14 TWO SEA-DYAK LEGENDS. 



he very soon found himself in difficulties. He wandered about, 

 sometimes passing by some large tree, which he seemed to re- 

 member seeing in the morning. He climbed up a steep hill and 

 went several miles through a large forest, but did not find the 

 jungle path which he had followed early in the day. It was 

 beginning to grow dusk and the sun had nearly set. 



"I must hurry on," said Siu to himself, "in the 'hope of 

 finding some house where I can get food and shelter. Once it 

 is dark, I shall be forced to spend the night in the jungle." 



He hurried on and luckily came to a part of the jungle 

 which had lately been a garden. 



"There must be some path from this garden," said Siu to 

 himself, "leading to some house ;" and he began to walk round 

 it. 



He soon found an old disused path which he followed and 

 which led him to another path. By this time it was quite dark, 

 and Siu made haste to reach the Dyak house which he felt sure 

 was not very far off. He soon came to a well, and not far off 

 he saw the lights and heard the usual sounds of a Dyak house. 

 He was glad to think that he would not have to spend the night 

 in the jungle, but would be probably able to get food and 

 shelter at the house. 



He stopped to have a bath and hid the birds he was carry- 

 ing and his blow-pipe and quiver in the brushwood near the well, 

 hoping to take them with him when he started to return the next 

 morning. 



As he approached the house, he could hear the voices of 

 the people there. When he came to the bottom of the ladder 

 leading up to the house, he shouted, "Oh ! you people in the 

 house, will you allow a stranger to walk up?" At once there 

 was dead silence in the house. No one answered.- Again Siu 

 asked the same question, and, after a pause, a voice answered, 

 "yes : come up !" 



He walked up into the house. To his surprise, he saw no 

 one in the open verandah in front of the different rooms. That 

 part of a Dyak house, usually so crowded, was quite empty. 

 Nor did Siu hear the voices of people talking in any of the rooms. 

 All was silent. Even the person who answered him was not 

 there to receive him. 



Jour. Straits Branch 



