Shibusawa ran toward his house with a fleet foot and a light heart. He had fully made up his mind to go if possible on board one of the strange ships and sail away with the fleet. Whither he did not know; nor did he consider when or how he should be able to return. These were trifles with which he did not concern himself, for the one person above all others to whom his life was fully consecrated had pledged her faith in his undertaking, and he proposed boldly and resolutely to go forward into the dark unknown.
His adventure might carry him into limitless space, possibly land him upon the shores of another world; or it might cross over the irresistible or emerge beyond the impenetrable. The home of this strange people might be the centre of a molten universe or the frozen arc of an indescribable radius; whatever it was, he had builded his hopes upon that faith which invites us beyond the grave and makes life worth the living.
With nothing more than a pilgrim outfit and what seemed to him a goodly supply of ready money Shibusawa and Okyo stole their way to the side of the most convenient man-of-war. The day was just breaking and the harbour already swarming with sampans, filled and manned with the curiously inclined. After a while with much bickering andbartering they succeeded in getting aboard, where they were safely stowed away among the stokers and lay anxiously awaiting the ships departure.
In the meantime Commodore Perry had despatched an early message to the shogun, requesting an immediate audience with his duly accredited representative; and as this request seemed to be backed by proper credentials, and had been heralded by a strange, bold display of force, the now thoroughly terrorised autocrat of the flowery kingdom yielded a point and forthwith directed the anxious but nowhere to be found Ikamon to visit his grace, the Commodore, on board his ship. Ikamon had disappeared! Maido was substituted, and to the surprise of the hastily summoned council and the chagrin of Tetsutaisho this conference did not last more than an hour, while their rights seemed arbitrarily decreed. The ambitious commander had reduced his request to somewhat the form of an ultimatum, which he politely delivered, promising immediately to withdraw his ships, and in one year return for an answer.
The purpose of the visit and the conditions of the withdrawal alike remained unknown to Shibusawa, who now lay wholly occupied with the strange, mysterious things around him. He had not as yet been missed on shore, for the excitement was great, and his absence attracted no particular attention. His father, like all the shoguns court, was busily engaged with what seemed to him a threatening danger. Takara gave herself very little concern about him, and Nehachibana was already too well employed with watching her recently affianced Tetsutaisho.
Therefore, when the white squadron filed out, allthose on shore breathed a token of relief, and were happy for the departure, except perchance one at the hidden cave, whose gladness sprang only from her faith. She stood there pondering and watching until the last ship had passed from sight, and then she turned with a sigh to the place which had brought her such joy only because of the pain. Kinsan returned that morning to her home a happier woman. She had met lifes first severe trial and had stood the test and won the battle, for she now knew the power of faith.
Before leaving home Shibusawa had penned a short message to his father, and one to his wife. He informed Takara that he should be absent for a long time, and advised her to seek such happiness as she herself might find. To his father he explained more fully his departure, his intentions, and his hopes. Again he urged Maido to accept the situation, feel assured of his safety, and fully confide in his purposes.
As the ship rolled out upon the great ocean Shibusawa gained a parting glimpse of his native land, and there came over him, only for an instant, a feeling of awe mingled with something of regret. Then he dismissed the past and thenceforth looked only to the future.
Upon sailing out into the open water the little squadron encountered calm weather and a smooth sea, and as they had taken the outside course it was late at night before the Black Current was left behind. The phosphorescent light danced and played, while the air grew warm and balmy; though Shibusawa since leaving sight of land ventured not so high as a port-hole to enjoy the delights of a summer night on the Eastern seas. In fact, the first relaxation from the excitement of getting off, the swaying of the ship, the warmth of the boilers, and the closeness of the atmosphere combined to make him drowsy, and he crawled forward and hid himself away between great rolls of canvas, where he went fast asleep.
Nor did he after he had awakened attempt to stir from his hiding-place until hunger and thirst had driven him out. Then he came, blindly searching for the one who had undertaken for an advance consideration to stow and feed him and his companion until the ship landed at Shanghai, its proposed destination. And when he finally did after much confusion find his provider he was surprised and mortified at the treatment meted him.
Take that, Indian, and mind yu that mum is the word, said the churlish stoker, as he tossed him an old tin half filled with cold stew, earlier in the day purloined from the mess.
Shibusawa said nothing and took the food, though not without a look of resentment. He did not understand the words, but from the fellows gruff manner suspected something of his meaning. Those last words, mum is the word, impressed him, and intuitively he felt they in some way related to manner. This he afterwards so thoroughly impressed upon Okyos mind that he, doubtful slave, learned no more European, but made that much serve his every purpose.
Had Shibusawa been more politic, and accepted the situation as a necessary consequence of his uncongenial surroundings, he might have escaped further insult, but that characteristic look of his gave the big, sooty stoker further occasion to show off, whereat he pounced upon him with his big bony hand in such manner as to send his now bewildered charge sprawling over the loose coals, saying, gruffly:
Ahoy wid yu! Ill teach yu to scud yr gang. Ill take a reef in yr jib, yu blubberene!
Shibusawa made no attempt to resist the attack, but consoled himself in the belief that there were others to be found in this strange civilisation that were less impolite. He tried to relish the food, though he could not bear its smell, much less its taste. It was different cooking from any he had ever eaten, and the seasoningwell, it was no worse than the ingredients, which he suspected to be mostly flesh of some kind or another.
Can these strange people be cannibals? Yes, they must be, else whence did they obtain this greasy stuff? queried he, as he thought of his own fate.
Shibusawa, however, had not started off entirely unprepared, but upon leaving home had thrust intothe folds of his girdle a few handfuls of loose rice and a small skin of fresh water. Now that he was hungry for food that he could eat and water that he could drink he withdrew into a lonely corner and helped himself sparingly. In the matter of clothing he was more fortunate, for early upon his advent he had succeeded in bargaining for a pair of blue overalls and jumper, besides cowhide shoes and a sailors cap. For Okyo, he had as yet procured only a shirt and the shoesthe remainder being promised upon their arrival at Shanghai. Thus the day passed, though it was not later than four oclock when it began suddenly to grow dark.
