Page:The further side of silence (IA furthersideofsil00clifiala).pdf/202

 left Chêp, the Bird, in her new house, busying herseli with the preparation of the evening meal, and ac- companied by his small son-the child of his out- raged wife went forth to catch fish in one of the swamps at the back of the village. These marshy places, which are to be found in the neighbourhood of so many Malay habitations, are ready-made rice- fields; but as the cultivation of a pada swamp de- mands more exacting labour than most Malays are willing to expend upon it, they are often left to lie fallow, while crops are grown in clearings on the hills round about. In dry weather the cracked, parched earth, upon which no vegetation sprouts, alone marks the places which, in the rainy season, are pools of stagnant water; but so surely as these ponds re- appear, the little muddy fishes, which the Malays call rúan and sepat, are to be found in them. What is the manner of their subterranean existence during the months of drought, or how they then contrive to support life, no man clearly knows, but a heavy shower suffices to bring them once more to the sur- face, and they never appear to be any the worse for their temporary interment.

Sentul carried two long joran, or Malayan fishing- rods, over his shoulder, and his small naked son pattered along at his heels bearing in his hands a tin containing bait. The child erooned to himself, after the manner of native children, but his father paced ahead of him in silence. He was in a contented and comfortable mood, for the satisfaction of his desire for Chép had soothed him body and soul.