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Before we went to the building and to the special ward, the director of the hospital stopped and warned me.

“This patient comes from a good family and the story which I have pieced together from relatives and friends of his is connected with people who are still living, wealthy, and . . . and influential. And his symptoms and signs are such that, well, we, the doctors of this hospital . . . we cannot come to any definite conclusion. You see, we hesitate to call him insane, especially from the legal sense.

“Officially, I can only state this patient received a violent shock. It’s five months now, and yet he cannot get free of it. The whole world is shut off from his consciousness. Only what led up to the event causing shock is remembered. His brain cannot accept any other impressions. This is the whole trouble. We have tried everything we can to bring him back to normal consciousness, to make him react the normal way. If we can do it, he will be a normal person, we think, but if we can’t, then . . .”

The doctor shrugged, spread out both his hands in front of him in a rather hopeless gesture, then went on:

“I have told you something of the background of the main actor in this drama. It is up to you to decide if it is to be staged before an audience.”

The patient was a young man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He was well built, and his illness had in no way affected his looks. He was not pale or emaciated as one might be led to suppose. In fact, he did not look like a patient of that hospital at all. He was good-looking and had an intelligent face, and his clothes were good. He got up to greet us with dignity, like a well-brought-up person who had moved in good society. He also revealed by his manner the personality of a leader and not of a follower.

But after the usual introductions performed by the doctor, he gazed vaguely at me and maintained a disturbing silence until I remembered the doctor’s observations and began:

“You must have lived some time in Bhuket?”

“No, not for any long time. It was at Taimuang, in Pa-nga, that I stayed many years.”

“Taimuang is the meeting point of many mining districts, isn’t it? It must have been great fun.”

“It was hell.”

I was alarmed. “What? Did it have anything that other places didn’t have? Like Haadyai, for example?”

“Haadyai and other such places had women, drinking, and gambling. But Taimuang had champoons, crocodiles, and iron chains.”

“I don’t understand. What had champoons, crocodiles, and iron chains to do with the three vices you mentioned?”

“I will tell you,” he said.

From thence on, the current flowed. I had succeeded in breaking the dam and the flood poured forth. What follows is the story I got from him, except here and there, where I have helped with the sequence of the narration. In some places, there were gaps which I have had to fill from information gathered elsewhere. The names, of course, of all the persons and places are fictitious.

“My father was governor of Pa-nga. I was educated in a boarding school, said to be one of the best educational institutions in Bangkok at the time. However, when I was sixteen I began to run a little wild. My father wired for me to go back to Pa-nga, then he sent me to school in Penang. I was there five years until I finished my schooling. It was about the same time that my father retired.

“My father was one of those rare persons who realized long ago that we Thai should do something towards freeing ourselves from foreign economic domination. He had always tried to encourage me towards going into business rather than to work with the government, and I fell in with his view quite easily. It suited my character better. When my father went back home to Bangkok after he was retired, I separated from him and took a clerical job with an Australian mining company in Pa-nga. My rather irregular life and education had equipped me for this job, because I spoke Malay, Hokkien, and Hainam. The firm was ready to pay any price for someone who knew these languages in addition to a knowledge of English and Thai. I was paid two hundred baht, a salary I couldn’t dream of getting if I went to live with my father in Bangkok.

“However, I worked only two years with the Australians. An American company, the Yukon Gold Mining Company, opened a mine near Taimuang and wanted someone who could supervise all its Asiatic laborers and also act as liaison with the government officials for it. I applied at once and, out of more than ten applicants, the company chose me, the youngest man of all. I was paid a salary of one hundred and fifty American dollars, which was about four hundred baht. Besides this, the manager allowed me to handle all its buildings and other contracts, so that in a very short time I came to earn, on the average, about eight hundred baht a month.

“For a young man of twenty-four to earn eight hundred baht a month, though it was not unusual for Bhuket, the way lay open leading to a significant change in my outlook on life. When I earned two hundred baht, I had always had enough money left to put into the savings bank at the end of the month. I led a quiet life, I read, and listened to the radio after work.

“But when I began to earn eight hundred, my money rarely lasted through the month. It was not at all anything to wonder about. Nai Amnuey made a reputation for himself, a reputation for all the vices there were in the region. Yes, I was always in the forefront where women, drinking, and gambling were concerned.

