Northwood, Busoni, and Koh 
 Say Kiat busied themselves filling up certain printed forms 
 and getting them signed. 
 
 By the time the business men of Singapore came driving 
 into town, the meeting was over, and the whole world's 
 supply of sago-flour was in the hands of Northwood and 
 Son and Morison, Wallis and Co. ! 
 
 The combination worked like a charm. The North- 
 woods had at the time one thousand tons of sago-flour 
 in stock, which cost them ten pounds per ton. After 
 holding it for some time in the vain hope of a profit, they 
 had offered it at this price to the British Patent Sugar 
 Company, who promptly replied with a counter-offer of 
 nine pounds ten shillings. This meant such a loss that 
 it had to be rejected. It was this eternal pressure put on 
 them to seU at a httle less than cost price that made the 
 Northwoods resolve to either go out of the trade or fall in 
 with Lewis WaUis's idea of " cornering " suppHes. 
 
 The news of the " corner " being public property, being 
 indeed cabled in various directions amidst a good deal 
 of talk and discussion, Johnnie Northwood sat tight. He 
 cabled to his London agent that prices were advancing, but 
 that was all. In two or three days, he got a message ad- 
 vising that the Sugar Company would buy one thousand 
 
 281
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 tons at ten pounds, an offer immediately declined. Next 
 day the Northwoods got a message asking at what price 
 they would sell one thousand tons. 
 
 " I say, Busoni ! Just cable that we'll sell a thousand 
 tons at thirteen pounds, subject to immediate reply," 
 Johnnie Northwood coolly ordered, as he handed the 
 London cablegram back to Busoni. 
 
 The following day the Sugar Company bought at thirteen 
 pounds the thousand tons for which they had refused 
 to pay ten pounds. Thus in less than a week the North- 
 woods had cleared three thousand pounds over this single 
 deal. 
 
 Morison, Wallis and Co. had done still better in Liverpool, 
 where they had rushed prices up five pounds per ton and 
 cleared about seven thousand pounds in the week. Lewis 
 Wallis was quite excited about the situation, which could 
 hardly be better. Johnnie Northwood thought that it 
 might not pay in the end to rush the market as they were 
 doing, but Wallis knew better and spoke of retiring from 
 business at the end of the year and living like a little duke 
 on some estate he was going to buy out of his profits on 
 sago. 
 
 Naturally people talked a good deal about these things. 
 Pretty women told Johnnie to his face what a delightfully 
 clever person he was. The young man puzzled a good 
 many sensible people, George Carlyle and Isaac Henson 
 amongst the number. One or two prophesied his do-wnfall 
 and the ruin of all cormected with him, but none heeded 
 these croakers, and the Northwoods' credit stood higher 
 than ever. 
 
 Brownlow and Co., happening to require some sago-fiour 
 for a New York client, George Carlyle asked young 
 Northwood at what rate he would let him have the quantity 
 required. The monopoHst put on a profit of twenty-five 
 per cent., and explained that although New York lay com- 
 pletely outside his sphere of operations, he was compelled 
 to protect Liverpool and London interests by charging 
 
 282
 
 A Little "Corner" in Sago-flour 
 
 New York a price which should prevent sago-flour from 
 being re-exported to England. Carlyle laughed as he 
 agreed to Northwoods' terms, but added : " I don't think 
 you wiU find New York buying much more at your price ! " 
 
 For some time the demand for sago-flour for both London 
 and Liverpool was quite normal, and the " corner " con^ 
 tinued to be a success. Then certain people in various 
 parts of England found they could do without sago-flour. 
 With nefarious ingenuity they ground up maize, turned 
 potatoes into flour, and in general made anything with 
 starch in it into glucose, which they did not scruple to 
 sell to all sorts of breweries to put into the beer of the 
 British Working Man. These immoral proceedings gave 
 Northwood a good deal to think about, and he soon found 
 that he would have to lower his prices to something very 
 little above the normal if he did not want to be buried 
 under a mountain of his flour. Besides, as ill-luck would 
 have it, some meddling fiend appeared to have stimulated 
 the production of sago to an extraordinary degree. Just at 
 a time when it would have suited so well to have a short 
 output of sago the stuff came pouring in as if it would 
 never stop. The quantity of it was something un- 
 precedented. This is a thing which mysteriously happens 
 during the existence of most " corners." There is nothing 
 like a " corner " for stimulating production. 
 
 However, Northwood had made a lot of hay while the 
 sun shone, and by meeting the London market promptly 
 had saved the situation. He kept the large profits already 
 made and continued selhng at prices which gave quite a 
 decent return on the money employed in the business. 
 This was a vast improvement on the days before the 
 " corner," when the competition was such that business 
 in sago-flour could only be done at a loss. 
 
 Meanwhile Lewis Wallis was keeping the price in Liver- 
 pool at the level of seventeen pounds, while Northwood was 
 selling in London at under eleven pounds. The stuff that 
 Northwood handled was much inferior to the best white 
 
 283
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 sago shipped by Morison, Wallis and Co., but there was 
 nothing to justify any such price as seventeen pounds in 
 Liverpool. 
 
 Wallis would not hear of reducing prices in his market. 
 He took forty per cent, of the whole production and could 
 do exactly as he pleased with it, always provided that 
 he did not interfere with Northwood and Son's own 
 market. He said he was selling at seventeen pounds and 
 would not take less. He was sending very large shipments 
 to Liverpool, and there could be hardly any doubt about 
 it, to Northwood's mind, that they were going forward 
 unsold. But, after aU, that was a matter which concerned 
 the firm of Morison, WaUis and Co. exclusively. In any 
 case, Northwood and Son stood to come out of the thing 
 with their influence in the market greatly strengthened 
 and with a handsome profit to their credit. 
 
 Everything at Battery Road now having taken a pros- 
 perous direction, it was now about time for Johnnie to devote 
 his especial attention to affairs in the Moluccas. It was 
 decided that he should leave for Amboina and the other 
 islands as soon as possible. 
 
 284
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE DEWAKAN REEF 
 
 ONCE again Johnnie Northwood found himself sailing 
 out of Singapore harbour, on board the old Alastor. 
 It was now six months since Captain James 
 Fletcher had taken over the command of the ship from 
 Captain Bird, and it seemed to be a great change for the 
 better. 
 
 James Fletcher was a fine, muscular fellow, who looked 
 something like a good-tempered prize-fighter, with a nice, 
 open, honest face. He had given every satisfaction during 
 the past six months, and the Northwoods hoped that they 
 had got one of the old-fashioned skippers who would stay 
 with them for a long period of service. 
 
 A quick run was made to Ternate, where Northwood 
 foimd the position much changed. The town and island 
 had suffered severely from the volcanic disturbances and 
 the cyclone, which had caused widespread destruction and 
 great loss of life. Trade was very slack, and it seemed as 
 if it would take Ternate a long time to recover from the 
 disasters which had befallen it. 
 
 Van Swoll had been so affected by the death of his 
 wife that he declared that he could endure Ternate no 
 longer, and left for HoUand on the first chance. It turned 
 out that he had decided to send her across to his estate in 
 Tidore out of danger from either volcanic eruption or 
 earthquake. The prahu, however, got blown out of her 
 course, and it was likely enough that her crew tried to 
 board the Alastor as a last resource, only to be cut down 
 
 285
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 by the stem of the steamer. All on board the frail craft 
 were thus flmig to their death in the midst of the roaring 
 waves. 
 
 Cornelius van Papendrecht was also much affected by 
 the events through which he had passed. He had become 
 nervous, irritable and utterly indifferent to business. Ap- 
 parently, he associated Johnnie Northwood in some way 
 with his sister's death, if he was not the actual and direct 
 cause of it. The gossips of Ternate, unsubdued by 
 catastrophe, however intense, had a great deal to say 
 about Madame van Swoll's tragic end. 
 
 The beautiful Van Swoll villa, partly shattered by the 
 earthquake, was deserted and already becoming overgrown 
 with weeds and creepers. The lovely grounds were now 
 a wilderness. Van Papendrecht's handsome building was 
 shored up with unsightly timbers which kept it together. 
 No one seemed to care about permanent repairs. The 
 whole establishment had become ill-kept and dirty, and 
 a sort of demoralization had spread over it, while CorneHus 
 himself drank gin continually, and in increasing quantities. 
 
 Northwood's heart sank within him. In Van Swoll he 
 had found a powerful ally, who had now suddenly disap- 
 peared. Van Papendrecht had gone to pieces, and besides 
 having become almost useless, was now suspicious and 
 unfriendly. The confidence and cordiality of the first 
 days had vanished. The whole island had been devas- 
 tated. No one, either European or native, seemed to care 
 about trying to replant or rebuild anything. Discourage- 
 ment was general and invincible. 
 
 That the Moluccas trade was crippled to a grievous 
 extent was very evident. As the Alastor sailed away 
 from Ternate, Northwood surveyed the scene with an 
 aching heart. It was all as beautiful and glorious as 
 ever, but Ternate and Tidore no longer seemed like the 
 treasure-laden spice islands which had so impressed him 
 with their loveliness the first time he saw them. 
 
 At ;^nda the story was much the same as at Ternate. 
 
 266
 
 The Dewakan Reef 
 
 The handsome villas had been unroofed and much 
 damaged. Warehouses had been blown down altogether 
 and their precious contents destroyed. Not only had a 
 crop of immense value been literally scattered to the winds, 
 but what was much worse, hundreds of priceless nutmeg 
 trees had been uprooted by the storm. Northwood was 
 given a walking-stick made out of the heart of a nutmeg 
 tree, a beautiful close-grained wood, taking a splendid polish. 
 It would no doubt have been a rare and valuable curiosity 
 at any other time, but now, alas ! anyone wanting nut- 
 meg-wood sticks could get them cheaply enough. North- 
 wood proposed trimming the uprooted trees into logs 
 and shipping them to Europe, but the Dutchmen were too 
 disheartened to bother themselves about any such thing. 
 
 Blankert said the only trade to be done in Banda was 
 to sell at long prices on long credits. Northwood would 
 certainly get paid, but whether it would be in one, two, 
 or three years depended entirely on events. " It does not 
 matter to you," Blankert said, " when you get your money 
 as long as you get it ! " It was not at all an attractive 
 business, but there was nothing else to be done, if the 
 trade was to be secured when it revived again, as it 
 necessarily must in the course of time. 
 
 At Amboina things were quite different. This island 
 had escaped the visitation which had scourged Ternate 
 and Banda. Shelby had a large quantity of cloves in his 
 godowns ready for shipment, which would undoubtedly 
 realize an exceedingly handsome profit. The schooner 
 Amboina had just arrived from New Guinea with a cargo 
 of gum copal, which had cost next door to nothing in 
 coarse cloth, gin and beads. The rice and many other 
 articles imported sold at big profits. Shelby had sent the 
 Ceylon in ballast to Labuan to load a cargo of coal for 
 the Dutch Government at a price which would easily yield 
 a gain of one hundred per cent. 
 
 AH this was very well, but Northwood found that there 
 were some black shadows in this bright picture. He had 
 
 267
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 noticed the Coralie van Swoll alongside the new petroleum 
 wharf, and asked what she was doing there. He learned, 
 to his vexation, that Shelby had just repurchased this 
 steamer from Van Papendrecht, who was Van SwoU's 
 attorney. Van Swoll would have nothing to do with the 
 boat it appeared, and so Shelby cancelled the fifty thou- 
 sand guilders stUl due, repaid half the fifty thousand 
 guilders already received, and took possession of the 
 steamer. 
 
 " You see, you have made twenty-five thousand guilders 
 on the deal, anyway, and we want the steamer," he said. 
 He was at his old game of involving the Northwoods in 
 further capital expenditure. 
 
 In spite of Shelby's promises that the boat would pay 
 for herself in a few months, Northwood was much de- 
 pressed about this unfortunate transaction. At last he 
 said : " Well, the thing's done and can't be helped ! But 
 we can't have a steamer called the Coralie van Swoll 
 belonging to us. You must change her name ! " 
 
 " Yes ! " rejoined Shelby ominously. " I can under- 
 stand that all right. It's most unlucky you got your- 
 self mixed up in that affair. If you don't mind we'U call 
 her the Almaheira." 
 
 As she had to fly the Dutch flag, a nominal Dutch 
 owner had to be found for her, and pending all sorts of 
 formahties, the httle steamer lay idle at the wharf. 
 
 A visit to the kerosene wharf and stores was not gratify- 
 ing. The godowns were crammed with case-oil quite un- 
 saleable for the moment. Captain Hardy, finding his 
 markets at Ternate and Banda closed to him, had sailed 
 the old Victory into Amboina, and put a few thousand 
 cases of kerosene on the market. The position was care- 
 fully nursed by Shelby, who sold small lots at ridiculously 
 low prices, and brought about a total collapse of that 
 particular trade. Hardy, having suffered a heavy loss 
 instead of making the mighty profits of former days, saUed 
 for the Sangir Islands, where he might have a chance of 
 
 288
 
 The Dewakan Reef 
 
 trading off the rest of his cargo for smoke-dried copra. This 
 was not a very bright outlook at best, and Hardy vowed 
 vengeance on Northwood and Shelby as he stormed up 
 and dowTi the main street of Amboina, unable to sell his 
 rice and arrack or to buy a single sack of cloves. 
 
 " The old man is played out in the Moluccas," said 
 Shelby, " The wreck of Ternate and Banda has hit him 
 much harder than it hit us. You threw away your 
 chance of hitting him when he was down, and he thought 
 he had made himself safe in Ternate, but the cyclone 
 and the earthquakes have done what you wouldn't. His 
 trade is killed. He can dodge the old Victory round islands 
 like Timor or Sangir, where we don't want to go, but he'll 
 come here no more. I've fixed that for him all right ! 
 By the way, I suppose it's all off between you and Mary 
 Hardy ? " 
 
 Northwood made no repl}^ He was in no way inchned 
 to rejoice in the defeat of brave old Captain Hardy. That 
 the old sailor should be angry and vindictive was a matter 
 of no surprise. He had to admit that his projected mar- 
 riage with Mary Hardy was a thing now impossible. That 
 he had lost a splendid wife, whose qualities he admired 
 and appreciated to the full, was a matter of infinite regret, 
 but in his heart of hearts he knew quite well that he was 
 not really in love with the young lady. 
 
 Poor Mary Hardy had abundant time in which to 
 weep over the handsome lad, at one time almost her 
 declared lover. But with Johnnie Northwood it was 
 different. Shelby's indiscreet question unmanned him for 
 a moment, and his eyes were misty with something like 
 tears. Then he pulled himself together, and said brusquely : 
 " Now what about the sago- factory, and the rest of the 
 Sungei Mas Estate ? " 
 
 Well, the sago-factory had been built, and was in work- 
 ing order, but it didn't exactly turn out well. The soft 
 Ambonese natives found the very hard labour of rasping 
 the wire-like fibres of the sago-palm a job not at all to 
 VOL. I. 289 19
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 their liking, and the factory was practically at a stand- 
 still. Shelby had overlooked this little point of the 
 labour question. Northwood suggested importing Chinese 
 coolies. This would have been a sensible solution of the 
 difficulty, but there were almost insuperable difficulties 
 in the shape of Dutch regulations. Shelby had his scheme 
 as usual. " Send me down some disintegrators," he said, 
 " and we'll hammer the stuff to bits. Steam machinery 
 is what's wanted for sago-production, not the old-fashioned 
 coolie power ! " 
 
 So machinery was now wanted which would cost a lot 
 more money. It was evident that the Sungei Mas Estate 
 was not to 3deld its golden profits quite so easily as Shelby 
 had predicted. 
 
 Seeing that Northwood looked gloomy, Shelby went on 
 another tack : "I've landed some of our spirits here," 
 he explained, " because my godowns in town are full. 
 There's a trade for you ! We are selling in thousands of 
 cases at a profit of two hundred per cent. You've hit the 
 thing we want exactly right ! Our blue and yeUow label 
 is getting known all through the islands, and for hundreds 
 of miles of the New Guinea coast. I am giving Murphy 
 a whole cargo of it to take back with him to Doreh. It's 
 a cute idea having that metal capsule instead of pitch 
 over the corks ; it looks much better, and tickles the 
 natives to death. We shall certainly get the whole of 
 the spirit trade in our hands ! " 
 
 This trade in spirits was a source of very considerable 
 profit, and no small amount of care and ingenuity had 
 been spent upon it. A large portion of the upper floor of 
 the Battery Road godowns was given up to blending, 
 colouring and bottling arrack for the Moluccas trade. 
 The arrack itself was imported from Java, and was of 
 excellent quality. The Singapore water added to it was 
 aU that could be desired, while the colouring matter which 
 imparted a rich port-wine tint to the spirit was quite 
 harmless. A quiet yeUow label with a nice blue elephant 
 
 290
 
 The DewAkan Reef 
 
 printed upon it was rapidly becoming known as the 
 fashionable brand throughout a very large territory. 
 
 While Northwood was looking into affairs at Amboina, 
 Captain Fletcher had been sent for a short cruise in the 
 Alastor to Salawatti and Waigiou. On his return he had 
 a story to tell of how his ship had nearly been sunk by a 
 whale. He was on the bridge when he saw an enormous 
 whale making straight for the Alastor. Lifting its huge 
 head when a few yards off, the monster dived right under 
 the keel of the steamer, so that its flukes were at one 
 moment high in the air, and appeared to be almost directly 
 over the ship's bridge. Fletcher said it was a most alarm- 
 ing moment, but that the whale got clear without touch- 
 ing anything. 
 
 Shelby said the waters in that vicinity were full of sperm 
 whales, and that it was easy to see, from the curiosity of 
 Fletcher's whale to inspect the Alastor, that they were 
 never hunted. He grieved long and loud over the wasted 
 opportunities in these seas. There were sperm whales 
 in plenty ; there were shoals and shoals of what the Dutch 
 call " brown fish," which are full of oil. " Just think of 
 it ! " groaned Shelby. " Millions of barrels of the finest 
 oil in the world are floating about these waters in the shape 
 of fish which no one cares to catch. Anyone with a nice 
 steam whaler, and with a station on one or two of the 
 islands to boil and store oU, would make a colossal fortune 
 inside of two years. There was a thousand per cent, 
 in it ! " 
 
 " Oh, nonsense ! " roared Northwood. " You surely 
 don't want us to go in for whaling ? Why not get the 
 gold out of the sunken Spanish galleons lying in a few 
 fathoms of water somewhere off Banda ? " 
 
 Shelby replied that it was all very well to laugh at him, 
 but there was a lot of horse sense in what he had just 
 said. Captain Fletcher wished that he had money enough 
 to go in for such a venture ; he would do it at once. 
 There must have been tons of oil in the whale that dived 
 VOL. I. 291 19*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 under the Alastor, almost as if it was asking to be caught. 
 Besides, look at the price of whalebone ! 
 
