"Not robbers,-- not robbers," gasped the terrified man... "I saw... I saw
a woman -- by the moat; -- and she showed me... Ah! I cannot tell you what
she showed me!"...


"He! (4) Was it anything like THIS that she showed you?" cried the
soba-man, stroking his own face --which therewith became like unto an
Egg... And, simultaneously, the light went out.




ROKURO-KUBI


Nearly five hundred years ago there was a samurai, named Isogai
Heidazaemon Taketsura, in the service of the Lord Kikuji, of Kyushu. This
Isogai had inherited, from many warlike ancestors, a natural aptitude for
military exercises, and extraordinary strength. While yet a boy he had
surpassed his teachers in the art of swordsmanship, in archery, and in the
use of the spear, and had displayed all the capacities of a daring and
skillful soldier. Afterwards, in the time of the Eikyo [1] war, he so
distinguished himself that high honors were bestowed upon him. But when the
house of Kikuji came to ruin, Isogai found himself without a master. He
might then easily have obtained service under another daimyo; but as he had
never sought distinction for his own sake alone, and as his heart remained
true to his former lord, he preferred to give up the world. so he cut off
his hair, and became a traveling priest,-- taking the Buddhist name of