CHAPTER XX.

THE MESSENGERS.

Hieyas had himself advanced with fifty thousand men to within a few leagues of Soumiossi. He proceeded thither by water, keeping off the coast, lest he should be seen by the soldiers of Massa-Nori, encamped upon the borders of the province of Isse.

All the defensive plans set on foot by Fide-Yori's generals were promptly made known to Hieyas, and he set his wits to work to foil the schemes of his opponents. He let them blockade the Island of Nipon; and, putting out to sea, advanced towards their lines, landing between Osaka and Kioto. He desired to lay siege to Osaka as soon as possible; for the capture of that town would end the war.

Although really ill, he had gone thus far that he might be at the very centre of the conflict, his feeble nerves not being able to bear a state of suspense.

It was he who had planned the tunnel under the city and the moat, to steal an entrance into the fortress; he knew it to be impregnable by open force, and thought that this bold enterprise might succeed. The loss of the two thousand soldiers captured on Dragon-fly Island annoyed him; but General Attiska's conquest of a village very near Osaka consoled him. He impatiently awaited the result of the adventure, sitting in his tent gazing out before him at the ocean with its tossing junks. The sea was very rough; a gale of wind blew in the offing, and raised high waves, which broke in foam upon the shore. It was bad for small boats and for fishing-smacks.

The Prince of Nagato's fleet was even then at sea. He started from Soumiossi, intending to come nearer to the point occupied by the enemy, to sec whether they mustered strong, and if Hieyas had really advanced thus far. Nagato could not believe it to be so. But the wind rose, and suddenly became furious.

"We must make for shore, and quickly too," cried Raiden, examining the horizon, where mountains of slate-colored clouds were suddenly upreared.

"You think we cannot remain at sea?" asked the Prince.

"If we are here an hour hence, we shall never see land again."

"Luckily the squall blows from the sea," said Nata, "and we shall be driven straight on shore."

"All right," said Nagato; "all the better, that I don't like the way the boat dances. Will this last long?"

"Of course," said Raiden, "our sails may help us a little; but we shall bob about."

"The wind will carry us along," said Loo, loading himself down with bundles of rope and chain, to make himself heavier.

The sail was hoisted, and the boat began to speed over tire waves; leaping high in the air, then plunging down into the depths, it leaned first to one side, then to the other, the sail touching the water. The horizon was no longer visible on either hand, but only a succession of bills and valleys, which rose and fell; sometimes a wave broke into the boat with a sharp sound, as if a handful of stones had been thrown in.

Loo was stunned by the force of the wind, which never paused, and which dashed a shower of foam into his face; he again felt on his lips the salty taste which he so disliked when he came near drowning.

"Hand me the scoop," said Nata; "the boat is full of water."

Loo hunted about for a moment, and then said: "I can't find it; I see nothing. The wind blows my eye-lashes into my eyes."

The Prince himself picked up the scoop, and handed it to the sailor. "Are we very far from land still?" he asked.

Raiden stood upon a bench, holding to the mast, and looked across the waves. "No, master," he replied; "we're forging ahead. We shall be there in a few moments."

"And the other boats?" said Loo; "they're not in sight."

"Oh, I can see them," said Raiden. "Some of them are close in shore; others are farther off than we are."

"Where shall we land?" asked the Prince. "Upon a hostile shore, perhaps; for nowadays Japan is like a chess-board: the white squares belong to Fide-Yori, and the red ones to Hieyas."

"So long as we are not cast on the rocks, we're all right," said Nata; "the Usurper will pay no attention to poor sailors like us."

"I am no sailor,--not I," said Loo, displaying his sword. "I am a lord."

The sky was darkened; a dull, rumbling sound rolled around the horizon.

"My patron saint is beginning to talk to us," said Raiden. "Bear to the left, Nata," he added; "we're steering right upon a reef. More, more! Look out, Prince! Take care, Loo! We've caught it now; we're in for it!"