 The captain's eyes were fairly glittering with greed as 
 he thought of all this floating wealth, so easily to be 
 acquired and yet despised by everybody. Now, if he were 
 in Northwood's shoes, things would be different. His 
 brain was getting a bit turned by the fatal climate of the 
 Moluccas. What was Shelby, now the greatest trader in 
 the Moluccas, but a mate on board that old wind-jammer 
 the Victory ! For that matter, who was his celebrated 
 employer. Captain Northwood ? Even his own brother 
 John, as commander of the Brunei, was putting money in 
 the bank every trip. He had bought a shop-house in 
 Labuan for five thousand dollars one voyage and sold it 
 for ten thousand dollars the next to a Chinaman who 
 wanted the place badly. That was something like ! And 
 here was he, James Fletcher, on a trade where he didn't 
 see his way to make a cent except his pay ! No, it 
 wouldn't do, and perhaps one day people would find that 
 he was as good as any, and better than some. 
 
 As a matter of fact, there was a nice little conspiracy 
 brewing, which had escaped even the vigilance of Shelby. 
 Captain Hardy had started the thing by getting Cornelius 
 van Papendrecht to nourish doubts which led to positive 
 ill-feeling towards Northwood. Bird had been spreading 
 all sorts of reports in Singapore about the vast profits 
 made by Northwood and Shelby in the Moluccas, and 
 had discussed the matter fully with both the Fletchers, 
 who were getting quite silly over the situation. Acting 
 on Hardy's advice, James Fletcher had sounded Van Papen- 
 drecht each voyage about starting a sort of combined 
 opposition to Northwood and Shelby, and bit by bit got 
 the Dutchman fairly well committed to the scheme. The 
 thing was well done in so far that it was kept very quiet. 
 Revenge and greed were sufficiently powerful motives for 
 discretion on the part of the prime movers in this 
 precious affair. 
 
 292
 
 The Dewakan Reef 
 
 Owing to the recent disasters in Ternate and Banda, the 
 Alastor was stiQ half empty when she finished loading at 
 Amboina. Shelby had his plan as usual. When he 
 returned from Singapore to Amboina in the Dutch mail- 
 boat, he had taken the opportunity of talking things over 
 with Wouverman and Co. at Macassar, whose agents at 
 Gorontalo were De Jongh and Co. Wouverman thought 
 the Alastor should do very well in Celebes. Shelby now 
 suggested that she should go to Gorontalo and Macassar 
 on the way to Singapore. 
 
 Northwood objected that to take in the northern port 
 of Gorontalo would add greatly to the length of the voyage. 
 But Shelby insisted that it was necessary to prospect for 
 further business. " Anyway, our vessels go zig-zag from 
 one island to another, not in the order you find them on 
 the chart, but as the necessities of the trade demand. If 
 you will go to Gorontalo first, I shall be able to get a letter 
 to Macassar by to-morrow's quarterly mail-boat, and 
 Wouverman will be ready for you by the time you get 
 there." 
 
 Northwood signed articles of partnership with Shelby, 
 so that the firm of Northwood and Shelby was now 
 formally established. Having settled everything in Am- 
 boina, Johnnie went on board the Alastor and sailed for 
 Celebes. 
 
 Gorontalo proved to be an interesting port, situated 
 in a mountainous country of much beauty. Celebes is a 
 huge island of which very little is really known. The 
 country in the interior is said to resemble Switzerland, but 
 the powerful tribes which inhabit the mountains will not 
 allow Europeans to penetrate into their territory. Of 
 course, the Dutch are able to do as they please on the 
 coast, and have established themselves at various ports. 
 The country is said to be very rich indeed. One Dutch 
 gold-mining concern in Celebes pays dividends of one 
 hundred per cent., and its one hundred guilder shares stand 
 at over one thousand. 
 
 293
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Northwood was very cordially received by De Jongh, 
 with whom he did quite a good business in gum copal of 
 a very much finer kind than that found in New Guinea. 
 Quite pleased with his visit to Gorontalo, he next sailed 
 for Macassar, a real Dutch colony, on the edge of a hot, 
 steaming plain. The town is of considerable size, and is 
 protected by an ancient fort of decrepit appearance, which 
 has not even the merit of being picturesque. 
 
 Wouverman was a big, immensely fat Dutchman of the 
 old school, who hospitably invited Northwood to stay 
 with him while he was at Macassar. He lived in a great 
 big barracks of a place, paved with marble, and as cool 
 and comfortable as any place in Macassar could be made. 
 When dinner was announced Northwood was seated next 
 his host. A rather nice-looking European lady sat at the 
 other end of the long table, but Northwood was not intro- 
 duced to her, nor did he ever find out who she was. The 
 other seats were occupied by a perfect swarm of children of 
 different ages and of aU colours from blonde to black. 
 Wouverman made no attempt to explain this enormous 
 and variegated family, all the members of which hailed him 
 as " papa," and appeared to be on a footing of absolute 
 equality. 
 
 It is a terrific place for insects. Leather pads were 
 placed on the seats of the chairs as a protection against 
 mosquitoes, while the glasses on the table had lacquered 
 covers to them. If the covers were removed for more 
 than a few seconds, the wine or beer they contained was 
 soon a struggling mass of winged things. 
 
 Wouverman proved himself to be an intelligent man of 
 business, with much more activity than could have been 
 expected from anyone of his huge bulk. In four days 
 the Alastor was at last crammed to the hatches and could 
 load no more. During these days Fletcher had practically 
 nothing to do on board his ship, but he was constantly 
 about Wouverman's office, and seemed very keen on 
 learning all he could about the trade of Macassar. North- 
 
 294
 
 The Dewakan Reef 
 
 wood had noticed this propensity of his captain's before, 
 but merely put it down to a praiseworthy desire to show 
 an intelligent interest in his work. ■ '^ 
 
 The Alastor sailed from Macassar at noon and steamed 
 through an oily sea on her way to Singapore direct. The 
 heat was intense, but Northwood had to turn the saloon 
 into an office and work hard at invoices and all sorts of 
 accounts. Fletcher saw him at his weary task, and cheer- 
 fully announced that he was going to his cabin on deck 
 to have a nice sleep through the heat of the day. Towards 
 evening a breeze sprang up. Northwood at last packed 
 up his papers and went on deck for some welcome fresh 
 air. Here he was joined by the captain, who immediately 
 ordered all sail to be set, as it was a fine, favouring wind. 
 With all her canvas on her the Alastor was soon bowling 
 along at a great rate. 
 
 " You must have done awfully well in Gorontalo and 
 Macassar," Fletcher remarked. " You got a lot of 
 valuable produce very cheap, didn't you ? " 
 
 " Yes, I did ! The Dutchmen did not seem to have a 
 market for their heavy stocks, and were glad to have me 
 take them off their hands for immediate payment in goods 
 or my bills on a Dutch bank. The gum copal especially 
 is very fine and should leave a big profit. It is always 
 wanted in Singapore." 
 
 " It is a splendid trade altogether, Mr. Northwood." 
 
 " Certainly it has unusually fine possibiHties," Johnnie 
 agreed, " but it is a trade which wants a lot of 
 working." 
 
 Here he broke off the conversation, as he wanted to have 
 a look at Cassim, who was in his cabin suffering from a very 
 bad attack of fever. He was so ill that there had been 
 some talk of leaving him in the hospital at Macassar, but 
 the old Sevang had begged so hard to be taken to Singapore 
 that he had been allowed to have his wish. 
 
 After dinner Northwood and Fletcher were pacing the 
 quarter-deck together. The wind had freshened con- 
 
 295
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 siderably. The moon was rising and the sky and sea were 
 becoming more radiant with her beautiful Hght every 
 minute. 
 
 Then the captain, as he smoked his cigar, said : " We 
 shall be off the tail of the Dewakan reef by about eleven 
 o'clock to-night. My brother William lost a very fine 
 sailing ship called the Stella on this reef some years ago, 
 and lost his certificate into the bargain. However, it was 
 lucky he didn't lose his life, too, over the job. Those 
 natives on Dewakan Island are a nasty, piratical lot, who 
 are a joUy sight too handy with their weapons ! " 
 
 " WeU," replied Johnnie, " mind you don't pile us up 
 on the reef and leave the Alastor where the Stella is ! " 
 
 Captain Fletcher seemed to think that this was a very 
 good joke indeed. Fancy two brothers piling up two 
 ships on the Dewcikan Reef ! No ! that would be aU right, 
 and if the Alastor could only carry this splendid sailing 
 breeze with her a little longer they would make a smart 
 run to Singapore. 
 
 Soon after this Northwood, feeling very tired, decided 
 to " turn in," and went to his cabin, but found that he 
 could not sleep there. Slipping on a white driU suit 
 he took refuge on one of the hard leather-covered settees 
 in the saloon, just beneath the skylight. Here he was 
 much cooler. Just before he went off to sleep, he noticed 
 by the dim light of a swinging lamp that it was ten p.m. 
 by the saloon clock. 
 
 Presently he was rudely aroused from his slumbers 
 by a terrific crash and a shock which threw him on the 
 saloon floor. Something very hard and heavy struck him 
 as he fell on the floor. This something turned out to be 
 Captain Fletcher, who had been sleeping on the next settee, 
 and having been flung on top of him, roUed right over 
 him. 
 
 Johnnie was the first to understand the situation. He 
 looked at the clock and saw that it was three minutes past 
 eleven f They were on the Dewakan Reef ! 
 
 2q6
 
 The Dewakan Reef 
 
 *' Hallo, Captain ! " he shouted. " You're damned 
 punctual, aren't you ? " 
 
 Fletcher swore as freely as a man can in a few seconds, 
 and then made a rush for the deck, closely followed by 
 the other. 
 
 On deck all was confusion. The Alastor had been driven 
 on the reefs under a full head of steam and with all her 
 sails set, on a brilliant moonlit night. She was now piled 
 up, with her bow in something like six feet of water, amidst 
 boiling seas which raged white all round the ship, and 
 great black, ragged reefs, which were waiting to rend her 
 to pieces. Aloft, spars, sails and ropes were whirling 
 about in every direction. Not the slightest attempt was 
 being made by anyone to save the ship. The second 
 officer, a German named Schmidt, in whose watch the 
 Alastor had run on the reefs, was hurrying aimlessly up 
 and down the quarter-deck with a white face, without 
 saying a word or doing a thing. 
 
 Captain Fletcher's first action was to accuse Schmidt, 
 with a fearful oath, of being asleep on his watch, his next 
 to fell him with a tremendous blow. This naturally did 
 not improve matters in any way, but increased the panic 
 amongst the crew to an uncontrollable degree. The 
 captain, having vented his wrath on Schmidt, recovered 
 his coolness in a moment, and ordered the chief officer to 
 look lively and stow the sails. This was done with great 
 difficulty and eased the ship considerably. 
 
 Meanwhile, the engines were going full speed astern with- 
 out the slightest effect. The situation looked desperate. 
 Sheets of spray were flying over the stern of the ship, and 
 Johnnie Northwood, feeling that he would like to get 
 into a dry corner as long as such a thing existed, said to 
 Captain Fletcher : "I'm going below. If you are thinking 
 of taking to the boats or anything of the kind, you might 
 let me know." 
 
 " Nothing of the kind, Mr. Northwood ! " Fletcher 
 bellowed in reply. " You're the only European on board 
 
 297
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 who can speak Malay properly, and you'll help me to get 
 the Alastor off the Dewakan Reef. Come along the decks 
 with me and talk to the crew. They will do a lot for 
 you yet." 
 
 As they passed the engine-room they heard a pande- 
 monium going on down below. Looking into those heated 
 regions, Johnnie saw McCracken flatten out a couple of 
 Chinese firemen with a shovel ; but this did not prevent 
 the rest of them from swarming up the iron ladders and 
 escaping along the decks to the forecastle. On the main- 
 deck the native sailors were found hiding behind steam 
 winches and aU sorts of places, and were promptly himted 
 out of them. 
 
 Fletcher said the ship must be Ughtened forward, and 
 the only way of doing it was to take off the No. i and 
 No. 2 hatches, start the steam winches, and shng the 
 cargo from these holds into the sea. Northwood, of 
 course, consented. 
 
 While he was talking the tindals into a sense of their 
 duty, httle Lapis slid up to him, and asked his master 
 if he wanted anything. Yes, his master wanted his 
 revolver and, if possible, a bottle of beer ! Presently the 
 nimble Lapis appeared with his master's heavy Colt's 
 revolver in its leather case, which Johnnie strapped to 
 his side, and he put down a bottle of Bass with a tre- 
 mendous zest, heightened by the feeUng that it was 
 probably his last drink of anything but salt water in this 
 world. 
 
 Thus refreshed, he started with Fletcher to explore 
 the forecastle. Here they discovered some skulking sailors, 
 whom their captain drove on deck with blows and curses. 
 Here also were McCracken's escaped Chinese firemen, 
 snugly tucked into their berths and busily employed, 
 despite the pounding of the ship, in lighting their opium- 
 lamps and pipes. They wanted to have one more good 
 smoke of opium before they died, and they wanted to die 
 easy. However, they were wanted urgently by McCracken, 
 
 298
 
 The Dewakan Reef 
 
 and that was much more to the point. Northwood and 
 Fletcher started in with a will to upset the opium-lamps, 
 to smash the pipes and to haul the Chinamen out of their 
 bunks by their pigtails. It was no time for anything else 
 but sheer brutality. One huge Chinese fireman drew his 
 knife, but Northwood pushed the muzzle of his revolver 
 slap into the man's teeth and swore he would blow his 
 head off if that knife was not dropped at once. It was 
 dropped ! The firemen were got on deck somehow and 
 literally beaten and kicked into their engine-room, where 
 McCracken was waiting for them wdth a spanner in his 
 hand. 
 
 After much effort the hatches were got off the Nos. i 
 and 2 holds and the steam winches set going in the 
 work of discharging cargo into the sea. 
 
 It was a weird sight, and it can be imagined with what 
 feelings Northwood beheld tons of his carefully selected 
 gum copal of the finest quality being hurriedly dropped 
 into the seething waves ! 
 
 Quite suddenly and unexpectedly the Alastor slid off 
 into deep water. 
 
 Northwood rejoined Captain Fletcher on the bridge. 
 The sky was becoming overcast and the light of the 
 moon very doubtful, while the sea was rising. Northwood 
 was surprised, therefore, when the captain declared that 
 he could find a channel clear to the open sea. To the 
 landsman, there was nothing in sight but a vast mass of 
 broken water more like a raging cataract than anything 
 else. However, he knew that Fletcher had the eye of a 
 hawk and he had great confidence in his seamanship. It 
 appeared that there was no holding ground for anchors, 
 and that the only thing to be done was to make for the 
 open. 
 
 Very carefully Captain Fletcher took the Alastor through 
 miles of dangers. It was touch and go aU the time, but 
 at last with a joyous shout the captain said they were 
 free now, and rang on " FuU speed ahead." The answer- 
 
 299
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 ing signal came from the engine-room and the Alastor 
 was running fast through the water when she brought 
 up with a tremendous crash much worse than the first. 
 She seemed to have struck something from stem to stern, 
 then she got free, raced along for a few hundred yards 
 amongst broken water, and fetched up dead on a shallow 
 reef ! 
 
 The whole thing was too sickening for words. The 
 revulsion of feeling to all on board was simply cruel ! 
 Captain Fletcher was dumbfounded, though he soon re- 
 covered himself. The position was much worse than 
 before. The fact that the ship had been lightened for- 
 ward enabled her to run so much further up on the reef. 
 The send of the sea was sweeping her stern round so that 
 she would be broadside on to the reef and break up in a 
 few minutes. A kedge dropped over the stern checked 
 this movement, but after a few minutes the anchor began 
 to drag. 
 
 Fletcher now discovered a big patch of coral astern, 
 which almost attained to the dignity of an island. Lower- 
 ing a Mfeboat, he put Schmidt, with a crew and an anchor 
 into it. With many a mighty oath he told Schmidt to 
 take that anchor off to the coral patch and drop it so that 
 it would stand any strain until the cable broke. It was 
 a difficult and dangerous service, but the wretched 
 Schmidt undertook it without a murmur, and away went 
 the lifeboat with the anchor which would perhaps save the 
 Alastor. Meanwhile, the hatches were again taken off 
 and the crew set to work to discharge cargo into the sea. 
 Presently the chief officer reported that Schmidt had 
 evidently moored his anchor, so the cable was bent on 
 to one of the steam winches and a strain put on which the 
 anchor resisted splendidly. With this assistance the 
 Alastor came off once more into deep water. 
 
 No sooner was she afloat than Captain Fletcher proposed 
 to make a dash for the open sea. But Northwood, who 
 stuck to him like a shadow, objected vigorously, and 
 
 300
 
 The Dewakan Reef 
 
 wanted to know what was to become of Schmidt and the 
 boat's crew. " Damn Schmidt and the boat's crew ! " 
 roared the captain, quite beside himself. " Let them find 
 their way to Macassar as best they can ! I'm off to the 
 open sea this minute." 
 
 " No, you don't, Captain Fletcher ! " said Northwood. 
 " Schmidt and his men must come on board before you 
 move the engines. What's more, I happen to be the 
 owner of the Alastor, and you have my positive instructions 
 not to make any attempt to clear the reefs until broad 
 daylight. If you make the sUghtest attempt to defy me, 
 I shall make such a report to the Harbour Master at 
 Singapore that your certificate will be suspended at once ! 
 You have made a hideous mess of the whole business, you 
 know you have ! Now pull yourself together and do cis I 
 tell you, or it will be the worse for you ! " 
 
 Northwood's square-set jaw boded no good to anyone 
 who dared oppose him at this moment, and the big buUy 
 collapsed under the pressure of a superior mind backed 
 up by equal muscle and fighting power. 
 
 " AU right, Mr. Northwood ! " groaned the captain, as 
 he blew the whistle, adding a piercing steam shriek to the 
 melancholy sound of the wind and the waves. Schmidt and 
 his crew finally got on board dripping wet and dead-beat. 
 
 Captain Fletcher after feeling his way about very 
 carefuUy, at last found some sort of holding-ground and 
 anchored the Alastor until it should be broad daylight. 
 
 Meanwhile, Northwood foimd that he was absolutely 
 played out the minute that the pressure of responsibility 
 was lifted a little. He told Fletcher that he was going 
 to the saloon for a httle sleep and repeated his orders. 
 Getting into some dry clothes, he saw by the saloon clock 
 that it was four a.m., and throwing himself on a settee 
 went off instantly into a dead sleep. 
 
 It seemed to Northwood that he had been sleeping for 
 about ten minutes when he was roughly roused by one of 
 the sailors, who told him the captain wanted him on deck 
 
 301
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 at once. A glance at the clock showed that it was five- 
 thirty a.m., and it was the dawn of day which showed 
 through the skylight. Wondering what was up, he hurried 
 to the bridge, where Fletcher was waiting for him. The 
 scene from the bridge was marvellous. The wind had died 
 away completely, the sea was glassy, and mirrored the 
 Alastor and her tall masts to the life. The steamer was 
 in a deep pool surrounded on every side for miles and 
 miles with endless reefs. The sea in fact, was absolutely 
 ribbed and veined with reefs, which showed themselves 
 clearly enough through the still water. Two of the ship's 
 boats were out taking soundings. To aU appearance the 
 Alastor was completely entrapped in a hideous place from 
 which there was no issue. 
 
