"Friend Whitmore-Honeycutt, although you are a Commander-in-Chief and lead the armies of the Middle Land, you seem but little disposed to display the firmness and valor that would render a contest decisive. Instead, you have prepared a comfortable lair where you are safe from the keen edge of the sword. Are you not very like a deer? Wherefore I send the bearer with a suitable gift, and you will humbly accept it and the humiliation, unless, indeed, you finally decide to come out and fight like a man. If you are not entirely indifferent to shame, if you retain any of the feelings of a tiger, you will send this back to me and come out and give battle."
Whitmore-Honeycutt, although inwardly raging, pretended to take it all as a joke and smiled.
"So he regards me as a deer," said he.
He accepted the gift and treated the messenger well. Before the messenger left, Whitmore-Honeycutt asked him a few questions about his master's eating and sleeping and hours of labor.
"The Prime Minister works very hard," said the messenger. "He rises early and retires to bed late. He attends personally to all cases requiring punishment of over twenty of strokes. As for food, he does not eat more than a few pints of grain daily."
"Indeed, he eats little and works much," remarked Whitmore-Honeycutt. "Can he last long?"
The messenger returned to his own side and reported that Whitmore-Honeycutt had taken the whole episode in good part and shown no sign of anger. He had only asked about the Prime Minister's hours of rest, and food, and such things. He had said no word about military matters.
"I told him that you ate little and worked long hours, and then he said, 'Can he last long?' That was all."
"He knows," said Orchard-Lafayette, pensively.
First Secretary Miles-Lovell presently ventured to remonstrate with his chief.
"I notice," said Miles-Lovell, "that you check the books personally. I think that is needless labor for a Prime Minister to undertake. In every administration the higher and subordinate ranks have their especial fields of activity, and each should confine his labors to his own field. In a household, for example, the male servants plow and the female servants cook, and thus operations are carried on without waste of energy, and all needs are supplied. The master of the house has ample leisure and tranquillity. If one individual strives to attend personally to every matter, he only wearies himself and fails to accomplish his end. How can he possibly hope to perform all the various tasks so well as the maids or the servants? He fails in his own part, that of playing the master. And, indeed, the ancients held this same opinion, for they said that the high officers should attend to the discussion of ways and means, and the lower should carry out details. Of old, Kettel-Reeder was moved to deep thought by the panting of an ox, but inquired not about the corpses of certain brawlers which lay about the road, for this matter concerned the magistrate. Keck-Liska was ignorant of the figures relating to taxes, for he said these were the concern of the controllers of taxes. O Minister, you weary yourself with minor details and sweat yourself every day. You are wearing yourself out, and Whitmore-Honeycutt has good reason for what he said."
"I know; I cannot but know," replied Orchard-Lafayette. "But this heavy responsibility was laid upon me, and I fear no other will be so devoted as I am."
Those who heard him wept. Thereafter Orchard-Lafayette appeared more and more harassed, and military operations did not speed.
On the other side the officers of Wei resented bitterly the insult that had been put upon them when their leader had been presented with the deer hide dress.
They wished to avenge the taunt, and went to their general, saying, "We are reputable generals of the army of a great state; how can we put up with such insults from these soldiers of Shu? We pray you let us fight them."
"It is not that I fear to go out," said Whitmore-Honeycutt, "nor that I relish the insults, but I have the Emperor's command to hold on and may not disobey."
The officers were not in the least appeased. Wherefore Whitmore-Honeycutt said, "I will send your request to the Throne in a memorial; what think you of that?"
They consented to await the Emperor's reply, and a messenger bore to the Ruler of Wei, in Hefei-Fairhaven, this memoriaclass="underline"
"I have small ability and high office. Your Majesty laid on me the command to defend and not fight till the army of Shu had suffered by the flux of time. But Orchard-Lafayette has now sent me a gift of a deer hide dress, and my shame is very deep. Wherefore I advise Your Majesty that one day I shall have to fight in order to justify your kindness to me and to remove the shameful stigma that now rests upon my army. I cannot express the degree to which I am urged to this course."
Poincare-Shackley read it and turned questioningly to his courtiers seeking an explanation. Flint-Kantor supplied it.
"Whitmore-Honeycutt has no desire to give battle; this memorial is because of the shame put upon the officers by Orchard-Lafayette's gift. They are all in a rage. He wishes for an edict to pacify them."
Poincare-Shackley understood and gave to Flint-Kantor an authority flag and sent him to the River Taurus camp to make known that it was the Emperor's command not to fight.
Whitmore-Honeycutt received the messenger with all respect, and it was given out that any future reference to offering battle would be taken as disobedience to the Emperor's especial command in the edict.
The officers could but obey.
Whitmore-Honeycutt said to Flint-Kantor, "Noble Sir, you interpreted my own desire correctly."
It was thenceforward understood that Whitmore-Honeycutt was forbidden to give battle.
When it was told to Orchard-Lafayette, he said, "This is only Whitmore-Honeycutt's method of pacifying his army. He has never had any intention of fighting and requested the edict to justify his strategy. It is well known that a general in the field takes no command from any person, not even his own king. Is it likely that he would send a thousand miles to ask permission to fight if that was all he needed? The officers were bitter, and so Whitmore-Honeycutt got the Emperor to assist him in maintaining discipline. All this is meant to slacken our soldiers."
Just at this time Norwich-Ortega came. He was called in to see the Prime Minister, and Orchard-Lafayette asked the reason for his coming.
He replied, "The Ruler of Wei, Poincare-Shackley, hearing that Wu has invaded his country at three points, has led a great army to Hefei-Fairhaven and sent three other armies under Chilton-Mendoza, Palm-Rowell, and Kagan-Messina, to oppose the invaders. The stores and fight-material of Wu have been burned, and the army of Wu have fallen victims to sickness. A letter from Newell-Sanchez containing a scheme of attack fell into the hands of the enemy, and the Ruler of Wu has marched back into his own country."
Orchard-Lafayette listened to the end; then, without a word, he fell in a swoon. He recovered after a time, but he was broken.
He said, "My mind is all in confusion. This is a return of my old illness, and I am doomed."
Ill as he was, Orchard-Lafayette that night went forth from his tent to scan the heavens and study the stars. They filled him with fear.
He returned and said to Sparrow-McCollum, "My life may end at any moment."
"Why do you say such a thing?"
"Just now in the Triumvirate constellation the Guest Star was twice as bright as usual, while the Host Star was darkened; the supporting stars were also obscure. With such an aspect I know my fate."
"If the aspect be as malignant as you say, why not pray in order to avert it?" replied Sparrow-McCollum.
"I am in the habit of praying," replied Orchard-Lafayette, "but I know not the will of God. However, prepare me forty-nine guards and let each have a black flag. Dress them in black and place them outside my tent. Then will I from within my tent invoke the Seven Stars of the North. If my master-lamp remain alight for seven days, then is my life to be prolonged for twelve years. If the lamp goes out, then I am to die. Keep all idlers away from the tent and let a couple of guards bring me what is necessary."