第21章

V

TheverydaythatTraversandd’AlcacerhadcomeonboardtheEmmaHassimandImmadahaddepartedontheirmission；forLingard，ofcourse，couldnotthinkofleavingthewhitepeoplealonewithJorgenson。Jorgensonwasallright，buthisineradicablehabitofmutteringinhismoustacheabout"throwingalightedmatchamongstthepowderbarrels"hadinspiredLingardwithacertainamountofmistrust。And，moreover，hedidnotwanttogoawayfromMrs。Travers。

ItwastheonlycorrectinspirationonCarter’sparttosendJaffirwithhisreporttoLingard。Thatstout—heartedfighter，swimmer，anddevotedfolloweroftheprincelymisfortunesofHassimandImmada，hadlookeduponhismissiontocatchthechiefofficeroftheyacht（whichhehadreceivedfromLingardinCarimata）asatriflingjob。IttookhimalittlelongerthanheexpectedbuthehadgotbacktothebrigjustintimetobesentontoLingardwithCarter’sletterafteracoupleofhours’rest。

HehadthestoryofallthehappeningsfromWasubbeforeheleftandthoughhisfacepreserveditsgraveimpassivity，inhishearthedidnotlikeitatall。

Fearlessandwily，Jaffirwasthemanfordifficultmissionsandabornmessenger——asheexpressedithimself——"tobearweightywordsbetweengreatmen。"Withhisunfailingmemoryhewasabletoreproducethemexactly，whethersoftorhard，incouncilorinprivate；forheknewnofear。Withhimtherewasnoneedforwritingwhichmightfallintothehandsoftheenemy。Ifhediedonthewaythemessagewoulddiewithhim。Hehadalsothegiftofgettingatthesenseofanysituationandanobservanteye。Hewasdistinctlyoneofthosemenfromwhomtrustworthyinformationcanbeobtainedbytheleadersofgreatenterprises。Lingarddidputseveralquestionstohim，butinthisinstance，ofcourse，Jaffircouldhaveonlyverylittletosay。OfCarter，whomhecalledthe"youngone，"hesaidthathelookedaswhitemenlookwhentheyarepleasedwiththemselves；thenaddedwithoutwaitingforadefinitequestion——"Theshipsouttherearenowsafeenough，O，RajahLaut！"Therewasnoelationinhistone。

Lingardlookedathimblankly。WhentheGreatestofWhiteMenremarkedthattherewasyetapricetobepaidforthatsafety，Jaffirassentedbya"Yes，byAllah！"withoutlosingforamomenthisgrimcomposure。WhentoldthathewouldberequiredtogoandfindhismasterandtheladyImmadawhoweresomewhereinthebackcountry，inBelarab’stravellingcamp，hedeclaredhimselfreadytoproceedatonce。Hehadeatenhisfillandhadsleptthreehoursonboardthebrigandhewasnottired。Whenhewasyoungheusedtogettiredsometimes；butformanyyearsnowhehadknownnosuchweakness。Hedidnotrequiretheboatwithpaddlersinwhichhehadcomeupintothelagoon。Hewouldgoaloneinasmallcanoe。Thiswasnotime，heremarked，forpublicityandostentation。Hispent—upanxietyburstthroughhislips。"Itisinmymind，Tuan，thatdeathhasnotbeensonearthemsincethatnightwhenyoucamesailinginablackcloudandtookusalloutofthestockade。"

LingardsaidnothingbuttherewasinJaffirafaithinthatwhitemanwhichwasnoteasilyshaken。

"Howareyougoingtosavethemthistime，ORajahLaut？"heasked，simply。

"Belarabismyfriend，"murmuredLingard。

InhisanxietyJaffirwasveryoutspoken。"Amanofpeace！"heexclaimedinalowtone。"Whocouldbesafewithamanlikethat？"heasked，contemptuously。

"Thereisnowar，"saidLingard"Thereissuspicion，dread，andrevenge，andtheangerofarmedmen，"retortedJaffir。"Youhavetakenthewhiteprisonersoutoftheirhandsbytheforceofyourwordsalone。Isthatso，Tuan？"

"Yes，"saidLingard。

"Andyouhavethemonboardhere？"askedJaffir，withaglanceoverhisshoulderatthewhiteandmistystructurewithinwhichbythelightofasmalloilflamed’AlcacerandMrs。Traverswerejustthenconversing。

"Yes，Ihavethemhere。"

"Then，RajahLaut，"whisperedJaffir，"youcanmakeallsafebygivingthemback。"

"CanIdothat？"werethewordsbreathedoutthroughLingard’slipstothefaithfulfollowerofHassimandImmada。

