DRAGON-FLY ISLAND.
The beautiful Yodogimi wept. She stood leaning against a black lacquer
panel, one arm raised with a gesture of grief, her fingers pressed
lightly against the smooth, shining wall, her head thrown back, and
somewhat inclined towards her shoulder. She wept, without forgetting to
be beautiful.
Yodogimi was nearly forty years old. Who would have thought it from
her charming face and form? Her large eyes were still brilliant, her
lips fresh, her complexion clear; and the single rope-like twist of
her hair, when released from its pins, rolled to the floor like a dark
serpent. The Princess, as was her habit, was magnificently arrayed; a
costly girdle clasped her slender waist, and the embroideries of her
robe were of marvellous workmanship. A few steps away from her stood
General Harounaga, her lover, in full armor, his gold-thonged whip in
his hand. He stared at the floor and struggled to force a tear, but
could not. From time to time he heaved a deep sigh.
"Alas, alas!" exclaimed Yodogimi, "you will go, you will forget me;
perhaps die!"
"I may die," said the General, "but I can never forget you."
"Die! Have you no heart, that you can talk to me of death I Men are
cruel; they swear devotion, and then, for a mere nothing, they forsake
us."
"It is not my fault. War has broken out; I must start for Yamashiro
with my men."
"And if I command you to stay?"
"I must disobey, Princess."
"You confess it unblushingly! Well, I forbid you to leave me!"
"So be it," said the General. "I cannot resist your wishes; but this
very evening I shall commit suicide."
"Because you are tired of my society?"
"No; because I should be dishonored; and no one should ever outlive
dishonor."
"Oh, I am mad!" said Taiko-Sama's widow, wiping her eyes. "I speak like
a child; I counsel you to play a coward's part. Go; do not spare your
blood. If you die, I too will die. How handsome you are in fighting
dress!" she added, looking admiringly at him. "Is it for the enemy's
eyes that you adorn yourself thus?"
"It is the custom," said Harounaga; "besides, the arrows rebound from
these overlapping plates of horn, and no blow of the sword can pierce
them."
"Do not talk so; I seem to see you in the thick of the fight," cried
Yodogimi. "I see the arrows fly, I hear the clash of steel. What will
become of me during these long days of agony and alarm?"
"Yamashiro is not far from Osaka," said the General; "I will send you
frequent news from the camp."
"Yes, promise me you will. Send a messenger every day."
"You shall hear from me every day. Farewell, most beautiful of
princesses!"
"Farewell, bold warrior! Hay Heaven grant us a speedy meeting!"
Harounaga withdrew; and as he passed across the palace courtyard,
Yodogimi leaned from the window for a final glimpse of him.
The page who held the warrior's horse informed the General, as he
helped him to the saddle, that most alarming reports were current in
the castle. The advance-guard of the enemy had been seen at Soumiossi;
that is, but a few leagues from Osaka. The Shogun's troops had,
therefore, failed to blockade the entire breadth of the Island of
Nipon, as was their purpose. Harounaga hurriedly rejoined his division,
which was waiting for his coming, to march forth from the castle
ramparts. Several knights galloped to meet him. The Shogun had just
reached the encampment, and was inquiring for Harounaga.
"Do not go to Yamashiro," he shouted, as soon as he saw him; "proceed
to Soumiossi, and try to crush the rebels, if it be true that they are
already established there."
"I fly, master," answered Harounaga; "and I swear to conquer."
A few moments later, he left Osaka with his army. At the same hour a
number of fishing-boats, taking advantage of the tide, left the harbor,
and, driven by a strong breeze, reached the open sea. It was Nagato's
fleet.
The Prince was one of the first to learn of the appearance of Hieyas'
soldiers at Soumiossi. He at once decided to put to sea and cruise
about the regions threatened.
Each boat was manned by four sailors; that in which Nagato sat
contained one more person,--Loo; the latter had caught a few fish, and
with frank cruelty watched their dying struggles. Raiden was at the
helm.
The Prince, lying in the bottom of the boat, gazed vaguely up at the
huge brown sail, which cracked and swelled, and at the entangling
ropes and cordage; he was lost in revery. The same dream always
filled his soul; it was like the sea, which reflects the sky forever.
Every incident, every action disturbed the Prince painfully, made him
melancholy; they were so many clouds veiling his love, preventing him
from utter absorption in it. And yet his noble disposition impelled
him to devote himself to the service of his sovereign, to shed his
blood for him,--save him,--if it were possible; but despite himself, he
often forgot the war, Hieyas, intrigue, and crime,--as, when silence
is restored, one forgets the noise that broke it for a time.--He
then invoked in fancy, a look bent upon him, a sweet voice, a corner
of a veil raised by the wind and brushing his lips; he recalled the
sudden thrill which that light touch sent throbbing through his veins.
