MALAY SKETCHES
saw what took place in that hut in the forest, whither the unsuspecting Sâhit had been lured with his wife under the escort of Mat Aris.
That witness was a Sakai man who had been collecting gètah (gutta-percha), and, attracted by the firelight, noiselessly approached the hut and, whilst wondering at the unusual sight of these strangers sleeping in his wild and lonely jungle, he saw Mat Aris get up and stab to death the man,who stood between him and the woman he had determined to possess.
The Sakai saw more than that, but when oncehe had disclosed what he knew, Pah Patin was found and induced to tell his tale, and other Sakais completed the narrative.
It will be remembered that Sâhit and his wife,Mat Aris and the Sakai Pah Patin had built a shelter where they proposed to spend the night. A fire was lighted, food was cooked and eaten, and the four lay down to sleep. On one side of the fire Mat Aris, next him Salâmah, and then Sâhit; on the other was the Sakai.
The man and his wife slept, the other Malay pretended to sleep, and the Sakai fell into that state which passes for sleep with creatures that are always on the alert for possible danger.
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