The air was becoming oppressive and the pressure rapidly dropping. Presently the ships men began hurrying here and there under enforced orders, and everywhere about there seemed a hushed, anxious feeling. The barometer now registered 27,077 and the captain took his place on the bridge. The stokers shovels rang from below with the rhythm of their merry he-ho, and the black clouds of smoke rolled aft in her wake. The boatswains hardy voice rose high above the rattling of cordage and the planking of hatchways. The half-hour bell solemnly tolled, and a pall-like stillness settled over all as the storm-centre lowered around them.
A hush, a whirl, a roarand the suspense was over. The storm had burst, and the typhoon was on. The head-on bell sounded and the grimy funnels belched clouds of sparks, and the ponderous ship hurled a foaming surf and furrowed the angry sea like a demon waging a last defence. The fire flashed and the heavens roared and rumbled, while every man braced himself at his post. Sea after sea lashedand drove upon her decks. Her cabins creaked and her beams trembled. The breathless lurches, the awful plunges, the terrific pounding, all told of her mighty battle for life and of the uncertainty of mans contention with the mad fury of the elements.
In the midst of the awful storm Shibusawa became deathly sick, and made a desperate effort to gain the upper deck. Several times he had been discovered and as often beaten back, but the want of fresh air and the uncertainty of his position each time impelled him to further effort. At last he succeeded in reaching the open hatchway, and watching his chance slipped by and clambered upon the open deck. Here the wind caught him up and hurled him along the slippery plank and headlong aft, where he lodged in a tangled mass of débris. A lone boatswain caught him from going overboard, and in the hurry and excitement lashed him to a life raft which had been swept up by the last wave. The hardy fellow had barely covered his own safety when another high sea caught the ship abaft her starboard bow and swept over her deck like a monstrous tidal wave.
Man overboard! cried the boatswain, as Shibusawa and his life raft disappeared behind the tumbling, heaving, jagged mountain, that rolled, and moaned, and foamed in the distance.
His voice was lost in the din of wind and rain that swept down from the bridge above.
All under deck and make fast your hatchway! shouted the captain, as the quartermaster tugged at the helms tangled gear.
We must throw her into the trough of the sea, mate, else we are lost, continued he, as the disabledapparatus failed to steer, and a swelling, growling sea came speeding on.
A crash, a splash, and a shiverand the big ship lay as if stunned, and debating whether after all life is worth the trial. Then slowly she began to rise, and the terrible suspense was over. Caged and fearful men were now assured of her determination to survive, and they loved and praised and trusted her. There was no longer any doubt, but every soul would have pledged his life that she would win the battle. Rising again she rolled to starboard, as if bantering her oncoming assailant for the second trial. This one, larger, though calmer than the first, took her amidship and heaved her over on her port side; then as if unmindful rolled on and over the submerged ship. Not a man lost his courage as she sank and sank, and seemed to go farther and farther toward the ghoulish bottom, but with each faint feeling there came a responsive voice that rang with certainty:
Shell win, boys; just give her time.
Presently she sank no more, but rested, as if satisfied to venture no farther. Then she raised a little, then more, and still more, until at last she leaped upon the surface and bounded about like a cork on the water. She had won, and the third wave pushed her down, and dropped her broadside into the trough of the sea. There she lay, and tossed at the waters will until the morning of the second day, when the typhoon had passed and the seas were again calm.
Shibusawas disappearance was lamented by none but two. When cast adrift he was so blinded by the spray and drenched with water that he could neither see nor hear. Fortunately his frail raft did not capsize but remained right side up, and he clung fastwith a tenacity possessed only by one who is in the very jaws of horrible death. He was a good swimmer and accustomed to the water, else he might not have fared even so well as not to have been washed away.
All night long he drifted in the darkness, not knowing where he was or just how he came to be there. He knew nothing of such conditions and had never heard of a similar circumstance, yet instinct told him how best to make use of the slender means at hand; necessity moved him to do so. The wind blew and the seas lashed. He did not cry out, nor did he lose courage, for he had resolved to meet his fate like a man. Day came and passed and he was still alone. Toward night the wind had gone down, and he could relax his hold and ease his tired arms and numb limbs. He quenched his thirst a bit from the skin of water, which he still carried, and then ate sparingly of the rice in his pocket. As the gloom began to turn into darkness he for the last time stretched himself and looked around, but could see nothing except perilous waters. For many long hours he nerved himself to the task, and not until the sun rose the next morning did he succumb to the terrible exhaustion. Then he sank down and saw no more, but dreamed of Kinsan and of the rescue that soon would save him from a watery grave.
It was about three oclock of that afternoon when theFair Puget, a lumber schooner from Puget Sound, hove into sight on her return trip from Shanghai, where she had recently discharged a cargo of timber. The trim little ship was sailing under a fair wind and the veteran captain, Thomas N. Thompson, was at the wheel.
Come here, Jack, said he to his lone mate, as he knocked the ashes from a rusty box-elder pipe, whichhe jammed into his grey trousers hip pocket. Try the glasses on yon bit of drift, Jack, and see if yu cn make out the like of it.
Jack took the long, brass-trimmed, rust-stained glasses and adjusted them to his widely set eyes, threw his shoulders back and his middle forward, and squinted with first one eye, then the other. Presently he lowered the glasses and with much deliberation drew from his washed-out overalls pocket a long plug of navy, from which he calmly bit a huge quid. He then raised the glasses a second time, taking great pains as he did so to re-adjust and fit them to the importance of the occasion. After several times shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he lowered the glasses and placed his arms akimbo and said in an offhand manner:
I dont see nothin. I guess its a logr two adrift. Glad we dont have to reef inshes makin a deuced good eight knots now, and I dont see no let up ahed.