And in fact the storm was let loose, and the waves broke madly against the shore. They dashed up furiously; the frothing crests were blown forward; then they poured down like cataracts. Others ran back, leaving a broad sheet of white foam behind them on the sand. The sail was quickly lowered; the mast was unshipped. They were forced to yield their boat to the mercy of the waves. But it seemed impossible that the boat should fail to be shattered by the frightful billows which struck blow after blow upon the frail bark, breaking against it, and now and again dashing directly over it.

Fortunately, they approached land very rapidly. Raiden suddenly sprang into the midst of the tumultuous waves. He found firm footing, and pushed the boat at the stem with all his might. Nata jumped overboard too, and pulled at the chain. Soon the keel was buried deep in the sand, and the crew landed hastily.

"How terrible the sea is!" said the Prince of Nagato, when he was safe on shore. "How it howls, how it roars! What despair, what frenzy urges it on! Does it not seem to fly the pursuit of some powerful enemy? It is indeed a miracle that we have escaped."

"People don't always escape, unfortunately," said Raiden; "it devours many a poor sailor. How many of my comrades lie beneath its waves! I sometimes think I hear them in the storm; and I believe that it is with the voice of shipwrecked men that the sea laments and groans."

All the boats had now landed without serious mishap, although some were partly shattered by the violence with which they were hurled against the shore.

"Where are we?" said the Prince. "Let us try to find out."

The boats were drawn as far as possible out of reach of the sea and the party left the smooth, white beach, which stretched as far as eye could see.

Above the low dune formed by the drifted sand was a broad and partially cultivated plain, which seemed to be deserted. A few huts were in sight, towards which they went. They called aloud, but no one answered.

"The noise of the wind has deafened us," said Loo; and he began to thump on the doors with fists and feet. The huts were empty.

"It seems we are in the table of Hieyas on the chess-board which you just mentioned," said Raiden; "the peasants would not fly from the Shogun's troops."

"If we are near the enemy, so much the better," said the Prince, "since we are in search of them."

"How black it is!" cried Loo. "It seems like night."

"The storm is at hand," said Nata. "Those huts are just what we want, to shelter us."

The rain began to fall in torrents; the few trees scattered over the plain bent to the ground, with all their branches blown one way; and the thunder rattled. The sailors hurried into the deserted huts; they were exhausted, and lying down, fell fast asleep.

Meantime the Prince, leaning against a door, stared out at the furious rain, as it gullied the earth, or was broken by the wind and blown away in fine spray. But Iwakura saw nothing. His thoughts were in the palace at Kioto, on the veranda, amid flowers. He saw the Queen come slowly down the stairs, seeking him with her eyes, half smiling at him. He began to feel an intolerable pang at this long separation. He thought that he might die without seeing her again.

Two men now appeared on the plain. Lashed by the tempest, they hurried along the path. Nagato instinctively hid behind the door, and watched them. They were dressed like peasants; but the wind, which lifted their clothes in a lawless fashion, showed that they were armed with swords. They walked straight towards the huts. The Prince roused Raiden and Nata, and showed them these armed peasants, who still advanced, blinded by the rain.

"You see," said he, "in time of war, fishermen are not what they appear to be; neither are peasants."

"Those fellows have exchanged their spades for swords," said Raiden. "Where are they going? Are they friends or foes?"

"We shall soon know," said Nagato; "for we will take them prisoners."

The two men came forward with heads down, to keep the rain from their faces; they supposed the huts to be empty, and ran to them for shelter.

"Come, come in! Come and dry yourselves!" cried Raiden, when they were close at hand. "The rain rebounds from your skulls like the water of a cataract from a rock."

On hearing his voice, the new arrivals started back, and took to their heels. They were soon overtaken.

"What does this mean?" said Raiden. "Why do you run away so quickly? Have you anything to conceal?"

"You must let us see what it is," said Nata, with his good-natured laugh.

All the sailors had waked; they collected in one hut. The two men were brought before the Prince. Each wore on his head a mushroom-shaped hat, which hid half his face; on the shoulders of each was a rude cloak of unbraided straw, which made him look like a thatched roof. They dripped with rain.

"Who are you?" asked Nagato.