 The mystery was how the devil did she get there ? 
 Captain Fletcher surmised that she had broken clean 
 through the outer coral reef and was now in the centre, 
 or thereabouts, of the whole system of the Dewakan reefs. 
 " She's a grand ship ! " he said. " She's got a sharp floor 
 that's just hke a wedge when she thumps, and her thick 
 iron frame and plates will stand anything ! If we'd been 
 here in the new steel steamer my brother brought out for 
 your father a few months ago, she would have been 
 crushed Hke an eggshell when we struck the first time, 
 and we should all have been food for the fishes since last 
 night. But that's what I want you to look at ! " 
 
 So saying, Fletcher indicated a large island in the 
 distance. Between the island and the ship was a rapidly 
 nearing fleet of prahus, representing an entirely new kind 
 of danger. 
 
 Johnnie Northwood volunteered to attend to the arming 
 of the crew and set to work accordingly. He ran across 
 McCracken on the main-deck. " What d'ye make of 
 yon ? " said the engineer. " Pirates ? Pirates ! Well 
 just you let me get at them, Mr. Northwood. I'll make 
 'em sorry they were ever born. Those that is left of them 
 wiU never come near a steamer again ! " 
 
 302
 
 The Dewakan Reef 
 
 With these mysterious words McCracken vanished into 
 his engine-room. 
 
 Northwood served out Snider rifles to such of the crew 
 as could be trusted to use them properly. He had his 
 own weapons carefully loaded and placed on the skylight : 
 his shot-gun, his Rigby Express, and a powerful Hotchkiss 
 repeating rifle ; and, of course, he kept his Colt's revolver 
 handy. As the prahus got close to the Alastor North- 
 wood had one of the brass guns fired, which sent a round 
 shot whizzing right over them. This checked the advance 
 of the boats from the island, which was the result desired. 
 In the meantime McCracken and the third engineer had 
 fixed up a hose with a bright nozzle, which they had 
 got on the main-deck. 
 
 " Just look at this, Mr. Northwood ! If yon savages 
 get troublesome, we'll just squirt some bilin' watter over 
 them and see how they like that ! " So saying, he threw a 
 column of boiling water clear over the ship's side, which 
 hissed and steamed most suggestively as it feU into the sea. 
 It certainly looked as if McCracken had as effective a 
 way as anyone else on board of dealing with pirates. 
 
 Presently the prahus slowly got so close to the Alastor 
 that Northwood was able to hail them in Malay. One of 
 the islanders replied that they were good and peaceable 
 people, who had come to give assistance. Northwood 
 replied that if they were good and peaceable people, only 
 one boat at a time would come alongside the ship, and 
 warned them that they would be fired upon unless this 
 condition was observed. 
 
 A boat came alongside and about half a dozen of the 
 islanders got on board. They were powerful and exceed- 
 ingly active ruflians, in whom it was impossible to have 
 the slightest confidence. Like most natives they had a 
 whole string of questions to ask, and were particularly 
 anxious to know what kind of cargo she carried. Also 
 they wanted presents of all kinds. They said that they 
 could easily pilot the Alastor to the open sea. 
 
 303
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 At this point Captain Fletcher shouted : " Look out 
 for those fellows in the rigging, Mr. Northwood ! Surely 
 enough, half a dozen of the islanders were swarming up 
 the rigging of the mainmast, evidently with the intention 
 of dropping on the deck, but Johnnie covered the leading 
 man with his Hotchkiss rifle, and was just about to press 
 the trigger. " Tuntu lu matt " {" You certainly die ! ") he 
 shouted. The fellow seemed to understand his own par- 
 ticular peril very clearly indeed, for he instantly flung up 
 his arms and forthwith slid like a flash into the sea. 
 The next man did not Hke the look of Northwood and his 
 rifle either and he dropped into the sea also. In a very 
 short time the rigging was cleared of the natives without 
 a shot being fired. 
 
 After a long parley over the ship's side two natives 
 were allowed on board to pilot the Alastor, who were to 
 receive one hundred guilders each and various presents if 
 they took the ship clear of the reefs, while it was under- 
 stood that something very unpleasant would happen to 
 them if she stranded again. 
 
 For a time all went well. The two natives on the bridge 
 evidently knew the whole system of the reefs beautifully, 
 and the Alastor was threading her way out to the open sea 
 slowly but surely, when suddenly Captain Fletcher saw 
 that his treacherous pilots were quietly leading him into 
 the worst trap of the lot. He instantly rang the engines 
 full-speed astern. The stem of the ship had barely touched 
 the fringe of the reef when the reversed action of the pro- 
 peller took effect, and the Alastor shot astern. In less than 
 a minute she struck heavily. Her engines brought up 
 because the propeller was completely embedded in soft 
 coral. This was worse than ever ! 
 
 Captain Fletcher started the game by knocking down 
 the two pilots, after which he kicked them down the ladder 
 to the main-deck, where they were treated to a shower of 
 blows from a belaying-pin by Mr. Crawford, the chief 
 officer. Finally, some of the sailors flimg the ruffians 
 
 304
 
 The Dewakan Reef 
 
 overboard. They swam off to their boats apparently 
 none the worse for treatment which would have broken 
 the Hmbs of any but fine, healthy savages with an instinct 
 for murder and plunder. 
 
 All sorts of efforts to work the ship off by means of 
 her sails failed completely, so after a consultation it was 
 decided to risk everything and to start the engines full 
 speed ahead. If the propeller blades snapped off, as 
 might be expected, the only thing to be done was to fight 
 the natives, and then send an armed boat to Macassar 
 for assistance. 
 
 The critical moment came. McCracken put on the 
 engines full speed ahead. The ship quivered and trembled 
 under the pressure, when suddenly the water astern boiled 
 and whirled madly, large pieces of soft coral flew into 
 the air, and amidst a spontaneous cheer from the crew, the 
 Alastor steamed clear away from the reef and a most 
 serious danger. 
 
 Captain Fletcher rang off the engines almost imme- 
 diately, because he was now going to trust to his own boats 
 to find a way out of the reefs. Just then, however, the 
 natives ran their prahus alongside the motionless steamer 
 and with surprising rapidity a number of them were on 
 her deck. 
 
 They were all armed. Some of them had old-fashioned 
 pistols in their hands, things carrying a ball an inch in 
 diameter, but which, at close ranges, will knock a much 
 larger hole into a man than the most scientific automatic 
 weapon yet invented. 
 
 Johnnie Northwood, whose business it was, did not find 
 it quite so easy to start the shooting. He had a heavy 
 Colt's revolver ready cocked in his hand. There a few 
 inches in front of him was a group of excited savages dis- 
 cussing something very eagerly in their own dialect — 
 no doubt how they were going to start the fighting. What 
 was easier than to raise his pistol and open fire on the 
 men before him ! Six shots would lay out six of them, and 
 VOL. I. 305 20
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 send the rest of them flying to their boats. But he could 
 not do it, the thing was too much like murder and too 
 little like fighting. The natives must begin the attack 
 before he fired a shot. So he sent Mr. Crawford and three 
 armed sailors to join Captain Fletcher on the bridge, 
 and, picking up Mr. Schmidt and some of the other sailors, 
 was proceeding to the quarter-deck with them. Coming 
 across McCracken, he ordered him aft to what was to be the 
 citadel, with his tribe of engineers and firemen. 
 
 " Not me, sir ! " said McCracken. " I shall be busy on 
 the main-deck ! No, sir ! I'm not goin' to direck a stream 
 of bilin' watter on they savages. It wud be worse than 
 shootin' them, I admit ! But I'm goin' to wash the decks 
 wi' hot watter, and if they pirates happen to get what 
 I might ca' a fitbath, it'U no kiU the scoundrels ! " 
 
 " All right, McCracken, I understand. But be quick 
 or you wiU have those feUows on top of you ! " So saying, 
 Johnnie rushed to the poop and catching up his Hotchkiss 
 rifle, posted himself so as to beat off an attack on 
 McCracken. 
 
 Apparently the natives intended to rush the forecastle 
 first. Their chattering and shouting had at last ceased, 
 and something decisive was about to happen, when sud- 
 denly a wave of boiling water went hissing along the port 
 side of the main-deck and washed right in amongst the 
 principal body of the islanders and their chief. Horny 
 as their naked feet were, the natives danced about in 
 agony and threw themselves overboard in headlong panic. 
 *' Noo, Sandy, come along and we'll wash 'em off the star- 
 board deck ! " The mere sight of McCracken and his hose, 
 however, was quite enough for the marauders, who had 
 witnessed the discomfiture of their comrades, and they 
 promptly went overboard, yeUing horribly as they dropped 
 into their boats or into the sea. A few of them picked 
 up in other parts of the ship were severely beaten with 
 anything which came to hand and flung overboard. 
 
 The Alastor was once more clear of the islanders, but 
 
 306
 
 The Dewakan Reef 
 
 their prahus still hung about the steamer, which was now 
 just moving through the water. Captain Fletcher sent 
 for Northwood to ask if he could not beat off these prahus 
 with rifle fire or any other means, as they prevented the 
 Alastor's boats taking soundings, and the ship was being 
 thereby endangered. Northwood said he would see to it 
 and went aft. 
 
 The prahus had now dropped astern, but kept at such 
 an easy distance that they could overtake the steamer 
 entangled in the reefs at any time. Suddenly a sputter 
 of musketry broke out from the prahus, and from one of 
 the largest of them a large roimd shot dropped just a 
 little short of the Alastor's rudder. Another prahu, much 
 smaller but swifter, dashed in quite close, and fired a 
 shot from an iron gun mounted on a platform amidships, 
 which narrowly missed carrying away the rudder — this 
 evidently being the object of the pirates. 
 
 The Alastor promptly replied with her brass guns. 
 Northwood's first shot flew over the nearest prahu, which 
 had just fired at the Alastor, but it hit another boat 
 paddling up to take part in the fray full in the bow. Her 
 crew made frantic efforts to get her to the nearest patch 
 of coral, but she sank beneath them, and they had to 
 swim for it to a reef, where they stood half in and half out 
 of the water until they were rescued. 
 
 With his second shot from the gun on the port quarter 
 Northwood did much better, for he sent it through the 
 attacking prahu with the gun mounted amidships right on 
 the water-line. This broke up the frail craft, and the sea 
 was dotted with black heads, the owners of which were 
 vigorously swimming to the other prahus. 
 
 Some half-dozen Malay sailors, grinning from ear to ear 
 as they did so, opened a rapid fire with their Sniders on 
 the pirates struggling in the water. Fortunately, being 
 the worst of bad shots, they did not hit anyone. But the 
 singing of so many bullets over the water added greatly 
 to the panic of the enemy, who now feeling that they had 
 VOL. I. 307 20*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 had quite enough of it, paddled off at full speed for their 
 island, whereupon Northwood stopped the fusillade from 
 the Alastor's poop. 
 
 Thus ended this bloodless battle. For, to the best of the 
 knowledge of Northwood, or anyone else on board the 
 Alastor, not a single pirate had been killed throughout this 
 singular affair. Two of the Dewakan islanders' prahus 
 had been sunk, and one of their few and highly-prized 
 cannon had gone to the bottom in deep water, from which 
 there was small chance of its being recovered. Several 
 of the pirates had been very roughly handled and flung 
 into a sea in which they could swim like fishes. The main- 
 deck of the Alastor was strewn with wide-mouthed pistols, 
 ancient muskets, spears, krisses and parangs, and even 
 articles of clothing, which their late owners had left behind 
 them prior to flinging themselves over the ship's side. 
 The scoundrels had come to shear, and were shorn of 
 some of their most cherished possessions. The Dewakan 
 islanders had been taught a lesson ! 
 
 McCracken's foot-bath (the worthy man himself called 
 it a fitbath), in due course of time, got to be a standing joke, 
 of which McCracken himself never tired. 
 
 And now Captain Fletcher, being relieved of all other 
 troubles, was quietly feeling his way out to sea. All the 
 officers being away in the boats, Johnnie and the old 
 engineer sat down together for a very belated breakfast, 
 Northwood was exceedingly tired after being up all night 
 in such critical circumstances, but he was as hungry as 
 a hawk. McCracken's appetite was simply wolfish. Both 
 were glad to be alive and well instead of lying about in 
 coral beds with slit throats or shattered heads. Soon 
 the pair of them went off for a sorely needed sleep. 
 
 About five p.m. Northwood went on deck again, where 
 he found Captain Fletcher looking drawn and haggard, 
 but able to say, with a weary smile, that the Alastor was 
 at last clear of the Dewakan Reef and going full speed 
 ahead on her way to Singapore. 
 
 308
 
 The Dewakan Reef 
 
 During the remainder of the voyage the captain showed 
 himself to be exceedingly nervous about the consequences 
 of the Dewakan Reef affair. He was horribly afraid that 
 his certificate might be dealt with, and was constantly 
 imploring Johnnie to plead his cause with his father. " If 
 Captain Northwood chooses to back me up with the 
 Harbour Master, it will be all right for me ! " he frequently 
 remarked. 
 
 Johnnie assured the captain repeatedly that he would 
 do his best to avoid any serious trouble in this matter, 
 and that he quite hoped that his father would take a 
 lenient view of the case. No one knew better than Fletcher 
 himself what a particularly bad case it was. He had no 
 earthly business to be fast asleep when the ship struck, 
 nor was his subsequent conduct, either in knocking down 
 the officer of the watch or in many other ways, easy to 
 defend against any official or other person who chose to 
 attack it. 
 
 The captain of the Alastor was, Johnnie noticed to his 
 surprise, in a state of constant curiosity about the move- 
 ments of the Victory. As they were steaming into Singa- 
 pore harbour, the captain looked carefully round the ship- 
 ping with his binoculars and said : " There's no sign of 
 the Victory. I wonder where she can possibly be ? " 
 
 " But why are you taking such a keen interest in 
 Captain Hardy and his sh^p ? " inquired Northwood. 
 
 " Oh ! I don't know ! " replied Captain Fletcher very 
 awkwardly. " It's always well to know what the enemy 
 is doing." 
 
 Shortly after this conversation the Alastor dropped her 
 anchors in Singapore harbour, having come home after 
 yet another long voyage. 
 
 30Q
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 A TUG OF WAR 
 
 CAPTAIN NORTHWOOD and his son sat in the big 
 broad front verandah of Woodleigh, enjoying the 
 coolness of the evening and the beautiful scene of 
 the fresh green lawns dotted with trees, and the splendid 
 beds of roses and other flowers which surrounded them. 
 
 " Well, Johnnie ! " said his father with a cheery laugh. 
 " You are a regular Mother Gary's chicken. You can't 
 go afloat without getting into cyclones and volcanic erup- 
 tions or else amongst reefs and pirates. As it is, I think 
 you practically saved the ship this time. I'm sure I don't 
 know what they would have done without you. As for 
 James Fletcher, what is to be said of a man who has been 
 asleep half the day, turning in at ten p.m. and leaving 
 the ship in the hands of a German mate, of whom he knows 
 nothing, and who, of course, follows his master's example 
 and goes to sleep too ? What else could you expect ? 
 Anything more lubberly or unsailorlike than James 
 Fletcher's conduct throughout the whole affair I can hardly 
 imagine. I have given him a joUy good talking to on the 
 subject, and having done so much, I am, of course, busy 
 helping this lame dog over his particularly awkward 
 stile." 
 
 " What about McCracken ? " asked Johnnie. 
 
 " Well, I think a handsome gold watch, with a suitable 
 inscription, will please his vanity better than anything 
 else perhaps. And as for you, you young scamp, you 
 think far too much of yourself already, but I must give 
 
 310
 
 A Tug of War 
 
 you credit for coming very well out of this thing. That 
 you were plucky enough is nothing ; it is open to any fool 
 to be a man in that respect, but you kept your head cool 
 and kept yourself and everybody else well in hand. That's 
 not so easy ! " 
 
 " I am particularly delighted," Captain North wood con- 
 tinued, " that you did not end in shooting down a lot of 
 those Dewakan islanders. That's what the ordinary fat- 
 headed brute with a repeating rifle in his hands would 
 rejoice in doing, and think that he was fighting. No 
 my boy ! Never ill-treat or kill a native if you can possibly 
 help it. It's ungentlemanly and wicked, and it never pays 
 in the long run. Oh, yes, I know I've killed a few pirates 
 myself. But I assure you that, although it was entirely 
 their own fault, I regret that I had to fire on them to save 
 the lives in my care. Besides, I have known pirates who 
 were quite decent people once they were on shore. How- 
 ever, here comes your mother to teU us once more that 
 her Httle Johnnie must never go to sea again ! " 
 
 Oddly enough, that was precisely the thing that Mrs. 
 Northwood did say, whereupon both men laughed merrily, 
 much to her surprise. 
 
 The Alastor was discharged and docked, when it was 
 found that the fine old steamer was very little damaged. 
 The paint was all scraped off her bottom, but otherwise 
 she was practically aU right. 
 
 Captain Fletcher also got off very easily. The Harbour 
 Master told him that he was particularly fortunate in 
 having such owners as Northwood and Son to deal with, 
 but as they made no complaint, and there had been no 
 serious damage to the Alastor, and no loss of life in con- 
 nection with the strandings on the Dewakan Reef, nothing 
 more need be said about the matter. The cargo jettisoned 
 again happened to be a matter which concerned the owners 
 of the Alastor and no one else. 
 
 The Harbour Master gave Fletcher to understand that 
 he did not think much of his seamanship, and severely 
 
 311
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 admonished him to be more careful in future. But there 
 the whole affair ended. 
 
 Captain Fletcher, having got off scot-free himself, was 
 by no means generous in his treatment of Schmidt. He 
 dismissed the unlucky German with a " dirty ticket," 
 by way of enforcing his assertion that Schmidt was solely 
 and wholly responsible for the stranding of the Alastor. 
 
 Barely had these points been settled, and the Alastor 
 undocked, when the Northwoods were more than astonished 
 to receive the following letter : 
 
 " Steamship Alastor, 
 
 " Singapore Roads. 
 " Messrs. Northwood and Son. 
 
 " Present. 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " Please have my account made up at once with 
 cheque for balance due to me. Will call at noon to-day, 
 when trust you will have account and cheque ready, as 
 for urgent reasons I am quitting your service immediately. 
 Would like to leave to-day, if possible, and must therefore 
 request settlement when I call at your office. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 " James Fletcher." 
 
 " Well, I'm shot ! " said old Northwood. " What the 
 mischief does this mean ? Of all the insolent, ungrateful 
 letters I have seen this is quite the worst ! " 
 
 " It means mischief ! " rejoined his son. " Well, we'll 
 get rid of the fellow at once, since he is in such a hurry 
 to go." 
 
