bundle was marked the name of the village and the district from whence
it came, so that it might be known that all had heard and obeyed the
commands of the great spirit.
And when it was quite certain that every village had sent in its bundle,
the Rajah divided the needles into twelve equal parts, and ordered the
best steelworker in Mataram to bring his forge and his bellows and his
hammers to the palace, and to make the twelve krisses under the Rajah's
eye, and in the sight of all men who chose to see it. And when they were
finished, they were wrapped up in new silk and put away carefully until
they might be wanted.
Now the journey to the mountain was in the time of the east wind when no
rain falls in Lombock. And soon after the krisses were made it was the
time of the rice harvest, and the chiefs of districts and of villages
brought their tax to the Rajah according to the number of heads in their
villages. And to those that wanted but little of the full amount, the
Rajah said nothing; but when those came who brought only half or a
fourth part of what was strictly due, he said to them mildly, "The
needles which you sent from your village were many more than came from
such-a-one's village, yet your tribute is less than his; go back and see
who it is that has not paid the tax." And the next year the produce of
the tax increased greatly, for they feared that the Rajah might justly
kill those who a second time kept back the right tribute. And so the
Rajah became very rich, and increased the number of his soldiers, and
gave golden jewels to his wives, and bought fine black horses from the
white-skinned Hollanders, and made great feasts when his children were
born or were married; and none of the Rajahs or Sultans among the Malays
were so great or powerful as the Rajah of Lombock.
And the twelve sacred krisses had great virtue. And, when any sickness
appeared in a village one of them was sent for; and sometimes the
sickness went away, and then the sacred kris was taken back again with
great Honour, and the head men of the village came to tell the Rajah of
its miraculous power, and to thank him. And sometimes the sickness would
not go away; and then everybody was convinced that there had been a
mistake in the number of needles sent from that village, and therefore
the sacred kris had no effect, and had to be taken back again by the
head men with heavy hearts, but still, with all honour--for was not the
fault their own?
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