Chapter I

A man and a woman were whispering to each other by a shaded lamp in a quiet detached room which was partly hedged by _unohana_ whose snow-white flowers gleamed in the moonlight. Only the frogs croaking in the neighbouring paddy-field broke the stillness of the night.

The man was Sakuma Shichiroyemon, a councillor of Oda Nobuyuki, the lord of the castle of Iwakura, in the province, of Owari. About fifty-two years old, he was a fierce-looking man with powerful muscles and bristling gray whiskers. Haughty, quick-tempered and very jealous he tyrannized over his subordinates and was accordingly an object of hatred throughout the clan. The person with whom he was now talking was a woman close upon his own age—the supervisor of Lord Oda’s maids-of-honour, by name O-Tora-no-Kata. Being a cross, cunning, and avaricious hag, she was regarded by the maids with terror and detestation. “Birds of a feather flock together.” She had wormed her way into the good graces of Shichiroyemon in order to make her position secure; whilst the latter, on his part, had set her to spy on the actions of his lord, as well as of his colleagues and inferiors.

“What’s that, Madame Tora?” asked Shichiroyemon, his face reddening with anger. “Do you mean to tell me that our lord is going to set that green boy of a Hachiya over me as Prime Councillor?”

“I repeat what I hear;—all the maids say so....”

“Pshaw! How I do hate that Hachiya—that peasant’s son born in obscurity. Who knows where he comes from? A pale, smooth-faced womanish sprig! How glibly he flatters our lord! He has never been in battle; what use is such a bookworm in these warlike days? And yet this inexperienced stripling is going to be appointed Prime Councillor! Humph, what infatuation! Ha, ha, ha!”

“It will not boil yet. The fire is not strong enough.”

“Eh! The fire?”

“Ha, ha!” said O-Tora with a disagreeable smile. “Here I have good fuel to make you burn!”

“Don’t try to annoy me like that,” said he impatiently. “Tell me quickly.”

“It is the secret of secrets. I can’t readily ... w-e-l-l ... sell it.” She spoke slowly, with an emphasis on the word ‘sell.’

“How grasping you are! Well, then, I will buy your secret with this.” So saying, Shichiroyemon took a packet of money out of his bosom and threw it down on the mat. The crone picked it up in silence, a cunning smile playing about her lips.

“Mr. Sakuma, you must not be off your guard.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, K...; you must give her up.”

“What! Give up Katsuno?” he exclaimed, startled. “Why? Tell me quick!”

“Don’t be surprised, sir. It is our lord’s pleasure to give her to Hachiya in marriage.”

Katsuno was a maid-of-honour of Oda Nobuyuki with whom she was a great favourite. A young damsel of nineteen springs, she was the incarnation of beauty, grace and sweetness of disposition, combined with refinement and dignity. In spite of his years Shichiroyemon was madly in love with the fair maiden; but though he had courted her in every way through O-Tora, she had shown no inclination to respond to his advances.

“Has Hachiya formed a liaison with Katsuno?” asked Shichiroyemon anxiously.

“Not that; you know they are both such honest blockheads; they are too stupid for that. Even if they had the inclination, it would be impossible for them to elude my vigilant eye—not even a devil could do it!”

“Is it then our lord’s order?”

“That is it. To-day our lady said to me, ‘It is not good for Hachiya to be alone any longer; Katsuno is a beautiful and excellent-minded maid, I will give her in marriage to Hachiya before long in reward for her faithful service!’ Yes, surely, our lady told me so.”

“Is that indeed so?” said Shichiroyemon, his brow darkening, and his eyes glaring with the intensity of his jealousy. “That green peasant’s son of a Hachiya! It would be infamous to put him over a man of my ability and experience, it would be an additional wrong to give Katsuno to him in marriage. What an insult! What mortification to one of my years! I cannot stand it! I shall never rest till I have taken some steps against this Hachiya—my mortal enemy! I will have my revenge! He does not provoke me with impunity!” He spoke so fiercely and the look on his face was so diabolical that the old woman was frightened.

“Your anger is quite natural, sir; but you know ‘Anger leads to loss.’ You must think more calmly about this matter.”

“Have you anything to propose?”

“Well, ... of course, in the first place Hachiya must be assassinated, and then we must manage to get Katsuno out of the hands of our lord on some pretext or other;—I will undertake _that_.”

“And I will settle the other business! But, be careful, Madame Tora!”

Here a puff of cool wind swept through the room and blowing out the light of the lamp put an end to their conference for that time.