Sometimes he thought that perhaps she too was dreaming of him, and he
followed the errant fancy into space.
The waves rocked him gently, and encouraged him in these idle dreams;
the wind blew, the swelling sail looked like an immense crescent; the
water, driven rapidly back, splashed up at the bow.
"It is that I may not be parted from her," he murmured, "that I engage
in this strange adventure. I reckon on chance to furnish me with
occasions to serve my Prince; for if I were asked to explain my plan
for the campaign, I should be vastly puzzled. My only purpose is to
bear down upon the most perilous points, fight with fury, and then
sail away without making myself known. But in General Yoke-Moura's
opinion a small body of independent troops, coming up in the midst of a
battle, sometimes tip the scales of victory, and do great service....
I remember this very opportunely, to justify my conduct," added the
Prince, smiling.
The fifty boats composing the flotilla were scattered broadcast over
the sea. Loo said that they looked like a swarm of butterflies on the
point of drowning.
Towards noonday they drew near the shore. Soumiossi was close at hand,
and Nagato desired to land, that he might, if possible, collect fresh
information in regard to the hostile army.
A small cove sheltered the vessels, which neared shore; the greater
part remained in the offing, only twenty men accompanying the Prince,
who took a road a hundred paces from the beach and apparently leading
to a village. They walked on for some time; but all at once the
foremost men, who had turned the corner, came running back.
"A Daimio! a Daimio!" they shouted.
"Well, what is that to us?" said Nagato.
"If we block up the road, they will walk directly over us, or else chop
off our heads," said Raiden.
"Go, Loo," said the Prince, "and see what name is written on the post
at the roadside. If the lord whose coming it announces be less noble
than I, we will throw the post to the ground; and although I have no
train of followers, the Prince shall make room for me."
Loo, having looked about for an instant, ran up to one of the posts
which noblemen erect on roads by which they mean to travel, announcing
the day on which they shall pass by.
The child soon returned with a look of utter amazement.
"It is you, master, who are to pass this way!" said he.
"What?" said the Prince.
"It's written on the board," said Loo: "'The all-powerful
Iwakura-Teroumoto-Mori, Prince of Nagato, will traverse this region on
the tenth day of the fifth moon.'"
"Silence, Loo!" said the Prince; "let nothing surprise you, and be
discreet ... Sado must be on his way to my dominions," he added aside
to himself.
Already, in a light cloud of dust, the out-runners of the procession
turned the corner of the road. Then came lackeys, scribes, and cooks,
bearing all sorts of utensils.
The sailors knelt by the roadside; the Prince hid behind a hedge of
wild roses.
The first group passed, followed by some twenty horses loaded with
chests, boxes, and bundles wrapped in red leather; then by a large
number of men carrying pikes, banners, swords, bows, quivers, and
umbrellas.
A crowd of servants came next; each man bore on his shoulder a highly
varnished box, which held the clothes and other personal property of
the Prince.
Then appeared in succession, officers wearing magnificent weapons
and princely lances, adorned with cock's plumes and leathern
thongs,--grooms led along richly caparisoned horses; a Samurai,
followed by two lackeys, holding at arm's length the hat with which,
when he sets foot on the ground, the Prince protects himself from the
sun; another lord carrying a parasol in a black velvet case; behind
them the servants and baggage of these nobles marched in silence.
Then came twenty-eight pages wearing round hats, preceding the litter
of the Prince. Those pages moved in a peculiar way; at each step they
kicked back with one foot, lifting it as high as possible, and at the
same time thrust one hand forward, as if to swim.
Finally, the norimono of the lord approached, borne by eight men, who
advanced slowly, taking short steps, carrying on the palm of one hand
the single shaft, passing over the palanquin like a bent bow, the other
outstretched hand seeming to impose silence and express respectful awe.
Upon the black lacquer, dotted with gilded nails, which covered the
sides of the norimono, were the armorial bearings of the ruler of
Nagato,--three balls surmounted by a bolt. The inside of this great box
was hung with gay-colored silk stuffs, and upon a mattress covered with
a velvet carpet the Prince reclined and thumbed a book.
The norimono passed, and the procession ended with a throng of grooms,
pages, and banner-bearers, who marched in perfect order and the most
profound silence.
"Really," said Raiden, rising, and brushing the dust from his knees,
"all that is very fine; but I'd rather be a sailor, and walk freely
about, without all that cumbersome train."
"Be quiet," said another man; "you'll vex the Prince."
"I've no doubt he agrees with me," said Raiden; "since, being a prince,
he turned sailor."
They now reached the nearest village; and before they had time to ask
a question, were fully informed in regard to all they wished to know.
