The Usurper

"What an awful thing war is!" exclaimed Fide-Yori, hastening away, entirely overcome.

Soon the cries became less frequent; then utter silence was restored.

"All is over, they are all dead," said Yoke-Moura; "nothing remains but to close up the tomb!"

Five thousand men had perished in that subterranean passage, but a few leagues in length!

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."