Sposin you give me a spell heret the wheel, Jack, and let me take a squint ont. Somehow I feel it in my bonesfeelt theres something moren drift in that bunch, said Tom N., as he was familiarly called over at the Blakely Mills, where he had been getting charters since the first cargo left its port.
All right, capn. Youre the judge, and Im not objectin, so long as we dont have to heave to. It ud be a tarnation pity to spile this beautiful head onyou know were already short on time. That whirler was a corker, want she, capn? said the easygoing fellow, as he spattered the deck with fresh tobacco juice and toyed with the wheel, which stood loosely wound at his side.
Jack, said the captain, presently, with a feeling of great satisfaction, theres something besides still life in that heap, if Im not mightily mistaken. See that school of shark round there?
Are yu sure thems not dog fish, capn? queried the pretending mate, who was still anxious to make good use of a favourable wind, if not to avoid hauling in the sails.
Yep; theyre shark, sure enough, continued the captain, now more certain than ever. I guess well have to haul to, mate. It wont do to pass somethin in distressnot so long as Tom N. is the poop sheik of a gig sloop. Not on your life, mate! And who knows but one of usll be the very next to man a like un?
Well, I spose its the order, then? said Jack, gloomily. Ill bet, though, its nothin moren a Jap, even if we do heave to.
Jack lost no time in putting the men to work, and, as usual, when he went at it in earnest the thing was soon done. The little three-master was brought to, not far distant from the floating drift, which now plainly disclosed the form of a man. The excitement began to grow intense, and Jacks ponderous voice could have been heard for miles around as he and two trustys jumped into the lifeboat and yelled:
Swing to the davits and let go your blocks! Thereafter no time was lost in getting the shipwrecked man on board, and in applying the necessary restoratives; though it was some time before Shibusawa fully recovered consciousness, and when he did so they were again under full sail for Port Blakely, Washington.
Shibusawas being washed overboard left Okyo a helpless and penniless victim. For nearly two days he managed to escape being burned alive in the firebox, by the angry stoker, who was now determined to rid himself of the fruitless charge. Through fright and exposure and hunger he had become so nearly dumb that when discovered and questioned he could say nothing but mum is the word. Then he was taken on deck and offered food and water, and as a matter of safety placed in the guard house, where he remained until the ship landed at Shanghai.
Here he was detained until an opportunity came to return him to his native land, and when he had finally arrived in Tokyo, some two months later, he was still unable to make any explanation of his condition or experiences. Maido tried by every means to elicit some word from him that might throw light upon the whereabouts or safety of his son. All his efforts were of no avail, and the only thing possible for Okyo to say was:
Mum is the word.
Okyos hapless predicamentwhich led Maido to think it possible that his son had met a like fate, or even a worse onewore heavily upon the already overburdened daimyo. Since the landing of Commodore Perrys fleet, matters of state were becoming more and more strained. Every day brought newcharges and counter charges of the one party against the other. Contrary to Ikamons promises the literati had not been quelled, but were again fast gaining strength throughout the south, and even the mikado himself was becoming not averse to listening to their bitter complaints, if not to their proposed radical changes. Though Maido was becoming sick at heart and weak of purpose he could not, much as he desired to do so, extricate himself from the tangled net that dragged at the home or in the state. Old tactics and new sorrows were little calculated to bring him that peace of mind and ease of heart to which he had all his life looked forward, and Shibusawas absence had come to be not only the source of deepest regret but the cause of nervous, restless anxiety.
Ikamons schemes, also, were weighing Maido down with uncertainty; forcing him into a retirement shorn of every consolation saving only Nehachibana. She soothed him and cheered him and he worshipped her, yet this last and only comfort was soon to be snatched away. Nehachibana, too, was suddenly to fall a victim to Ikamons base desires, to Tetsutaishos insatiate thirst. Maidos consent was wrung out of him and his daughter torn from him, and when on a dark, dreary day early in September she was carried away the old man broke down and wept bitterly.
You, too, Nehachibana, were the only words, as the bridal train left, and wended its way toward Tetsutaishos fathers house, where the eager bridegroom waited this, the coming of his latest prey.
They were married, and Nehachibana was loved only till abandoned to the ill-usage of a tyrannical mother-in-law. The Tetsutaishos belonged to the samurai class and as such were permitted a smallliving within the outer moat. Tetsutaisho was next to the youngest of seven childrenan elder brother and five sisters. The father had never risen in the ranks, but owing to dissipation and over-indulgence had reached a state of worthlessness which deprived him of all social standing and reduced his income to the barest necessities. The eldest son had grown up a useless appendage to an already declining family, and his time was frittered away at playing go or in hanging about at the wrestling matches. The girls had been at an early age regularly sold into their kind of slavery, and in such manner the family managed barely to subsist until Tetsutaishos fortunes began to rise.
In spite of this ones coarse breeding and fallen rank there was something about him which appealed to his superiors. He was every inch a soldier, and few there were who could snap a bow or flash a steel as he. From childhood he took a fancy to everything military, and early in life had shown a disposition to redeem a lost heritage and restore his family to its proper rank and former prowess. However, such a thing as executive ability was unknown to him. His wants did not go beyond the hour, and the matter of provision never entered his head. He was hale and hearty, and a good fellow well met. There were but two things which concerned himwar and women; the one his occupation, the other his amusement.
Therefore, when Nehachibana came to his fathers home Tetsutaisho did not at all worry about the kind or quality of dowry which she brought. It was only her tender innocence that he coveted, and that only for his enjoyment. For her he had no sympathy,nothing to offer. She must take her place, as it was, and be contented. He had not even thought of an heirthat was a thing which as yet had not occurred to him, and thus it offered no encouragement to his wife.
There was, notwithstanding, one in the family, his mother, who had looked forward with a great deal of interest to the coming of the brides household effects, particularly the presents, and as they arrived and were unpacked she grumbled at each, no matter what the kind or cost. Nothing pleased her, and she said:
They are fine enough, but lack in quality, I know. And this Maido, who is he, that my son, my Tetsutaisho, should so honour him as to take his daughter in marriage? Is this what I am to get? And that without a voice? Verily the hand of misfortune falls heavily. Beauty and treasurerags and fiddlesticks! A joros[10] would have brought me good returns. And what is this I hear all the time? Goddess Benten?Nehachibana! Hist! Better try your prayers on Kwannon. The goddess of mercy is more likely your need: the goddess of love, your wish.