Several neighboring towns had emigrated to this one. The streets were
choked with people, carts, and animals. A tremendous hubbub arose from
the mob of men and beasts. The buffaloes bellowed in affright, and
crushed one another; the pigs, who were trodden upon, uttered shrill
squeals; the women groaned, the children cried; and the story of recent
events passed from mouth to mouth.
"They've taken Dragon-fly Island."
"Opposite Soumiossi, you can see them from the shore. The inhabitants
of the island had no time to escape."
"They came in three war-junks,--three fine junks gilded in spots, with
very tall masts, and flags streaming in every direction."
"Are they the Mongols?" asked certain old men, who had a confused
remembrance of ancient wars and foreign invasions.
"No; it is the Regent, who wants to have the Shogun killed."
"How many soldiers landed on the island?" asked Raiden, who had slipped
in among the crowd.
"Nobody knows; but there were a great many; the junks were full of
them."
"About fifteen hundred men," thought Raiden.
"It's the advance-guard of Hieyas' army," said the Prince of Nagato in
a low voice. "If Fide-Yori's troops do not arrive promptly, Osaka is in
the utmost danger. Let us put to sea again," he continued; "I have a
plan, which, although desperate, may succeed."
Before leaving the village, Nagato ordered Raiden to buy a quantity of
carpenter's tools. Then they went back to the shore and re-embarked.
Towards evening the little fleet hove in sight of Soumiossi, and found
shelter behind a promontory which completely hid it. The place was
most beautiful; enormous trees, whose naked roots clung like the claws
of some bird of prey to rocks and earth, overhung the sea; bushes
and shrubs swung above them tufts of gorgeous bloom; the waves were
strewn with fallen petals, which floated about, collected in small
islets or long wreaths. The waves, dashing against sharp rocks, cast
up white foam; gulls fluttered about, like the froth of the sea turned
into birds. The water was of a uniform tint of satiny blue, shot with
silver, and the sky still shimmered in liquid gold, reflected from
the setting sun. In the distance lay Dragon-fly Island, green and
fresh, with its strange insect-like outlines; the coast of Soumiossi,
one ruddy glow, displayed its jagged cliffs; and at the extreme point
of the promontory a tiny pagoda reared its peaked roof, tiled with
porcelain, all the angles apparently raised by the four chains which
bound them to a golden arrow.
The Prince thought of another sunset,--that which he had witnessed from
the mountain top near Kioto, with the Queen at his side. He closed his
eyes, and saw her before him, so beautiful, so noble in the mute avowal
of her grief, her lashes glittering with tears, turning upon him her
pure gaze, and commanding him to marry her rival. The least details of
her speech, her gesture, the little mirror upon her brow flashing like
a star, were graven upon his memory with amazing distinctness.
"That was a sad moment," he thought; "and yet, as I recall it, it seems
to have been full of fascination. At least she was there,--I saw her,
I heard her; the sound of her voice was like balm, to heal the cruelty
of her words. But now, what agony to live! Time seems like a boundless
sea, where no rock or mast permits the exhausted bird an instant's
rest!"
Three very light canoes were now launched, scarcely visible above the
water. As soon as night fell, Nagato chose eight men from the most
adventurous of his crew, together with Raiden and another sailor named
Nata. They got into the canoes, three men in each.
"If you hear shots, come to our rescue," said the Prince of Nagato to
those who were left behind. And the three boats moved noiselessly off.
Those who manned them were armed with swords and daggers; moreover,
they took with them the tools bought in the village, and several
matchlock guns. These weapons--a foreign invention, often damaged or
imperfect--generally refused to go off, or else exploded in the hands
of their owners. They were accordingly equally dreaded by those who
used them and those against whom they were directed. The Prince had
contrived to get fifty new and well-made guns, which was a large supply
for his little army; still, the sailors regarded the strange machines
with a certain distrust.
The boats glided along in the shadow, steering straight for Dragon-fly
Island. The noise of the oars, handled cautiously, mingled with the
myriad dull sounds of the sea. A light breeze rose, and whistled in
their ears.
As they approached the island they tried to move more and more
silently. Already they could see fires among the trees. They were not
far from shore, for they could distinctly hear the measured tread of a
patrol upon the bank.
The Prince ordered his men to row round the island in search of the
war-junks. They lay at anchor close to the shore, having Dragon-fly
Island between them and the Soumiossi coast. They were soon visible
to the men in the canoes, their vast hulls and lofty masts outlined
in black upon the less intense darkness of the sky; lying almost on a
level with the water as they were, the junks seemed enormous to them.
Upon each one, a lantern burned at the foot of the mast, hidden from
time to time by the sentinel as he paced up and down the deck.
"Those sentinels will see us," said Raiden, in a low voice.
"No," replied the Prince; "the lantern lights up the spot where they
are, and prevents them from distinguishing anything in the darkness
where we are. Let us now approach; and may our mad enterprise tend to
our glory!"