“I was also in the forefront in other things. I never allowed anybody to be superior to me. I was always a leader, never a follower, in any society. And I carried it off well too, because, I believe, it was my social background that helped. I felt at home in any company, either Thai or foreign. And what is more, there was my money which opened all doors to me.

“The places I loved best to spend my time in were the many clubs in Taimuang. The town was the center of land communication of the region, from which roads went in all directions. From there one could go to many places by land, and my company’s headquarters were only a short distance away. All the most interesting dens were to be found here, too.

“I would like you to pay great attention here, because it’s important to what follows.

“There were two ways of travelling between Taimuang and the mouth of the river where the company’s headquarters were situated. From here you could go upstream in a boat until you found the Takuapa-Tungmaprao Road on the other bank. You waited until you could catch a bus and then you went again downstream to Taimuang, and towards the mouth of the river. This took a lot of time. It meant sitting stiff in the boat for five or six hours, and then you could never be sure whether you could catch a bus or how long you would have to wait for one.

“The other way was to get a boat that would take you across the river right to the area near the mouth. Then you trekked on foot across the jungle to Taimuang. This would take about three hours before you reached your destination. There were serious disadvantages travelling this way. You could easily lose your way in the jungle unless you knew the paths very well. And oh, there were crocodiles in that part of the river, in the greatest number and the fiercest that I have ever seen. When my father was governor of Nakorn Sritammaraj, I accompanied him on crocodile hunting trips in the Pak Payur district, which was said to be the worst infested area. But it could not really compare with this river near our mines. Here, in this river the crocodiles would jump right on men in a boat. It was no wonder that part of the country was deserted with only a few habitations on the banks of the river; and very few people would venture to cross it, especially in a small boat. This district was notorious all over the province of Bhuket. Taimuang people who wanted to visit our mines would refuse to cross that river even at the narrowest part, unless the boat was strong enough with good close sides.

“I, of course, used the company’s boat, which was sufficiently big, and so I was able to cross even at places where the river was at widest, and from the bank I would cut across the jungle. I got to know the paths very well and used them as often as I wished. But even so, I would time it so that I would get out of the jungle before dark, because tigers’ footprints were not a rare sight in the district.

“You see how attractive vice is. Even tigers and crocodiles could not keep us away.

“I don’t want to boast, but I have to say that I was very popular at Taimuang. I was in fact quite a distinguished person. Quite a guy, perhaps, as some might say? And this led me into a clash with an important person of Taimuang, in fact, of Bhuket. The man was Taokae Soon.

“Taokae Soon was known also as Big Brother Soon. Now if this man had prospered in Bangkok, his name would have been pronounced in a way so the Chinese meaning would be always kept. But in the Southern dialect, it was made to sound local or foreign, as suitable to the occasion. Taokae Soon was a friend and acquaintance to every man in the region round Bhuket, big men and small men without exception. But the areas where his influence was felt most were Takuatung, Takuapa, Pa-nga, Koakloy, and Tungmaprao. It could be said that every case, legal and illegal, was tried by some means by Big Brother before it was tried in court, or was settled outside of court. All high government officials were entertained by him. All VIPs travelled over what roads there were in that area in Big Brother’s cars, and stopped at places where he thought he could best provide them comfort.

“All the luxuries obtainable in the region would then be put at the VIPs disposal. If a VIP made a wish known, it was fulfilled at once. Big Brother had the reputation of being the most lavish entertainer. Young government officials easily succumbed to him and were soon turned into useful instruments.

“It was this kind of success Big Brother won that brought me into conflict with him. Big Brother was strongly nationalist, for his own fatherland, of course. This was in no way blameworthy. But what made me grind my teeth was when he would insult Thai young manhood in general, when any young man made a slip and misbehaved himself in any way. I, too, was violently nationalist. Taokae Soon, of course, was never openly insulting. He was always sarcastic and subtle. I thought I could match his subtlety, and was never openly hostile. He was a veteran gambler, while I was young and new in gambling circles, but I managed ‘to erase the tiger’s stripes several times with some original tactics. People began to talk about it and laughed. And this was something Soon could not forgive.