O my most honourable mother-in-law, O my gracious Fukurokuju, said Nehachibana, meekly. Myself I most humbly give you, for the god Oshaka has willed it. May the god Daikaku smile fortune upon you! My Benzaiten, my wealth surrender. My Kaminaraba, my heart I gave. O Amida, I pray you bring me always hard suffering if I now or ever keep my mother-in-law in the least ignorance.
Well you may be proud to serve. Few wiveshave husbands who have mothers who are so exceedingly blessed by the sweet, beautiful god of good nature, Hoti, answered the vain mother-in-law.
I take my place with much appreciation, and I now consecrate my life to the happy service of my most lovely mother-in-law, said Nehachibana, bowing low.
Scissors, said the other, while they both scowled away.
Nehachibanas husband was at first exceedingly attentive to her, and while he did not concern himself about her troubles at home he rather felt that he had gained a prize by taking Ikamons advice and marrying the daimyos daughter. He soon discovered that he had not only served a friend, but improved his own chances; for, in these days when disastrous clouds were forming so rapidly, any connection which brooked a stronger alliance with a house like that of Maidos meant certain favour to those concerned.
Tetsutaisho, however, was not always over-sagacious, and as time went on he began to exploit his fortunes in other directions than at home. Kinsan had managed to keep well out of his way and therefore, though not forgotten, out of his mind. Probably, also, he was somewhat lax in pressing his fondness there because of the demands made upon his attention by Takara, his rather ardent sister-in-law. In fact, it was at Nehachibanas homegoing party that he had first begun to feel something more than a brotherly interest in the deep and unfathomable wife of Shibusawa. And as they sat together there, on the veranda, with now and then a falling leaf toremind them of the oncoming season, she looked unusually pretty, and her rather sad, far-away look did anything but lessen her attractiveness, as she looked up to him and said:
Do you think me not enough composed for one so newly married, Tetsutaisho?
No, Takara, answered he, meditatively. I was just remarking to myself how well you wore the care. Ill venture his reward vouchsafes the kindness.
I trust so.
He could only say as much.
Why?
I will tell you sometime; I must go nowNehachibana is waiting for me. See hershe is actually coming toward us.
Why, Nehachibana, continued he, speaking to his wife, you really look a trifle jealous. How now, my beauty treasure?
Oh, no; shes not jealous, said Takara, quickly divining the situation; only men have the right to be jealous, women the privilege.
Oh, Takara! How you do talk! said Nehachibana, flushed and gladdened. I should lose my tongue were I to scold like that. I know I should. No man would have the patience with me, much less would my husband.
Nehachibana is right, said Tetsutaisho, consolingly. A man regards, and a husband disregards. And why not? Come, my little wife, let us be off and away. There be times when even virtue has not its reward.
Takara gracefully yielded to the unpleasant interruption, and for a week or more no further intercoursewas had with Tetsutaisho. He became suddenly so enrapt with Nehachibana that for the time being he forgot all about Takara and the innocent flush which had come to her cheeks in speaking of marriage and its attendant influences. It was not so with Takara. She remembered well his words and how he brightened with interest at her every whim and fancy; then she thought of how happy Nehachibana must be.
I am not jealous, said she to herself, time and time again. It is only Nehachibana. I do not know such a thing; only other women are jealous. I wonder why? Nor do I envy anybody. I only wish Shibusawa were like Tetsutaisho. How I would love himlove him, oh, love him!
Often her feelings ran on and on until she fancied her own husband the hero of her life. No taint had ever entered her heart. She believed him the master of her destiny and the fulfilment of her fortunes. Then Tetsutaisho came again, toward the latter part of September, and she was not displeased with his courtesies. He had come at the instance of Ikamon to talk over the matter of the shoguns successorthat Iyeyoshi was now ill and there seemed to be no hope of his recoverybut, presently he came, there arrived a message for Maido to appear forthwith at a council meeting (prefacing the expected), at which the grief-stricken daimyo hurried away, leaving the young and careless general there to entertain the ladies or idle away his time at will.
It was a quiet afternoon and Tetsutaisho and Takara wandered off beneath the falling leaves to a sheltered place on the lawn. Takara was lonely. She had had no friendships since Tetsutaishos lastvisit except only Maidos, her father-in-law. To him she was already beginning to be a comfort, and in a measure to take the place of his lost daughter. But it was an old mans friendship; and when the younger gallant left her that evening she may have bidden him welcome to return.
So far as Tetsutaisho was concerned he had called at the daimyos castle only by accident, though there was much anxiety and probably no ones fortune more at stake. Iyeyoshi had grown old and inert amidst strained conditions, and appreciated more fully than could Iyesada, his youthful successor, the necessity of advancing the bold, heedless young general. Nor was Tetsutaisho free from the danger of rival aspirants; yet there was no war at hand, and he knew of no better business than pleasing Ikamon and paying respect to the ladies at court.
Here he need not concern himself with rivalry, for the one guided with a jealous eye his rising place and the other enjoyed without interruption his pleasing address. He came and went at will, and had he not sooner possessed an unknown love he might have quicker formed an attachment. Takara responded naturally to the voice of inevitable will, but a yearning heart unconsciously bade him seek Kinsan.
Without neglecting the former, he pressed his suit for the latter, and now more than ever became a faithful caller at the modest cottage in the garden; and as he persisted Kinsan determined and withdrew patiently into the solitude of her unknown retreat, and there conjured feelings of love that ripened with each thought and strengthened in the face of every danger. Filial affection bound her and crownedher, yet she was possessed of a new force, moved by a deeper impulse. She battled with the inevitable and yielded her life to what seemed to be the impossible; no quarter was given, and fate tracked her even to her last place of hope.
