Page:Malay Sketches.pdf/133

 In reply to a call, Che Nuh bid his adversary come outside the gate and he would give him any satisfaction he pleased.

That of course meant an internecine struggle between the two parties, and Měgat Râja declined it, for the odds were now against him, and he was still uncertain whether his wife were unfaithful or not.

On the strong suspicion that he held, his inclination was to at least make short work of the woman, but here again he was deterred by the knowledge that her relations would certainly be revenged on him. He, therefore, decided on another course of action. On the assumption that his wife was guilty (and of this he became tolerably well assured), he treated her as though he held the proofs, divorced her, turned her out of his house, and declined to let her have any of her own possessions or to remove any of his.

This action was considered a very serious indignity by Měriam’s friends, and it so happened that she possessed a relative named Pěnglima Prang Sěmaun, an adherent of the Sultan's Wazîr, the Râja Běndahâra, and he was reputed one of the principal warriors in the country.

Pěnglima Prang Sěmaun called upon the Chief of