192 IN THE EYE OF DAY 



batant, uttering his blood-curdling yells, sought to 

 escape the fury of blows that the other rained upon 

 him with a club of male bamboo big enough and 

 stout enough to fell a bullock. Pieces of durian 

 scattered over the battle-ground told the cause of 

 the fight; the clubbed had stolen the fruit from 

 the clubbee and been caught, and, in the terms of 

 local popular approval, been " reprimanded "-—so 

 thoroughly reprimanded, in fact, that he was car- 

 ried home and did not emerge again from his house 

 for several weeks. Meanwhile the victor who had 

 come out of the affray pretty severely marked 

 also, received the congratulations of his friends 

 and an increased sale for his durians. 



It was at the height of the durian season, when 

 all animal kind in Malay, two-legged and four- 

 legged, is animated by an insatiable lust for the 

 fruit itself, and quick to fill with savage anger 

 against whatever stands in the way of satisfying 

 its appetite; for not the least remarkable quality 

 of this remarkable fruit is the amatory effect it 

 has upon those who consume it. All durian-eating 

 Malays— man and beast— are aflame with erotic 

 fire. The jungle resounds with the fighting of 

 love-lorn brutes, and the towns awaken to court- 

 ship and indulgence. 



The durian is about the size of a pineapple, with 

 a similarly rough, outside covering armed with 