“Even though we did not get into open conflict, it soon became known all over the area, and it was always incomprehensible to me how everyone, both Chinese and Thai, could manage to give us opportunities for a clash. It seemed to be some kind of a game for them to see me, a greenhorn, at war with an old tiger like Soon. I began to worry that one day they might force us into open battle. Soon had been the king of the jungle so long that it was impossible for him to tolerate the situation. How could the lion allow a strange animal to invade his territory without doing anything about it? I warned myself that something would happen to me, if not in daylight, then at dark of night. I walked more and more warily. Until. . .

“Do you know the champoon?”

I was startled out of my train of thought while following his narration. I felt afraid. “Goodness! The doctor has left me alone with this patient. Am I safe?” I quickly replied. “I have heard of it, but have never really seen one.”

“It’s a rare flower in Bangkok, but in the southern provinces it is quite common, especially in the area around Taimuang. I will describe it to you.

“It’s of the family of champa. It looks something like a champee, but with a velvety calyx which at first wraps up the petals inside while the flower is a bud. Then this velvety part opens out first and later the petals. The fragrance is then released. The petals are waxlike, thick and stiff. They don’t fade like those of a champee. After it opens, the champoon lasts several days. The scent dominates that of all other flowers around it. The scent is overpowering, compelling, and unyielding.

“Isn’t it strange that Soon with all his nationalism should name his only daughter after this flower? Champoon. He probably knew how it suited her. At nineteen, Champoon was a bright and attractive girl. She did not attract at first sight, just like the flower she was named after. But once you took a careful look, her beauty was revealed to you. Her emotions were exactly what you would expect from a girl with that name. They changed frequently, and they had the same power as the scent of that flower. They made Champoon an overpowering, compelling, and unyielding personality. Champoon was a girl who, once her mind was made up, would let nothing in the world change or stop her from carrying out what she was determined to do.

“Champoon went to school in Bhuket until she was twelve years old. Her father thought it was now time she should stay at home like a good Chinese girl. But Champoon was at that time in Matayom IV, and had tasted enough of the freedom of a Thai girl to rebel at the idea of spending her life the way her father had planned for her. Soon was a strong-minded person, but he somehow realized and appreciated the fact that Champoon had inherited her strong mind from him. He compromised by allowing her to go and continue her education at a convent in Penang. This shows that it was not education for girls in itself that he objected to; what he wanted was to prevent Champoon from becoming absorbed into Thai life. It means, of course, that he did not wish his daughter to marry a Thai.

“It was not long after Champoon’s return home from school that her father’s will clashed with hers. Taokae Soon could not get rid of the idea of keeping his daughter caged up. And Champoon would not accept that sort of treatment. There was some kind of a cold war waged between father and daughter. Champoon would yield in some ways to a certain degree, such as refraining from going out by herself and not appearing in the front part of the house, which is against the custom of the Chinese. This would appease her father somewhat, but should Champoon decide that she had to go anywhere, or her presence was required at any place, she would not let her father’s conservative ideas stand in her way. And her father would pretend he knew nothing about it, because his courage failed when faced with her stubbornness, and he would not press for obedience whenever it was more convenient to seem amenable.

“I must describe to you the way houses are built in the south, so that you will understand what I mean when I say Champoon agreed not to appear in the front part of the house.

“Lodgings in the southern provinces are built so that they look more or less like rows of tenement houses in Bangkok, one built next to another, along the side of the street. The houses seem of the same depth from the street as tenement houses in Bangkok, but they usually stretch much longer along it. Each house may be thirty or forty wah in length [wah = nearly one meter]. To obtain sufficient light, the roof is open in certain places. The openings are covered either with glass or tin, depending on the wealth of the owner. The glass or tin sheets are movable so that the openings can be closed when it rains. The wealthiest Chinese in the region live in this kind of house, because Chinese businessmen build beautiful mansions only for show, but they prefer to live in the places they have prospered in.

“Taokae Soon’s home was built in the way that I have just described. But the house was outside the town and did not face a busy street, while the back of the house was on the fringe of the jungle. In Chinese homes, girls were rarely seen in the front part, and though Champoon did not approve of the custom of keeping women secluded, she did not care to show herself there and be conspicuously different from her neighbors. She really enjoyed keeping busy with all kinds of housework and homecrafts. She read a great deal, having books sent to her from Penang and Bangkok, and she enjoyed going on excursions into the jungle.

