“Loose the cord,” commanded Keiki, and he cast an exultant look at me. “We shall now learn the truth.”
For a few moments the tortured girl’s bosom rose and fell in gasping sobs. At last she summoned strength enough to lift her head and speak. But it was not Keiki whom she addressed. Her voice rang out in the ecstasy of self-sacrifice: “My Lord Yoritomo! can it be they think I will lie to harm thy friend?—To thee, my august lord, the last word of thy humble servant!”
She paused. Blood gushed from between her lips. Her head sank forward. One of the etas wrenched open her mouth, and cried out that she had bitten off her tongue. Love had triumphed over hate. The most frightful torture could not now compel the geisha to denounce the friend of her dead lord.
For a moment I thought that Keiki would hurl himself upon the heroic girl. A low murmur came from behind the bamboo curtains. Keiki signed to the etas. “Return the traitress to the cage until the time appointed for her crucifixion.”
“Demon!” I cried. “Beast! Aino!”
A guard struck me a violent blow across the mouth.
“Fling the toad back into his slime hole!” commanded Keiki.
“The nobles of Nippon are civilized!” I gibed at him between my bleeding lips.
The shot struck, though not where I had aimed.
“Stay!” commanded a stern voice from behind the curtains. “The barbarian beast shall have no justification for his revilement of Mito. Let the sentence and warrant be shown him, and let him be caged as a condemned daimio.”