It was on a warm afternoon in early spring, when the clouds overhung with threatening storm, that Tetsutaisho, hurrying toward his home, wended his way along the selfsame pathway, which led past Kinsans lonely spot on the hillside. As he came into sight a gust of wind swept down the gully and whipped his kimono close round his limbs. He paused and looked overhead, but none too soon, for large drops, falling straight and swift, warned him of the rapidly approaching downpour.
If I mistake not, said he, to himself, I shall get a good drenching this time. I wonder what shelter is that in the distance? If I could get there without too much hobblingit is my only chance. I shall venture.
If he had but looked closer he might also have seen Kinsan, who had gone there earlier in the day to escape his presence at her house. However, she saw him, and when he left the path she had so often watched him tread her heart stood still and she trembled with fright. He was surely coming, and there was no possible means of escape. She appealed not to the gods, but grasped at intuition; her secret hiding-place offered an alternate, and quickly entering she covered her safety as best she could.
Tetsutaisho found his way there; and in time, for it had not yet begun to rain, though great clouds were massing and the sky was growing dark and hollow. He entered the scant shelter with no concernabout its past or thought of its significance. It was a covering, and though dreary he faced about and looked out at the grand panorama of mingled peace and storm its outlook brought into view. He stood with folded arms, likening the elements to a marshalling of the samurai, in which he should sometime startle the land and bring glory to himself. And then he thought of Kinsan and of how she, too, were she there would under such a spell acknowledge his unalterable right. He straightened back and marvelled at his greatness, while the lowering clouds rumbled afar.
Then suddenly a submerged sneeze at his back frightened him, and he wheeled about and peered into the gloom at the dumb, bleak walls. He could see no one, and suddenly it grew dark, and clashing thunder broke overhead. Again he was startled by the same mysterious sound, and he fell down and cried:
It is the ghost of Taira!
Scarcely had he uttered the words when the rain began to pour, and the ghoulish sound once more started him to his feet, and he ran out into the driving storm and dashed down the hillside, toward his home, far beyond the second moat. Here, soaked and exhausted, he hid himself in his room and pondered deeply the voice at the cave. The rain pounded overhead, and in each corner there seemed lurking a spirithe heard many sounds.
It was a warning, and the next day Tetsutaisho was at the council chamber, early and faithful. He heard Ikamon argue against change, and in favour of continuance; comprehended his meaning, that natural growth is the law of the gods; and agreedwith his charge, that nothing short of revolution could overthrow a system that followed regular, active, inherent growth.
What, said the prime minister, with squeaking voice and expressionless face, would you have us do? Change our course now that the storm drives at our front and the breakers rise behind us? Would you at mid-stream change this good old ship, that has weathered the storm of ages, for one that is new and untried? No; a thousand times no! and may such men as Maido, Saigo, Katsu, Tetsutaisho, andif I may be permittedIkamon, live to helm her safely into port. Iyesada, brave captain that he is, cannot afford to man his ship with other than the skilled and experienced, and where else can he find them but at the post of duty? This is the plan which I propose, and I call upon every loyal citizen, every adherent of the august shogun, and every lover of the divine mikado, to rally to my support.
They came; the victory was his; and the shogun more than ever in his power. Katsu was soon thereafter placed at the head of the navy, and Tetsutaisho advanced to the command of the army. It was the reward his friends had given him for his loyalty, and he took the advancement as a matter of course, not even deigning to return thanks or offer a promise. So far as he was concerned his friends were his fortune, and even the law of the land had no place as between him and them.
Under Ikamons domination Tetsutaisho was relieved of the necessity for any particular state activities, while his promotion had placed him socially at the head of the samurai, as had his marriage to Nehachibana raised him in esteem among the nobilityand given him standing at court. The state furnished him with luxuriant quarters, where he domiciled his family, under the immediate sway of his fault-finding mother, with Nehachibana as her patient, industrious slave. Time passed leisurely, and as he had long ago forgotten his desperate resolve he was wont more than ever to make regular calls at his father-in-laws house.
As these visits grew in frequency, the length of his stay became less guarded; and Takara, at first looking upon his coming as a pleasing incident, recurring now and then in her monotonous life, welcomed him, then looked for him, and now, that his had come to be her only true companionship, longed for his coming.
You will come to-morrow, will you not, Tetsutaisho? said she, with pleading, wistful eyes, as he was about to leave her on a warm, inviting night in June.
Yes, Takara, answered he, softly and earnestly. I will come over, and together we will watch the second sailing of Perrys fleet, the departure of the first man who ever dared profane our soil. I understand the arrant braggart has finally wrung from the shogun certain privileges that are not less dangerous than disgraceful. As he came, he will go out: booming his noisy guns. It will be a showy thing, and possibly worth our seeing. I shall certainly come, my lady, especially that it pleases you to have me. And now, good-night, and pleasant dreams.
Upon the following day Tetsutaisho once more wandered over to the council and for a time hopelessly endeavoured to share in the tumult occasioned by the second appearance of the American fleet. Hewas deeply impressed with the importance of the proceedings, but diplomacy was not his business, nor was it in keeping with his ideas of national honour, much less official dignity or personal heroism. To him Ikamons subtle harangue had been quite as much a bore as was the commodores demand a bold and hollow bluff. Had he had his way he would have invited the meddlesome foreigner to come ashore and inspect the samurai before undertaking to establish in their midst any sort of commercial theft. But Tetsutaishos voice as yet had no weight in the chamber, and he knew it and was satisfied. Withdrawing presently, he returned homeward and prepared himself for a more pleasing diversion.
Toward evening the weather grew warm and inviting, and Tetsutaisho strolled over to Takaras house early, where they loitered on the veranda and supped long at their tea. There was that stillness in the air that begets confidence, and the moon rose clear and bright. He sat smoking and dreaming, and she chatted away or toyed with the tiny cup in front. He had finished his pipe, then he said:
Shall we stroll over to the arbour vine, Takara? The woods are inviting, and there we can get a glimpse of the Yankee as he hurls our foam at his back. Come, my lady, shall I assist you to rise?
