he capital, and the responsibility shall fall on my shoulders alone.'

"The soldiers were quite willing to take the advice of their courageous
leader, and resolved to obey his orders rather than the king's. They
went to the capital, forcibly removed the king from his throne, and
banished him to the island of Kang-wa.

"Not yet, however, was Taijo made king. The deposed ruler plotted and
planned all kinds of schemes whereby he might be restored to his old
position of authority. Taijo heard of some of his plots, and finally did
that which would for ever extinguish the authority of the old king or
any of his family. He removed from the temple the tablets on which were
inscribed the names of the king's ancestors. More than this, he ordered
that no more sacrifices be offered to them.

"The king could have suffered no greater insult than this, for, like
all Koreans, he held as sacred the memory of his ancestors, and even to
speak ill of one of them was an unpardonable crime. But this time he was
powerless to resent the indignity or to punish the offender, and
consequently he lost what little influence he had been able to retain.

"Taijo was now formally proclaimed king. He was able to make peace with
the Chinese emperor, and under his rule the Koreans enjoyed freedom from
war and oppression. His descendants still sit upon the throne of Korea."

CHAPTER VI.

THE MONK'S STORY

One evening, after Yung Pak had finished his supper, he sat talking with
his father and Wang Ken.

The early evening hour was often spent in this way. It was a time of day
when Ki Pak was generally free from any official duty, and he was glad
to devote a little time to his son. He would inquire about the boy's
studies as well as about his sports, and Yung Pak would regale his
father with many an amusing incident or tell him something he had
learned during study hours. Sometimes he would tell of the sights he had
seen on the streets of Seoul, while on other occasions he would give
account of games with his playmates or of his success in shooting with a
bow and arrow.

This latter sport was very common with the men and boys of Korea. It was
approved by the king for the national defence in time of war, and often
rewards were offered by rich men for winners in contests. Most Korean
gentlemen had private archery grounds and targets in the gardens near
their houses.

Ki Pak had an arrow-walk and target in his garden, and here it was that
Yun