human
Yes, muttered Hieyas;
gpt
You see, master, said Faxibo,
human
I tell you he was at the Miako, and did not leave there until far on in the night.
gpt
And yet the Prince of Tosa was with him until very late.
human
One of my spies followed him to Kioto; he entered the city in broad daylight, and remained there until midnight.
gpt
It is incomprehensible, said Faxibo.
human
Stay! there he is, going home,
gpt
Is it really he who occupies the litter?
human
I think I recognized him,
gpt
Impossible! it cannot be the Prince of Nagato, unless it be his corpse.
human
It is my envoy, cried Hieyas.
gpt
Speak quickly, come I What have you learned?
human
I went to the part of the road to which you directed me, all-powerful master, said the envoy.
gpt
At that spot the ground was strewn with corpses; I counted forty men and fifteen horses. Peasants were hovering around the dead; some felt of them, to see if there were no lingering trace of life. Others pursued the wounded horses, which were running about the rice-fields. I asked what had happened. They told me that no one knew; but at sunrise they saw a band of horsemen pass, belonging to the divine Mikado; they were on their way to Kioto. As for the corpses lying by the roadside, red with their blood, they all wore dark costumes, without any armorial bearings, and their faces were half hidden by their headdress, after the fashion of bandits and assassins.
human
Enough! exclaimed Hieyas, frowning;
gpt
He has escaped me again, said Hieyas.
human
Well! I must deal the blow with my own hand. The end which I would attain is so noble, that I should not hesitate to use infamous means to overthrow the obstacles which rise in my path. Faxibo, he added, turning to the ex-groom,