They looked at the Prince with a bewildered, simple air; one of them stammered out something unintelligible.

"Speak more distinctly," said Nagato. "Who are you?"

Then the two cried together: "Peasants."

Loo, who was sitting on the ground, chin in hand, watching them, burst out laughing.

"Peasants!" said he; "monkeys you'd better say. Your assumed simplicity ill conceals your malice."

"Why did you try to run away?" said the Prince.

"I was afraid," said one, kicking the ground and scratching his head.

"I was afraid," repeated the other.

"You are not peasants," said the Prince; "why have you two swords hidden in your belt?"

"Because--there is war about; it is well to be armed."

"There is war about," repeated the other.

"Come!" cried Raiden, "speak the truth. We are friends of Hieyas; if you belong to us, you have nothing to fear."

One of the men cast a rapid glance at Raiden.

"Strip them of their arms and search them," said the Prince to the sailor.

"By all the Kamis, but you have fine swords!" exclaimed Raiden; "they must have cost you dear. You must be very rich peasants."

"We took them from some dead soldiers."

"Then you are thieves!" exclaimed Loo.

"What's that?" said the sailor, snatching a paper carefully hidden under the robe of one of the strangers.

"As we can't escape, we may as well own the truth; we are messengers," said one man, dropping his stupid look. "That is a letter written to Hieyas by General Attiska."

"Very good," said Raiden, handing the letter to Nagato.

"If you really serve the same master as we," said the other messenger, "do not keep us any longer; let us finish our errand."

"When it stops raining," said Loo.

The Prince opened the little paper bag closed at one end with rice paste, and took out the letter. It read as follows:--

"General Attiska falls prostrate before the illustrious and all-powerful Minamoto Hieyas. Happy days are followed by wretched days; and I have the shame and sorrow to announce a disaster. The tunnel scheme, so carefully elaborated by your lofty intellect, was carried out. With vast pains, thousands of soldiers, working night and day, finally finished the work; we were sure of success. But Marisiten, the God of Battles, was cruel to us. By I know not what treachery, Yoke-Moura was forewarned; and I scarcely dare confess to you that five thousand heroes met their death in the narrow passage which we dug, while the enemy lost not a single man. We have regained the position in the village lost for a time. Nothing therefore is yet compromised, and I hope soon to be able to send you the news of a brilliant victory.

"Written beneath the walls of Osaka, this fifth day of the seventh moon, in the first year of the Shogun Fide-Tadda."

"A fine piece of news indeed, my friends!" said the Prince, who read the letter aloud; "and I will take it to Hieyas myself. I am anxious to enter his camp--to insinuate myself into his very tent."

"Then you are not friends of Hieyas, as you said?" asked one of the messengers.

"No, we are no friends of his!" said Nagato; "but what difference does that make to you, so long as I agree to carry the message in your place?"

"That's true! After all, it's all one to me; the more so as the bearer of ill tidings is apt to be ill received."

"Where is Hieyas' camp?"

"Half-an-hour's journey from here."

"In which direction?"

"To the left, on the borders of the plain; he is quartered in a wood."

"Hieyas is there in person?"

"He is."

"Is there a password to enter the camp?"

"There is!" said the messenger, reluctantly.

"You know it?"

"Of course; but I ought not to reveal it."

"Then Hieyas won't get the message."

"That's so! You have fully made up your mind to keep us?"

"Entirely!" said Nagato; "and to do you no harm if you speak the truth; to kill you if you deceive us."

"Well, then, the password is: Mikawa."

"The name of the province over which Hieyas is ruler," said Nagato.

"Exactly! Moreover you must show the sentinels three chrysanthemum leaves engraved on an iron plate."

The speaker drew a tiny iron plate from his girdle, and gave it to the Prince.

"Is that all?" asked Nagato; "have you told the truth?"

"I swear I have. Besides, our lives are in your hands, and answer for our sincerity."

"Best yourselves, then; but give us your hats and straw cloaks."

The messengers obeyed; then lay down to sleep in one corner of the hut.

