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Updated: June 1, 2025
Crisostomo did not answer, but meditated in silence. At that moment they reached the Pasig and the banka began to ascend the current. Over the Bridge of Spain a horseman galloped rapidly, while a shrill, prolonged whistle was heard. "Elias," said Ibarra, "you owe your misfortunes to my family, you have saved my life twice, and I owe you not only gratitude but also the restitution of your fortune.
So the young man put the letter in his pocket, and walked all day over the hills till he reached a little turf hut, exactly like the other two. 'Let me in, I pray you, dear mother, cried he. And as he entered he added: 'Here is a letter from your sister, and can you tell me anything of the Sister of the Sun? 'Yes, I can, answered the old woman. 'She lives in the castle on the Banka.
He had bought, or else leased, part of a small island from the Sultan of a little group called the Seven Isles, not far north from Banka. It was, I suppose, a legitimate transaction, but I have no doubt that had he been an Englishman the Dutch would have discovered a reason to fire him out without ceremony. In this connection the real form of his name stood him in good stead.
He thought of returning to Pasig, for his banka was the swifter of the two boats, but unluckily he saw another boat coming from the river and made out the gleam of caps and bayonets of the Civil Guard. "We're caught!" he muttered, turning pale. He gazed at his robust arms and, adopting the only course left, began to row with all his might toward Talim Island, just as the sun was rising.
A solemn pause followed. The banka, unimpelled by the paddle, seemed to stand still on the water. The moon shone majestically in a sapphire sky and a few lights glimmered on the distant shore. "What more do they ask for?" inquired Ibarra. "Reform in the priesthood," answered Elias in a sad and discouraged tone. "These unfortunates ask for more protection against " "Against the religious orders?"
After leaving Singapore, we passed the familiar shores of eastern Sumatra, Banka Island and Banka Strait, and the mouths of the Palambang, but in an inverted order, which made them seem as strange as if we never before had sighted them. Then one night, heading west against the tide, we anchored in a rolling swell, with Kodang Island to the northeast and Sindo Island to the north.
Borneo, Celebes, Sooloo, the Moluccas, and the islands of the Straits of Sunda and Banka, compose what is called the Malayan group; and the Malays located on the sea-shores of these and other islands may with certainty be classed as belonging to one people.
"It's getting between us and the shore," observed Elias uneasily. Gradually he changed the course of his banka, rowing toward Binangonan. To his great surprise he noticed that the boat also changed its course, while a voice called to him. Elias stopped rowing and reflected. The shore was still far away and they would soon be within range of the rifles on the police boat.
Richard Middlemas, as the Begum's General or Bukshee, walked nearest to her litter, in a dress as magnificent in itself as it was remote from all European costume, being that of a Banka, or Indian courtier. His turban was of rich silk and gold, twisted very hard and placed on one side of his head, its ends hanging down on the shoulder.
But still, now and again, an afternoon thunderstorm over Banka, or even one of these vicious thick squalls, from the distant Sumatra coast, would make a sudden sally upon the group, enveloping it for a couple of hours in whirlwinds and bluish-black murk of a particularly sinister aspect.
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