The three boats moved off one after the other, and each one came
alongside one of the ships without making more noise than a gull as it
dips into the wave. The canoe which contained the Prince had approached
the largest of the junks. It lay between the other two. The shadow was
thicker than ever beneath the bulging sides of the vessel. The black
water splashed, and dashed the little boat against the giant hull;
but the noise was lost in the incessant shock of the water and the
continual fall of one wave after another upon the shores of the island.
"Let us stay here," said the Prince, in a scarcely audible voice. "Even
if they looked from the deck, they would never see us here."
"True," said Raiden, "but we could not work here; the boat is not
steady enough. If we could reach the prow of the vessel, we should be
better off."
"So be it," said the Prince.
All three, kneeling in the bottom of the boat, pressed with their hands
against the junk, and thus advanced rapidly. Sometimes an involuntary
collision, which seemed to them to make a terrible noise, made them
pause; then they went on again. They reached the ship's prow. At that
moment the sentinel cried:
"Oho!"
He was answered from the other junks:
"Oho!"
"Oho!"
Then all was silent once more.
"To work," said Nagato.
Their plan was merely to sink these great ships by making a hole in
them below the water-line, large enough to let in the sea.
"What rocks and reefs can do with the greatest ease, we may perhaps
achieve by taking a little trouble," was the Prince's thought. The
tools which had been used in the construction of the ship's hull might
now be useful in destroying a fragment of it. It would be quite enough
to make an opening as big as a man's hand, or to remove a plank. The
water, which only asks to be let in and glide everywhere, would be
quite content with that.
Raiden, leaning from the canoe, felt the slimy sides of the ship, and
searched under the sticky moss, under paint and tar, for the heads of
the nails which held the planks together. The Prince and the sailor
Nata tried to hold the boat as nearly stationary as might be. Raiden
took a tool from his belt, and with great exertion dug out a few nails.
"This ship is well built," said he; "the nails are as long as
sword-blades; besides, they are rusty, and as firm in the wood as big
teeth in a young jaw."
"Do you think we can carry out our plan?"
"I certainly hope so," said Raiden. "It is impossible that a nobleman
like you could take such trouble for nothing; only I am very awkwardly
situated, with my head down, and obliged to pull out the nails
obliquely. I must get into the water."
"Are you crazy?" said Nata. "The sea is very deep here."
"There must be a rope in the boat."
"Yes," said Nata.
"Very well; fasten the two ends to the seat."
Nata quickly obeyed, and Raiden passed the rope under his arms.
"In this way I shall be suspended in the water," said he; and he slid
silently over the side of the boat. For more than an hour he worked in
the darkness, without uttering a single word; and as his hands moved
beneath the water, he made no noise. Nothing was audible save the
monotonous tread of the sentinel and the dash of the waves against the
ship.
"Pass me the saki," said Raiden at last; "I am cold."
"It is my turn to work," said Nata. "Get into the boat again."
"It is done," said Raiden. "I have taken out the nails all round a
plank as long as our boat, and as broad as Nata is from shoulder to
shoulder."
"Then you have fully succeeded," said the Prince.
"Not yet; the most difficult part remains. The plank is dovetailed,
into its two neighbors, and affords no hold by which I can pull it out."
"Try to slip your tool into the crack."
"I have been trying, but in vain," said Raiden; "the plank must be
pushed from the inside."
"That cannot be done," said Nagato.
Raiden raised his head; he looked at the ship's hull.
"Is there not a port-hole up there over our heads?" he asked.
"I see nothing," said the Prince.
"You are not accustomed, as we are, to see through the darkness on
stormy nights," said Nata; "but I see the port-hole very plainly."
"Some one must get in there, and push out the plank," said Raiden.
"You are crazy; none of us could squeeze through that narrow opening."
"If little Loo were here," muttered Raiden, "he would get in there soon
enough, he would!"
At this moment the Prince felt something move between his legs, and a
small figure rose from the bottom of the boat.
"Loo knew that he would be wanted!" it cried.
"What! Are you there?" said the Prince.
"Then we are saved," said Raiden.
"Quick!" said Loo; "lift me up to the window."
"Listen!" said Raiden, in a low voice. "As soon as you get in, you are
to feel along the wall, and count five planks down, straight under the
opening. The sixth you will push; but as soon as you feel it yield to
your hand, you must stop, and hurry back. If you push it entirely out,
the water, pouring into the hold, will drown you."
"All right!" said the boy.
Nata stood leaning his back against the junk.
"You are not afraid, Loo?" said the Prince.
Loo, without a word, shook his head. He was already upon Nata's
shoulders, and clinging to the edge of the port-hole with both hands.
Soon he thrust in his head and shoulders; then his legs followed, and
he was lost to sight.
"It must be even darker in there than out here," said Nata, who had his
ear close to the ship's side.