Takara drooped her eyes and blushed, and he did not resist the temptation, but sat at her side and took her willing hand in his. She leaned forward, and looking into his upturned face revealed the answer. Nothing could stay or mar that pleasure. They sat there enrapt with the joy of all time: only the stars gave witness, and when they had awakened there was no need for a scene in the moonlight, fora crossing of the ways, for a going into the halo of life; they had sooner found their affinity, and all the glories of heaven and earth could not transport them more, and when they went out into the dawn it was to revel in thoughts sweeter than dreamland had ever revealed. A beautiful sunburst beamed from her heart, and her eyes shone with a love that welcomes the true; that fades and shuns at the false. The fleet had long passed out, the moon had risen high, and God had again proven the wisdom of all things when those two returned and parted for the night.
As Tetsutaisho hastened along the gravelled pathway toward his home his step was less firm and his purpose more uncertain than when he came. His course had led him over the firmer hold and into the boundless sea of uncertainty. What was once a passion was now fast becoming a desire, and he knew no such thought as halt. Whither he did not know, perhaps he did not care, for to him the world was but a reality: its pleasures were its eternity. And not until he approached his own house did he think of Nehachibana, and of how she had made his home worth the while; of her waiting and watching and praying for his return; of the boundless joy that filled her heart at the first sound of his footsteps, and then he said to himself:
These wise old fathers of my country have fitted well the act and made certain their provision for such as she and I. The law makes marriage tolerable and it makes love enjoyable. A thousand dry draughts to you! May the laws live long, and love die never! O Jurokin; O Benten; hear me!
After the departure of Perry and his fleet there was nothing of importance from the outside world to disturb the quaint little kingdom, so snugly hemmed in by the eastern waters. There was no immediate necessity for any material change at the newly made treaty ports, and in consequence the administration made known only so much of the terms of the compromise as it was thought would satisfy the opposition. The people were left in doubt as to its full purport, and thus they soon became reconciled to a belief that after all the danger might not be so great as at first supposed.
After the storm had passed there came a lull which might have lasted indefinitely had Ikamon been more sagacious in the treatment of local affairs. His sway at home was now supreme, and his rule so effective that he mistook complaisance for submission, and as a result overlooked the slow but positive disaffection in the south.
When the readjustment took place it was thought that Saigos reward and position would tend to allay the discontent in that locality, and that an economic policy would again restore the shogun to the full confidence of all sections of the country. This was true in a measure, but the patriots who worshipped at the mikados seat could not be effectively won over by personal favours bestowed upon their leaders.They were full of the soul of ancient times, and nothing short of a complete restoration of conditions could satisfy their rising spirits.
However, the shock of recent events had so checked their growth as to give Ikamon a chance to centralise his force and place Tetsutaisho at the head of a consolidated army. In all these doings the young general took no active part other than to hold himself in readiness to strike when called upon, but in the meantime gave himself up wholly to the delights of a love that was inevitable, if without the pale. Shibusawa continued to remain absent, and to all but his father had become as if forgotten, while Takara was now the favourite of the lord daimyo, and the castle offered her every privilege as she liked. Tetsutaisho was her slave, and she toyed with him as with a child, coming regularly and remaining at her will.
Let us go down by the summer garden, said she, on a sultry afternoon in July, as they finished their tea on the veranda. There by the pond where the snow-white cranes stalk silently about or lazily tuck their sacred heads; under the rose-covered retreat that juts out over the iris-flagged waters. How I do love to sit there and be your idle-thought!
I am glad you proposed it. I will call the carriers and we will take the norimonos (chairs) down. It is too hot to walk this day, answered he, glad of the chance.
Having in a little while arrived at the chosen retreat they lounged on the matted floor amidst the fragrance of the lotus and in view of the iris-studded waters in front. A cool breeze gently floated in, and now and then a golden crane crossed in the wake of his abode.
I wish I were a bird, said Takara, dreamily.
Then I should be your mate, answered Tetsutaisho, quickly.
And this our nest, whispered she.
Our paradise, said he.
And if it were, continued Takara, we would live here for ever, and there would be no parting and no improprieties. I do hate a world where one must suffer to be happy! Kamie has given us all these beautiful things and has made us to love, and naughty man has tried to upset it all and make us creatures of his convenience. I, for one, propose to consult more my own pleasure.
Quite right you are, Takara; conventionality is a thing I do not like so very well myself. Yet we ought not to complain, for there is really nothing to prevent us from making this our heaven. Who could ask for a more lovely spot! And I assure you there is neither man nor law to stand between us.
Do you think so?
It is true. I know it.
Then I am content, for I have but a single thought.
Just as the beautiful lotus which you see standing here and there and all about. It is emblematic of purity, which springs from single-mindedness; and of virtue, because of its usefulness. You are just like they, and I love them and I am going to love you.
And you always will?
So long as Jurokin be a god.
After a while they had said their say and, leaning back on the rustic moulding, contented themselves with looking out at the shadows falling across themirrored lake from the tall cypress standing on the bank. Presently Takara broke the silence by saying:
Let us call the geishas; the water is so still and the day suggestive. What do you say, Tetsutaisho?
A happy thought. And what shall it be?
I have but one choice.
The ancient dance?
Yes; No.
Tetsutaisho called and despatched a servant to the shibai (house of entertainment) for Michizane, the lover of the plum and poet to Takara, who came forthwith and bowed, and then stood by, waiting to be directed. Tetsutaisho first spoke, saying:
Michizane, your lady would have you provide some entertainment before the sun is set. She herself will suggest the kind.
Yes, Michizane, said she. Let it be no, the dance of our fathers; then, if you like, a poem.
