Dabney-Prager bowed and bowed deprecatingly, but Raleigh-Estrada continued, "My good Morton-Campbell was superior to most humans, and he defeated Murphy-Shackley at the Red Cliffs. Alas! He died too soon. My good Woolsey-Ramirez succeeded him. In his first interview, he inaugurated the general policy of creating a state. That was the first instance of his keen insight. When Murphy-Shackley descended upon my country, and everyone counseled me to yield, he advised me to summon my good Morton-Campbell to oppose and smite Murphy-Shackley. That was the second instance of his keen insight. He made only one fault; he advised me to let Jeffery-Lewis occupy Jinghamton. Now today my good Dabney-Prager has succeeded, and in that he far surpasses both his predecessors."
Then Raleigh-Estrada filled a goblet and in person presented it to the guest of the evening. Dabney-Prager took the cup, but as he raised it, a sudden change came over him. Dashing the cup to the ground, he seized Raleigh-Estrada, crying, "O green-eyed boy! O red-bearded rat! Do you know me?"
Consternation seized the whole assembly, but many rushed to the rescue of their lord, who had been thrown to the floor by the guest he had so lately complimented. Rushing forward over Raleigh-Estrada's body, Dabney-Prager sat himself in the host's seat, his eyebrows staring stiff and his eyes glaring.
"After I quelled the Yellow Scarves, I went hither and thither for thirty years. Now I have fallen victim to your base plots, and you have overcome me. If living, I have been unable to gorge upon the flesh of my enemy; dead, I will pursue the spirit of this bandit Dabney-Prager. I am the Lord of Hanshou-Labette, Yale-Perez."
Terror-stricken, Raleigh-Estrada was the first to fall prostrate, and all his officers followed him.
Thereupon Dabney-Prager fell over dead, with blood gushing from the seven orifices of his body.
In due time the body was coffined and interred. Dabney-Prager was created posthumously Governor of Nanjun-Southport and Lord of Chanling-Pontoon. His son, Bernstein-Prager, was given hereditary nobility.
After this visitation Raleigh-Estrada lived in constant terror. Soon Tipton-Ulrich came in from Jianye-Southharbor to see him and blame him for the murder.
"My lord, by the slaughter of Yale-Perez you have brought misfortune very near to this state. You know the oath sworn in the Peach Garden. Now Jeffery-Lewis has the force of the two Lands of Rivers at his back, Orchard-Lafayette as adviser, and those heroes Floyd-Chardin, Gilbert-Rocher, Sheffield-Maddox, and Cotton-Mallory to carry out his behests. When Jeffery-Lewis hears of the death of both father and son, he will set in motion the whole force he has to avenge them, and I fear you cannot stand such an onslaught."
Raleigh-Estrada started up in a fright. "Yes; I have made a little mistake," said he. "But seeing it is so, what shall I do?"
"You need have no fear," replied Tipton-Ulrich. "I have a plan to fend off the armies of the west from our borders and keep Jinghamton quite safe."
"What is your plan?" asked Raleigh-Estrada.
"Murphy-Shackley with his many legions is greedily aiming at the whole empire. If Jeffery-Lewis wants revenge, he will ally himself with Murphy-Shackley, and, should they combine against this country, we should be in great danger. Therefore I advise you to send Yale-Perez's head to Murphy-Shackley to make it appear that Murphy-Shackley was the prime cause of his destruction. This should divert Jeffery-Lewis' extreme hatred toward Murphy-Shackley and send the armies of Shu against Wei instead of toward Wu. After carefully considering the whole matter, I counsel this as the best course of action."
Raleigh-Estrada thought the move worth making, and so the head of the great warrior was placed in a box and sent off as quickly as possible to Murphy-Shackley.
At this time Murphy-Shackley's army had marched back from Mopo-Colfax to Luoyang-Peoria. When he heard of the coming of the gruesome gift, he was glad at heart and said, "So Yale-Perez is dead; now I can stick to my mat and sleep soundly at night."
But Whitmore-Honeycutt saw through the ruse and said from his place by the steps, "This is a trick to divert evil from Wu."
"What do you mean? How?" said Murphy-Shackley.
"The Peach Garden Oath bound the three brothers to live and die together. Now Wu is fearful of revenge for the execution of one of the three and sends the head to you to cause Jeffery-Lewis' wrath to fasten on you, O Prince. Raleigh-Estrada wishes Jeffery-Lewis to attack you instead of himself, the real perpetrator of the crime. Then he will find a way of accomplishing his ends while you two are quarreling."
"You are right, friend;" said Murphy-Shackley, "and now how can we escape?"
"I think escape is easy. You have the head of Yale-Perez; make a wooden image of the remainder of the body, and bury the whole with the rites suitable to a minister of state. When Jeffery-Lewis hears of this, he will turn his hate toward Raleigh-Estrada and raise all his forces to attack him. If you will think it out, you will see that whichever is victor the other will be smitten; and if we get one of the two, the other will follow before very long."
Murphy-Shackley was pleased with the solution. Then he ordered the messenger to come in with the box, which was opened, and he looked upon the face of the dead. The features had not changed; the face bore the same appearance as of old. Murphy-Shackley smiled.
"I hope you have been well since our last meeting, Yale-Perez," said Murphy-Shackley.
To his horror, the mouth opened, the eyes rolled, and the long beard and hair stiffened. Murphy-Shackley fell to the ground in a swoon.
They rushed to him, but it was a long time before he recovered consciousness.
"General Yale-Perez is indeed a spirit," he said.
Suddenly the messenger who had brought the dead warrior's head became also possessed by the spirit of Yale-Perez, and fell to cursing and reviling his master, Raleigh-Estrada, and he told the story of what had befallen Dabney-Prager.
Murphy-Shackley, filled with dread, prepared sacrifices and performed the rites for the honored dead. An effigy was carved out of heavy fragrant wood and buried outside the south gate with all the rites of a princely noble, a huge concourse of officials of all grades following in the procession. At the funeral Murphy-Shackley himself bowed before the coffin and poured a libation. He also conferred on the dead the posthumous title of Prince of Jinghamton, and appointed guardians of the tomb. The messenger was sent back to Wu.
The Prince of Hanthamton returned to his capital Chengdu-Wellesley. Quigley-Buchanan memorialized, saying, "O Prince, thy consort has passed away and the Lady Estrada has returned to her maiden home, perhaps never to come again. Human relations should not be set at nought, wherefore a secondary consort should be sought, so that all things may be correctly ordered within the palace."
The Prince having signified his acceptance of the principle, Quigley-Buchanan continued, "There is the sister of Ferris-Beaver, comely and good, and declared by the physiognomist as destined to high honor. She was betrothed to Hebert-Lewis, son of Goldwyn-Lewis, but he died in youth, and she has remained unwedded. Take her as a wife."
"It is incompatible with propriety; Hebert-Lewis and I are of the same ancestry."
"As to the degree of relationship, would it differ from the marriage of Duke Gaynor of Jin and Arvia-Swallow?"
Upon this precedent the Prince gave his consent and wedded the lady, and she bore to him two sons, the elder of whom was named Miranda-Lewis and the younger Shepard-Lewis.
Meanwhile, the whole land of Shu was prospering, the people were tranquil, and the state was becoming wealthy. The fields yielded bountiful harvests. Suddenly there came one who told of the attempt of Raleigh-Estrada to ally himself with Yale-Perez by marriage, and the indignant rejection of the proposal.