you
are pleased to persist in your refusal to take us, we have made up our
minds that there is no resource for us but to disembowel ourselves on
the spot."

When Matayemon and Kazuma heard these words, they wondered at these
faithful and brave men, and were moved to tears. Then Matayemon said--

"The kindness of you two brave fellows is without precedent. Well,
then, I will accept your services gratefully."

Then the two men, having obtained their wish, cheerfully followed
their master; and the four set out together upon their journey to seek
out Matagoro, of whose whereabouts they were completely ignorant.

Matagoro in the meanwhile had made his way, with the old man Sakurai
Jiuzayemon and his thirty Ronins, to Osaka. But, strong as they were
in numbers, they travelled in great secrecy. The reason for this was
that the old man's younger brother, Sakurai Jinsuke, a fencing-master
by profession, had once had a fencing-match with Matayemon, Kazuma's
brother-in-law, and had been shamefully beaten; so that the party were
greatly afraid of Matayemon, and felt that, since he was taking up
Kazuma's cause and acting as his guardian, they might be worsted in
spite of their numbers: so they went on their way with great caution,
and, having reached Osaka, put up at an inn in a quarter called
Ikutama, and hid from Kazuma and Matayemon.

The latter also in good time reached Osaka, and spared no pains to
seek out Matagoro. One evening towards dusk, as Matayemon was walking
in the quarter where the enemy were staying, he saw a man, dressed as
a gentleman's servant, enter a cook-shop and order some buckwheat
porridge for thirty-six men, and looking attentively at the man, he
recognized him as the servant of Sakurai Jiuzayemon; so he hid himself
in a dark place and watched, and heard the fellow say--

"My master, Sakurai Jiuzayemon, is about to start for Sagara to-morrow
morning, to return thanks to the gods for his recovery from a sickness
from which he has been suffering; so I am in a great hurry."

With these words the servant hastened away; and Matayemon, entering
the shop, called for some porridge, and as he ate it, made some
inquiries as to the man who had just given so large an order for
buckwheat porridge. The master of the shop answered that he was the
attendant of a party of thirty-six gentlemen who were staying at such
and such an inn. Then Matayemon, having found out all that he wanted
to know, went home and told Kaz