d betray no one; but he would tell the abbot of his fate. It was
Isuke who had sealed him up in the cave by thrusting into place the
heavy cover. Here he passed miserable days in hunger until the poisonous
air, gradually accumulating, had put an end to him. His spirit, however,
had haunted the place, with no disposition to leave. With the
opportunity he had entered the body of Kage, in search of human
requirements and enjoyments. Betrayed by appetite he had been driven
forth by the prayers of the abbot, and solaced by his petitions for the
future life. Deign to let the matter rest there, and not pursue him into
the inanity, the nothingness of Nirvana. To this the practiced ear of
the holy Bankei gave deep thought. This fellow already had forced the
unhappy Kakunai to follow in his tracks. What might he not do to others
in whom the abbot had far greater interest? "To such wickedness the gift
of Nirvana is not likely. Bankei wastes his breath, and Shu[u]zen Dono
his substance. Deign to enter Meido, be wholly purified of wickedness,
and in a second birth, if in human form, be of a virtuous House. For
present and past sins atonement is to be made. For those still living
Bankei holds not his lips silent. Off with you at once to these insipid
joys." He thrust the rosary of crystal beads into the vision's face. At
once it disappeared, and Bankei woke amid a nauseating odour. He
stretched himself in weariness--"A dream? Tribulation of the Five
Viscera?" Yet he would report it to Shu[u]zen, and on the uncertainty of
the truth secure further aid for man and horse. Hence the monument of
the Bato[u] (horse-headed) Kwannon, which long stood on its mound behind
the _hondo[u]_ of the Seisho[u]ji of Shiba.

CHAPTER VIII

AOYAMA SHU[U]ZEN

These events could not fail to cause comment. It was in the general room
of the _hiban_, the fire guard of the castle, that the discussion came
to a head. There were a number of these guards for different quarters of
the castle inclosure; and for better drill and coordination the officers
met, apart from the site of their particular duties. This made the
office of the _hiban_ a sort of club of the _hatamoto_, bringing
together the members of the more particular cliques, known respectively
as the Shiratsukagumi (white handle club), the Kingingumi (gold and
silver clubs), the members of which knocked out a conspicuous tooth,
replacing it with the metal ensign of their affiliation, and the Kubo