They waited. The time seemed to them long; their anxiety made them
motionless. At last a cracking noise was heard. Raiden felt the plank
move. A second push made it start from its place.
"Enough! enough! or you are lost!" said Raiden, not daring to raise his
voice.
But the child heard nothing; he continued to use his clenched fists
with all his strength. Soon the plank fell, and floated off upon the
waves. At the same time, with a roar, the water streamed into the ship.
"And the child! the child!" cried the agonized Prince.
Raiden thrust his arms despairingly into the yawning hole, black and
tumultuous as it was.
"Nothing! nothing!" said he, grinding his teeth. "He has been carried
off by the force of the water."
At this moment cries were heard from one of the neighboring junks.
Lights flashed hither and thither on the deck; they seemed in the
darkness to move through the air of their own will.
"Our friends may need us," said Nata.
"We cannot desert that poor boy," said the Prince, "while there is a
hope of saving him; we will not stir from the spot."
All at once Raiden uttered a shout of joy; he felt a small cold hand
upon the edge of the hole in the ship's side. He soon drew the child
out, and dropped him into the boat.
Loo did not stir; he had fainted. Raiden climbed hastily into the boat,
dripping wet as he was.
"That poor fellow is about done for," said Nata, pushing off from the
junk.
"Let us join the others," said Nagato; "perhaps they have not finished
their work."
The shouts increased; the alarm was given on every hand. Lights were
seen moving about on the shores of the island, and the sound of arms
snatched up in haste was heard.
"We sink! we sink!" cried the crew of the junks.
Several men sprang into the sea, and swam, puffing and blowing, towards
land. Terror had reached its height among the troops. The junks sank
rapidly; the water bubbled and boiled as it poured into their holds.
The enemy was at hand, and yet invisible. The more lights were brought,
the blacker seemed the sea.
The Prince of Nagato leaned from the canoe, and vainly strove to pierce
the gloom with his eye. Suddenly a violent shock made his boat start
and quiver, dancing about in strange fashion for some moments.
"We can see no more than you," said a voice; "excuse us, Prince, for
giving you such a knock."
"Oh, it's you!" said Nagato; "did you succeed?"
"We should be at work still, if our task were not accomplished. We have
gnawed through the wood like an army of rats, and made a big hole in
the junk."
"Good, good!" said the Prince; "you are indeed valuable assistants."
"Let us sheer off," said Raiden; "they have long-boats still; they may
pursue us."
"And our comrades?"
"They'll take care of themselves; be sure of that. Perhaps they have
escaped already."
The soldiers fired a few arrows at hap-hazard, which fell like rain in
the water around the canoes.
"They are so awkward that they might hit us without meaning to do so!"
said Nata, laughingly.
"Sheer off!" shouted Raiden, rowing vigorously.
The darkness now began to grow less profound; a pale gleam spread
across the sky like a drop of milk in a glass of water. On the edge
of the horizon the light grew stronger, though still vague and faint.
It was the dawn of the rising full moon. Soon, like the point of a
sword-blade upon the horizon, the planet shed a steel-like lustre. At
once a trail alternately dark and light ran along the sea to the shore;
bluish sparks crackled and glittered on the crest of the waves; then
the moon appeared like the arch of a bridge, and at last rose wholly
into sight, like a metal mirror.
They were now out of reach of the soldiers. Nata took the oars; Raiden
rubbed Loo's temples with saki as he lay across the Prince's knees.
"At least he is not dead, poor child!" said Nagato, putting his hand on
Loo's heart.
"No. See, his little chest heaves slowly; he breathes; but he is
frozen. We must strip off his wet clothes." They undressed him; Nata
took off his outer garment and wrapped the boy in it.
"That brat don't know what fear is," said Raiden. "Don't you remember,
Prince, how he bit me when I wanted to fight you? I have but one wish
now; that is, that he might bite me again."
The sailor tried to separate Loo's locked teeth, and poured a quantity
of saki down his throat. The boy swallowed it the wrong way, sneezed,
coughed; then opened his eyes.
"What! then I am not dead?" he asked, gazing about him.
"Well, it seems not," cried the delighted Raiden. "Will you drink?"
"Oh, no!" said Loo, "I've had quite enough to drink. Salt water is
very nasty; I never tasted it before. I shall have to eat a great many
banana preserves before I can get rid of the taste."
"Are you in pain?" said the Prince.
"No," said Loo; "but tell me if the junk has sunk."
"Nothing but the tip of her mast can be seen by this time," said Nata.
"The success of our enterprise is largely due to you."
"You see, master, that I am of some use," said Loo, with great pride.
"To be sure; and you are as brave as the bravest man," said the Prince.
"But how did you get here?"
"Ah! that's just it! I saw that you were determined to leave me behind,
so I hid under the bench."