 Antony Arratoon was told to make up the captain's 
 wages account and draw a cheque for the balance due 
 to him. Captain Northwood himself undertook to settle 
 the crew's wages and ship's accounts with the chief officer, 
 so that there was not much to be done. 
 
 At the time he fixed, in walked Captain Fletcher, looking 
 
 312
 
 A Tug of War 
 
 very sullen and hang-dog. He nodded curtly to Johnnie, 
 who took no notice of him. Arratoon marched the man 
 up to Captain Northwood, who looked up from his work 
 and said : " Oh, you are here, are you ? Is that account 
 right ? Very well ! Sign across the stamp. Here's your 
 cheque. You haven't troubled to make up any ship's 
 accounts, have you ? No, I thought as much ! Well, 
 I'll do that for you myself. Moved your traps off the 
 Alastor, I hope ? Ah ! you've looked after that much, 
 have you ? That's all right ! Now then, come across 
 to the Shipping Office and I'll get you signed off the ship's 
 articles at once. Pick up your hat ! Look sharp, will 
 you ? I want to clear you out of this office ! Come along 
 this way, and be lively about it ! " 
 
 The whole thing was done in two or three minutes, and 
 the astonished Fletcher, who had expected remonstrances 
 and all sorts of questions, which might possibly lead to 
 his making terms for himself with the Northwoods, foimd 
 himself being turned out of their office, cheque in hand, 
 very much like a mangy cur, without anyone appearing 
 to take the slightest interest in him or his movements 
 beyond a hearty desire to get rid of him. 
 
 The scene at the Shipping Office was hardly calculated to 
 raise Fletcher's spirits. The Master Attendant, Captain 
 Marshall, R.N., a retired naval officer thankful to get a 
 decently paid billet, said in his usual quiet way : 
 
 " But I thought, Captain Northwood, that you did not 
 intend to dismiss Captain Fletcher ? No business of mine, 
 of course, but that is how I understood matters." 
 
 " You understood my intentions rightly. Captain 
 Marshall, but Captain Fletcher has chosen to resign and 
 throw the Alastor on my hands at a moment's notice. 
 Here is his letter and a copy of his wages account, which 
 he accepts as correct. As long as Captain Fletcher has 
 got his cheque, it appears that the crew's wages and all 
 other accoimts can be settled by someone else ! Luckily 
 I have had lots of experience of that sort of thing, so I 
 
 313
 
 Sixty Years Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 shall be able to manage all right. Since Captain Fletcher 
 is in such a hurry to go, I am willing to oblige him and 
 get him signed off without delay." 
 
 Marshall looked over the papers before him and said 
 casually to Fletcher : 
 
 " I suppose you know that Northwood and Son are 
 pa3dng you and your brother the highest scale of wages 
 known in the port of Singapore ? " 
 
 Fletcher grunted a surly assent, and shifted about 
 uneasily on his feet until the necessary formalities were 
 accomplished, whereupon Captain Northwood very uncere- 
 moniously told him to go away, as nobody wanted to 
 have anything further to say to him. Fletcher went. 
 
 " Dear me ! What does this mean ? " inquired Marshall. 
 " You have been so exceedingly generous to that man in 
 every way, that it is difficult to understand his unjustifiable 
 conduct. By the way, who are you thinking of putting 
 in his place ? When you are thinking the thing over, you 
 might consider Captain Lewis. I am afraid Jack Lewis 
 is in very poor circumstances through no fault of his own, 
 and he has his wife and family to support. I believe him 
 to be an honest and competent man." 
 
 " Just the very man I want. I'll send for him at 
 once ! " 
 
 So saying. Captain Northwood returned to his office 
 and despatched a tamby to find Lewis at McAlister's. 
 
 Lewis's history was a sad one in its way, but nothing 
 very extraordinary. He had served a Chinese owner for 
 a few years, and being a careful man, had saved money and 
 married. Then came the evil day when the newly- 
 appointed chinchew, or Chinese supercargo, wanted to 
 overload the ship to such a dangerous extent that Lewis, 
 who as captain was responsible for everything, could not 
 possibly allow it. The chinchew, who was a nephew of the 
 owner, got into a violent rage with Lewis over this affair 
 and persuaded his uncle to dismiss the captain immediately. 
 
 Lewis had tried in vain to get another command. He 
 
 314
 
 A Tug of War 
 
 had been for a few voyages as mate, in order to earn a little 
 money, but the local skippers didn't care about a mate 
 who had been a captain, so that he was out of employment 
 and sinking deeper into the most hopeless poverty when 
 Captain Northwood sent for him. 
 
 He could scarce beUeve his senses when he was offered 
 the command of the Alastor. 
 
 " That's all right ! " said Captain Northwood. " Wait 
 for me on board the Alastor to-morrow morning, and I'll 
 take you over the ship. You will sign on later in the 
 day. I shan't want you any more to-day, so you had best 
 make use of your last holiday. By the way, you had 
 better go to Mr. Arratoon and draw a month's pay in 
 advance." 
 
 Lewis drew his cash, went round to a certain store to 
 buy some things which were sorely needed, and drove 
 off in a gharry to the miserable Chinese shop-house where 
 his wife and his two children were wearing out a friend- 
 less, miserable and half-starved existence. Great was 
 the joy in the little family when the father came home so 
 unexpectedly with the wonderful good news. Poor Polly 
 Lewis, once so pretty and now so pinched and wan, laughed 
 and cried in turns as she hugged her Jack and her wee bits 
 of pale children suffering from their unwholesome environ- 
 ments and semi-starvation. Was it possible that they 
 were to get out of this hideous place and to be able to buy 
 some decent clothes and have something to eat besides 
 rice, salt fish and cheap vegetables ? 
 
 Lewis had brought home a bottle of port with him, some 
 tinned provisions, a cake and some fancy biscuits. On this 
 they made such a feast as the unhappy family had not 
 even dreamed of in their mute misery for months and 
 months past. It was settled between them that Polly 
 Lewis should hire a gharry the next day and take her 
 children with her to Tanjong Katong. If she could find 
 a cheap bungalow on the seashore she was to take it at 
 once. The sooner the children exchanged the fetid atmo- 
 
 315
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 sphere in which they were dwindling away for the sea- 
 breezes of Tanjong Katong the better. 
 
 These Lewis people had nothing but praise and grati- 
 tude for the Northwoods. " People tell such awful lies 
 about them," said the Alastor's new captain. " I should 
 have gone to Captain Northwood long ago about our 
 troubles if I hadn't been scared away from him with tales 
 of his being such a brute, and they said the son was worse 
 than his father. Why Captain Northwood sends for me 
 and offers me the same pay as the Fletchers get, the highest 
 pay of the port, as quietly and simply as possible, just 
 as if he was doing nothing at all. He didn't try to beat 
 my wages down or bully me because we were starving — 
 like some others have done. It was Captain Northwood 
 himself who offered me a month's pay in advance, because 
 I suppose somebody must have given him a hint of our 
 condition. And young Northwood is as nice a lad as 
 I've ever seen. He can't be either a bully or a blackguard. 
 Anyone can see he hasn't got it in him ! " 
 
 Next day Koh Say Kiat came in with the news that 
 James Fletcher and Bird were going the round of the 
 Chinese merchants of Market Street and Boat Quay to 
 canvass them for their support for a new steamship ser- 
 vice for the Moluccas trade. They promised immediately 
 to put on a much finer and faster steamer than the Alastor 
 at reduced rates and to break up the Northwood 
 monopoly. 
 
 So that was the expla..iation of the mystery ! 
 
 Koh Say Kiat got orders to keep closely in touch with 
 the situation and to report everything. The clever, quiet 
 Chinaman nodded his head and disappeared. 
 
 Captain Northwood said rather bitterly : " We can 
 trust that Chinaman absolutely. He is a bit different 
 to Washington Clarke, Bird, James Fletcher and a few 
 others I could name, who are proud to call themselves 
 Englishmen ! " 
 
 Two days later, a bold advertisement in the Straits 
 
 316
 
 A Tug of War 
 
 Times notified that the fine, fast steamer Maharajah, 
 Captain Craster, had been chartered by Captain James 
 Fletcher and Partners from the Golconda Company, Limited, 
 for the Moluccas trade, and was now ready to load for 
 those ports. 
 
 The Northwoods were now further enlightened as to 
 the situation, but could not find the key to the enigma. 
 Where had James Fletcher got his money from ? Who 
 were his backers ? 
 
 Johnnie said that he thought that Captain Hardy was 
 in it, and if so, the menace to their trade was considerable, 
 for the old sailor had money and influence, besides an 
 intimate knowledge of the trade. Then it suddenly 
 occurred to Johnnie that Van Papendrecht was in it also. 
 He recalled the reserved, half - unfriendly attitude of 
 Cornelius of late. Certainly the Dutchman was in it. 
 
 " I believe you are right ! " said Captain Northwood. 
 " We shall have to be very careful what we are doing. 
 It's a bit awkward that the Maharajah happens to be a 
 fine new vessel, steaming a good two or three knots faster 
 than the Alastor. The enemy has got the heels of us ! " 
 
 Koh Say Kiat came in to report that Bird was offering 
 to take a considerable quantity of cargo for Menado and 
 Gorontalo, and suggested booking it for the Alastor at a 
 lower freight. This looked like good advice, but Johnnie 
 objected. " Let Koh Say Kiat work the rate down as 
 much as he can, but let Fletcher and his lot actually book 
 the cargo. While the Maharajah goes out of the direct 
 route, and is delayed in the Celebes ports, I can sail direct 
 for Temate in the Alastor and work round Van Papendrecht 
 and the Capitan China." Fletcher, by going to the Celebes, 
 would sacrifice the immense advantage he had in the 
 superior speed of the Maharajah, and give the North- 
 woods time in which to work. This Captain Northwood 
 thought was the right view of the position, and Koh Say 
 Kiat had his instructions accordingly. 
 
 The wily Chinaman thereupon started in bidding briskly 
 
 317
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 for the Celebes cargo at constantly dropping rates, to the 
 great delight of the Chinese shippers, until he reduced the 
 freight from a dollar to fifty cents per picul — when he 
 suddenly went out of the market. Fletcher and Bird 
 found that their next offer of forty-five cents was im- 
 mediately taken, and that they were saddled with the 
 Celebes cargo at fifty-five per cent, less than they expected 
 — a result at which they felt considerably " sold." How- 
 ever, it was a commencement of business, and it looked 
 well to see the Maharajah, lying close to the Alastor, 
 surrounded with lighters full of cargo. 
 
 Johnnie Northwood happened to meet his friend Smith 
 of the Golconda Company, and said : "So you have 
 chartered one of your best steamers to run against us ! " 
 
 " Can't help it, dear boy ! " replied the genial Smith. 
 " We've got to employ our ships so as to make 'em pay, 
 and we seldom get such a rattling good charter as we have 
 made for the Maharajah. Money safe ? Of course we 
 saw to that ! The first month's hire was paid on 
 signature of the charter-party, oddly enough by a cheque 
 signed by Mrs. Georgina Fletcher, the wife of Captain 
 John Fletcher, of your steamer the Brunei. Jolly nice 
 woman, Mrs. Fletcher — quite charming. I met her the other 
 day and was struck with her nice, unaffected manners ! " 
 
 Here was news indeed ! So John Fletcher was in it 
 too ! " Wonder who else is in this conspiracy," thought 
 Johnnie to himself. 
 
 His father was much put out on hearing the latest 
 development. John Fletcher was an excellent captain, 
 whom he liked very much, and who was indebted to him 
 for many a friendly service. There had never been any 
 difference between them, and it was really very dis- 
 heartening to find John Fletcher backing up his brother 
 with money made in the Northwood service. Of course, 
 John Fletcher would have to be got rid of directly the 
 Brunei, then about due, should arrive in Singapore 
 harbour. 
 
 318
 
 A Tug of War 
 
 So Northwood senior selected Captain Hawkins to 
 succeed John Fletcher. Barely had the Brunei come to 
 anchor when Hawkins was on board with an official letter 
 from Northwood and Son, ordering John Fletcher to hand 
 over the command of his steamer to the bearer. 
 
 Captain John went straightway to the office, and 
 protested vigorously against his dismissal and the manner 
 of it. He explained that for private reasons he kept his 
 banking account in his wife's name, and asserted that 
 his brother James had beguiled her into signing the cheque 
 for the charter money of the Maharajah without his 
 knowledge or consent. This perhaps was literally true, 
 but a few pointed questions from Captain Northwood 
 resulted in answers which clearly proved that John 
 Fletcher was a party to his brother's scheme. He urged 
 that he had strongly disapproved of the whole affair, but, 
 as he himself expressed it, he had been " humbugged into 
 a thoroughly rotten thing by his brother." 
 
 No doubt this was the case, but it was intolerable that 
 Captain John should supply Captain James with funds 
 to destroy the Moluccas trade of Northwood and Son. 
 Even the long-suffering Captain Northwood was beginning 
 to realize that he could have too much of the Washington 
 Clarke business. 
 
 John Fletcher felt his dismissal very keenly, the more 
 especially as he saw that Captain Northwood shared his 
 regret sincerely. John Fletcher was really a fine fellow, 
 and shook hands most heartily with both the Northwoods 
 on leaving their office. 
 
 Koh Say Kiat now brought word that things were not 
 running at all smoothly with what he called the 
 Maharajah Kongsi. It was a fact that Captain Craster, 
 the commander of the boat, resented the constant inter- 
 ference of James Fletcher and Bird in the loading of the 
 steamer. There had been a violent quarrel, too, between 
 John and James Fletcher. The charterers of the Maha- 
 rajah were already at their wits' end for ready cash, and 
 
 319
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 it was no secret that they were anxiously waiting for the 
 arrival of Captain Hardy in the Victory, now long over- 
 due, to supply them with the necessary funds. 
 
 During this crisis the old Victory sailed into Singapore 
 harbour, a floating wreck. Half her spars were gone, her 
 sails were in tatters, and her pumps were sending big jets 
 of Clearwater into the sea. Her ensign was half-masted — 
 a melancholy symbol of death ! Caught in a tremendous 
 storm off the Sangir Islands, brave old Hardy had worked 
 his ship like the seaman he was. During the height of 
 the tempest he was struck on the head by the loose end 
 of a flying rope, which had somehow got adrift. The 
 injury did not seem very serious at the time, but after the 
 Captain had saved his ship and had got into fine weather, 
 blood-poisoning set in, and carried him ofi in a very short 
 time. A little medical attendance would no doubt have 
 saved his life, but as things happened Hardy was dead, 
 and buried at sea. 
 
 Captain Northwood and his son heard the news with 
 infinite regret. Mrs. Hardy refused to receive Mrs. North- 
 wood when she called upon her, an incident which affected 
 the family at Woodleigh acutely. Captain Northwood 
 bitterly blamed Shelby for not having included the late 
 Captain Hardy in their combination, as he had promised. 
 Had Shelby been less greedy and more honourable in this 
 matter, what a train of trouble and disaster would have 
 been avoided ! 
 
 To the " Partners " or the " Conspirators," as Johnnie 
 Northwood called them, the death of Captain Hardy was 
 a terrible blow. However, they managed, by dint of 
 freights paid in advance and various other means, to 
 scrape enough money together to pay for their coals and 
 other disbursements. 
 
 Meanwhile the Alastor had loaded a full cargo, of which 
 no one could positively foretell the destination. Every 
 package was shipped by the owners and all outside cargo 
 was refused. 
 
 320
 
 A TvLg of War 
 
 An hour after the Maharajah left with a half cargo for 
 Menado and Gorontalo at very low freights, Northwood 
 and Son cleared the Alastor for Ternate direct. 
 
 After a fine and uneventful passage, Johnnie once more 
 found himself at Ternate. His first care was to seek out 
 Cornelius van Papendrecht, who received him with that 
 odd mixture of shyness and suspicion which grated so 
 much on his nerves. 
 
 Johnnie lost no time in making the position clear to 
 Van Papendrecht. The action of the Fletchers and of 
 Bird were briefly laid before him. He was told all about 
 the charter of the Maharajah, and lastly of the death of 
 Captain Hardy. 
 
 Van Papendrecht simply shivered in his fat way when 
 he heard that Hardy was dead. " I will have nothing 
 more to do with it ! " he said. 
 
 So Cornelius was in it, as Northwood had anticipated. 
 The two men discussed the situation for half-an-hour, at 
 the end of which time it was decided that Northwood 
 should remain in Ternate as the guest of Cornelius, while 
 Captain Lewis took the Alastor to Amboina, with letters 
 advising Shelby of the situation. 
 
 During the next few days Northwood led a peaceful, 
 but sorrowful life. He had memories of Ternate which 
 were sad and sweet. But his heart burned within him 
 when he found out how vilely his relations with Coralie 
 van Swoll had been misrepresented, for no better purposes 
 than revenge and greed. Dimly and slowly Cornelius 
 grasped the facts about his unhappy sister, and being 
 a generous man at heart, he acknowledged the wrong he 
 had done to Northwood and swore that he would redress it. 
 
 Ten days after Northwood had arrived, the Maharajah 
 steamed gaily into Ternate. As Johnnie watched her from 
 the verandah, he thought what a bonnie, up-to-date steamer 
 she was, with her straight stem, her pole masts, and her 
 general saucy, business-like air of a modem packet doing 
 her twelve knots without an effort. Captain Craster was 
 vbL, I* 321 ai
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 evidently a man who loved his ship. The Maharajah 
 was smartly painted up, and her brass-work was burnished 
 like gold. Certainly the Maharajah was a bit of a con- 
 trast to the ancient Alastor, with her old-fashioned clipper 
 bow, her great, overhanging elliptic stem, and her big 
 masts and spars. 
 
 However, Northwood had to turn his mind to matters 
 of much greater importance. As soon as certain formalities 
 were over, Captain James Fletcher would have to be con- 
 fronted. It had already been arranged between Cornelius 
 and Johnnie that the latter should do the fighting required. 
 
