om the woman and feed it to the dogs.

"So spoke the captains; but ere the breath had passed their lips their
chief was a prisoner, and the guns from the fort hurled defiance at
the betrayed.

"It was pitiful! Allah was avenged.

"Fiercely raged the battle, and when there was a breach in the walls,
and the captain besar had ordered the attack, the Portuguese held
the mighty Laksamana over the walls, and reviled the allied fleets
with words of derision.

"Not one moved, and all was still. Suddenly the Admiral raised his
head, and gazed out and down at his followers. Then he spoke, and the
sound of his voice reached far out to the most distant prau that lay
becalmed within the shadow of casuarina-shaded Puli.

"'Allah il Allah, I have sinned, and I must die. No more shall my
name be known in the land. I am no longer laksamana; neither am I a
dato. Allah is just. Tuan Allah Suka!'

"A foreigner smote him in the mouth, and a great cry arose from
without the walls.

"The war went on; but day after day did the Governor send a message
to the Laksamana in the dungeon. 'Reveal the spot where thy gold is
hidden, and thy life and liberty are granted.'

"Day by day the Dato replied, 'My life is a pollution in the nostrils
of Allah. Take it.'

"So they laid the great chief on the stones of his cell, bound hand
and foot, and one by one did they break the joints of his toes,
his fingers, and then the joints of his legs and arms. When they had
finished, and he still lived, the woman came to him and mocked him,
but the Admiral closed his eyes and prayed. 'O Allah, the all-merciful
and the loving kind, forgive me for my erring heart. Thou knowest that
it goes out to this woman still. Let not my country suffer for my
deeds. I gave unto thy servant Solomon of the gold that has made us
great. If thou canst, thou wilt whisper the secret of our nation to
one of thy chosen people, that they may have means whereby to fight
thy battles.'

"And then the woman raised her hand, and with one stroke of the axe an
attendant severed from his body the head of the once mighty Laksamana
of the fleets of Johore, Acheen and Maur.

"So died the secret of Ophir. So fell Malacca forever into the hands
of the foreigner."

The Tuan Hakim's voice trembled as he closed. During the tragic recital
he had dropped into the soft, melodious chant of his nation. At times
he would lapse into Malay, and the boatmen would push forward and
listen with uncon