"But tell me," cried Raiden, "why you pushed the plank so hard, in
spite of all my warnings?"
"I wanted to make sure that the junk did not escape; and then I heard a
noise in the ship. I had to make haste. Besides, I don't think I could
have climbed back again at any rate. There were all sorts of beams and
ropes, and chains that tripped me up; for I couldn't see any more than
if I'd had my head in a black velvet bag."
"And when that mass of water fell upon you, what did you think?"
"I thought that I was killed, but that the junk would surely sink. I
heard the thunder roar, and I swallowed gallons. The water ran in at my
nose, my mouth, and my ears; and then I knew no more, felt no more!"
"You were very near death, my poor Loo," said the Prince; "but for your
fine conduct I will give you a handsome sword, well sharpened, and you
can wear it in your sash like a lord."
Loo cast a look full of pride at his companions, whose faces were
lighted up by the moon, and smiled broadly, showing two deep dimples. A
misty blue light shone across the sea, so that they could see off for
some distance.
"Two junks have disappeared," said Nagato, gazing in the direction of
the island; "the third is still afloat."
"I think I see boats hovering about her; do you think our friends can
have been taken by surprise?".
All at once the junk keeled over on one side; and instantly a small
boat was shoved off, and moved rapidly away. The ship's boats, full
of soldiers, chased her, sending a thick flight of arrows after her.
Several shots were fired from the junk.
"Let us hasten to their aid!" exclaimed the Prince.
Raiden had already changed the course of the canoe; the other boat,
which accompanied them, followed alongside.
"They will never let themselves be taken," said Raiden, who kept
turning his head to look, as he rowed.
In fact, the light canoe flew over the waves, while the heavier
long-boats, loaded down with men, moved very slowly.
"The junk is sinking! the junk is sinking!" shouted Loo, clapping his
hands.
In truth the last vessel remaining above the surface sank slowly; then
with one impulse disappeared.
"Victory! Victory!" cried the sailors and the Prince.
"Victory!" was the answering cry from the hotly pursued canoe, which
came nearer and nearer.
The three boats were soon side by side.
"Let them chase us," said the Prince; "and do not move too quickly to
deprive them of all hope of catching us."
A few shots were fired; several soldiers fell, and were immediately
thrown overboard, to lighten the boats. An arrow struck Raiden in the
shoulder; but its force was spent; it merely pricked him, and fell into
the canoe.
"That was well aimed," said Raiden.
The moon was in mid-heaven; but the polished mirror was dimmed as if by
a breath. It soon assumed a rosy tint; then became cottony; then was
nothing more than a white cloud. The blue and silver color of the sky
was shadowed by a tinge of pale amethyst, which spread rapidly from the
horizon; violet lights shimmered over the sea. It was day.
Behind the promontory, the Prince's fleet had heard the shots which
were to be their signal; they at once left the shore and spread their
sails, which assumed the lovely hue of peach-blossoms in the first
sunbeams. As soon as they were within reach of his voice, the Prince of
Nagato, standing up in the canoe, shouted with all his might:--
"Surround those long-boats! Cut off their retreat! Capture them!"
Loo danced with delight. "After sinking the big craft, we confiscate
the little ones," said he.
The soldiers saw their danger; they put about, and tried to escape.
But how could they contend in a trial of speed with oars against those
great sails swelling in the morning breeze? The boats were quickly
overtaken, then passed. The soldiers gave up all for lost. By steering
straight upon them, and with a single blow, one of those large vessels
could sink them in a second. They hastily threw their weapons into the
water, in sign of submission. The men were hauled on board; then the
long-boats were swamped and sunk.
"Go seek your monstrous mother at the bottom of the sea!" cried Loo, as
he watched them go down.
The three canoes then joined the flotilla. The Prince and his sailors
boarded the large vessels.
Loo related to those who had been left behind how they had swamped the
enemy's junks, how he got drowned in a hole, then was brought back to
life again, to wear a sword like a lord. The prisoners were counted as
they stood with heads bent, resigned, and waiting for their fate. There
were fifty of them.
"Our bold plan succeeded better than we could have hoped," said the
Prince; "I am still lost in amaze at its realization; but since
Marisiten, the god of battles, the divinity with six arms and three
faces, has been so far favorable to us, do not let us rest from our
labors yet. We must now surround Dragon-fly Island, and cut it off from
the rest of the world, until the Shogun's army comes to our relief."
"Hurrah! hurrah!" cried the sailors, made enthusiastic by their recent
victory.
"How many soldiers are there on the island?" the Prince asked one of
the prisoners.
The soldier hesitated; he looked up and down, then right and left, as
if asking advice. All at once he decided to speak.
"Why should I hide the truth?" said he. "There are two thousand."
"Very well!" exclaimed the Prince; "let us make for the island, and
allow no one to quit it; then we shall have, not fifty prisoners, but
two thousand."
