116 LIFE IN JAVA.
lonely paths, they left the town, and made the best of their way to the unfrequented parts of the country.
Great was the excitement that prevailed in Djodjokarta next morning Avhen it was discovered that the white man had escaped, no one could imagine how or whither. The Sultan, on hearing of hi? flight, was greatly enraged, and despatched his ministers and officers in search of him ; but all returned to the Kraton without having been able to obtain a single clue, and the Sultan was at his wits' end what course tQ pursue. A native of the town at length brought the intelli- gence that the escaped prisoner had been seen in the suburbs with a Javanese girl. The parents of the young woman were immediately sent for and questioned, but they were as ignorant of the circumstances as all present ; their daughter not having been at home during the morning. As it was her habit, however, to bathe in the river
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