Who had planned her murder? Like a green ray of lightning it flashed on him--O'Kikú! His curse and hers. Oh, wretched, infatuated man--O'Kikú! Poor O'Tei, murdered by her rival! The punishment of the concubine was the only reparation possible. She should be punished. If he was to leave Ki[^y]oto unmolested, there was not a minute to be lost. The ladder was gone, the distance to the ground but small. No-Kami, his nerves strung again by a distinct purpose, moved to the verandah, and swung himself down its column. With steady tread he appeared before the sleepy sentinel, and with stern, sharp accents issued his instructions. "My horse Typhoon, quick. I need no followers. The Daimio of Nara has gone the other way. Close up the house--nay, I will myself fasten it. Double the sentries. Keep watch and ward. Let none, on whatever pretext, set foot within the boundaries." As he clattered away on his favourite charger at full speed, the samurai looked after him. "Ticklish times," muttered he who was in command, "each moment fraught with peril. My lord of Nara, no doubt, has given the best advice. My lord is gone to act on it. Well, well, the gods be praised, our chief is himself again!" CHAPTER XIX. THE WEB IS WOVEN. Typhoon was the best charger in the Daimio's stable, and worthy of his name; but this was his last journey. He was so hard pressed by his frantic master, that at the castle gate he sank and died. The sudden arrival of my lord, a fugitive, without a single follower, created within the fortress a commotion which was no little aggravated by the news of which he was the bearer. How swift was the cumulation of events. My lord of Nara and his heiress murdered. A siege in immediate prospect, and after that--what? A long course of excess and idleness had sapped the discipline of the braves, and instead of hailing the coming fray with the joy that becomes heroes, they showed signs of sullen discontent. No-Kami had slain in a secret manner, without witnesses, the venerable Nara, the esteemed friend of the Holy Mikado.