 Presently both James Fletcher and Bird were shown 
 mto Van Papendrecht's office. They came in with an air 
 of easy assurance until they perceived, in the carefully 
 shaded light of the apartment, John Dillon Northwood, 
 junior, sitting cheek by jowl with Cornelius van Papen- 
 drecht. They started back as if they had seen the Original 
 Serpent himself, ready to fix his fangs into them. How 
 Johnnie Northwood happened to be there they could 
 not understand. The essentially warlike young man, 
 however, lost no time in making his attack. He said, in 
 a deadly earnest way, to James Fletcher : " Your game 
 is up. Here is an agreement binding Cornelius van Papen- 
 drecht to me for three years, which you can see if you like. 
 As for your intended cruise to the New Guinea coast — 
 that's all off, and is now my business. The Alastor is 
 either at Amboina or Banda, and I defy you to get an 
 ounce of cargo from those islands ! Take my advice, and 
 get back to Singapore by the shortest route. The Maha- 
 rajah is a jolly expensive ship, and the sooner you get rid 
 of her the better. Now, please, go away ! I have had 
 quite enough of you ! " 
 
 James Fletcher fairly reeled under this attack. He 
 blurted out : " But Fm a ruined man, Mr. Northwood ! You 
 have ruined me and my brother and the whole lot of us ! " 
 
 Johnnie Northwood pulled himself together for his last 
 broadside and fairly roared out : " You, James Fletcher, 
 
 322
 
 A Tug of War 
 
 are a fool and a humbug, repeating the lies pumped into 
 you by that creature Bird at your elbow. Ask your brother 
 John whether he will trust me or whether he will trust 
 you ! You know perfectly well that you have yourself 
 to thank for what has happened. You and Bird have 
 both been in my employ and a nice use you have made 
 of the opportunities I have given you. You best know, the 
 pair of you, what return you have made for my constant 
 kindness to you. Get away, you damned, disastrous, 
 back-biting scoundrels, and be hanged to you ! " 
 
 The wTetched pair slunk out of the place, went on board 
 the Maharajah, and steamed her back to Singapore an 
 empty ship, amidst the coarse and constantly reiterated 
 congratulations of Captain Craster, who hated Fletcher and 
 Bird with a great loathing. When these two men were 
 not writhing under the lash of Craster, they spent their 
 time in bitterly cursing each other. 
 
 The expedition proved to be a perfectly ruinous affair, 
 and the " partnership " went to pieces amidst a variety 
 of sounds which were anything but harmonious. Bird, 
 having at last realized that the Northwoods were beyond 
 the reach of his spite, and that no shipowner or other 
 person in Singapore had any use for him, went back to 
 Australia by the next steamer. James Fletcher, finding 
 himself in precisely the same unenviable position as Bird, 
 shipped himself home to England. Captain Northwood 
 would fain have reinstated Captain John Fletcher in the 
 command of the Brunei, but that he did not care to dismiss 
 Hawkins, who seemed a decent man. However, it 
 happened that an Assistant Manager was wanted at the 
 Tanjong Pagar Docks, and Captain Northwood, being an 
 influential shareholder, secured the place for John Fletcher, 
 who was very thankful to him for a well-paid billet, which 
 suited him better than the command of any steamer. 
 
 In due course Johnnie Northwood arrived in the Alastor 
 with a large and very valuable cargo. He had won the 
 tug-of-war ! 
 
 VOL. I. 323 21*
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 OF THE NEWS WHICH AWAITED JOHN DILLON NORTHWOOD 
 ON HIS ARRIVAL AT SINGAPORE 
 
 WHILE young Northwood was away on his cruise to 
 Ternate, certain significant events had occurred. 
 Firstly, a serious fire had taken place in the 
 buildings at Battery Road. A pan of Scorcher's Patent 
 Metal had boiled over, and running along the floor had 
 set the spirits ablaze. At one time it looked as if the whole 
 of the buildings and their contents would be destroyed, 
 but the fire brigade had managed to save the offices and 
 the godowns in which the sago-flour was stored. The 
 whole front of the building, the spirit-stores, and the 
 godowns reserved for gums and spices were all in blackened 
 ruins. 
 
 The spirit-room and stores had been carefully specified 
 in Northwood and Son's insurance policies, so the com- 
 panies interested made no difficulty about settling claims. 
 It seemed rather a pity that so much valuable property in 
 the shape of gums and spices had been burned, while huge 
 piles of sago-flour, which could easily have been spared, 
 were left intact. 
 
 Somehow or another, Johnnie Northwood disliked 
 having to walk through ruined walls and pillars to get 
 to his office. There seemed to him something ominous 
 in these roofless and shattered buildings, through which 
 he had to pass so many times each day. Perhaps this 
 melancholy tinge was imparted to his feelings by the 
 tremendous and unexpected news that Morison, Wallis 
 and Co. had suspended payment and that Lewis Wallis 
 
 3«4
 
 Of the News which awaited John Dillon Northwood 
 
 had been arrested on a charge of fraud in connection with 
 the failure of his firm. Wallis was now out on bail, and 
 going to his office just as usual. He seemed to be in 
 excellent spirits, and made light of the charge of fraud, 
 which he said was perfectly groundless. Of course the 
 " corner " in sago-flour was entirely upset by recent 
 events, but Wallis claimed that Captain Northwood had 
 practically saved the situation. 
 
 As he expressed it to Johnnie : " Your father has done 
 wonders ! No other man but he could have done any- 
 thing. Forty-eight hours after my firm had suspended 
 payment, your father had all the Chinese assembled in 
 your ofiice, and explained to them that the ' corner ' was 
 a thing of the past, although it had still four months to 
 run under the contracts signed by us. He offered each 
 Chinaman a cheque for so much, according to the size of 
 his contract, to cancel it. Such is the influence your father 
 has over these people that every Chinaman took the cheque 
 that was given him and cancelled his contract without a 
 murmur. So that Northwood and Son are relieved of the 
 necessity of taking over the huge arrivals of sago now 
 coming in, and it is once more an open market. Everyone 
 is talking of your father's wonderful management in this 
 case. As for me, you will see that my London friends will 
 pull me through. It's not likely that an old house such as 
 Morison, Wallis and Co. will be allowed to come to the 
 ground. And the charge of fraud is sheer nonsense ! " 
 
 Johnnie consulted with his father and Busoni concern- 
 ing the position in which they were placed by the failure 
 of Morison, Wallis and Co. He found them both abso- 
 lutely tranquil and even hopeful as to the ultimate result. 
 Captain Northwood was simply delighted with the negotia- 
 tions which had got them out of the " sago corner," 
 Busoni was enthusiastic about the state of affairs, which, 
 according to him, could not be better. 
 
 Johimie called on his bankers and found that the credit 
 of Northwood and Son, so far from being impaired, was 
 
 325
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 much strengthened by the recent crisis. His father's 
 triumph over the Chinese difficulty, and his own striking 
 success in smashing the " Partners " at one blow, seemed 
 to demonstrate beyond aU doubt that Northwood and 
 Son understood their business. Their bankers informed 
 Johnnie that his firm could have practically as much money 
 as they wanted, which was particularly gratifying, because 
 they did not want to borrow a single sixpence at the 
 moment. 
 
 StiU, when Johnnie Northwood went over the question 
 of the " corner " with Busoni, the deeper he probed it 
 the less satisfactory did the outlook appear to him. 
 Although Busoni could not grasp the fact, Johnnie saw 
 that they would have to replace Morison, WaUis and Co. 
 in the huge Liverpool market. Busoni had committed 
 Northwood and Son so far in Liverpool that it was 
 practically impossible to do otherwise than carry on an 
 exceedingly risky business. Captain Northwood had 
 deliberately encouraged Busoni in his efforts to " steady 
 the market " out of loyalty to his Chinese friends, and 
 Lewis WaUis, by no means discouraged by his difficulties, 
 incessantly urged further speculations in Liverpool. 
 Everybody in Singapore thought that by a singularly 
 able move Captain Northwood had extricated his firm 
 from the " sago corner," but Johnnie Northwood saw, to 
 his horror, that Northwood and Son were not out of the 
 " comer " ; but, on the contrary, were drifting into end- 
 less complications at the prompting of Lewis Wallis ! Of 
 course, if Lewis Wallis's wealthy relatives in London chose 
 to come to his assistance, all would be well. But, sup- 
 posing the amount demanded was so large as to over- 
 come sentiment, what would be the upshot ? Johnnie 
 fairly shuddered. It meant a felon's prison to Lewis 
 Wallis, and possible ruin to the firm of Northwood and 
 Son. 
 
 Although it seemed quite a foregone conclusion that 
 Wallis's powerful London friends would find the money 
 
 326
 
 Of the News which awaited John Dillon Northwood 
 
 required to pay ofE the banks and other creditors, the 
 charge of fraud, of which he stood accused, was sufi&- 
 ciently serious. It appeared that, apart from the " sago 
 corner," Wallis had involved his firm in a series of abso- 
 lutely reckless speculations in pepper, which ran into 
 such huge sums of money, that the banks required him 
 to hypothecate his stocks of this spice and other produce 
 as security for his constantly swelling overdrafts. Having 
 started some very expensive plantations of tapioca simul- 
 taneously with his other great ventures, Wallis was 
 charged with having hypothecated the same stocks of 
 pepper to two different banks, in order to provide funds 
 for his plantations, which had swallowed up something 
 like half a million doUars. 
 
 The Morison, WalUs and Co. crisis extended over an 
 indefinite period, during which Northwood and Son were 
 left to " steady the market " in sago-flour. Johnnie 
 Northwood again wished that sago-flour was not an 
 article of such enormous bulk. He particularly wished 
 that he had not started to " corner " a product which 
 could be produced with a facihty which was simply dis- 
 gusting ! Singularly enough, the British Patent Sugar 
 Company, which had driven Northwood and Son into 
 the famous " corner," now supported them most loyally, 
 and facihtated matters to such an extent as to relieve 
 Johnnie of much of his anxiety. 
 
 In the meantime the Borneo trade was rolHng in its 
 accustomed profits, and the Moluccas trade, in spite of 
 Shelby's enormous demand, was at last sending money 
 to the parent firm in Singapore. So, after all, the mer- 
 cantile sky seemed serene as far as Northwood and Son 
 were concerned. 
 
 327
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 SOCIETY DOINGS 
 
 HALCYON days were now the lot of the Northwoods 
 for quite a long period. Sweet is the calm after 
 the storm ! 
 
 Mrs. Northwood, having both her husband and son at 
 home, launched them into a sea of gaieties. She enter- 
 tained people to tifhn-parties, dinner-parties, and even 
 breakfast -parties, because she never gave a dance without 
 asking people from a distance to stay at Woodleigh for a 
 day or two. Picnics at Ayer Manis were often renewed 
 with never-failing success. When His Excellency the 
 Governor of Labuan arrived on a visit to the metropolis 
 of the Straits, he Wcis invited by His Excellency of Singa- 
 pore to stay at Government House. The Governor of 
 Labuan, however, pleaded that he had aheady accepted 
 an invitation from Captain Northwood to make Wood- 
 leigh his home during his stay in Singapore. Whereupon 
 Mrs. Skinner said, with her usual good-nature : 
 
 " Now that that Northwood woman has got a real hve 
 Governor staying at her place, there's no standing her. 
 She's killing the wTetched man with dinner-parties. His 
 Excellency indeed ! She had better look after that 
 precious son of hers, one would think. He's turning out 
 a nice young man, isn't he ? First he carried on anyhow 
 with poor Clara Campbell, and then it was Mary Hardy, 
 and you know that awful story about that unfortunate 
 Miraflores girl, who had to be sent to Malacca ? Don't 
 tell me there was nothing wrong ! Malacca is a mighty 
 convenient place for some people, nobody knows what 
 
 328
 
 Society Doings 
 
 happens there 1 Now he's after the married women ! 
 Pityj^that that silly George Dashwood doesn't die of 
 something sudden. It might give young Northwood a 
 chance of making an honest woman of Flora ! And if 
 Caroline Northwood thinks I'm going to dance attendance 
 on her second<:lass dinners, while Skinner and I am shut 
 out of the dances and dinners she gives to her " sweU " 
 friends, who laugh at her up their sleeves, she's mightily 
 mistaken ! " 
 
 Dr. Macleod tried to pacify the irate Mrs. Skinner, 
 without any other result than that of getting into trouble 
 himself. He was told that he was a monster, and accused 
 vehemently of leading Johnnie Northwood into vice — 
 a proceeding which appeared to be absolutely' superfluous. 
 The worthy doctor laughed in his usual good-tempered 
 way, and betook himself to the bedside of one of his 
 patients. 
 
 Gossip of this kind about the Northwoods was by no 
 means rare in certain circles. Meanwhile, they had as 
 many invitations as they could possibly accept from some 
 of the best people in the island, and on rare occasions 
 they were even admitted within the sacred precincts of 
 Government House itself. 
 
 Captain Northwood, thinking it might interest his guest 
 the Governor to see his friend Chassepot's really beautiful 
 plantation, took him there by arrangement on one fine 
 Sunday morning. The old Frenchman received his visitors 
 very cordially. True, he insisted on addressing Captain 
 Northwood as Monsieur le Marquis de Carahas, but, for 
 that matter, he never called his own wife anything else 
 but Madame de Quincampoix , a proceeding which visibly 
 annoyed her extremely. 
 
 After an exceedingly enjoyable morning in the open 
 air Chassepot seated his guests before a really splendid 
 tiffin. The old Frenchman's wines were of the finest. 
 During the meal he said to the Governor : " Your Ex- 
 cellency, I am alway please to entertain the friend of 
 
 329
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 Monsieur le Marquis ! It cost me more of two himdred 
 dollar each time, but I do not care ! " 
 
 After making this rather awkward little speech, he 
 explained to the Governor that the Marquis de Cardbas 
 was a nobleman, who after rolling in riches, which he flung 
 about with profligate profusion, was suddenly reduced to 
 a state of penniless destitution, " So I always call him 
 le Marquis de Carahas ! " continued Chassepot most 
 genially, while he pointed to Captain Northwood, " It 
 cannot last ! Some day wiU be a tremendous krach, and 
 my friend le marquis wiU still be M. le Marquis de Carahas. 
 N'est-ce pas, Madame de Quincampoix ? " 
 
 Driving home, the Governor said to Captain North- 
 wood : " Your French friend gives a delightful dejeuner 
 a la fourchette, but he is something of an original, isn't 
 he?" 
 
 " He's a fine old planter and a decent feUow at heart, 
 but I've never heard him say a good word of anybody or 
 anything. I only wish he wouldn't bully that pretty wife 
 of his so outrageously, and he leads his sons a pretty awful 
 hfe of it. However, as a planter, he is simply splendid, 
 and he can caU me the marquis as long as he Ukes. 
 Johnnie enjoys shooting over his estate, and I would 
 forgive old Chassepot a lot more than his chaff for his 
 kindness to my son ! " 
 
 Shortly after this, the Governor left for Labuan in 
 the s.s. Brunei, and life at Woodleigh resumed its normal 
 aspect. 
 
 Another social fimction which followed shortly after- 
 wards was a gala diimer given by the Valbergs, who enter- 
 tained very profusely. 
 
 Mr. Valberg assembled the bigwigs round him at the 
 head of the table, while Johnnie was relegated with the 
 other young people to the further end of it, which was 
 presided over by Mrs. Valberg. A perfectly sumptuous 
 dinner proceeded its usual way until the hostess got absent- 
 minded and reminiscent. Fixing her glittering eyes, 
 
 330
 
 Society Doings 
 
 first on Johnnie and then on the chandelier, she said to it 
 in her penetrating falsetto : 
 
 " So you have been leading a life of adventure, young 
 man ! Fighting pirates Hke your father ! Must be in 
 the blood, I suppose ! Let me see. Who was it said the 
 Northwoods were so piratical themselves, that they must 
 fight somebody, even if it was only other pirates ? I 
 remember he said the Northwoods should adopt the skuU 
 and crossbones as the family crest, because they would be 
 what the French call armes farlantes. It sounds rather 
 like one of the clever things you say about the North- 
 woods, Valentine ! " 
 
 Poor young Valberg, in dire confusion, indignantly denied 
 having said anything of the kind. Johnnie, however, 
 made no effort to conceal his intense amusement over this 
 little complication, which was heightened by the innocent 
 amazement of Mrs. Valberg at the hilarity caused by her 
 remarks. 
 
 Her unhappy son took the thing much too tragically ; 
 he was of a sensitive nature, and had inherited a fair dose 
 of the family absent-mindedness. He sank into a brown 
 study, and brooded over thoughts which were evidently 
 of a singularly unpleasant nature. 
 
 The dinner came almost to its close quietly enough, 
 but with the dessert a fresh incident occurred. Mrs. 
 Valberg asked Johnnie Northwood to partake of some 
 bon-bons in a crystal dish before him, but assuring his 
 hostess that he did not particularly care for sweets, he 
 helped himself to some delicious fruit close at hand. Mrs. 
 Valberg then pressed her bon-bons on Horatio Griffin, a 
 nice young man, whose pink, chubby cheeks announced 
 clearly enough that he had but recently arrived from 
 Home, Sweet Home. Mr. Griffin swallowed some of the 
 proffered sweets, and then, at the urgent solicitation of 
 his hostess, worried down some more of them, though 
 apparently he did not enjoy the bon-bons very much. 
 Still, he was a bashful yoimg fellow, and did his best to 
 
 331
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 please Mrs. Valberg and everyone else in such a trifling 
 matter. Finally, even he felt that complaisance could 
 go no further, and politely intimated that he desired no 
 more sweetmeats. Whereupon Mrs. Valberg said very 
 earnestly to the rings on her fingers : "I am so pleased 
 you enjoyed them, Mr. Gri£&n, because no one else will 
 touch them, and I don't like the look of them myself ! 
 But, then, they are quite a novelty, and it is so difficult 
 to find anything new in Singapore. I saw them for the 
 first time in John Small's this morning. They are put 
 up in a large glass bottle and they are called ' Keating's 
 Anthelmintic Bon-bons.' I don't know what anthelmintic 
 is, but, of course, bon-bons are bon-bons all the world 
 over, and so I bought them. Somehow Keating always 
 reminds me of insect-powder. I don't suppose the Keating 
 who makes the anthelmintic bon-bons can be the same 
 person ! " 
 
 The situation was getting decidedly risky, but it might 
 have been saved had it not been for that riotous and 
 hilarious person, Mr. Ferguson, who simply howled : 
 " Haw ! Haw ! Haw ! This is positively the richest thing 
 I've ever seen ! Blest if Mrs. Valberg hasn't filled 
 him up with Keating's Worm Tablets ! Haw ! Haw ! 
 Haw ! " 
 
 Just then a deep, reverberating bellow from somewhere 
 near the middle of the table announced that Mr. William 
 Wapshot had spotted the joke and was enjoying it 
 immensely. Mrs. Dashwood broke into a peal of clear, 
 ringing laughter, which was highly infectious. Several 
 ladies giggled or indulged in little screams. The con- 
 fusion was further increased by poor Mr. Griffin staggering 
 to his feet unsteadily. His face, from which every tinge of 
 colour had fled, was as white as the tablecloth. Giving 
 vent to a hollow groan, the unhappy young man upset 
 his chair and a glass of wine, and bolting from the room, 
 vanished into the outer darkness before anyone could 
 stop him. 
 
 332
 
 Society Doings 
 
 During the ensuing uproar, Mrs. Valberg calmly re- 
 marked, to an epergne filled with fruit and flowers, that 
 really people had no manners nowadays, and that she 
 had serious doubts concerning Mr. Griffin's mentality. 
 Perhaps there was insanity in the family ! 
 
 Old Mr. Valberg was sadly put out about the whole 
 affair ; while poor Valentine, who had been aroused from 
 his reverie with a vengeance, appeared to be thunderstruck. 
 