Michizane bowed and departed, though not with a happy expression. Since her early childhood this old man had faithfully provided Takara with innocent amusement, which service, since his ladys marriage to Shibusawa, consisted chiefly in reading to her poems of his own creation. She had brought him along from Kyoto as a necessary part of her household effects, all of which belonged to an age or a school not of the shoguns. He was now a veteran of sixty years, and little calculated to compose in a vein suited to his fair ladys taste, except it be not when Tetsutaisho was so near by.
Michizane was not long, however, in arranging in front of the lovers nest the covered float, upon which there balanced a dozen and sixone for each half decade from birth to ninetyof the fairest andloveliest of the geishas. These were arranged at the rear of the platform in the form of a crescent, beginning at the left with the youngest and ending at the right with the oldestsymbolic of the rising and the setting of the sun. All were clad in rich garments, fashioned according to their ages, and their hair was arranged in representation of the several stages of womanhood. They stood with bowed head and extended foot, ready to reel and swing at the first sound of the music.
At the centre of the crescent there sat facing the dancers three others of a different type and a more gaudy dress, with bright coloured ornaments in their hair and much tinsel about their waists. These were the koto players, who held their instruments in front waiting the signal for them to begin the dance.
In front of these, facing the dancers, sat Michizane, cross-toed and erect, with his withered hands folded in front of him. He wore a plain grey kimono, which folded under a long girdle, looped up at the side, and his long white hair fluffed out and hung far down over his stooped shoulders.
Everything was now silent, not even a leaf stirring. The sun blazed in the west, and the deep shadows told of its setting. The dancers grew animated, the players composed, and Michizane reverent, and there arose in the listeners mingled feelings of sorrow and delight. Their hearts beat, and the grey poet bowed low, and the dance began. The soft strains of music inspired them, and the lesson unfolded before them repeated the story of life for ever and evermore. One by one the maidens laid bare their part in the great drama that unfolds from the cradle to the grave, and no man there looked without a deeper sense of responsibilityand a happier inspiration for the day. No vulgar thought disturbed them, for theirs was a purer and a nobler reality. Base desires arose from another source; the choosing, the sin. As the last dancer disrobed the strains lowered, and when the final shred was doffed the music ceased and the sun set: the drama was over and the world in darkness. There was no need for covering, no desire to live.
Thus those two passed the time, when it was agreeable for them to meet. At Koyo-odori (maple dance for girls) Takara gave a party on the lawn, to which all of her younger girl friends in the neighbourhood were invited. Tetsutaisho was there in his uniform, with full regalia, and of course was the idol of the fair young maidens, who looked upon him as being little less than a god. In mid-winter the Mukojima (snow-seeing trip) afforded an opportunity to get into the country, where they lingered and enjoyed themselves at will. The mountain Tsukuba, just back of Tokyo, was their favourite place for this event, whither the white-enrobed earth stretched away to the ocean in front. Whether winter or summer they were always happy when together and lonely when not.
Finally on a bright morning in Marchit was March third, the day of Hinanosaku, festival for young girlsthe sun rose and cast its red among the tall trees and the furrowed housetops of the castle ground. Maido struck his pipe against the brazier and then arose and slowly left his room. Presently he climbed the short lacquered stairs and entered a deserted room with panelled sash through which the sunlight streamed and warmed the cheerless place.
The squared ceiling revealed a rich setting of wood and grain, and the floor was spread over with soft, clean matting. A large vase of beautiful blue, in which grew a dwarfed orange, fragrant with bloom, stood upon a raised recess in the wall. Over this hung a long kakemono,[11] done by an old master, and in a corner stood a screen of rare embroidery. There was nothing more, and the room seemed bare and desolate. Takara was gone. The daimyos heart throbbed heavily, and he knelt behind the screen, and with his face turned away begged Kimon to give him freedom.
As he sat there an aged man, bent and sorrowful, stole in and across the room to the sacred recess in the wall, where he bowed, and said:
Alas! It is well!
Takara did not change, nor chafe, nor exalt under the new conditions; she only loved Tetsutaisho, and being installed in his house she felt secure in what before hardly seemed a reality. His heart was hers, she reasoned, and the law made his domicile her privilege. And had he not convinced her? And might not Nehachibana be proud of her husbands choice? Better such a concubine than an absent husband, she thought; and, after all, need she rob her sister-in-law of what seemed impossible?
The lovers were happy, and Nehachibana, at first flushed and nervous, had now grown cold and calm. Her own chamber was comfortable, even luxurious, yet for hours she would lay her ear close to the frail partition, and a monster bade the fancies that leaped to her brain. In her bath no abomination had entered. No mugwort or sweet flag had desecrated there. Yet the stork was as silent as the tombs of Nodo, and her hopes had changed to fear, her position to that of a slave. Once she crouched low and listened; then she clutched at emptiness and her face whitened, and she crawled back to her own miserable mat and there planned and determined. Presently she slept, and dreamed of her masters expected son, which to her had been a blessing.
Nor was she alone in her suspicions, for what she had heard and dreamed the silvered poet visionedand divined. The spirit had touched him, too, and he sorrowed when he waked. Then as if moved by an uncontrollable impulse he stole to Takaras abandoned home and there mused at the unhallowed life of his downfallen mistress, his idolised queen. Maido, too, had gone there to reflect, and he made no move to disturb the other, but left him to bide the impulse of his nature, commune with the god of his disturbed conscience. Michizane was the product of a nobler life, the devotee of a gentler age, and a worshipper at the tomb of an ancestry far removed from the wicked intrigues of a feudal aristocracy. His was of the mikados way, the effect of a divine inspiration. To transgress from its sacred guidance was to fall from the pale of life and to forfeit every privilege of redemption.
Takara, too, was born and bred of this master influence, and notwithstanding her impulsive nature possessed all the charm and dignity of a royal personage, together with that broader intellect which comes of high endeavour, and that better grace which is the product of refined associations. She was proud though not haughty, and in her soul there lived a purpose.
