Page:Tales from old Japanese dramas (1915).djvu/488

398 With this utterance she burst into bitter tears. Kanki stood for some minutes, buried in thought, his reasoning powers struggling with his emotion. But reason was victorious.

"Mother," he said, "if you will not allow me to kill my wife, I shall be obliged to fight with Kokusenya in compliance with the Tartar King's commands. Now that I must fight with your son, I will not detain you any longer in the castle, lest people should think I have kept you as a hostage. Wife, order a palanquin in which to send our mother from the castle."

"There is no need to send her away, my lord," answered Kinshō. "As I promised my father, I will pour a solution of rouge into the moat as a sign of your refusal." As she spoke, she ascended to her toilet chamber, and taking a small dagger she thrust it into her breast. She then let a quantity of her blood flow into a basin, and poured it into the pond below her apartment.

The blood-dyed water slowly flowed out to the Hoang Ho. Kokusenya saw it, and was keenly disappointed to learn of Kanki's refusal. Then he was filled with alarm for his mother's safety. He hurried to the castle-gate, and soon found means