 Captain Northwood, who was making heroic efforts to 
 suppress a smile, said to his old friend Valberg : " Non- 
 sense ! I assure you it will certainly do the young fellow 
 no harm whatever. Come along. Let us have a rubber 
 of whist and think no more about it ! " 
 
 " Very well ! " rejoined Mr, Valberg ruefully ; " but I 
 don't suppose Mr. Horatio Griffin will ever dine here 
 again ! " 
 
 After dinner, when many of the guests had betaken 
 themselves to a rubber of bridge. Dr. Macleod met Johnnie 
 in the broad lamp-lit verandah and had a chat with him. 
 On hearing of the skull and crossbones incident the doctor 
 laughed, and said : " You really seem to have had all the 
 fun of the evening at your end of the table." Speaking 
 of a professional visit which he had paid to Government 
 House that day. Dr. Macleod remarked that it lay at a 
 most convenient distance from town. It was not always 
 thus ; there was a time when Government House stood 
 on Leonie Hill, considerably further out of town. 
 
 According to Dr. Macleod, in the bygone days, when 
 Singapore was ruled by the Honourable East India Com- 
 pany, General Sir Orfeur Cavenagh was Governor of 
 Singapore — a gaUant old soldier, who had lost a leg during 
 the last battle which he had fought in India The missing 
 limb was replaced with soldierly simplicity by a common 
 iron-shod wooden leg, of the old-fashioned Greenwich 
 pensioner type. Sir Orfeur lived with much distinction 
 in his handsome residence on Leonie Hill, until one evening 
 he dined with one of the great Singapore merchants, who 
 
 333
 
 Sixty Years Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 actually lived in town over his offices — as merchants 
 sometimes did in those ancient times. The festivities 
 at the hospitable merchant's were prolonged until just 
 about daybreak, when His Excellency thought it about 
 time to go home. His syce had thought the same thing 
 previously, and had disappeared with Sir Orfeur's carriage 
 some hours before. Stout Sir Orfeur made nothing of 
 this, and said he would walk home, and started off on 
 foot. Unluckily, however, he had not gone very far — 
 that is to say, he had got near the bridge named after 
 him, when his wooden leg became fixed in a fire-plug which 
 had been carelessly left open. By what particular mis- 
 chance Sir Orfeur managed to give himself a rotary motion 
 while in this predicament it is hard to say, but it must 
 have made him a little dizzy, for the first citizen to drive 
 into town was greatly surprised to find His Excellency 
 laboriously walking round and round the fire-plug, while 
 his timber leg was literally smoking with long-continued 
 friction. The citizen extricated Sir Orfeur and drove 
 him to Leonie Hill, where he arrived greatly exhausted 
 from the effects of his circular tour. 
 
 At the next meeting of Council, the Governor mentioned 
 that, having had occasion recently to ride from town to 
 Government House, he had found the distance to be some- 
 thing enormous and that the fatigue of making the journey 
 on foot was correspondingly great. He therefore told the 
 Council to pass a vote at once for building a new Govern- 
 ment House much nearer the town. So the establish- 
 ment at Leonie Hill was sold, and for the fact that the 
 present palatial Government House is so accessible from 
 town the good people of Singapore have to thank Sir 
 Orfeur Cavenagh. 
 
 Dr. Macleod had no sooner finished his story than Mrs. 
 Northwood, who had been an unobserved listener, told 
 him that he ought not to tell such a scandalous anecdote 
 about a distinguished person. She refused to believe 
 a word of it, and said that her husband, although he was 
 
 534
 
 Society Doing^s 
 
 only a sailor, would be ashamed to spin such a yam about 
 Government House. Having thoroughly roasted the doctor 
 to her own satisfaction, she told Johnnie to order their 
 carriage, as it was high time for everybody to be off home. 
 The departure of the Northwoods was the signal of the 
 break-up of the party. Every one of the guests assured 
 Mr. and Mrs. Valberg that they had enjoyed themselves 
 thoroughly, which was probably the case. 
 
 The next evening there was a fancy dress ball given 
 at the Town Hall by the ladies of Singapore. This was 
 quite a brilliant affair. A profusion of hghts lit up the 
 portraits of departed Governors and the most pohshed of 
 floors. The regimental band in the gallery played perfectly 
 bewitching music for the scores of gaily-clad dancers, 
 who whirled each other joyously through space. Pierrots 
 and Pierrettes, paysans and paysannes, kings and queens, 
 footed it merrily with soldiers, sailors, and the daintiest 
 of fish-wives and flower-girls. Naturally there was a 
 comic policeman, and a clown who tried desperately hard 
 to be funny. A very handsome German lady made a 
 great sensation by coming as an officer of an Uhlan regi- 
 ment. She looked splendid in her adaptation of the 
 uniform, but her skirts were really so scanty ! As a 
 matter of fact, they scarce existed, but then she had such 
 dainty boots with jingling spurs. 
 
 Johnnie went in the uniform of the Pontifical Zouaves, 
 an actual uniform worn by the gallant owner, the French 
 Consul, Armand Duplessis de Belleville, during the battle 
 of Castelfidardo. It suited Johnnie splendidly and was very 
 comfortable to wear. Mrs. Dashwood was delightful in 
 a costume poudre, but she was just a little too much hke 
 an animated picture, and suffered in contrast with Clara 
 Campbell, whose superb youth triumphed in some cheap 
 httle gipsy-girl dress, which became her admirably. 
 
 Johnnie had seen very little indeed of Miss Campbell 
 since her arrival in Singapore, and now it seemed that 
 he could not have too much of her society. They danced 
 
 335
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 together repeatedly, and the gipsy girl proved to be a 
 sad flirt. During one of the intervals he took her out 
 to one of the cool side verandahs, but he had barely seated 
 himself by her when she was claimed by a tall, gawky, 
 dissipated-looking young fellow, with a most forbidding 
 countenance, who was dressed as a brigand, and who did 
 not condescend to take the slightest notice of the Ponti- 
 fical Zouave. Johnnie flushed angrily at this discourtesy. 
 But just at that moment Dr. Macleod, in Windsor uni- 
 form, stood before him, and, shaking his hand, said : " You 
 mustn't fly the Jolly Roger to-night, my lad. Remember 
 Mrs. Valberg ! You might have come as pirate, all the 
 same, though you make a very handsome Zouave. So 
 Mr. Mudgrove has cut you dead and taken away your 
 pretty partner ? Well, he has some right to resent your 
 attentions to Miss Campbell, if it happens that he intends 
 to marry her. Mudgrove is a thorough bad lot, who 
 will make Clara Campbell, or any other woman, miserably 
 unhappy. Why don't you cut him out ? It's easy to see 
 that the young lady, who is no fool, by the way, will be 
 overjoyed if you save her from such an evil fate. She is 
 penniless, as you know, and dependent on relatives who 
 want to get rid of her at the very first opportunity. If 
 I were a rich young man like you, I don't think I should 
 take long to send Mudgrove about his unholy business, 
 but I reaUy don't know what young men are made of now- 
 adays ! They seem to think of nothing but money ! Now 
 when I was your age a beautiful girl weighed in my esti- 
 mation infinitely more than all the filthy dross in the 
 world, though I had precious httle of it myself, I can 
 tell you. Now I had an idea that my friend Johnnie was 
 a httle above the ruck of the young men of the day. . . ." 
 " Oh, do be quiet. Doctor ! I've been dancing all night 
 and I'm as dry as a chip. Come along and let us have a 
 drink ! " 
 
 The two men walked to the front verandah, where a 
 resetted steward offered them some champa@ne-cup.
 
 Society Doingfs 
 
 which proved to be mostly soda-water. However, as 
 Dr. Macleod observed, it was wet and cold, and could 
 be guaranteed to refresh the thirsty dancers who came 
 crowding to the bar without intoxicating them if they 
 drank a bucket of it. 
 
 The ladies of Singapore had arranged a delightful 
 entertainment, but they had altogether under-estimated 
 the amount of champagne which a hundred or so of 
 dancing men can consume during a long night in a 
 tropical climate. It was said that the Committee had 
 decided that it was impossible for any number of people 
 to drink more than a dozen of champagne, especially if 
 mixed with plenty of soda-water. Besides, there were ices 
 and coffee and sandwiches and things. What more could 
 anybody want ? 
 
 Presently Mudgrove turned up with some especial 
 friends of his own set. They found the champagne-cup 
 most unsatisfactory, and said so without the slightest 
 scruple. Mudgrove demanded a whisky and soda, and 
 was horrified to learn that the ladies of the committee 
 had forgotten to order any whisky ! 
 
 " Here's a nice go ! " he observed, consulting his watch ; 
 " and the bar of the ' Europe ' is closed by this time ! 
 What shaU we do ? " 
 
 " It's all right, Muddy ! " said a young man with a red 
 nose. " I've got lots of whisky and soda in my digs at 
 the hotel, and I told 'em to send up some anchovy toast 
 before they shut up. I vote we get ! " 
 
 " That's the best news I've heard for a long time ! " 
 rejoined Mudgrove cheerfully. " Let's hook it sharp ! 
 What about a game of poker ? " 
 
 One of the group ejaculated " Hooray ! " another said 
 that dancing was " all rot," and a group of about half a 
 dozen men headed by Mudgrove hurriedly left the Town 
 Hall in search of more congenial surroundings 
 !> Dr. Macleod said, as he nudged Johnnie's elbow : 
 " We may be thankful that we haven't many like that 
 VOL. I. 337 22
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 lot in Singapore. They are off to drink and gamble until 
 broad daylight. You can see exactly how much Mudgrove 
 thinks of Clara Campbell when there's a chance of whisky 
 and poker before him ! " 
 
 Johnnie Northwood left the verandah feeling and looking 
 distinctly unhappy. His programme reminded him that 
 Mrs. Dashwood had given him the next waltz, so he sought 
 out that fair lady, who was now very bright and animated 
 and looking absolutely lovely. She was a bit extra 
 decolletee perhaps, but that was a detail which a young 
 bachelor is not likely to criticize too unfavourably. 
 Exactly how it happened, Johnnie had not the slightest 
 idea. He danced a couple of quadrilles with matrons to 
 whom he was indebted for sundry invitations, and he 
 scrambled through a polka with Miss McWhirter, a 
 wealthy but exceedingly bony Scottish spinster, " who 
 could neither trot nor gallop " as one of the gentlemen 
 present gracefully expressed it. But invisible bonds 
 seemed to hold him back from Clara Campbell. He found 
 himself floating through the very last waltz with Mrs. 
 Dashwood as daylight streamed into the ball-room. 
 
 When they got downstairs, Johnnie found that his 
 syce, like Sir Orfeur Cavenagh's, had got tired of waiting 
 and made himself scarce. George Dashwood had gone 
 home in a gharry shortly after midnight. Mrs. Dash- 
 wood said, " You can't walk three miles in that uniform 
 of yours in broad daylight. I'll drive you up the Orchard 
 Road and set you down near the gates of Woodleigh." 
 
 As they drove off, Johnnie could not help noticing that 
 a group of people in various gay costumes on the Town 
 Hall steps exchanged significant glances. 
 
 The young man found his mother waiting eagerly for 
 him in the great back verandah. The huge waringin 
 tree was a mass of bright green foliage gilded with the 
 rays of the morning sun and merry with flocks of birds 
 flying about in aU directions. Everything seemed cool 
 and sweet after the heated ball-room. 
 
 338
 
 Society Doings 
 
 *' Your father isn't back from his ride yet," said his 
 mother as she kissed him. " How tired you must be. 
 Sit down and drink your pepper-pot, and be off to bed 
 for a Httle sleep ! " 
 
 Mrs. Northwood was one of the subscribers to the ball, 
 but, like her husband, she thought a quiet evening at home 
 and a good sleep more enjoyable than a long night in 
 fancy dress. So, having put down his pepper-pot — a 
 decoction chiefly composed of pepper and chillies, and 
 about as pungent as anything on this earth can be — ^he 
 retired with tears in his eyes to get some sleep. 
 
 Pepper-pot in those days was a sovereign specific after 
 " a big night." It certainly clears the head and comforts 
 the stomach to an amazing degree, but in these degenerate 
 days when Indian cookery has almost disappeared from 
 Singapore, pepper-pot is a thing of the past. It wants 
 a real Indian artist to make it for one thing. How many 
 Singaporeans of the present day have tasted Indian gram- 
 fed mutton, not to mention a score of other Indian 
 delicacies ? 
 
 VOL, I. 339 22"
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE TURN OF THE TIDE 
 
 THE turn of the tide commenced with a dispute between 
 Johnnie Northwood and Jock Baxter, Surveyor 
 to Lloyd's Register. Honest Jock is dead and 
 gone this many a year, but there was a day when no man 
 was better known in Singapore shipping circles. In private 
 Hfe he was said to be of a very kindly disposition, but as 
 he lived a quiet and retired life few enjoyed his friendship. 
 Officially Jock was a fair terror ! He had a way of growl- 
 ing and snapping at shipowners which was the result of 
 long practice, and inspired them with a salutary fear of 
 Lloyd's Register of Shipping and of their Surveyor, Mr. 
 Jock Baxter. 
 
 Jock had a little bit of an office in Battery Road, almost 
 opposite Northwood and Son's buildings. When H.M.S. 
 Bacchante was due at Singapore with the Royal middies on 
 board, a great display of loyalty prevailed, and decora- 
 tions and festivities were the order of the day. Young 
 Northwood was charged by the Committee of which he was 
 a member to see that Battery Road was suitably deco- 
 rated, and to raise subscriptions for that purpose. Johnnie 
 visited the redoubtable Jock, to beg of him some smaU 
 contribution towards decorating Battery Road on the 
 occasion of the visit of our two young princes. 
 
 " What ! " roared Jock, perfectly blue with rage. 
 " Money for decorations ? Na ! na ! I'U do my own 
 decoratin' ! I'U hing up a couple of young shairks, one 
 on each side of the door. Just you leave me to mind my 
 own decoratin' and good mornin' to ye ! " 
 
 340
 
 The Turn of the Tide 
 
 As Jock Baxter was quite capable of doing as he said he 
 would, Johnnie was much reheved when the day came 
 to find that no young sharks dangled in front of the 
 Surveyor's ofhce. Perhaps there were none to be had at 
 the moment. 
 
 Captain Northwood was away on a trip to Borneo when 
 the trouble took place with Jock Baxter. 
 
 There was a great demand for petroleum at the time 
 in the Moluccas. Shelby had made good his boast that 
 he would monopohze this very important business in his 
 region. He was now selling the oil at a profit of something 
 Uke one hundred per cent., and the only trouble was to 
 keep him suppHed with sufficient quantities of it. To 
 this end it had been decided to load the Ceylon with a 
 full cargo of American kerosene. 
 
 Jock Baxter had been looking round the Ceylon on various 
 occasions, and it was understood that he was completely 
 satisfied with the condition of the vessel, which was first- 
 class in every way. No sooner was she loaded and ready 
 for sea, however, than Mr. Baxter ordered the captain to 
 discharge the cargo in his after-holds into lighters, as he 
 wished to examine the ship's stern-post. 
 
 Now the Surveyor had had every opportunity of ex- 
 amining this part of the ship before she commenced load- 
 ing. To discharge some thousands of cases of oil, just in 
 order to put them back again, seemed to be a most grievous 
 and ruinous proceeding, involving such delay and expense 
 as appeared intolerable to Northwood. Had his father 
 been in Singapore the matter would probably have been 
 arranged without much difficulty, but an angry scene, 
 in which Northwood accused Baxter of caprice and 
 neglect of his duty, ended in the old man saying, in his 
 usual abrupt way : " Ye'll get no insurance on either ship 
 or cargo until you do as I tell ye ! Good mornin' ! " 
 
 Surely enough Northwood found it impossible to get 
 a single policy on either the hull or cargo of the Ceylon 
 while she lay under the ban of Jock Baxter ! After a 
 
 341
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 consultation with Captain Watson and the ship's officers, 
 who all declared her to be fit for any voyage and that they 
 would be responsible for her safety, Northwood deter- 
 mined to defy Jock Baxter and send the Ceylon to sea un- 
 insured. He went on board to despatch her for Amboina. 
 A lot of money had been spent on the barque during her 
 stay in Singapore, and Captain Watson declared with much 
 pride that she was as strong and well found a vessel as 
 any sailor could wish to see. As to the ship and cargo 
 being at owner's risk, that was a mere detail of which 
 Watson and his officers made hght. The insurance com- 
 panies had missed a heavy premium, which would remain 
 in the pockets of Northwood and Son, and so much the 
 better. 
 
 Johnnie left the Ceylon, and from his boat saw her running 
 merrily out of Singapore harbour under full sail. What 
 a picture she looked ! His heart was rent with a pang of 
 envy when he thought that he could not sail in her himself. 
 That was the way to go cruising to the Moluccas. It was 
 the real thing ! 
 
 As the Ceylon went flying before the breeze, Johnnie 
 reflected with a certain glow of satisfaction that her cargo 
 would certainly clear a profit of one hundred per cent, 
 on the voyage outwards, and with anything Hke decent 
 luck she would make another handsome profit on the 
 homeward run. She was a bonnie ship, anyway, but she 
 seemed to be a perfectly lovely packet in the eyes of one 
 of her owners. 
 
 One morning, only a fortnight after Johnnie North- 
 wood had despatched the Ceylon on her voyage with such 
 high spirits, he was horribly siirprised to find Captain 
 Watson and his mates waiting for him in the office. What 
 the demon were they doing there ? Their proper position 
 was somewhere half way to Amboina ! 
 
 Watson soon told his dismal story. The Ceylon had 
 made a splendid run until she got on fire off the Java 
 cocist and burned to the water's edge. Watson said the 
 
 342
 
 The Turn of the Tide 
 
 conflagration was the most magnificent sight he ever hoped 
 to see. The crew had just time to take to the boats and 
 get clear of the blazing ship, but they escaped with nothing 
 more than the clothing in which they stood. Fortunately, 
 the Dutch mail-boat, Graf van Bylandt, had been attracted 
 to the spot by the tremendous glare thrown on the sky by 
 the flaming cargo of petroleum, picked up the Ceylon's 
 boats, and landed her entire crew early that morning in 
 Singapore. 
 
 Johnnie heard this news wath something like consterna- 
 tion, although he kept very cool and quiet. The loss of 
 the Ceylon and her cargo was a very serious matter. Quite 
 apart from the actual value of the hull and the cargo, 
 a profit of one hundred per cent, on a big petroleum 
 shipment had gone flaming to the skies in this disastrous 
 way, and a most useful ship had been lost just when she 
 was most wanted. 
 
 Later in the morning the Moluccas mail, brought by the 
 Graf van Bylandt, was delivered. Shelby hated writing 
 letters, but he was a pretty good correspondent, never- 
 theless, who went straight to the point and did not mince 
 matters. Here are a couple of letters which Northwood 
 received by the Dutch mail-boat : 
 
 " Amboina. 
 