"You will go with me, Raiden," said the Prince.

The sailor, proud to be chosen, held his head erect.

"And I?" said Loo, with a wry face.

"You will stay with Nata," said the Prince. "Later on, perhaps this very night, I shall need you all."

Loo moved away, disappointed.

They waited until evening; then the Prince and Raiden, disguised as peasants in their turn, proceeded towards Hieyas' camp. The sailors watched their leader's departure with some uneasiness.

"May your enterprise succeed!" they cried.

"May Marisiten guard you!"

The rain had stopped, but the wind still blew; it passed with a silky hiss over the grass, laid by the storm; heavy clouds drifted rapidly across the clear sky, covering and then revealing the slender crescent moon. The forest stood out on the horizon at the end of the plain.

"Have you no directions to give me, master?" asked Raiden, when they had nearly reached the wood.

"Be observant, and remember all you see," said the Prince. "I want to find out whether the enemy's camp is open to attack at any point; if so, I will summon Harounaga, who is still at Soumiossi, and we will try to beat Hieyas. At any rate, we will see if we can't discover some of his schemes."

The sentinels had already noted the arrivals, and shouted, "Who goes there?"

"Messengers!" answered Raiden.

"Where do you come from?"

"From Osaka; sent by General Attiska."

"Do you know the password?"

"Mikawa!" cried the sailor.

A soldier approached with a lantern. Then the Prince drew from his girdle the iron plate upon which were graven the chrysanthemum-leaves.

"Come along!" said the soldier; "the master is most impatient to see you."

They went farther into the wood.

A few lanterns swung from the trees, sheltered from the wind by a couple of shields. Iwakura and Raiden walked over straw brought from the tents by people going to and fro.

At intervals stood a soldier bearing a long lance, a quiver on his back, erect and motionless; behind the trees, in the half-open tents, sat other soldiers drinking or sleeping. Beyond, all was thick darkness.

Hieyas' tent was pitched in the centre of an open glade, which had been cleared into a square space, hung round with scarlet draperies suspended from pikes. Over the tent floated a large banner, streaming and fluttering in the wind; two archers leaned against either side of the opening. The messengers were ushered in.

Hieyas sat upon a folding-chair. He seemed bowed by age, bent nearly double, his head resting on his breast, his lower lip hanging, his eyes pale and moist. From his attitude and dull look no one would have guessed at the powerful genius and tenacious will within that weak and hideous form. Yet the spirit watched, clear and bright, wearing out the body, and enduring fatigue with heroic indifference.

"News from Osaka?" he said. "Speak! be quick!"

The letter was handed to him, and he opened it hurriedly.

The wind blew into the tent, making the flame flicker in the lanterns as they hung from the central tent-pole. The forest rustled angrily, and the sound of the sea breaking on the beach was plainly heard.

Hieyas showed nothing of the emotion which he felt on reading General Attiska's letter. He beckoned to several officers standing in the tent, and handed them the despatch. Then he turned to the messengers, saying: "Did Attiska give you a verbal message besides this letter?"

Before Raiden could answer, several men entered the tent.

"Master!" cried a soldier, "here are more messengers, all coming at the same moment from different points."

"Well! well!" said Hieyas, "let them come forward." One of the new-comers advanced and knelt. He carried something under his cloak.

"Illustrious lord," he said, in a firm, triumphant tone, "I come from the castle of Tosa. I bring you, in my master's name, the head of the Prince of Nagato."

This time Hieyas could not hide his emotion. His lips trembled; he extended his quivering hands with senile eagerness.

Raiden gave a start when he heard the messenger's words; but the Prince, with a sign, ordered him to be silent.

"I'm curious to see that head," muttered the sailor.

The man uncovered a bag of braided straw, closed at one end by a rope, and untied it.

Hieyas directed a lantern to be brought, saying: "Is it really true? is it really true? I cannot believe it."

The envoy drew the head from the bag. It was rolled in a piece of red silk, which seemed dyed with blood. The wrapper was removed; then Hieyas took the head in his hands and rested it on his knees. A man standing beside him threw the full light of the lantern upon it.

