‘The Disappointed of Otago?’ said Sir Ralph. ‘I see. So, in your disappointment, you’ve come to ransack Borneo? But let me tell you that you are deceived once again. There is no gold along the Sadong.’

‘Excuse me, Sir Raff,’ said carrot-beard, producing from a torn pocket a yellowed piece of paper, ‘but I have a map here. I’ve worked on the tea clippers, going from Cape York to Guinea, see, and I paid an old-timer good money for this information. He worked a mine not far from here. He told me it was abandoned when a Fever broke out and everybody scarpered, but he vouchsafed to me – is that the word the likes of you would use: vouchsafed – that there’s still gold in the ground. And the map will take me to it.’

‘You don’t argue with my rajah please!’ said Leon.

‘I’m not arguing, mister. I’m stating a fact. Look at the map for yourself.’

He waved the paper in front of Leon’s face and Leon, disliking this very much, grabbed hold of the man’s wrist and held it in a fierce grip.

‘I told you, don’t argue with my rajah!’ he shouted. ‘And now take your guns and your men and your canoes, before we set them on fire, and leave Sir Raff’s precious lands!’

‘Boys!’ hollered carrot-beard, ‘Armed and ready! Armed and ready!’

At this, the men raised their guns again and clustered round Sir Ralph and Leon. He lifted up his hands in the manner of a priest about to bestow a blessing and said, ‘Listen to me, good souls. I’m a peace-loving man and there is harmony on Savage land. No blood is spilt here. Now, let me tell you that these houses you have occupied are being built as a hospital and you must leave them …’

‘We’re not leaving,’ said another man, in possession of some thick moleskin trousers too wide for his emaciated hips. ‘Not unless you make us. In which case, we’ll set them all on fire before we push off. You may be a “rajah”, but who says that you “own” the ground we’re standing on? And we think, from the sound of your voice, that under all that fancy dress you’re just an Englishman, a loyal servant of the Queen. And you know what Australians do to loyal servants of the Queen? We truss them up in their flag and boil them alive!’

This was followed by laughter and cheering and before the rajah or Leon could speak, a third man stepped forward and said, ‘we recognise no ownership of lands. We’re citizens of the world. And we have as much right to dig for gold, wherever it’s hiding itself, as you have to wear that golden topknot. So you go back to your palace, Rajah Excellent-Sea, and let us be.’

Now, there was more cheering and raising of fists and a shot was fired into the air, causing the Chinese workers to creep away into the shadows of the forest. When he heard the shot, Leon let drop carrot-beard’s wrist and the yellow map drifted down onto the river strand. But before he could stoop to retrieve it, Leon’s foot had ground it into the dark mud. This so enraged carrot-beard, who had carried the map next to his heart across fathoms of ocean and miles of river, that he lunged at Leon and knocked him to the ground.