 " Messrs. Northwood and Son, Singapore. 
 
 " Dear Sirs, 
 
 " We are just completing Alastor, and expect to 
 despatch her for Singapore via Ternate to-morrow after- 
 noon. She takes a fuU cargo, which wiU leave a big profit 
 behind it. 
 
 Markets are good. Rice is firm, but we have still a fair 
 stock of it. We are short of kerosene, and hope you have 
 sent us a full cargo per Ceylon. Prices are going up aU 
 the time, but having driven everyone else out of the market, 
 we are bound to supply the demand or get into serious 
 trouble. People are already asking whether they must 
 
 343
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 go to bed at sundown because Northwood and Shelby can't 
 keep sufficient stocks of kerosene in hand. 
 
 We are also short of arrack, which is also going well at a 
 big profit. The difficulty is to get enough of this also. 
 Our brand gets more popular every day, and we could 
 sell a whole cargo of it. 
 
 " Other details per Alastor. 
 
 " We are, dear Sirs. 
 
 " Yours faithfuUy, 
 
 " Northwood and Shelby." 
 
 This letter would have made excellent reading in the 
 usual course, but at the moment it came very iU. North- 
 wood opened the next cover in the hope that it might 
 contain something more soothing. It ran as follows : 
 
 " Amboina. 
 " Messrs. Northwood and Son, Singapore. 
 " Dear Sirs, 
 
 " A native prahu has just arrived from Ceram with 
 the captain and a few men of the crew of our steamer 
 Almaheira on board. The captain reports that his steamer 
 was caught in a storm and went ashore, becoming a total 
 loss — some of the crew are missing and a Dutch gunboat 
 is now leaving for Ceram to search for them. The steamer 
 had discharged a cargo of kerosene and arrack, and was 
 in ballast at the time she went ashore. I have found the 
 Almaheira most useful in distributing small cargoes of 
 kerosene and arrack amongst the islands and much regret 
 her loss. 
 
 " As she was under the Dutch flag and wholly uninsured, 
 the loss of the Almaheira (ex Coralie van Swoll, ex Fairy 
 Queen) concerns none but ourselves. We wish you would 
 see about replacing her as soon sis possible. 
 
 "Alastor will positively sail to-morrow evening. 
 " We are, dear Sirs, 
 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 
 " Northwood and Shelby." 
 
 344
 
 / 
 The Turn of the Tide 
 
 Northwood read this second letter very attentively and 
 then put it carefully away in his pocket. As Shelby re- 
 marked, the loss of the Almaheira concerned no one but 
 themselves, and there was no use putting this news on 
 the market at a time when all Singapore was talking of the 
 Ceylon disaster. It was truly astonishing that he should 
 receive advices of the loss of two of their ships uninsured 
 on one and the same morning. 
 
 Meanwhile Captain Watson was telling the story of his 
 escape from the burning Ceylon to various interested 
 listeners at McAlister's, while Jock Baxter was going the 
 round of various owners, enforcing a moral and pointing a 
 tale. To judge by the rolling thunder of Jock's denun- 
 ciations, deUvered v^ith the authority of a prophet of old, 
 his hearers were at liberty to believe that the Ceylon had 
 vanished in a perfect hell of flame as an express warning to 
 the profane and ungodly shipowners of Singapore, who 
 had better repent while there yet was time, and acknow- 
 ledge that there was only one Lloyd's Register, and that 
 Jock Baxter was its prophet. 
 
 The Brunei and Alastor both arrived the next morning, 
 and Johnnie lost no time in going off to the former vessel 
 to meet his father. Although Captain Northwood travelled 
 as a passenger, it was easy to see that he had had some- 
 thing to do with the handling of the steamer, which was 
 loaded quite in the good old-fashioned style. The Brunei 
 sat very deep in the water, and her decks were piled up 
 high with cases of rubber and rattans, and simply swarm- 
 ing with passengers. In reply to Johnnie's remonstrances, 
 his father laughed as he admitted that the boarding officer 
 had made some pretty strong remarks on the subject. 
 
 " But I think I ought to know my monsoons by this 
 time. The sea was hke a sheet of glass the whole way, and, 
 of course, I knew perfectly well that it would be so ! " 
 
 He fairly whistled when he was told of the loss of the 
 Ceylon and her cargo uninsured. " There is nothing like 
 the Borneo trade after all," he said. " That Moluccas 
 
 345
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 trade is always going to make a tremendous fortune for 
 us, but it is full of the most ungodly surprises. You had 
 no business to quarrel with Jock Baxter, and still less to 
 send the Ceylon away uninsured. What's the good of my 
 making money in Borneo if you throw it away in the 
 Moluccas ? " 
 
 The other bit of Moluccas news Johnnie reserved for a 
 more convenient and private occasion. 
 
 When Captain Northwood had fully mastered aU the 
 facts of the position, he decided that there was nothing for 
 it but to load the Alastor with kerosene and perhaps some 
 three or four thousand cases of arrack, and send her back 
 to Amboina as soon as possible. Shelby was quite right 
 about the petroleum trade. It would never do to keep the 
 islands short of their only illuminant, and however incon- 
 venient it might be, the general cargo would have to wait 
 for another trip. The loss of the Ceylon and Almaheira 
 disorganized their plans enormously. 
 
 There was no suitable sailing-ship to be bought at the 
 moment. As for the poor old Victory, that ancient ship 
 has been so shattered in her last storm that she had been 
 sold at a very low price to the Chinese ship-breakers at 
 Tanjong Rhu, and there was now but little of her left. 
 
 The spices brought by the Alastor fetched unexpectedly 
 high prices. As a matter of fact, Shelby was getting this 
 market more and more into his hands, so that Northwood 
 and Son were now having less and less competition when 
 they realized their supplies, and were able to put up their 
 prices accordingly. 
 
 The Alastor was hurried away to sea again without the 
 loss of an hour, and safely reached Amboina with her 
 inflammable cargo just in time to relieve an intolerable 
 situation. 
 
 Business ran smoothly with Northwood and Son for a 
 few weeks more, when they had to face a heavier blow 
 than any which had been dealt them hitherto. 
 
 Matters had come to a crisis with the affairs of Morison, 
 
 346
 
 The Turn of the Tide 
 
 Wallis and Co. Their friends at home were either unable 
 or unwilling to find the very large capital necessary to 
 pay off the banks in full in hard cash. The banks, on their 
 side, appeared more anxious to convict Lewis WaUis of 
 fraud than to come to any settlement with him. They 
 were perfectly convinced that he was guilty of very gross 
 frauds, and may have thought it necessary to procure 
 a conviction in order to put the whole of the banking 
 business of Singapore on a safe and proper basis. Besides, 
 the feeling against Wallis had grown much stronger with 
 time and the banks grew more uncompromising. At last 
 all negotiations were broken off, and from that moment 
 the prosecution of the remaining partner in one of the 
 oldest houses in Singapore was pushed on with great 
 activity. 
 
 Finally, the sad day came when Johnnie Northwood 
 went to the Supreme Court to see his friend, a fellow 
 monopolist, stand his trial for fraud. 
 
 Poor WaUis, who looked, and indeed was, very ill, was 
 accommodated in a seat within the dock. His London 
 friends had provided ample funds for his defence, and 
 he was assisted by some of the best lawyers of the place. 
 The case was tried before a special jury and lasted two 
 days. As it proceeded it seemed to be made quite clear 
 that Wallis, in order to raise large sums of money of which 
 he was in urgent need, had hypothecated great quantities 
 of produce stored in his godowns to more than one bank 
 as security for advances. To pawn an identical thing to 
 more than one person is, of course, fraud of an indefensible 
 type, and although his lawyers did their best for Lewis 
 Wallis, their efforts were of no avail. 
 
 It was a glaring, sultry afternoon when the jury, after 
 retiring for a few minutes, filed back into their places. 
 In reply to the usual question, the foreman declared that 
 they found the prisoner guilty ! Their verdict was 
 unanimous. 
 
 The Chief Justice made the few remarks on the case, 
 
 347
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 unavoidable on such an occasion, and sentenced Lewis 
 Wallis to two years' hard labour ! 
 
 The unfortunate man heard his sentence with much 
 courage and dignity, though he was deadly pale. A horrid 
 kind of trap opened up in the floor of the box, through 
 which he disappeared in charge of a police inspector. A 
 black van waited for the convict below, in which he was 
 driven off to the big Singapore prison. 
 
 Northwood left the court very sick at heart, and with 
 a terrible feeling that he was threatened mth disaster of 
 some kind. When he told his father of the result of the 
 trial, he said it might go hard with them over the liquida- 
 tion of the sago-flour business, and that their credit might 
 be affected by the particularly unhappy circumstances 
 attending the failure of Morison, Wallis and Co. 
 
 " Well, we are all right now," his father replied, " and 
 it will be our own fault if we don't remain so. We stand 
 to lose money, and for that matter we may lose every dollar 
 we have got, but as long as we keep our heads, that is the 
 absolute worst that can happen to us. Now I want you 
 to promise me faithfully on your word of honour that you 
 will never sign bonds of hypothecation or mortgages 
 or anything of that kind. If we cannot get on without 
 that kind of thing we had better throw up the sponge at 
 once. No man can force us to do business a day longer 
 than we think right. Lewis Wallis is an honest man by 
 breeding, and he was essentially an honest man all his life 
 until he got driven to all sorts of expedients trying to 
 save his firm. I wish the poor fellow hadn't let you into 
 that sago corner. But never mind that ! Do you promise 
 to act as I wish, no matter what the emergency may 
 be? " 
 
 Johnnie gave his word and kept it, as his father knew 
 full well that he would. 
 
 Once Lewis Wallis was safely in jail the liquidation of 
 his firm was taken vigorously in hand. It was a difficult 
 and complicated business. The unlucky man had 
 
 348
 
 The Turn of the Tide 
 
 apparently gambled in everything, from sago-flour to 
 pepper, and from tin to gutta-percha and gambier. His 
 huge shipments of these varied products kept a constant 
 stream of bills of exchange running through the banks, 
 and his brokers were busy selling Morison, Wallis's paper. 
 It would appear that he meant to conceal the real position 
 of his firm by the very magnitude of his operations, but 
 really he overdid the thing, and made the Singapore bankers 
 nervous about his account. 
 
 An investigation of the firm's books showed that Morison, 
 Wallis and Co. were in an excellent position and doing 
 a very good business until Lewis Wallis began plunging 
 into planting and mining speculations, quite foreign to 
 his firm's usual business, and which resulted in heavy 
 losses. These losses he had tried to recoup by gambling 
 in produce on a huge scale. Some of his ventures were 
 very successful, and many people thought that if he could 
 have lasted a few months longer he would have achieved 
 his object and restored his firm to its former position. 
 As was now the case, he had left huge unsold stocks in 
 Europe, afloat in a fleet of steamers and sailing ships, and 
 in various godowns in Singapore. 
 
 The realization of all this produce was bound to disturb 
 the market, especially when the banks decided to sell 
 the large stocks in Singapore by public auction instead 
 of shipping them to be realized at home. The sago-flour 
 market was absolutely slaughtered by the sales at public 
 auction. Thousands of bags of sago-flour, for which 
 Morison, Wallis and Co. had paid three dollars per picul, were 
 sold at one dollar fifty cents — a price much below the cost 
 of production and absolutely by far the lowest ever known 
 in the whole history of the trade. Sago-flour in London 
 and Liverpool immediately fell in sympathy with Singa- 
 pore. The losses were enormous, and Northwood and Son 
 were heavily hit. They had been " steadying the market " 
 a little too much, and even after the failure of Morison, 
 Wallis and Co. they never thought it possible that the 
 
 349
 
 Sixty Years* Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 banks would realize such enormous holdings by throwing 
 them on the market, to be knocked down for what they 
 would fetch. 
 
 For the first time solid business-like people began to 
 " talk about " Northwood and Son, Various wasters 
 who existed on precarious overdrafts predicted that the 
 Northwoods would shortly appear in the same dock as 
 Wallis. Of this sort of thing the Northwoods took no 
 notice, nor could they find that attacks from aU sorts 
 of men, many of whom were indebted to them, in any way 
 contracted their credit. On the contrary, a quiet period 
 once more prevailed for many months, during which the 
 Northwoods indulged in their proverbial hospitalities and 
 their never -failing charity. 
 
 350
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE CRISIS 
 
 THINGS went bravely with Northwood and Son 
 until all but a few had discontinued talking down 
 the credit of the firm. 
 
 But the Moluccas trade was giving trouble in spite of 
 its real profits, which were something phenomenal. It was 
 a greedy trade, which wanted feeding with fresh capital all 
 the time. Above all it wanted fresh tonnage. The Alastor 
 could no longer cope with the demands on her space since 
 the destruction of the Ceylon, and the loss of the Almaheira 
 was much felt by Shelby. 
 
 Large orders came in from the Batjan Company. 
 Cornelius van Papendrecht was simply howling for 
 hundreds of tons of " trade " for the islands and the New 
 Guinea coast, and all sorts of people made bitter remarks 
 about Northwood and Shelby and their way of working 
 the monopoly which they had established. 
 
 So Captain Northwood, much against his will, chartered 
 a fine steamer called the Martaban to carry the cargo 
 which the Alastor shut out every trip. It was settled this 
 time that the Captain should go in the Martaban on a tour 
 of inspection as far as the New Guinea coast, while his son 
 took charge of the business in Singapore. The Martaban 
 loaded largely with machinery for Batjan, New Guinea 
 trade for Van Papendrecht, and, of course, as much 
 kerosene and arrack as could possibly be got into the ship 
 for Amboina. Northwood senior did not like a chartered 
 ship which was not his own, but he was given exceedingly 
 nice quarters on board of her, and her captain was a very 
 
 351
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 decent fellow, very anxious to give satisfaction to his 
 charterer. 
 
 About a fortnight after Captain Northwood had sailed, 
 the Alastor arrived with a full cargo. Shelby wrote that 
 the steamer was wanted back in Amboina as soon as 
 possible, also that a splendid clove-crop was coming on 
 which it was absolutely necessary to secure, and in order 
 to do this it was imperative to ship him one hundred 
 thousand guilders in cash by the return voyage of the 
 Alastor. Shelby's figures were perfectly clear, and 
 demonstrated beyond all doubt that this large sum in 
 cash was wanted if the clove-crop was not to be dispersed 
 in several hands, thus setting up competition both in 
 buying and selling. The cargo usually shipped by the 
 Alastor to the Moluccas being cheap and bulky stuff, such 
 as rice, kerosene, arrack, etc., it was impossible to send the 
 necessary value to Shelby, except by supplying him with 
 cash to a large amount to supplement the value of the cargo. 
 
 Northwood took Shelby's letter to his banker, Mr. 
 Arbuthnot, who, after considering the matter carefully, 
 thought that Shelby's demand was quite legitimate and 
 business-like. If Northwood and Son wanted to borrow 
 one hundred thousand guilders for that specific purpose 
 they could certainly have it. It was thereupon agreed 
 that Arbuthnot should buy the guilders for Northwood 
 and Son's account and pack them in fifty cases of two 
 thousand guilders each for shipment to Amboina. 
 
 This point being settled, young Northwood set to work 
 with characteristic energy to despatch the Alastor by 
 Saturday night. It was a difficult task indeed, but unless 
 it was done the whole of Sunday and part of Monday would 
 be lost, and time was of immense value in the present 
 instance. The Northwood oJSice was kept at it early 
 and late. Morning rides, tiffins and dinners were all off. 
 Arrangements were made to supply the staff with meals 
 in the office, and as Johnnie was the first to arrive and the 
 last to leave no one grumbled or thought of grumbling, 
 
 352
 
 The Crisis 
 
 The guilders were shipped during Saturday, while the 
 Alastor's winches had been kept going all the time — day 
 and night. Masses of invoices, manifests and letters had 
 to be got ready before the steamer could start. About 
 nine p.m. Mr. Arratoon walked up to Northwood's desk 
 with bleared eyes and said he was done up and could 
 make out no more invoices ; the ship would have to wait 
 until Monday. 
 
 " Whaat is all this hurry, Mr. Northwood ? Keep 
 her till Monday ! It will be all right ! " bleated Tony. 
 
 Northwood looked up from his papers. The black- 
 ness of the great big office was dotted with points of light. 
 Lamps and candles shed a dim glow over Busoni driving 
 away at the manifests, over Fuller, hard at it on piles of 
 bills of lading, and over cop^dng-clerks slaving at letters. 
 Captain Lewis was waiting patiently in a corner for his 
 papers and mail-bags. Another couple of hours would 
 see the whole thing through if that cocktail of an Arratoon 
 would but stick to his job a little longer ! 
 
 Northwood took the tired Armenian into the tiffin- 
 room and split a pint of champagne \vith him. That 
 bucked up Tony a bit, and a promise of a week's holiday 
 reconciled him to a further and final effort. Still he went 
 back to his desk feebly drawling : " Whaat 's this ? 
 Whaat for ? Much better wait till Monday ! Why not 
 wait till Monday ? " 
 
 Finally the last of the big, fat envelopes was sealed up, 
 the mail-bags closed and secured, and, wishing Captain 
 Lewis a safe and pleasant passage, Johnnie ordered him to 
 get on board the Alastor and start in her for the Moluccas 
 without losing a minute. 
 
 The big office clock was striking the hour of midnight 
 as the younger Northwood at the head of his worn-out 
 staff left the place. Together with Busoni he walked to 
 Johnston's Pier to hear the hoarse scream of the Alastor's 
 steam whistle and to see her lights vanish in the distance. 
 Well ! he had got her away to sea on Saturday night, 
 VOL. I. 353 23
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 or, perhaps, in the first hour of Sunday, which was much 
 the same thing. He then drove Busoni home, and finally 
 got to Woodleigh deadbeat. He was too worn out even 
 to undress himself ; he just got into bed as he was, and 
 went off in a dead sleep the minute his head touched 
 the pillow. 
 
 The next morning he was in the saddle shortly after 
 gun-fire taking his grey mare Lucy, nearly frantic for want 
 of exercise, for a tearing gallop of some mUes along the 
 soft Singapore roads. Getting home fairly pouring with 
 sweat, he had his cold bath, and putting on a clean, cool, 
 white suit, went to the great back verandah, where he 
 found his mother waiting to give him his tea, and to over- 
 whelm him with gentle reproaches for working himself 
 to death. 
 
