Page:The further side of silence (IA furthersideofsil00clifiala).pdf/336

 placed the kris ostentatiously upon the tall erection of ornamental pillows that adorned the head of her sleeping-mat, and then composed herself calmly to enjoy the tranquil slumber which in the west is erroneously supposed to be the peculiar privilege of the just. The dagger was famous throughout the country, and the identity of its owner was not, of course, for a moment in doubt. Tŭngku Ûteh could not have proclaimed the intrigue more resoundingly if she had shouted its every detail from the bilâl's minaret of the central mosque.

The Sultan's anger knew no bounds when he learned what had occurred, and physical violence was, of course, the only means of its expression, and of covering the shame which had been put upon him, that presented itself to his primitive and unoriginal mind. He found himself, however, in a position of considerable difficulty. He was anxious to avoid prejudicing his daughter's future with her kingly husband, who had already evinced a marked disinclination to transport her from her father's to his own pałace. As regards her, therefore, his hands were fettered; and her acute enjoyment of the situation, and the shameless levity with which she received his reproofs, combined to make his impotence well-nigh unendurably humiliating. Tûan Bângau, moreover, was a member of a very powerful clan, He was also a Saiyid, and the Sultan feared that the religious fanaticism of his people would he aroused if he openly punished with death a descendant of the Prophet. Besides, it was not easy to proceed against