proceeded upon his way rejoicing; but he kept his Sâkai across his knee, none the less, and occasionally administered to him a sounding cuff for the stimula- tion of his fellows.
Thus Kûlop won his way in safety out of the Sâkai country, and that night he stretched himself to sleep upon a mat spread on the veranda of a Malayan house, in the full enjoyment of excellent health, the knowledge that he was at last a rich man, and a delightful consciousness of having performed great and worthy deeds.
For a month or two he lived in the valley of the Jelai, at Bukit Betong, the village which was the headquarters of the Dato' Maharaja Pērba, the great upcountry chief, who at that time ruled most of the interior of Pahang. He sold his rubber to this potentate, and as he let it go for something less than the market price, the sorrows of the Sakai were the cause of considerable amusement to the local authorities from whom they sought redress.
But Kulop of the IIarelip had left his heart behind him in Pêrak, for the natives of that State, men say, can never long be happy when beyond the limits of their own country, and must always sooner or later make their way back to drink again of the waters of their silver river. Perhaps, too, Kûlop had some particular lady in his mind when he set out upon his quest for wealth, for all the world over, if you trac matters to their source, the best work and the most blackguardly deeds of men are usually to be ascribed to the women who sit at the back of their hearts,