 " So you have got the Alastor away as you said you 
 would. But why didn't you keep it back till Monday ? 
 What's the good of your killing yourself like this ! Are 
 we not rich enough in all conscience ? What is the use of 
 making more money than we can possibly spend ? Do 
 be more careful of yourself. You are wearing yourself 
 to skin and bone over that hateful Moluccas trade. I wish 
 to goodness we had never seen that wretched Captain 
 Shelby ! I feel sure he will play you a sad trick one of 
 these days. He looks to me to be such a plausible and 
 shifty kind of man. And I can't help thinking of poor 
 Captain Hardy and Mary. This money-making is a cruel 
 business. Mrs. Hardy is left with very little after all her 
 husband's life of toil, and she will not hear of accepting 
 the slightest assistance from us. She says that Shelby and 
 you ruined them between you. that her husband was 
 so well off and even rich until you took matters in hand. 
 She says that he would never have been caught in that 
 frightful storm off the Sangir Islands, which ended in his 
 death, if you and Shelby had not driven him off his regular 
 trade. See what aU this rush for money means to people 
 who are not wealthy like we are ! People call us mono- 
 
 354
 
 The Crisis 
 
 polists and all sorts of names. I wish, dear Johnnie, that 
 we could just keep to our own Borneo trade and let other 
 people earn a living ! " 
 
 Johnnie soothed his mother by promising to take her 
 to church that morning. This was an irresistible bribe, 
 which she accepted with avidity. In due course they 
 were being solemnly trotted to the Scottish Church in the 
 big family landau, behind a pair of fat horses, which 
 sweated themselves into a lather under the blazing sun 
 to which they were exposed, poor creatures, for the long 
 period during which a reverend gentleman from the North 
 of Scotland talked himself hoarse over an obscure text 
 found in some corner of Ezekiel. The prophet himself 
 might have possibly understood it in his time, but the 
 worthy clergyman, affectionately known to the faithful as 
 the Padre, seemed to be in a great state of dubiety about 
 it, and left off very much where he began after thirty-five 
 minutes of earnest exhortation, which took it out of the 
 pious person very considerably, and fairly stupefied his 
 tiny congregation. After the usual collection, Johnnie 
 got his mother and himself safely into the big landau, and 
 drove back to Woodleigh behind a pair of reeking horses 
 and a fried syce. 
 
 The rest of Sunday was passed peacefully enough amidst 
 the great cool verandahs and the marble vestibule of 
 Woodleigh. It was sweet to lounge lazily about the old 
 mansion and to enjoy bright vistas of green lawns and 
 masses of trees and flowers through the familiar arches 
 and pillars. Johnnie persuaded himself that the period 
 of struggle was practically over, and that at last he could 
 get off his cruel rack and enjoy some rest and peace of 
 mind. In a rather listless sort of way, he thought of what 
 his mother had said in the morning. Why, indeed, should 
 he slave and toil to get more money, when it would have 
 been so easy to be content with an ample fortune far in 
 excess of all the demands which he and his father could 
 make upon it ? WeU, he for one had had enough of strife 
 VOL. I. 355 23*
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 and struggle, and he there and then determined to shape 
 the future destinies of Northwood and Son so that both 
 his father and he should have some larger measure of peace 
 and rest and let who will fight for golden monopolies. 
 
 He felt soothed and relieved beyond measure to think 
 that he would ease the intolerable strain under which his 
 father suffered in common with himself. Shelby might 
 shout and squeal as he hked, but there would be no more 
 ships bought for the Moluccas trade, nor any more large 
 specie shipments. 
 
 So he went downstairs to the beautiful dining-room in 
 a particularly tranquil and cheerful frame of mind. 
 
 The poor devil had not the faintest idea that he had bid 
 farewell to anything like peace and happiness the previous 
 night, or that he was walking straight into the torture 
 chamber, instead of escaping into a sort of earthly paradise. 
 
 Monsieur and Madame Chassepot, their two sons, and 
 some half-dozen other guests turned up to dinner. It 
 proved to be a singularly gay and pleasant evening. Of 
 course old Chassepot had something to say about his dear 
 friend le Marquis de Carahas, but Johnnie was in great 
 form, and some of the ladies present were both pretty and 
 amiable. Everything went off most admirably, and it 
 was quite late before the guests drove off in their carriages. 
 It was a superb night, and Johnnie amused himself by 
 watching the carriage -lamps swiftly disappearing down the 
 long, beautiful Woodleigh drive. 
 
 How was Johnnie Northwood to know that he was wit- 
 nessing the departure of the last guests who were ever 
 to dine with him at Woodleigh ? Such a thing seemed 
 wildly improbable at the moment. It never even entered 
 his head that such a thing was possible. Having re- 
 covered from his fatigue and enjoyed his evening 
 thoroughly, he ran upstairs with a light heart and buoyant 
 step, to bid his mother good night before turning in for 
 a sound sleep. 
 
 Next morning he took his father's old horse, the 
 
 356
 
 The Crisis 
 
 " Doctor," out for a much-needed " bucketing," The 
 ruffian had been eating his head off, and was as wicked as 
 the demon himself. 
 
 After his bath and breakfast, he strolled through the 
 grounds with his mother for a little while, and then drove 
 off to his office, feeling particularly fit and cheerful. He 
 got to Battery Road rather later than usual, to find his 
 staff in their places doing nothing in particular. A couple 
 of telegrams had been translated from the private code 
 and lay on his desk. Northwood went over the telegrams 
 with Busoni, and was leaning back in his chair meditating 
 a call at Brownlow's, and one or two other places, when 
 a bank tamby walked in and handed a small envelope to 
 Johnnie Northwood. It contained a solitary sheet of 
 notepaper, which looked harmless enough, but the few 
 words which were written on it proved to be fatal to 
 Northwood and Son. The note ran thus : 
 
 "The Straits and China Banking Corporation. 
 
 " Singapore. 
 
 " Messrs. Northwood and Son. 
 ' ' Present. 
 
 " Dear Sirs, 
 
 " We regret to inform you that we cannot honour 
 any more of your cheques, or make any further advances 
 to your firm. 
 
 " Yours faithfuUy, 
 
 " William Arbuthnot, 
 
 " Manager." 
 
 What did that venomous little note really mean ? What 
 had happened between Saturday night and Monday 
 morning to change Arbuthnot's opinion of the firm so 
 radically ? It was a tremendous and totally unexpected 
 shock, but Northwood kept perfectly steady under it. 
 He learned from Arratoon that he owed the Bank about 
 
 357
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, and went round 
 to see Arbuthnot, who, naturally, was expecting his visit. 
 The banker accorded him a singularly cool and even un- 
 friendly reception. He looked nervous and unwell. 
 Northwood protested that he could not possibly carry 
 on business without some more money imtil the Martaban 
 came back. He urged that it was most unfair to let him 
 send away the Alastor on Saturday night with a heavy 
 specie shipment on board and then compel him to stop 
 payment on Monday morning ! It had been Arbuthnot's 
 own wish that Northwood and Son's banking business 
 should be confined to the " Straits and China." Had he 
 been dealing to-day with three or four banks with an 
 overdraft of thirty or forty thousand dollars in each of 
 them, there would have been no trouble now. The 
 amount looked comparatively large because Arbuthnot 
 himself insisted on having the whole account, and in no 
 case did the overdraft represent more than a fraction 
 of the value of their estate. Why, Northwood had sent 
 away a ship and cargo worth more than one hundred and 
 twenty thousand dollars only on Saturday night ! 
 
 Arbuthnot was not open to reason because he did not 
 want to be. He said they were not talking in a debating 
 society, but were about actual business. " I'm not going 
 to put out my hand further than I can draw it back," he 
 continued, " and I'm not going to chance a repetition of 
 the Morison, Wallis affair, which, as you know, is going 
 from bad to worse, and proving a ruinous business for 
 every bank in the place. I don't say that your firm is in 
 a bad position at aU. You don't appear to owe a great 
 deal outside {here he consulted a memorandum on his desk), 
 and I am not pressing you to repay your overdraft — that 
 you can do later ; but you understand me, I am not going 
 to allow you to increase it by one cent, nor wiU I pay one 
 of your cheques until it is considerably reduced. If you 
 are getting money from elsewhere, I consider that you 
 are boimd to let me know what you are doing." 
 
 358
 
 The Crisis 
 
 This practically ended the conversation. Although it 
 was a blazing hot day, Northwood somehow felt uncom- 
 fortably chiUy and unwell on leaving the bank. His 
 feeling of depression increased as he once more walked 
 through the blackened ruins of his godowns on his way 
 to his office. 
 
 He had no sooner got to his desk, than Tony Arratoon 
 presented him a little pile of cheques for signature, the 
 salaries of the staff being due that day. The Armenian 
 was very anxious to take his week's holiday and seemed 
 particularly nervous and ill at ease. Northwood asked 
 whether the cashier was collecting any money that day, 
 and on being told that he was expected to bring in a few 
 thousand dollars, Arratoon got orders to tear up the 
 cheques and pay the salaries in cash. 
 
 Shortly afterwards Ali, the head syce from Woodleigh, 
 came in with a note from Mrs. Northwood, asking for a 
 thousand doUars for servants' wages and household 
 expenses. Johnnie signed a " chit " for the money and 
 told Ali to get it from the cashier, when Arratoon actually 
 came to ask his chief if such a payment would be in order ! 
 Johnnie stared at him and told him the sooner he went 
 for his holiday the better. The Armenian slunk away 
 much abashed, leaving his employer very much puzzled 
 about him. The feUow seemed to know something, to 
 have an idea of what had been happening between Satur- 
 day night and Monday morning. But that Arratoon 
 should share such a secret with Arbuthnot seemed to be 
 quite out of the question. Was it hkely that his book- 
 keeper should spend Sunday with his banker, conspiring 
 to ruin Northwood and Son ? Yet the fellow knew some- 
 thing, and Northwood determined to get it out of him a 
 httle later, 
 
 Northwood took the astonished Busoni into his con- 
 fidence and sent him to one of the other banks to find out 
 on what terms it would advance, say, fifty thousand 
 doUars to Northwood and Son. Busoni returned with 
 
 359
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 an offer of the money at the rate of eight per cent, per 
 annum, to be advanced against specific stocks of produce 
 worth at least twenty per cent, margin to be stated on 
 the letter of hypothecation. 
 
 s Busoni thought this was an easy way out of the diffi- 
 culty. They had much over sixty thousand dollars' worth 
 of produce in stock, and fifty thousand dollars was more 
 than enough to meet all obligations until they could get 
 money from Borneo and the Moluccas. Northwood 
 thought differently. Directly Arbuthnot heard of money 
 being raised from another bank imder a specific mortgage, 
 he would press for the repayment of his one hundred and 
 twenty thousand dollars, for which he had no security at 
 all, and the firm of Northwood and Son would be in a 
 worse mess than ever. Besides Johnnie had promised his 
 father not to sign such bonds. Had Captain Northwood 
 been in Singapore he could have raised a lot o;f money on 
 his landed property, and thus have tided the firm over the 
 dif&culty, but his son was absolutely powerless to touch 
 his father's personal estate. There seemed to be no way 
 out of it. The firm must go into liquidation ! 
 
 Northwood recognized, if Busoni did not, that his firm's 
 credit was ruined ; that it would never be the house 
 which could again control a market or monopolize 
 supplies. The position was hopeless. Better to accept 
 it than to struggle to the bitter end as Lewis Wallis had 
 done. 
 
 Johnnie Northwood and the faithful Busoni held their 
 melancholy little council of war in the tiffin-room, the only 
 private apartment in the big Battery Road offices, and 
 it was finally decided that unless Northwood should dis- 
 cover some way of saving the position, or unless Arbuth- 
 not should relent the following morning, Northwood and 
 Son should stop payment on Tuesday. 
 
 Before leaving the office, however, Northwood sent 
 Busoni to call Arratoon into the tiffin-room. The 
 Armenian came shuffling in behind Busoni. Northwood 
 
 360
 
 The Crisis 
 
 looked at him sternly, and asked : " Now, sir ! What did 
 you do with yourself on Sunday ? " 
 
 " Nothing, sir ! " 
 
 " Tell me, did you or your precious uncle see Mr. Arbuth- 
 not on Sunday ? Did you talk to him about our losses 
 in connection with Morison, Wallis and Co. ? Did you 
 hand him a slip of paper containing a row of figures repre- 
 senting the debts of Northwood and Son ? Answer me 
 straight, did you and your uncle do these things yesterday ; 
 perhaps while I was at church ? " 
 
 There was no such thing as a straight answer to be got 
 out of the Armenian. He wriggled and shuffled desperately, 
 but it was evident from his confusion that his employer 
 had penetrated his secret. Busoni unearthed the rest 
 of the story by more brutal methods. 
 
 " Very well ! " said Northwood. " I daresay you have 
 done a very clever thing, but I can't for the life of me see 
 how it's going to pay you, though your uncle may think 
 it will improve his business as an exchange-broker to get 
 you to betray me to Arbuthnot. But unless a miracle 
 happens we stop payment to-morrow, and you will lose 
 the finest and best -paid job you ever had or will have 
 in all your life. I've paid you the salary of a first-class 
 European book-keeper, and this is the return I get for 
 it ! Who do you think will employ you after the trick 
 you have played me ? You needn't trouble about the 
 week's holiday I promised you on Saturday night ; you'll 
 have hoHdays enough and to spare before long. What 
 you've got to do now is to get out Northwood and Son's 
 balance-sheet, and work day and night until it's finished, 
 with the sack at the end of the job ! Now get you gone 
 and start on that balance-sheet ! " 
 
 The Armenian left the room, weeping. 
 
 As Northwood explained to Busoni, it was easy to 
 understand what had happened. Arratoon had gone home 
 on Saturday night all unstrung, and being of a hysterical 
 disposition had spent a sleepless night, with the result 
 
 361
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 that on Sunday morning he told his uncle the broker a 
 long story about his being overworked and ill-used, 
 together with many details about the profusion and reck- 
 lessness of the Northwoods. His imcle, an exchange- 
 broker, none too prosperous in his profession, was dependent 
 on the favour of the bank manager for his bread and 
 butter. He had long wanted to get into Arbuthnot's 
 good graces ; here was a chance ! To show Arbuthnot 
 that he was on the edge of a precipice, and to retrieve him 
 from that perilous position was no small achievement. 
 
 " Dear me ! It might lead to great things ! " the uncle 
 must have thought. So after dexterously pumping and 
 schooling his nephew, he must have decided to take him 
 round to see Arbuthnot at his private residence, although 
 it was Sunday morning. 
 
 The facts were as Johnnie surmised. The two Arme- 
 nians had caught the banker at an auspicious moment. 
 Mrs. Arbuthnot had just gone to church, and he was 
 looking over some newspapers in a rather bored and recep- 
 tive mood, when his unexpected visitors appeared upon 
 the scene. It was easy enough for these gentlemen to 
 make some teUing hits at the expense of Northwood and 
 Son, such as the loss of the Ceylon and Almaheira, both of 
 them uninsured, the money sunk in the great Sungei 
 Mas estate, the Morison, Wallis affair with its heavy 
 Liverpool losses even yet unfathomed. Some reference 
 to the Woodleigh and Ayer Manis establishments and the 
 expense of their upkeep were of course appropriate to the 
 occasion. 
 
 Arbuthnot was by no means a fool ; indeed, he had been 
 promoted to the management of his bank at an earlier 
 age than usual on account of his smartness and capacity, 
 but he could not find, after a very clever cross-examina- 
 tion of Antony Arratoon, that the Northwood position was 
 otherwise than good and quite strong, although they had 
 so much money invested in Borneo and the Moluccas. He 
 knew perfectly well that his visitors were anything but dis- 
 
 362
 
 The Crisis 
 
 interested. Their warning, nevertheless, was of value to 
 him, and he told them when they retired that he was 
 much obliged. 
 
 Arbuthnot was too young and too nervous to handle 
 such a matter. He had got into very serious and wholly 
 undeserved trouble with his directors over the Morison, 
 Wallis and Co. affair. Another such disaster might get 
 him the sack, and what would become of him then ? He 
 wished he had not been so greedy about that Northwood 
 account, and insisted on having the whole of it. Much 
 better if he had allowed another bank to carry half of it. 
 Then there was that specie shipment of the previous day, 
 a very awkward thing no doubt. The Northwoods would 
 have some cause to complain, but Arbuthnot had to secure 
 himself first, and the Northwoods would get out of their 
 difficulty somehow or another. His mind was made up 
 to stop their credit with his bank the following morning, 
 and to compel them to find their money elsewhere if they 
 wanted it. 
 
 It seemed especially heart-breaking to young Northwood 
 and Busoni that they should be brought to their knees by 
 such paltry agents for such mean and selfish ends. Mean- 
 while, the unfortunate Captain Northwood was cruising 
 somewhere about the New Guinea coast in blissful ignorance 
 of what was taking place at Battery Road, completely cut 
 off from all communication with his head-quarters. 
 
 There was nothing to be done that day, so bidding good 
 night to Busoni, Johnnie got into his carriage and drove 
 to Woodleigh. His mother was delighted to see him come 
 home from the office at a reasonable time. She thanked 
 him for the thousand dollars sent by Ali. She had paid 
 all the servants' wages and the household bills, which ran 
 into a lot of money. 
 
 " I called on Mrs. Arbuthnot this afternoon," she said. 
 " Such a delightful woman, and she told me Woodleigh is 
 a perfectly lovely place she never tires of seeing. 1 
 said she must come to us next week. You might help me 
 
 363
 
 Sixty Years' Life and Adventure in the Far East 
 
 after dinner to make up a list of some nice people to meet 
 the Arbuthnots ! " 
 
 A dinner-party to the Arbuthnots ! However, Johnnie 
 said nothing. His mother was so happy that evening. 
 Time enough a little later. So he spent half an hour 
 elaborating the programme of a dinner which he knew 
 full well would never take place. 
 
 END OF VOL. 1. 
 
 Printed at The Chapel River Press, Kingston, Surrey.
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 • Box 951388 
 
 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed.
 
 A 000 523 733 4 
 
 . A PLEA^ DO NOT REMOVE 
 
 
 : W THIS BOOK GARD^ 
 
 iji 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 ' ■ —\:in 
 
 
 ^^1 .--.- n 
 
 O J] 
 
 " ^^^^lt;8RARY6?/: ^ 
 
 
 =1 i? 1 /— ^ -^ ^ 
 
 1- ^\AI 1 
 
 =^11^'^ ~^ 
 
 
 ^ Jbi h? ^ 
 
 I ^j 
 
 <^ /^"^ 1 A 3= 
 
 "= < 
 
 
 on \jj 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 University Research Library ] 
 
 - 1 
 
 o_ 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 ! 
 
 < 
 o 
 
 —1 1" 
 
 — 
 
 ~n 1 
 
 ] 1 
 
 ■0 
 
 -i 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 TI 
 
 I 
 
 l3) 
 
 1 1 
 
 o 
 
 1 1 
 
 Jl 
 
 1 J 
 
 LO 
 
 J — ] 
 
 \ 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 , U) 
 
 1 1) 
 
 » — 
 
 1 1 f 
 
 I X 
 
 i 
 
 I H 
 
 ' - : 
 
 1 
 
 '-,-< 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 l\< 
 
 1 
 
 1 .m 
 
 1 
 
 1 ■** 
 
 : 
 
 1 '^ 
 
 , 
 
 ' ,0). 
 
 v.l 
 
 /^