Loud cheers greeted Nagato's words; they set off. Soon the saki went
round; the sailors chanted a war-song, which they sang, each in his own
fashion, producing a lively but deafening melody.
The deepest consternation reigned in the island. No one could believe
his own eyes. The junks, so strong and so beautiful, sank suddenly in
the sea; the boats, full of soldiers, did not come back. Who could
this enemy be, who struck in the dark? The sentinels had only seen a
frail canoe, manned by three men, who, impudently clinging to the ship,
hammered away at the hull with all their might and main, and ripped it
up; then fled, setting them at defiance.
So there were no more ships; even boats were lacking. They had no means
of leaving the island. There they were established, as if in a fortress
surrounded by an immense moat. Protected by their war-junks, it was an
excellent position indeed. But now the fortress proved their prison;
if speedy succor did not come, they were lost. The chief in command of
these two thousand men--his name was Sandai--ordered the two best boats
to be chosen from the wretched craft belonging to the inhabitants of
the island. This order being executed, he appointed five men to each.
"You will set off in all haste," said he, "and rejoin the main body
of the army. You will then inform the General of our distressing
situation."
The boats started; but when they had gone a little way, they saw a
vast circle of motionless sails, which barred their passage. The boats
retraced their course. They were blockaded. Sandai collected all the
provisions, taking the animals and crops of the inhabitants. There was
a week's supply; besides, they could catch fish.
"We must build big rafts, and try to reach the mainland unseen, by
night," said the leader.
The men set to work, felled trees, stripped off the branches; thus the
day passed. They worked all night as well; but next morning they saw a
glitter and commotion on the Soumiossi shore. General Harounaga's army
had arrived.
That gay warrior, on his side, was greatly embarrassed. He did not know
what to do in face of the foe divided from him by the sea. The fleet
was taking in stores at Osaka; it was not yet ready to sail. If he had
to wait for its coming before making an attack, the enemy might escape
him.
Harounaga encamped his troops on the beach, pitched his tent, and
retired into it to consider the situation. Meantime his soldiers fired
a few arrows in the direction of the island, by way of salute; they
fell in the water, the island being out of range. Nevertheless, towards
noon, a well-aimed arrow fell just outside Harounaga's tent, and stuck
quivering in the sand. A paper was fastened to the feathered end of the
arrow, which was plucked up and taken to the General.
Harounaga unfolded the paper, and read as follows:--
"Prepare for attack. The enemy are in your power. I have
deprived them of all means of escape. I will provide you
with means of reaching them."
The note was not signed. The General left his tent, and gazed across
the water. A fishing-boat was crossing leisurely from Dragon-fly Island
to the Soumiossi shore.
"Whom can this letter be from?" thought Harounaga. "Is any one jesting
with me? Am I to transport my whole army in that vulgar boat?"
But, as he looked, other boats appeared upon the ocean; they came
nearer; their number grew. Harounaga counted them.
"Well! well!" he said, "the project seems feasible. Come, my men!" he
cried, "take up your arms; here is a fleet to carry us across!"
As soon as the movement of the troops was apparent, the boats advanced
to the shore. The Prince of Nagato was first to land. The Prince
recognized the General.
"Ah! it's that stupid Harounaga," he muttered.
Loo leaped ashore. He wore a superb sword at his waist.
"Twenty men to a boat," he shouted. "There are forty of them, which
will make eight hundred men to each voyage."
The General came forward.
"What! Prince Nagato!" he exclaimed.
"I am Naiboum,"[1] said the Prince; "all the glory of the affair shall
fall to you."
"A sovereign expose himself thus to the risk of battle!" said
Harounaga, in surprise.
"I wage war at my caprice, subject to no one; and I find a certain
pleasure in these novel sensations."
"You!--you used to care for nothing but feasting!"
"I prefer warfare now," said the Prince, smiling; "I am fickle."
Shots and confused clamor were heard in the distance.
"What is that?" asked the General.
"A false attack upon the other side of the island, to favor the landing
of your soldiers."
"Why, you are as good a General as I am," said Harounaga.
The Prince hid a contemptuous smile behind his fan.
The boats, loaded with men, put off from shore, the General
accompanying the Prince. Loo had picked up a sort of trumpet; and,
leaning forward, blew into it with all his might and main.
Hieyas' soldiers awaited them in a body, on the opposite coast, ready
to oppose the landing to their utmost; arrows began to fly thick and
fast from both parties. The Prince of Nagato sent forward to right and
left a boat full of men armed with guns. They overwhelmed the foe, who
had no firearms, with an incessant volley of shot.
Upon shore a furious hand-to-hand fight soon followed. Men fought up
to their knees in the water; sword-strokes made the foam splash high.
Sometimes two adversaries would pull each other down, roll over, and
disappear. Dead bodies and quantities of arrows floated on the waves.
