On arriving at Sempang, Mr.
Hayward had sent a canoe to this place with instructions to send
another runner to the Resident; but
"The best laid schemes of men and mice gang aft aglee."
The messenger seemed to have served no other purpose than to assemble
the whole male population of Permatang Pasir on the shore - a
sombre-faced throng, with an aloofness of manner and expression far
from pleasing. The thatched piers were crowded with turbaned Mussulmen
in their bajus or short jackets, full white trousers, and red sarongs
or plaitless kilts - the boys dressed in silver fig-leaves and silver
bangles only. All looked at our unveiled faces silently, and, as I
thought, disapprovingly.
After being hauled up the pier with great difficulty, owing to the
lowness of the water, we were met by two of the Datu Klana's policemen,
who threw cold water on the idea of our getting on at all unless
Captain Murray sent for us. These men escorted us to this police
station - a long walk through a lane of much decorated shops,
exclusively Chinese, succeeded by a lane of detached Malay houses, each
standing in its own fenced and neatly sanded compound under the shade
of cocoa-palms and bananas.