The head was so pale that it seemed made of marble; the jet-black hair, knotted on top of the skull, shone with bluish lustre; there was a slight frown upon the brow; the eyes were closed; a mocking smile contracted the discolored lips.

"If the Prince were not by my side, I should swear that that head was cut from his shoulders," said the astonished Raiden.

Nagato, painfully moved, seized the sailor's hand in a nervous grasp.

"My poor Sado!" he muttered; "loyal unto death, as you promised!"

Hieyas, his head bent, gazed greedily at the head upon his knees.

"It is he! it is he!" said the Usurper; "he is vanquished at last, he is dead, the man who lavished so many insults upon me, and who always escaped my vengeance! Yes, there you lie, motionless and frightful to look upon, you whom every woman's eye followed with a sigh, whom every man secretly envied and strove to imitate. You are even paler than your wont; and despite the scornful expression which your features still retain, you can no longer scorn any one; your glance will no longer cross mine, like the meeting of hostile swords; you can no longer stand in my path. You were a noble soul, a great mind,--I acknowledge that; unfortunately you did not see how disinterested my projects were, and how useful to the country. You devoted yourself to a lost cause, and I was forced to crush you."

"Indeed!" muttered Raiden.

The messenger then described the Prince's capture and execution.

"His arms were taken from him!" exclaimed Hieyas; "he was not allowed to kill himself?"

"No, your lordship, he was beheaded alive; and up to the moment that his head fell, he never ceased to insult his victor."

"Tosa is a zealous servant," said Hieyas, with a shade of irony.

"He is an infamous wretch," murmured the Prince of Nagato, "and he shall bitterly expiate his crime. I will avenge you, brave Sado!"

"How cold death is!" said Hieyas, his hands growing chill at the touch of that pale flesh; he turned, and gave Sado's head to one of the officers standing near him. "Tosa may ask me what he will," he added, addressing the envoy; "I can refuse him nothing. But there was another messenger; what tidings does he bring?"

The second messenger advanced, and prostrated himself in his turn.

"Yet another piece of good news, master," said he; "your soldiers have taken Fusimi, and are about to begin the attack on Kioto."

At these words Nagato, who still held Raiden's hand, pressed it so violently that the poor fellow almost screamed.

"Attack Kioto! What does that mean?" whispered the Prince, with horror.

"If that is so," said Hieyas, rubbing his hands, "the war will soon be over. The Mikado once in our power, Osaka must fall of its own accord."

"We must be off," said the Prince, in Raiden's ear.

"Hieyas is just dismissing the messengers," said Raiden.

As they raised the drapery which enclosed the tent, a red glow lighted up the woods.

"What is that?" asked Hieyas.

Several officers left the tent to inquire. A vast flame arose in the direction of the sea; the wind fanned it, and brought the sound of crackling, snapping wood.

"What can be burning on that shore?" was the cry. "There are no villages that way."

"It is some boats," said a man, who came running in.

"Our boats!" sighed Raiden; "well, that's nice!"

"No one knows where they came from; all at once they were seen stranded on the beach."

"Are there many of them?"

"Some fifty. We went up to them; they were empty. Those large boats, well equipped, struck us as suspicious."

"We thought of Soumiossi."

"So we set fire to them; now they're blazing brightly."

"What a pity! what a pity!" said Raiden; "our fine boats! What shall we do?"

"Silence!" said the Prince; "let us try to get away."

"I'm afraid it won't be so easy as to enter."

They saw that they were free to roam about the camp, no one heeding them; and they moved off in search of an outlet.

"Kioto attacked, and I am here!" said the Prince, a prey to strange agitation. "Our fleet is destroyed. I need two hundred horses; where am I to get them?"

"There are plenty of them here," said Raiden; "but how are we to get hold of them?"

"We will come back with our comrades," said the Prince; "see how the horses are fastened."

"Merely by the bridle to the trunk of a tree."

"They are tied behind the tents in groups of five or six, as well as I can see in the darkness."

"Yes, master."

"We must capture them."