Sailors caught hold of the boats, and pushed them violently out to
sea. One strong stroke of the oar brought them back. Then some would
hang their whole weight on one side, hoping to capsize them. The hands
clutching the edge were hewed at with sabres; the blood spurted out,
then trailed upon the water like torn rags.
When a boat was empty, it returned in haste to fetch more soldiers;
soon the partisans of the Usurper were crushed. They surrendered.
The dead and wounded were numerous. The latter were laid upon the
sand, their wounds were dressed, and they were encouraged with kind,
fraternal words. Were they not brothers? They wore the same uniform,
they spoke the same language. Some wept as they recognized friends
in the enemy's ranks. The vanquished men sat upon the ground in an
attitude of utter despair; they crossed their hands upon their knees,
and bowed their heads. Their swords and bows were gathered up and made
into heaps, which were given to the victors.
The Prince of Nagato and the General advanced into the interior of the
island. Harounaga swung from his wrist the golden-thonged whip; the
scales of his cuirass clattered and clashed as he strode along with one
hand on his hip.
"Bring forward the leader of the rebels," said the Prince.
Sandai came forward. He still wore the varnished black leather mask,
fitted to the helmet, and worn in battle; he removed it, and revealed
his melancholy visage.
The presence of Nagato strangely troubled this chieftain, who had
formerly asked and obtained his interest with Fide-Yori. He had
afterwards joined the Regent from ambitious motives, and now he
betrayed his first sovereign. Nagato's calm and scornful gaze made him
feel all the infamy of his conduct; he saw that he could never again
hold up his head under the double humiliation of defeat and dishonor.
Moreover, the Prince seemed to him clad in peculiar majesty. Amidst
his warriors in full armor, their heads protected by strong helmets,
Iwakura stood bareheaded, dressed in a black silk robe with a slight
tracery in gold; on his hands were white satin gloves, reaching to the
elbow, and above each arm a stiff plastron forming an epaulette, and
making his shoulders seem very broad. In this guise he looked more
formidable than all the rest.
The Prince played carelessly with his fan, and did not appear to
recollect that he had ever known Sandai.
"Rebel," he said, without raising his voice, "I do not ask you if
you will renounce your crime, and return to the service of your true
lord. Pride, I know, survives honor in the heart of man, and you would
refuse."
"Prince," said Sandai, "before the battle your voice might have
recalled me to my duty, and brought me to your feet; but after defeat
no leader can disown his acts and serve his conqueror. Therefore I
cannot consent to yield."
"So be it; I will send you back to the master of your choice," said
Nagato. "You will set off alone, unaccompanied by page or squire; you
will rejoin Hieyas, and say to him this: 'General Harounaga conquered
us; but it was the Prince of Nagato who sank the junks which might have
rescued us.'"
"Illustrious Daimio," said Sandai, without any sign of anger, "I am a
general, and not a messenger. I may be guilty, but I am not a coward; I
can endure merited insult without revolt, but I cannot survive it. Send
some other messenger to Hieyas; and let him add to the tidings he bears
the news of my death."
Profound silence followed this speech. All understood the General's
intention, and no one desired to oppose him. Sandai seated himself upon
the ground. He drew one of his swords,--the shorter of the two; then;
having saluted the Prince, he ripped himself up with a single blow.
"That deed raises you in my eyes," said Nagato, who was perhaps still
heard by the dying man.
"Let this warrior be buried upon the island, with the pomp appropriate
to his rank," said Harounaga.
Sandai's body was borne away.
"Now," said the Prince, "I will take a little rest. I begin to recall
the fact that I spent the whole night upon the sea, and that I never
closed my eyes for a second. The victory is as complete as possible. It
only remains for you, Harounaga, to establish communications between
Soumiossi and the island which you have conquered. You can do so by
the aid of rafts, forming a kind of bridge. Despatch messengers to
Fide-Yori, occupy the island and the neighboring coasts, keep a watch
over the sea, and await fresh orders from Osaka."
"Thanks for your precious advice," said the General. "You are the true
victor. Will you permit me to say so to our much-loved lord?"
"No," said the Prince; "announce it to Hieyas only. I desire my name to
ring in his ear like a threat."
With these words the Prince of Nagato withdrew. Night fell, quiet and
cool; then it passed away, and day reappeared.
General Harounaga came from his tent, and inquired if the Prince had
waked. He had grown accustomed to taking his orders and advice. It
spared him the trouble of thinking. He had a thousand questions to ask.
A messenger ran to the tent which had been pitched for Nagato. It was
half open; but on looking in, the Prince was found to be absent.
"He may have gone back to his boat," said Harounaga.
They hastened to the shore. There was not a sail on the sea; the Prince
of Nagato's fleet had vanished.
[1] That is, incognito.