"Canyoudoanythingelse？"wasthewhisperedretortofJaffirthemessengeraccustomedtospeakfranklytothegreatoftheearth。"Youareawhitemanandyoucanhaveonlyoneword。AndnowIgo。"

Asmall，roughdug—outbelongingtotheEmmahadbeenbroughtroundtotheladder。Ashadowycalashhoveringrespectfullyinthedarknessofthedeckhadalreadyclearedhisthroattwiceinawarningmanner。

"Yes，Jaffir，go，"saidLingard，"andbemyfriend。"

"Iamthefriendofagreatprince，"saidtheother，sturdily。

"Butyou，RajahLaut，wereevengreater。Andgreatyouwillremainwhileyouarewithus，peopleofthisseaandofthisland。Butwhatbecomesofthestrengthofyourarmsbeforeyourownwhitepeople？Wheredoesitgoto，Isay？Well，then，wemusttrustinthestrengthofyourheart。"

"Ihopethatwillneverfail，"saidLingard，andJaffiremittedagruntofsatisfaction。"ButGodaloneseesintomen’shearts。"

"Yes。OurrefugeiswithAllah，"assentedJaffir，whohadacquiredthehabitofpiousturnsofspeechinthefrequentationofprofessedlyreligiousmen，ofwhomthereweremanyinBelarab’sstockade。Asamatteroffact，hereposedallhistrustinLingardwhohadwithhimtheprestigeofaprovidentialmansentatthehourofneedbyheavenitself。Hewaitedawhile，then："WhatisthemessageIamtotake？"heasked。

"TellthewholetaletotheRajahHassim，"saidLingard。"Andtellhimtomakehiswayherewiththeladyhissistersecretlyandwithspeed。Thetimeofgreattroublehascome。Letus，atleast，betogether。"

"Right！Right！"Jaffirapproved，heartily。"Todiealoneundertheweightofone’senemiesisadreadfulfate。"

Hesteppedbackoutofthesheenofthelampbywhichtheyhadbeentalkingandmakinghiswaydownintothesmallcanoehetookupapaddleandwithoutasplashvanishedonthedarklagoon。

ItwasthenthatMrs。Traversandd’AlcacerheardLingardcallaloudforJorgenson。InstantlythefamiliarshadowstoodatLingard’selbowandlistenedindetachedsilence。Onlyattheendofthetaleitmarvelledaudibly："Here’samessforyouifyoulike。"ButreallynothingintheworldcouldastonishorstartleoldJorgenson。Heturnedawaymutteringinhismoustache。LingardremainedwithhischininhishandandJaffir’slastwordstookgradualpossessionofhismind。ThenbrusquelyhepickedupthelampandwenttoseekMrs。Travers。Hewenttoseekherbecauseheactuallyneededherbodilypresence，thesoundofhervoice，thedark，clearglanceofhereyes。Shecoulddonothingforhim。

OnhiswayhebecameawarethatJorgensonhadturnedoutthefewMalaysonboardtheEmmaandwasdisposingthemaboutthedeckstowatchthelagooninalldirections。OncallingMrs。TraversoutoftheCageLingardwas，inthemidstofhismentalstruggle，consciousofacertainsatisfactionintakingherawayfromd’Alcacer。Hecouldn’tspareanyofherattentiontoanyotherman，nottheleastcrumbofhertime，nottheleastparticleofherthought！Heneededitall。Toseeitwithdrawnfromhimforthemerestinstantwasirritating——seemedadisaster。

D’Alcacer，leftalone，wonderedattheimperioustoneofLingard’scall。Tothisobserverofshadesthefactseemedconsiderable。"Sheernerves，"heconcluded，tohimself。"Themanisoverstrung。Hemusthavehadsomesortofshock。"Butwhatcoulditbe——hewonderedtohimself。Inthetensestagnationofthosedaysofwaitingtheslightesttremorhadanenormousimportance。D’Alcacerdidnotseekhiscampbedstead。Hedidn’tevensitdown。Withthepalmsofhishandsagainsttheedgeofthetableheleanedbackagainstit。InthatnegligentattitudehepreservedanalertmindwhichforamomentwonderedwhetherMrs。TravershadnotspoiledLingardalittle。Yetinthesuddennessoftheforcedassociation，where，too，d’Alcacerwassuretherewassomemoralprobleminthebackground，herecognizedtheextremedifficultyofweighingaccuratelytheimperiousdemandsagainstthenecessaryreservations，theexactproportionsofboldnessandcaution。Andd’AlcaceradmireduponthewholeMrs。Travers’cleverness。

Therecouldbenodoubtthatshehadthesituationinherhands。

That，ofcourse，didnotmeansafety。She