"We will do whatever you command," said Raiden, without objecting that it was impossible.

They had reached the edge of the woods, at the point where they had entered the camp. The sentinels were being changed, and the man who had let them in recognized them.

"Going already!" he said.

"Yes," said Raiden; "we carry orders."

"Good luck to you!" said the soldier; and he signed to his substitute to let them pass.

"Well! they almost drive us out," said Raiden, when they were in the plain.

The Prince walked quickly; they soon reached the huts. All the sailors were awake, and in great dismay. They ran to meet the Prince.

"Master, master!" they shouted, "our boats are burned. What is to become of us?"

"It was that wretch of a Hieyas who did this," cried Loo; "but I will be revenged on him."

"Have you your weapons?" asked Nagato.

"Certainly; we have our swords and our guns."

"Well, you must now show me that your courage is worthy of my confidence. We must perform an act of heroism which may cost us our lives. We must enter the camp of Hieyas, jump upon his horses, and ride towards Kioto. If we are not dead, we shall be in the sacred city before sunrise."

"Very good!" said Loo; "let us enter Hieyas' camp. I have an idea of my own."

"We will follow you," said the sailors; "our lives are yours."

"The camp is but ill guarded," said the Prince; "the undertaking may succeed. Darkness will conceal us from the eyes of our enemies; the noise of the wind in the trees will prevent them from hearing the sound of our footsteps. One thing only distresses me; that is, that we have not time to steal away the head of the brave man who died for me, that we may bury it with the respect it deserves."

"What head?" whispered Loo, to Raiden.

"I'll tell you all I know about it," whispered back the sailor.

"Let us divide," said the Prince; "we have more chance of passing unnoticed, singly. If we can meet again, it will be on the other side of the wood. May the Kamis protect us."

The sailors dispersed. The darkness was profound, and they disappeared abruptly.

Loo lingered behind with Raiden, to question him in regard to what he had seen in the camp. When he had heard enough, the lad escaped, and ran before. He had a plan,--indeed he had two, since he had learned the story of the severed head: he meant to carry off that head, and then to be avenged for the firing of the boats. It was child's play for him to slip into the camp unseen. He had the soft tread of a cat; he could leap, glide, and creep on all fours, without stirring a blade of grass; he would not have waked a watch-dog. The lights in the camp guided him; he ran straight towards the edge of the wood; he wanted to be the first to enter. He was almost upon the sentinel before he saw him; but he fell flat on his face. The man did not see him; as soon as the guard had gone, the boy passed on.

"Here I am," said he, squeezing through a thicket; "the worst is over now."

The wind still blew; vivid flashes of lightning now and then filled the night.

"Ah, God of Storms!" said Loo, as he ran along on all fours under the trees, "you're behaving very badly. Strike your gongs as much as you like, but put out your lantern. As for you, Futen, Spirit of the Wind, blow, blow! harder still!"

With the exception of the sentinels, the whole camp slept; when the wind died away, at internals the regular breathing and occasional snores of the men could be heard. Loo took his way, by Raiden's directions, to Hieyas' tent. He reached it, and recognized the red draperies which formed a wall around the tent. Two archers stood before the entrance. Above them, on posts, hung lanterns.

"Yes, yes! stare out to sea at the dying flames of our burning boats," said Loo; "that will keep you from seeing me."

He slipped under the hangings, flattening himself against the earth; but to reach the tent, he had still a large, light, open space to cross. He hesitated a moment, and cast a glance at the archers.

"Their backs are towards me," said he; "besides, I believe they are asleep at their posts."

He rose, and swiftly gained the edge of the canvas; then he glided in. A blue lantern lit up the interior of the tent. Hieyas, stretched on a silken mattress, the upper part of his body raised by a number of cushions, slept a troubled sleep; sweat stood in beads upon his brow; he breathed heavily.

