Recitative. The bare blade is pointed at the child’s throat; but startled though he be, Gihei looks unmoved.
Gihei. Ha, ha! You think to question me by taking a hostage as you might a woman or a child. No, a man to the marrow is Amakawaya Gihei; he will not, even for the love of his child, confess what he does not know. I know nothing, nothing whatever. I say I know nothing, and no torture of earth or hell shall make me confess. If you think me hateful, kill my child before my own eyes, yes, kill him.
Policemen. What a stubborn fellow he is! You, who furnished the spears, guns, and coats of mail, forty-six in number all differently marked, can we let you say you know nothing? If you will not confess, we will cut you by inches or slice you still thinner. What do you say?
Gihei. Oh, that is fine. I will be sliced. It is the merchant’s business to stock and sell not only weapons, but everything else from the ceremonial hats of the huge and samurai to the straw shoes of waiting-women and other servants; and if you think it suspicious and make inquiry, there will be no one in Japan secure from inquisition. If I am cut by inches or bound with a three-inch rope, I shall lose my life for my trade and I do not grudge it. Come, kill me. Stab my son before my eyes. Will you cut me by inches first from my arm or from my breast? Take your choice of my shoulder-blade and my spine.
Recitative. He thrusts his body and limbs before them.
Gihei. You shall see that my spirit is not to be changed by the love of my child.
Recitative. He seems from his look to be bent upon strangling his son; but a voice calls to him.
A Voice. Do not be over-hasty, Master Gihei. Wait, wait a moment.
Recitative. From out the long box comes Oboshi Yuranosuke Yoshikane; and upon seeing him, Gihei is amazed. The policemen all throw away their truncheons and cords and sit down far below him. Yuranosuke sits straight and puts his hands on the floor before Gihei.
Yuranosuke. Your spirit has struck us with astonishment. It is to you that we may fitly apply the phrases “the lotus rising out of the mud” and “the gold mingled in the sand.” I was certain that such must be your spirit, and entrusted to you the great task. I, Yuranosuke, never had a shadow of a doubt; but among our forty and more confederates were some who were not well acquainted with you. They only knew you as a merchant by trade, and thought they, if you were seized and questioned, what would happen, what would you say? And especially as you had a dearly-loved son, it would be natural for a parent’s heart to be led astray by the love of his child. They discussed it often and grew restless with anxiety. I felt the only way to set my old comrades’ hearts at ease was to show them how determined was your will; and though I knew it was what we should not do, we did what we did to-night. I humbly crave your pardon for our rude conduct. ‘Among flowers the cherry-blossom and among men the samurai,’ they say; but no samurai can vie with you in resolution. Even though one hold one’s own against a million brave foes, such a spirit as yours is not to be acquired. If we make your determination our pattern and attack our enemy Moronao, we shall not fail in our object though he shut himself up in a rock or lay hidden in an iron cave. Among men there are no men, they say; but it is wonderful that there should be such a man in a merchant’s home. Unless we revere you as the tutelary deity, the protecting god of our confederates, we cannot sufficiently repay our obligations to you. In a time of tranquillity no wise man appears. Ah, how deplorable, how regrettable! If our late lord were still living, he might have fitly made you, with your great ability, the leader of an army, or entrusted to you the government of a province. To these here sitting before you, Owashi Bungo and Yazama Jutaro, and Odera, Takamatsu, Horio, Itakura, and Katayama, your action is a sovereign specific for opening their closed eyes, it is as a medicine upon which a great physician has exhausted his resources. We are thankful to you, most thankful.