"Sir, I cannot conceal my admiration that you, being so young a man,
should have so loyal a spirit. I am Ruiten, the chief priest of this
temple, who am engaged in praying for the recovery of my lord. Pray
what is your name?"
"My name, sir, is Itô Sôda, and I am serving in the infantry of
Nabéshima. Since my lord has been sick, my one desire has been to
assist in nursing him; but, being only a simple soldier, I am not of
sufficient rank to come into his presence, so I have no resource but
to pray to the gods of the country and to Buddha that my lord may
regain his health."
When Ruiten heard this, he shed tears in admiration of the fidelity of
Itô Sôda, and said--
"Your purpose is, indeed, a good one; but what a strange sickness
this is that my lord is afflicted with! Every night he suffers from
horrible dreams; and the retainers who sit up with him are all seized
with a mysterious sleep, so that not one can keep awake. It is very
wonderful."
"Yes," replied Sôda, after a moment's reflection, "this certainly must
be witchcraft. If I could but obtain leave to sit up one night with
the Prince, I would fain see whether I could not resist this
drowsiness and detect the goblin."
At last the priest said, "I am in relations of friendship with Isahaya
Buzen, the chief councillor of the Prince. I will speak to him of you
and of your loyalty, and will intercede with him that you may attain
your wish."
"Indeed, sir, I am most thankful. I am not prompted by any vain
thought of self-advancement, should I succeed: all I wish for is the
recovery of my lord. I commend myself to your kind favour."
"Well, then, to-morrow night I will take you with me to the
councillor's house."
"Thank you, sir, and farewell." And so they parted.
On the following evening Itô Sôda returned to the temple Miyô In, and
having found Ruiten, accompanied him to the house of Isahaya Buzen:
then the priest, leaving Sôda outside, went in to converse with the
councillor, and inquire after the Prince's health.
"And pray, sir, how is my lord? Is he in any better condition since I
have been offering up prayers for him?"
"Indeed, no; his illness is very severe. We are certain that he must
be the victim of some foul sorcery; but as there are no means of
keeping a guard awake after ten o'clock, we cannot catch a sight of
the goblin, so we are in the greatest trouble."
"I feel deeply for you: it must be most distressing. However, I have
something to tell you. I think that I have found a man who will detect
the goblin; and I have brought him with me."
"Indeed! who is the man?"
"Well, he is one of my lord's foot-soldiers, named Itô Sôda, a
faithful fellow, and I trust that you will grant his request to be
permitted to sit up with my lord."
"Certainly, it is wonderful to find so much loyalty and zeal in a
common soldier," replied Isahaya Buzen, after a moment's reflection;
"still it is impossible to allow a man of such low rank to perform the
office of watching over my lord."
"It is true that he is but a common soldier," urged the priest; "but
why not raise his rank in consideration of his fidelity, and then let
him mount guard?"
"It would be time enough to promote him after my lord's recovery. But
come, let me see this Itô Sôda, that I may know what manner of man he
is: if he pleases me, I will consult with the other councillors, and
perhaps we may grant his request."
"I will bring him in forthwith," replied Ruiten, who thereupon went
out to fetch the young man.
When he returned, the priest presented Itô Sôda to the councillor, who
looked at him attentively, and, being pleased with his comely and
gentle appearance, said--
"So I hear that you are anxious to be permitted to mount guard in my
lord's room at night. Well, I must consult with the other councillors,
and we will see what can be done for you."
When the young soldier heard this he was greatly elated, and took his
leave, after warmly thanking Buiten, who had helped him to gain his
object. The next day the councillors held a meeting, and sent for Itô
Sôda, and told him that he might keep watch with the other retainers
that very night. So he went his way in high spirits, and at nightfall,
having made all his preparations, took his place among the hundred
gentlemen who were on duty in the prince's bed-room.
Now the Prince slept in the centre of the room, and the hundred guards
around him sat keeping themselves awake with entertaining conversation
and pleasant conceits. But, as ten o'clock approached, they began to
doze off as they sat; and in spite of all their endeavours to keep one
another awake, by degrees they all fell asleep. Itô Sôda all this
while felt an irresistible desire to sleep creeping over him, and,
though he tried by all sorts of ways to rouse himself, he saw that
there was no help for it, but by resorting to an extreme measure, for
which he had already made his preparations. Drawing out a piece of oil
paper which he had brought with him, and spreading it over the mats,
he sat down upon it; then he took the small knife which he carried in
the sheath of his dirk, and stuck it into his own thigh. For awhile
the pain of the wound kept him awake; but as the slumber by which he
was assailed was the work of sorcery, little by little he became
drowsy again. Then he twisted the knife round and round in his thigh,
so that the pain becoming very violent, he was proof against the
feeling of sleepiness, and kept a faithful watch. Now the oil paper
which he had spread under his legs was in order to prevent the blood,
which might spurt from his wound, from defiling the mats.