Loo raised his eyes to the aged Regent, and made a grimace at him; then he looked about the tent. On a mat, not far from his master, slept a servant. A writing-case and a few cups of rare porcelain were placed on a low stool of black wood; in one corner, a complete suit of mail, sinking under its own weight, produced the effect of a man chopped up into pieces. A large red lacquer chest, upon which were raised in relief the three chrysanthemum-leaves, Hieyas' crest, caught the light and glittered. Against this box rested the straw sack containing Sado's head. Hieyas desired to keep it till the next day, to display it to all his soldiers.

Loo guessed that the head must be in this bag; he crawled to it and opened it; but at that instant Hieyas awoke. He uttered several groans of distress, wiped his forehead, and took a little of a drink prepared for him. The boy hid behind the chest, and held his breath. Soon the old man fell back upon his cushions and dozed again. Then Loo drew the head from the bag, and made off with it. He was hardly out of the tent when shouts of alarm sounded on every hand. The neighing of horses and the shock of arms were heard above the continual rustling of the trees in the wind.

Hieyas waked a second time; and rising all breathless from the sudden start, drew aside the hangings which shut in the tent. A flash of lightning dazzled him; then he saw nothing but intense darkness. But soon, by the light of a fresh flash, longer and more brilliant than the first, he saw, with awful horror, the man whom he supposed dead, whose lifeless head he had held in his hands but a short time since, the Prince of Nagato, sword in hand, pass by on a horse which seemed to Hieyas to make no sound.

His enfeebled nerves, his mind overwrought by fever, prevented him from reacting against this superstitious terror; his strength of mind forsook him; he uttered a frightful cry. "A ghost! a ghost!" he yelled, spreading fear throughout the entire camp. Then he fell heavily to the ground, unconscious. He was thought to be dead.

Some of his officers also recognized the Prince of Nagato, and no less alarmed than Hieyas, put the climax to the confusion in the ranks.

The cry, "A ghost!" ran from mouth to mouth. The soldiers, who had come out at the shout of alarm, fled precipitately back to their tents.

Some one, of more heroic mould, proposed examining the bag, to see if the head was still there. When he found that it had vanished, this unbeliever set up a frightful howl. Confusion was at its height; all the men fell on their faces, loudly invoking the Kamis, or Buddha, according to their special form of faith.

The Prince of Nagato and his men were much surprised at the greeting they received; but they took advantage of it, and traversed the wood undisturbed. When they were on the other side of the grove, they waited for one another; then counted their numbers. Not one was missing; all were on horseback.

"Truly, the Kamis protect us," said the sailors; "who would have thought the expedition would turn out so well!"

"And that we should be taken for ghosts!"

They were about to resume their journey, when Raiden suddenly exclaimed: "But where is Loo?"

"That's true," said the Prince; "he's the only one who has not returned."

"And yet he started first," said Raiden.

They waited a few moments.

"Unfortunately," said the Prince, "the duty which calls me suffers no delay. We must go; but it is with pain that I abandon that faithful boy."

Abandon Loo, the delight of all,--he who reminded the fathers of their children,--the scornful little hero, somewhat cruel, but fearless, and always gay! They set out with aching hearts; all sighed.

"What can have happened to him? Perhaps he has lost his way in the darkness," said Raiden, looking constantly back.

They had gone on for perhaps ten minutes, when those who were behind thought they heard a hurried gallop. They stopped and listened. A horse was indeed coming; shouts of laughter were soon mingled with the hoof-beats. It was Loo.

"Raiden!" he shouted, "come and catch me; I shall fall. I can't stand it any longer; I've laughed too hard?"

Raiden hastened back to meet the boy.

"Well," said he, "so here you are! Why did you lag behind so long? You gave us a great fright."

"Because I had a great deal to do," said Loo; "you got through your work before I did."

"What have you been about?"

"Take that first," said Loo, offering Raiden the severed head; "it 'a as heavy as lead."

"What! so you contrived to get hold of that?"

"Yes," said Loo, who kept looking behind him; "and they think down yonder that it started off on its travels alone; and so they're all half crazed with fear."

They now put their horses to the gallop, to catch up with the Prince and his companions.

"Has the boy come back?" asked Nagato.