Unlike her, Nehachibana was the product of a proud nobility. Shut up within the castle gates, she had always been idolised and petted. She had known of no want that was not supplied, and had expressed not a wish that was not gratified; every luxury had been showered upon her. Her sense of the good was the one bright hope in her life, for she knew not the force of intellect, nor had she been taught to reason. When she went forth into the world she was helpless in the race, and when shetasted of the bitter it was like the gall of quassia, and she fell at the shrine of Amida.
Of a sweet disposition, Nehachibana had always looked upon the brighter side of life; therefore it was the more difficult for her to reconcile herself to the thought that hers was not a just treatment. She sometimes felt that it was her own shortcomings that had driven her husband away from her, and then she would set about with renewed effort to see that his house was made agreeable to his coming, and her love worthy of his taking. Once she said to herself:
I shall please him. He is mine and I must win. No other loves him as I do; none but me can have him. He is mine unto death. I shallbut oh! that other one! And the law, and IO Kami, my heart, my heart, it is breaking! Is there no help? Is there no help forme? But she, she has his love! It is not he, it is his weakness that she loves! And I, I am helpless!Helpless? No! Did I not hear Kiyokime, the goddess of hate? And did she not say revenge? And I a woman? Then to the work, and let it be as swift as the necessities may allow. I will have revenge!
However, it was less easy for Nehachibana to execute than to resolve. She was now entirely cut off from any association whatever with her rival, and found it difficult even to satisfy her curiosity. This unpleasant situation had been brought about more by the foolishness of her mother-in-law than by her own dulness, yet it affected her none the less for that. Heretofore it had been irksome to do service for her rival, which both situation and custom compelled, but now that she had resolved it would have been a pleasure. Still, as difficulties arose her determinationincreased, and she not only concluded to bide her time but to make certain her victory.
When Takara came into their home Tetsutaishos mother was at first so overwhelmed with the honour and so proud of herself that she became not only tyrannical to her former household but somewhat insufferable to the newcomer. The new acquisition had insisted upon bringing all of her own servants, and had little need and less desire for the assistance of her gallants mother or other relations: that was something she had not bargained for, and she was of a mind not to tolerate meddlesome interference. Consequently, Takara had not been there many months before she had appropriated to her own exclusive use that portion of the premises which suited her most.
Tetsutaisho personally concerned himself in these sometimes threatening matters no further than to give his consent to anything that anybody might propose; and as his mother took the ground that it was her right, and as Nehachibana had nothing to ask, the proposals were always on the side of Takara and the victory in her favour. While Tetsutaisho did not mean to be irreverent he did love a plucky battle and was inclined to the belief that to the winner belongs the spoils. That, probably as much as a careless indifference, prompted him to give the ladies of the house a free hand in its management, and always to absent himself at the first sign of a disturbance.
It was, possibly, at one of these bothersome times that Tetsutaisho stole out and unconsciously found his way to the council chamber. He had gone away in this manner before, but seldom got so far as thehall of state. Sometimes he loafed at headquarters or called upon Maido. More often he spent the hour with Ikamon, who was now deeply engrossed with adjusting local affairs so as to meet the requirements of foreign interference, but on this occasion a higher purpose seemed to control him, and for the first time he voiced his sentiment in unmistakable terms.
Unconsciously, perhaps, but none the less certain, the hated stranger had peeped into the treasure box, and so infused a commercial and diplomatic awakening as to lay the foundation for nothing less than the rehabilitation of a long lost empire. It was the dawn of a new era, and no one more than Ikamon interpreted correctly the scope and consequence of so sudden a contact with Christian civilization. As yet the shogunate had not been openly accused of collusion with the foreigners; still whisperings to that effect had been heard, as coming from Kyoto; and the prime minister, no more to be outdone at home than to be defeated from abroad, began to encourage an increase in the army and to advise Tetsutaisho accordingly.
Ikamon was, also, not slow to grasp at the importance of improved methods and had strongly urged Tetsutaisho to bestir himself in adopting and applying more effective instruments, but the latter was rather inclined to the belief that there was not so much to be gained by radical changes: that the disorganisation attendant upon the introduction of new measures more than offset the benefits derived. He reasoned that the samurai were already trained and fully equipped. He knew they were brave to a man, and loyal.
What more, said he, would you have? Would you see cowardice supplant courage, and the black powder of a foe substituted for the ringing steel of our forefathers? These men are invincible, and Tetsutaisho is a general. Give me the opportunity, the occasion, and I will convince you.
As he spoke his voice rang with the pride of ages, and the council halls echoed and re-echoed with applause. Even Ikamon was for the moment swept away with enthusiasm, as the vigorous man swung his great arms and shouted the glory of the nations defenders. It was not so much a want of understanding that made Tetsutaisho slow to feel the necessity of change, but it was more the red blood coursing through his veins which gave him an unbounded faith in the loyal, faithful, worshipping army at his command. He believed in their superiority and felt them worthy of their countrys confidence, and as he retired from the chamber and walked out into the park his step livened with pride and his whole being quickened with a rising confidence in himself and a growing contentment with the world. He thought of his home and of the love that Takara had lain at his feet; of the faithful, patient consideration of Nehachibana, his lawful wife and worthy helpmeet; of his mother, and how she fretted and worried and fussed as opportunities came and her station advanced; then suddenly he came upon Kinsan and all this vanished from his memory as if a thing of yesterday.
She was with her father, who stood off some distance turning a tiny stream of water into the garden, which showed the ravages of a long dry spell. It was Choyo, the ninth day of the ninth month, and therehad been no rain for more than a moon past. Kinsan sat in the shade of a spreading oak, at one corner of the garden near where the roadway passed, and grouped about her were a number of children whose wide eyes sparkled with interest as she repeated to them a poem well suited to the occasion.
It was a favourite selection from Onokomachi, the blind poetess, who ever prayed for rain. The words were familiar to Tetsutaisho and he, too, stopped at the border and listened. Kinsans voice rang tender and sweet, though there seemed a pathos which touched him and caused a deeper interest. Had he neglected her? Was she now pleading for that which he had so long sought? His memory went out to her, and he determined again to try.