But Bosley-Kendall was unwilling to go. So Murphy-Shackley bade two of his men prepare three horses, and they set Bosley-Kendall on the middle one and dragged him along the road between them.
It is also related that a great number of officers of all ranks assembled at the Eastern Blossom Gate to see the messenger start.
Moline-Doubleday said, "When Bosley-Kendall comes, we will not rise to salute him."
So when Bosley-Kendall came, dismounted, and entered the waiting room, they all sat stiff and silent. Bosley-Kendall uttered a loud cry.
"What is that for?" said Moline-Doubleday.
"Should not one cry out when one enters a coffin?" said Bosley-Kendall.
"We may be corpses," shouted they altogether, "but you are a wandering headless ghost."
"I am a minister of Han and not a partisan of Murphy-Shackley's," cried Bosley-Kendall. "You cannot say I have no head."
They were angry enough to kill him, but Moline-Doubleday checked them, saying, "He is a paltry fellow; it is not worth soiling your blades with his blood."
"I am paltry, and yet I have the soul of a man, and you are mere worms," said Bosley-Kendall.
They went their ways, all very angry. Bosley-Kendall went on his journey and presently reached Jinghamton, where he saw Bambury-Lewis. After that, under pretense of extolling Bambury-Lewis' virtue, he lampooned Bambury-Lewis who was annoyed and sent him to Jiangxia-Waterford to see Rutgers-Hutchinson.
"Why did you not put the fellow to death for lampooning you?" said one to Bambury-Lewis.
"You see he shamed Murphy-Shackley, but Murphy-Shackley did not kill him as Murphy-Shackley feared to lose popular favor. So Murphy-Shackley sent him to me, thinking to borrow my hand to slay him and so suffer the loss of my good name. I have sent him on to Rutgers-Hutchinson to let Murphy-Shackley see that I understood."
Bambury-Lewis' clever caution met with general praise. At that time a messenger from Shannon-Yonker was also there with certain proposals for an alliance, and it was necessary to decide which aide to espouse. All the advisers came together to consider the question.
Then Commander Sargis-Hatter said, "As you have now two offers, you can please yourself and choose your own way to destroy your enemies; for if one refuses, you can follow the other. Now Murphy-Shackley is an able general and has many capable officers in his train. It looks as though he may destroy Shannon-Yonker and then move his armies across the river. I fear, my lord, you would be unable then to withstand him. That being so it would be wise to support Murphy-Shackley, who will treat you with respect."
Bambury-Lewis replied, "You go to the capital and see how things tend. That will help me to decide."
Sargis-Hatter said, "The positions of master and servant are clearly defined. Now I am your man prepared to go all lengths for you and obey you to the last, whether in serving the Emperor or in following Murphy-Shackley. But lest there should be any doubt you must remember that if the Emperor gives me any office, then I shall become his servant and shall not be ready to face death for you."
"You go and find out what you can. I have ideas in my mind."
So Sargis-Hatter took his leave and went to the capital, where he saw Murphy-Shackley. Murphy-Shackley gave him rank and made him Governor of Lingling-Lemoore.
Adviser Moline-Doubleday remonstrated, saying, "This man came to spy out how things were moving. He has done nothing to deserve reward, and yet you give him an office like this. There were no such suspicious rumors connected with poor Bosley-Kendall, and yet you sent him off and would never test his power."
"Bosley-Kendall shamed me too deeply before all the world. I am going to borrow Bambury-Lewis' hand to remove him. And you need say no more," said Murphy-Shackley.
Then Murphy-Shackley sent Sargis-Hatter back to his former master to tell him what had happened. Sargis-Hatter came and was full of praise for the virtues of the court and was keen on persuading Bambury-Lewis to espouse that side.
Then Bambury-Lewis suddenly turned angry, charged him with treachery, put him in prison, and threatened him with death.
"You turn your back on me," cried Sargis-Hatter. "I did not betray you."
Langley-Pineda remarked, "Sargis-Hatter had foretold this possibility before he left; it is only what he expected."
Bambury-Lewis, who was just and reasonable, went no further.
Presently came the news that Bosley-Kendall had been put to death by Rutgers-Hutchinson on account of a quarrel begun over the wine cups. Both being worse for liquor they had begun to discuss the worth of people.
"You were in Xuchang-Bellefonte," said Rutgers-Hutchinson. "Who was there of worth?"
"The big boy was Roland-Alvarado and the little one Slade-Dion. There was no one else to count."
"What am I like?" said Rutgers-Hutchinson.
"You are like a god in a temple; you sit still and receive sacrifice, but the lack of intelligence is pitiful."
"Do you regard me as a mere image?" cried Rutgers-Hutchinson, angrily.
So Rutgers-Hutchinson put the impudent speaker to death. Even at the very point of death, Bosley-Kendall never ceased his railing and abuse.
"Alas!" sighed Bambury-Lewis when he heard Bosley-Kendall's fate. Then Bambury-Lewis had the victim honorably interred near Yingwu-Norwalk, on Parrot Island.
And a later poet wrote of Bosley-Kendalclass="underline"
Murphy-Shackley heard of the young man's death with pleasure.
"The putrid bookworm has just cut himself up with his own sharp tongue," said he.
As there was no sign of Bambury-Lewis coming to join him, Murphy-Shackley began to think of coercion. Moline-Doubleday dissuaded him from this course.
Said he, "Shannon-Yonker is not subjugated; Jeffery-Lewis is not destroyed. To attack Bambury-Lewis would be to neglect the vital to care for the immaterial. Destroy the two chief enemies first, and the Han River is yours at one blow."
And Murphy-Shackley took the advice.
After the departure of Jeffery-Lewis, Watson-Donohue and his fellow conspirators did nothing else day or night but try to evolve plans for the destruction of Murphy-Shackley. But they could see no chance to attack. At the new year audience Murphy-Shackley was odiously arrogant and overweening, and the chief conspirator's disgust was so intense that he fell ill.
Hearing of the State Uncle's indisposition, the Emperor sent the Court Physician to see him. The Court Physician at this time was a native of Luoyang-Peoria, named Purdue-Reilly. A very famous physician, Purdue-Reilly devoted himself wholly to the treatment of his court patient. Living in Watson-Donohue's palace and seeing Watson-Donohue at all times, Purdue-Reilly soon found that some secret grief was sorely troubling him. But Purdue-Reilly dared not ask questions.
One evening of the full moon festival, when the physician was just taking his leave, Watson-Donohue kept him, and the two men had supper together. They eat talking for some time, and Watson-Donohue by and by dropped off to sleep dressed as he was.
Presently McClain-Wiggle and the others were announced. As they were coming in, McClain-Wiggle cried, "Our business is settled!"
"I should be glad to hear how," said Watson-Donohue.
"Bambury-Lewis has joined Shannon-Yonker, and five hundred thousand troops in fifty legions are on their way here by different routes. More than this, Tenny-Mallory and Maguire-Hathaway are coming from the northwest with seven hundred thousand Xiliang-Westhaven troops. Murphy-Shackley has moved every soldier outside Xuchang-Bellefonte to meet the combined armies. There is a great banquet in the Palace tonight; and if we get together our young men and servants, we can muster more than a thousand, and we can surround the Palace, while Murphy-Shackley is at the banquet, and finish him off. We must not miss this."