"Yes, master; and he brings you the head of the man who looked so much like you," cried Raiden, with a sort of paternal pride.

"That's not all I did," said Loo, still looking back; "see the pink light yonder? Shouldn't you think the sun was rising?"

"The sky is really illumined," said the Prince; "I should say it was the reflection from some fire."

"That's just what it is," said Loo, clapping his hands; "the woods are burning."

"You set them on fire!" cried Raiden.

"Did I not swear to avenge our fine boats, which lie in ashes on the beach?" said Loo, with much dignity.

"How did you manage it? Tell us all about it," said the sailor.

"Ah!" cried Loo, "I never laughed so much in my life! I had no sooner stolen the martyr's head than I heard shouts and cries in all directions. Then I looked for a horse to be ready for flight. Still, I had no idea of running away yet. When I had mounted the beast of my choice, I broke off a pitchy bough, and lit it at a lantern, which I unhooked and threw into the straw of the horse's litter. That straw kindled at once, and the wind fanned my torch to a flame. I started off, setting fire to everything as I went. To my great surprise the soldiers, instead of springing upon me and wringing my neck, fell on their knees when they saw me, stretched out their hands to me, and entreated me to spare them; some taking me for Tatsi-Maki, the dragon of the Typhoons, others for Marisiten, fancying that my horse was the wild boar upon which the God of Battles rides. I nearly split my sides with laughter; and the more I laughed the more frightened they were. So I came through the forest at my ease, firing here a banner, there a dead tree or a bundle of fodder."

"I never could have believed that an army could be so alarmed by a child!" cried Raiden, laughing heartily in his turn.

"If you had seen them," said Loo, "how they stuttered and shook! And well they might; for every one of them thought that a ghost had stretched out his arm and waved a sword at Hieyas, who instantly fell dead."

"Yes," said Nata; "they took us for a legion of ghosts."

The light of the burning forest spread across the sky to the zenith. The Prince turned his head and gazed.

"Loo," said he, "I am daily thankful that I brought you with me; you have the daring of a hero, and a lion's heart in your frail body. These exploits deserve a splendid reward. I give you the title of Samurai."

On hearing this, Loo was speechless with emotion. He looked at Raiden, as he ambled along by his side; then suddenly threw himself into his arms.

At the Prince's order, several men dismounted and dug a grave with their swords by the roadside, to bury the head of the brave Sado.

"We will come and fetch it later on, and pay it fitting honors," said the Prince.

Stones were piled on the grave when it had been filled up, to mark it.

"Now," said the Prince, "let us hasten; we must be at Kioto before day dawns."

They set off at a gallop, a few men going before as scouts.

The Prince also outrode the rest of his party. He wanted to be alone, to hide his emotion and his anxiety. He had not dreamed; the messenger had indeed told Hieyas that the attack on Kioto was about to begin. Attack the sacred capital of the Mikados! Lay hands on the divine person of the Son of the Gods! Nagato could not credit such sacrilege. Moreover, the idea that the Kisaki was in danger overwhelmed him. She, insulted in her sovereign power by one of her subjects, alarmed by battle-cries, by the sound of war, perhaps constrained to fly! The thought put him into a frantic rage. He was surprised that he had not sprung at Hieyas' throat, to strangle him with his own hands when he spoke of Kioto.

"I pitied and respected his age," thought he; "does such a man merit pity?"

And yet, amidst these feelings of anger and dismay, he could not repress a sense of deep joy. To be near her, to see her again, once more to hear that voice, of whose accents his ears were ever greedy! Was it possible? His bosom swelled; a smile hovered on his lips; he saw only her.

"It is Destiny that directs me," he said. "Fate prevented me from going far from Kioto; a presentiment warned me that she would need me."

How did he hope to defend the sacred city against forces which were undoubtedly large? He could not have told himself. Yet he did not doubt that he should triumph over his adversaries, however many they might be. There are sovereign wills which rule events, which carry away the combatants in battle, exalt their courage, render them terrible. The Prince of Nagato felt such an irresistible determination within his breast. To save her, he felt as if he could scatter an army single-handed.