So Itô Sôda remained awake, but the rest of the guard slept; and as he
watched, suddenly the sliding-doors of the Prince's room were drawn
open, and he saw a figure coming in stealthily, and, as it drew
nearer, the form was that of a marvellously beautiful woman some
twenty-three years of age. Cautiously she looked around her; and when
she saw that all the guard were asleep, she smiled an ominous smile,
and was going up to the Prince's bedside, when she perceived that in
one corner of the room there was a man yet awake. This seemed to
startle her, but she went up to Sôda and said--
"I am not used to seeing you here. Who are you?"
"My name is Itô Sôda, and this is the first night that I have been on
guard."
"A troublesome office, truly! Why, here are all the rest of the guard
asleep. How is it that you alone are awake? You are a trusty
watchman."
"There is nothing to boast about. I'm asleep myself, fast and sound."
"What is that wound on your knee? It is all red with blood."
"Oh! I felt very sleepy; so I stuck my knife into my thigh, and the
pain of it has kept me awake."
"What wondrous loyalty!" said the lady.
"Is it not the duty of a retainer to lay down his life for his master?
Is such a scratch as this worth thinking about?"
Then the lady went up to the sleeping prince and said, "How fares it
with my lord to-night?" But the Prince, worn out with sickness, made
no reply. But Sôda was watching her eagerly, and guessed that it was O
Toyo, and made up his mind that if she attempted to harass the Prince
he would kill her on the spot. The goblin, however, which in the form
of O Toyo had been tormenting the Prince every night, and had come
again that night for no other purpose, was defeated by the
watchfulness of Itô Sôda; for whenever she drew near to the sick man,
thinking to put her spells upon him, she would turn and look behind
her, and there she saw Itô Sôda glaring at her; so she had no help for
it but to go away again, and leave the Prince undisturbed.
At last the day broke, and the other officers, when they awoke and
opened their eyes, saw that Itô Sôda had kept awake by stabbing
himself in the thigh; and they were greatly ashamed, and went home
crestfallen.
That morning Itô Sôda went to the house of Isahaya Buzen, and told him
all that had occurred the previous night. The councillors were all
loud in their praises of Itô Sôda's behaviour, and ordered him to keep
watch again that night. At the same hour, the false O Toyo came and
looked all round the room, and all the guard were asleep, excepting
Itô Sôda, who was wide awake; and so, being again frustrated, she
returned to her own apartments.
Now as since Sôda had been on guard the Prince had passed quiet
nights, his sickness began to get better, and there was great joy in
the palace, and Sôda was promoted and rewarded with an estate. In the
meanwhile O Toyo, seeing that her nightly visits bore no fruits, kept
away; and from that time forth the night-guard were no longer subject
to fits of drowsiness. This coincidence struck Sôda as very strange,
so he went to Isahaya Buzen and told him that of a certainty this O
Toyo was no other than a goblin. Isahaya Buzen reflected for a while,
and said--
"Well, then, how shall we kill the foul thing?"
"I will go to the creature's room, as if nothing were the matter, and
try to kill her; but in case she should try to escape, I will beg you
to order eight men to stop outside and lie in wait for her."
Having agreed upon this plan, Sôda went at nightfall to O Toyo's
apartment, pretending to have been sent with a message from the
Prince. When she saw him arrive, she said--
"What message have you brought me from my lord?"
"Oh! nothing in particular. Be so look as to look at this letter;" and
as he spoke, he drew near to her, and suddenly drawing his dirk cut at
her; but the goblin, springing back, seized a halberd, and glaring
fiercely at Sôda, said--
"How dare you behave like this to one of your lord's ladies? I will
have you dismissed;" and she tried to strike Sôda with the halberd.
But Sôda fought desperately with his dirk; and the goblin, seeing that
she was no match for him, threw away the halberd, and from a beautiful
woman became suddenly transformed into a cat, which, springing up the
sides of the room, jumped on to the roof. Isahaya Buzen and his eight
men who were watching outside shot at the cat, but missed it, and the
beast made good its escape.
So the cat fled to the mountains, and did much mischief among the
surrounding people, until at last the Prince of Hizen ordered a great
hunt, and the beast was killed.
But the Prince recovered from his sickness; and Itô Sôda was richly
rewarded.