I told him that
he must not stop until he got here. He must tell them that all
my men, except fifty old ones who were to guard the village, were
to start in their canoes, and paddle their hardest till they came
within half a mile of the village, and he was to come back with them
to guide them, and I was to meet them. As the prahus that had been
up there were destroyed, the river was safe for them to descend.
I said that they must be at the point I named last evening. They
were two hours late, though they had paddled their hardest. As
soon as they disembarked I led them to the spot, and the rest was
easy. I knew that the prisoners who had been taken were my two
friends, for I saw them on the deck of the prahu; and glad indeed
I was to be able to pay my debt to them."
"You have paid it indeed most nobly, Hassan," the captain said,
holding out his hand, and grasping that of the chief, when, sentence
by sentence, the story was translated to him. "Little did we think,
when you were brought on board the Serpent, that your friendship
would turn out of such value to us."
There was now some discussion as to the proposed meeting of
chiefs; and half an hour after, a dozen small canoes started with
invitations to the various chiefs to meet the captain at Hassan's
campong, with assurances that he was ready to overlook their share
in the attack on the ship, and be on friendly terms with them,
and that the safety of each who attended was guaranteed, whether
he was willing to be on good terms with the English or not.
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