“We met by accident, and fell in love, as if it had been planned by long-ago Brahma. Our love was sudden, strong, and deep. The fact that we had to keep it secret, and that it seemed hopeless, served only to intensify it. We knew very well that Taokae Soon would rather see Champoon laid out in a coffin than to see her married to the man whom he hated and regarded as his worst enemy on earth.

“I want you to take note of this. Champoon was a very determined girl. She loved with a strong and deep love. It was like life itself to her. But try how she might, she saw no ray of hope of our love ever being fulfilled in the customary way. Still she refused to elope with me. Her education and upbringing prevented her. As for me, I can swear by all the gods that I loved her truly and deeply. And I, too, could not take advantage of her. Although we saw no way to escape, we preferred to adhere firmly to tradition, and Champoon chose to suffer longing and pain rather than to take the easy way out.

“Taimuang was a small community, and nothing remained secret for long, especially a love affair like ours, with me the man and the daughter of Taokae Soon the girl. Talk swept the town like a forest fire, and soon reached the ears of Champoon’s father.

“Our contacts and meetings were suddenly stopped. I could not see her. I knew that she was imprisoned in the house and had not been taken away because I had men placed so that they could tell me. Don’t let me tell you of what I went through, all the agony and suspense. I tried by every means in my power to contact Champoon. It became an open secret that if anyone could succeed in taking my letter to her, there was a reward of three hundred baht, and if anyone could bring her letter to me there was a reward of five hundred baht. No one, however, succeeded, although several persons made attempts: most of them met with strange calamities. Taokae Soon had not ruled the region for decades for nothing.

“During the period of our underground hostilities, Taokae Soon and I had observed certain rules of civility. We were polite to each other on the surface. But now it was open enmity. We looked daggers at each other if we happened to meet, though we tried to avoid each other. As for Champoon, I got some news of her from some of my agents. She had been whipped and tortured, and was imprisoned in that long dark house of her father’s. It sounded like an old Arabian tale.

“I had been kept away from Bhuket for a long time. This became a topic for talk in many circles in the region. A group of friends, therefore, hired a motor boat and came on a visit. The object wasn’t only social in the ordinary way. They wanted to throw a wild party in order to console me.

“That party was a memorable one, in just the style that Bhuket was famous for. Food, drink, and women. I don’t have to tell you about the quality of the food and the wine. It was what one would expect from a party where expense was no consideration. But there was something else which no amount of money could have bought. Every man there had a woman, chosen and assigned, and there was one brought especially for me. I was told that this special import from Penang usually cost two hundred dollars a week, but, on this occasion, it was a special invitation she had accepted.

“On a dark night, when the moon did not shine, a little resin torch was light enough for a darkened soul. So when one suffers because of a woman, it is appropriate that one should get consolation from a woman. My friends, after all, had some sense. That was how I rationalized and so I accepted the gift of the devil.

“She was called Anita. She was a Filipina with a dash of Portuguese blood. She looked exactly like a Thai. Her Caucasian blood only made her figure more elegant, and her movements more graceful. Her face was beautiful, her whole personality attractive. It was unbelievable that with her beauty she should be what she was. Or it might be because of that beauty she had become what she was, I don’t know.

“My friends spent three days and three nights on the boat, and I was with them. They wanted to take me to Ranong but I had important business and could not go with them. They, therefore, went on their merrymaking way, but left Anita with me. In five or six days they would be back to pick her up again, when she had to go back to Penang, or go to some other employer, as the case might be.

“I suggested to Anita that she should go on with my friends to Ranong. But surprisingly she chose to remain in that wild remote place with me. When I asked her the reason later she said she liked my youth, my looks, and my good manners!

“How destructive those attributes of mine were to me! But how could I know what lay in store? How could I know what beautiful Anita’s decision would do to my life and my soul?

“As soon as my friends left, Anita and I went to my house to enjoy the full delights of the flesh. Our newness to each other was still something exciting for us.

“My house was a wooden bungalow, roughly built. There were three rooms all open on to the verandah from which steps led down to the ground. One of these rooms, the first, I used as my bedroom; the center one was where I had my meals. From the center room there was a passage that took you to the kitchen and the bathroom. The last room I kept always under lock and key because it was there I kept my documents. I seldom locked my bedroom, even at night.

