The envoy drew the head from the bag. It was rolled in a piece of red silk, which seemed dyed with blood. The wrapper was removed; then Hieyas took the head in his hands and rested it on his knees. A man standing beside him threw the full light of the lantern upon it.
The head was so pale that it seemed made of marble; the jet-black hair, knotted on top of the skull, shone with bluish lustre; there was a slight frown upon the brow; the eyes were closed; a mocking smile contracted the discolored lips.
"If the Prince were not by my side, I should swear that that head was cut from his shoulders," said the astonished Raiden.
Nagato, painfully moved, seized the sailor's hand in a nervous grasp.
"My poor Sado!" he muttered; "loyal unto death, as you promised!"
Hieyas, his head bent, gazed greedily at the head upon his knees.
"It is he! it is he!" said the Usurper; "he is vanquished at last, he is dead, the man who lavished so many insults upon me, and who always escaped my vengeance! Yes, there you lie, motionless and frightful to look upon, you whom every woman's eye followed with a sigh, whom every man secretly envied and strove to imitate. You are even paler than your wont; and despite the scornful expression which your features still retain, you can no longer scorn any one; your glance will no longer cross mine, like the meeting of hostile swords; you can no longer stand in my path. You were a noble soul, a great mind,—I acknowledge that; unfortunately you did not see how disinterested my projects were, and how useful to the country. You devoted yourself to a lost cause, and I was forced to crush you."
"Indeed!" muttered Raiden.
The messenger then described the Prince's capture and execution.
"His arms were taken from him!" exclaimed Hieyas; "he was not allowed to kill himself?"