Page:The further side of silence (IA furthersideofsil00clifiala).pdf/374

 for Pahang. As soon as the worthy Maha Mentri had been laid in his grave, the reaction which always follows a paroxysm of religiosity set in with full force, and Kelantan became forthwith a pleasant land for unregenerate folk to live in. The five hours of appointed prayer were suffered to slip by unre- garded of the people; no man troubled himself to fast more than his stomach thought fitting; and the music of the ma'iong broke out anew, flinging wide the gates of all the unmentionable passions.

In this new and joyful Kelantan, Leh found him- self very much in his element. His wit and his many accomplishments caused the old pillar dollars. which in those days were the standard currency of the country, to come rolling in, and he was thus able to go forth among his fellows lavishly clad from the waist downward in a profusion of gaudy silk sarongs and sashes, such as the Kelantan folk affect. From the belt upward he went naked, of course; for unlike most Malays the people of this state never wore coats, though these exotic garments were oc- casionally used by the rájas and nobles at court functions when strangers chanced to be present.

It was never Lelr's habit to keep all his good for- tune to himself, and not only a select few of the king's dancing girls, but a goodly troop of other dames and maidens who should rightly have been occupied exclusively with their lawful lords and masters- came in for a share of the spoil. Given a well-set-up figure, a handsome face, gay apparel, a witty tongue and a superfluity of ready money, and a far less