“My bungalow was a little way apart from other houses belonging to the company, about halfway from the river and the fringe of the jungle. It was quiet and usually deserted. I had a servant and a cook, who worked for me only in the daytime. In the evening, the workmen would gather at their own quarters, gambling or enjoying themselves some way. All this suited my purpose very well, and my bungalow became a veritable love nest for me and Anita.

“The evening before Anita was scheduled to be fetched away by my friends, I received an invitation to a dinner at the house of the company’s engineers, which was near the sea. After dinner, we danced and the two engineers had a very good time.

“I knew that the reason for the invitation was Anita. The two engineers had been cut off from the society of women for a long time. The nearness of a beautiful woman was too much of an attraction for them to pretend indifference. But they knew proper limits and respected proprietorship. They danced with her and enjoyed touching her and flirting a little with her following Western customs. We had a pleasant time till it was almost dawn.

“I am usually a light sleeper and it always takes some time for me to go to sleep. That night, however, I dropped off to sleep almost as soon as my head touched the pillow. It must have been because I was very tired, due to the orgies that I had gone through for several consecutive nights. I felt that I dropped off only for a while, really, before I heard the creaking of the front door; the hinge was never properly oiled. I woke up immediately. I was sure that I had closed the door before I went to bed.

“I opened my eyes. The morning sun shone into my face from the open door. I could see a vague outline of someone moving in the middle of the doorway. I was not sure if I was seeing right. I raised my head from my pillow and rubbed my eyes.

“God! Was I dreaming! Was I gone stark crazy! That vision is still before me every time I close my eyes. It was the vision of Champoon all nude, without a single piece of clothing on her. Her rich black hair fell all over her shoulders, wet. The sight was made more grotesque by the presence of an iron chain, about half an inch thick, one end of which was wound round one of her ankles, the other tied round her waist.

“The vision stood in front of me and we gazed at each other. We kept quite still for a little while, then I saw its eyes move slowly away from my face and I followed them as if hypnotized.

“Then we both held our breath, our eyes riveted on the same sight. It was Anita sleeping, breathing softly, her body pressed against mine, in that fine, gauze-like, expensive mosquito net.

“I don’t know why the naked form of Champoon did not stir up any shameful feeling, but that of Anita sleeping lightly clad so shamed me that I quickly piled a coverlet on top of her body.

“I could not look up to meet Champoon’s eyes. I waited for her to say something. All that went on in my head was: Was I crazy? Was I dreaming? Was it a dream or reality? In the end, the silence seemed too long for me. I collected my presence of mind, pressed both my hands on my eyes and looked up.

“Champoon was gone!”

Champoon had confessed to her father that she was in love with Nai Amnuey, and that she had met him secretly several times, but assured him that her lover had respected her woman’s honor, and that she had never thought of doing anything that would bring shame on herself or her family. But it was something beyond the understanding of a man like Soon. In his way of thinking, women could only suffer one consequence from secret meetings. Soon had six concubines in his home, and he believed Nai Amnuey to be a quite normal young man. And Nai Amnuey was his enemy, the only man who had dared to stand up against his will in that part of the country over which he had ruled for decades. His daughter had been a traitor to him. She had allowed herself to love that very man whom her father hated bitterly. He could not bring himself to listen to her.

When both father and daughter are so obstinate, and when they are determined not to meet each other halfway, the result is obvious. Soon became violent. He snatched up a big piece of firewood and aimed a blow at Champoon. She dodged and he missed. He succeeded in giving her a severe beating, however.

Champoon was afraid the noise would attract the attention of neighbours. So she uttered only faint moans when the pain was too great for her to bear. But she asked for no quarter. And when Taokae Soon had finished beating her, she raised herself from the floor.

“I told you I am still innocent, and you won’t believe me. You cursed and beat me. I will now do everything in my power to go to Amnuey and give myself to him. Heaven be my witness.”

Everyone knew that Champoon would keep her word, because she had never said anything that she did not intend to carry out. One week later, she walked out of the house while her father was absent from it.

The word of the head of a Chinese family was law unto his house. Especially in the case of Taokae Soon, it was known that his power was absolute. Soon had threatened to whip everyone, wives, sons, and servants, if Champoon should ever get away. Champoon therefore could not escape. The whole household literally dragged her back, while some ran for the master of the house. Champoon’s first attempt at escape was followed by severe punishment.

She tried again several times, but failed. In the end, Taokae Soon, who would brook no opposition, gave an order for her to be chained to a post in her bedroom. At night, to permit her some freedom, he allowed the chain to be loosened from the post, but it had to be kept on her ankles. Finding that Champoon tried to escape in spite of the chain, he ordered one of her stepmothers to go in every night and remove every piece of clothing from her before she went to sleep. This last measure, he felt certain, would be more effective than any other. He had sworn, too, that he would not give in to Champoon even if the conflict between them destroyed one of them.

But one morning when he unlocked the door of Champoon’s bedroom, he found it empty. The roof was open and the glass that had covered the opening was pushed to one side. Taokae Soon had not realized that Champoon could have used her bedsheet to help haul herself up. He had relied too much on the chain. No one knew why or how he reasoned he would carry out his orders regarding his daughter’s escape. The fact, however, remained that Champoon was gone.

Champoon had escaped to Nai Amnuey, the man of her love. It was never known what pains and dangers she went through to reach him. The local authorities could only guess.

“Champoon must have pulled up her chain from one of her ankles and tied the loose end round her waist somehow. She must have climbed on to the top of her wardrobe and hauled herself up on to the roof. She most probably used her foot to push open the roof, and succeeded in getting out through the opening. She was a strong and healthy girl, and it shouldn’t have been too difficult for her to escape the way it was guessed.

“But it was miraculous how she found her way to my house. How did she cross the crocodile-infested river? No one could answer these two questions. It was believed, of course, that the bedsheet which Champoon must have used to clothe herself in had been washed away from her by the currents in the river.

“So it was really Champoon that I saw in the doorway of my bedroom. I knew that she had really been there when I found that she had disappeared. The opened door assured me that it was not an illusion. I jumped out and was on the verandah in a flash, but I saw no trace of her. I found my voice and called her name. I ran calling her all the way to the river bank. I ran back and forth until the sun was high in the sky. I realized then that she had intentionally hidden from me, because it was impossible for her to go far enough in those few minutes that it took me to get out of my bed for her not to hear me calling her.

“I ran to the workmen’s quarters and collected about twenty men. I made them spread out in a long line, one end of which touched the river. I made them march upstream until dark. We failed to find anything and at sunset we returned home.

“I set out for Taimuang without going back to my bungalow. I would grovel at Taokae Soon’s feet just to hear him tell me that Champoon was safe at home.

“When I reached Taimuang I learned from one of my secret agents that Champoon had not been home. Even then I humbled myself and went to Champoon’s father. After all Champoon was his daughter and though Soon and I hated each other, Champoon had been dear to both of us. But the wretched Chinaman was a beast in human guise. He laughed and said that if Champoon were shameless enough to return he would beat her to death and send me her corpse in a coffin.

“So I went back home and got together again about thirty men. I separated them into two groups, and ordered them to march again along both banks of the river, because I thought Champoon couldn’t have gone in any direction without following its course. She might have crossed the river somewhere it was narrow. We started about nine o’clock. I followed both groups of men in a boat which I rowed upstream.

“I had been either walking or running for the past twenty-four hours. I do not remember eating anything, only taking four or five gulps of brandy. I must have dozed off, but I came to with a start when the bow of my boat was pushed hard against a place on the bank of the river. I asked what happened and one of the boatmen pointed to something. . . .

“Do you know how crocodiles make a meal of a human being?”

I told him no.

“However big a crocodile, it cannot swallow a human body. Even though its mouth is big it cannot bite pieces off, its legs are too short to help it tear. It must always take it on land to make a meal of it. It takes hold of a part of the body in its mouth, and beats the body against a tree. It eats whatever part falls off from the body. It eats one of those parts each time and goes on beating and beating until the whole body is in shreds.”

The patient stopped talking at this point. He gazed away into the distance as if he saw a sight which no one could share with him. The silence made me nervous, so I blurted out:

“Did the boatman find Champoon?”

“No,” the patient said. “What he saw was a piece of chain tied round a human leg that was torn away at the knee. It was on a low branch of a tree. . . .

“Sir, can you tell me? Did Champoon go into the river on purpose in order to be eaten by a crocodile? Or did she try to swim back to go home to her father and confess to him that she had loved the wrong man?”