A Muramasa Blade by Louis Wertheimber — Read

"Now for Taka Suke! " cried a younger member of the party, excitedly. But he said no more, and hung his head abashed; for a stern glance from his older companions showed him plainly that many words and loud talk were not only not needed, but even out of place at this moment. In glancing round the room, Sennoske saw the servant who had attended him, and who, fascinated by what he had seen and heard, had remained unnoticed in a corner. He was summoned, and told to put Yamagawa's head on one of the platters lying on the floor, and to precede the young soldier to his enemy's room. The poor fellow hardly appreciated the active part assigned to him in this drama. "I am not used to carrying cut-off heads," he stammered; "I shall be certain to commit some breach of etiquette: so please excuse me. " As he spoke, with his head on the floor, raising it at every few words to look around in a half-frightened, half-foolish sort of way, and bringing it down again with a hard thump in the unconscious excess of his apologetic speech, his appearance under other circumstances would certainly have been sufficiently ludicrous. A reiterated command caused him to slide upon his knees to where the ghastly head lay on the floor; but as he brought his hands near it, his courage failed him, and he made a precipitate rush for the door. He was not allowed to leave, however, and a sharp blow with a scabbard across his shoulders by one of the party, an old soldier who had little sympathy for such scruples or squeamishness, caused the physical pain partly to overcome his nervous sensitiveness. Sennoske, with his usual consideration for the feelings of others, seeing the state of mind the man was in, himself gently placed the head on one of the platters; and the servant, with averted face, then took heart to raise it up and to proceed to the room of Taka Suke.

The others present followed, but remained slightly in the rear, having received strict orders from the young soldier not to interfere or take any active part unless he called upon them. Sennoske felt a wild, fierce delight at the thought of the struggle before him. Physical action is always a relief for any great nervous strain, and there are none but the veriest cravens who will not gladly accept it as a welcome change, even when accompanied by personal risk and danger. It is natural for health and strength to look for such an outlet, and in the time in which Sennoske lived, education and conventional usage did not repress the play of natural energies. With his physical powers developed almost to perfection, the young soldier actually hungered for an opportunity where his harassed feelings might find vent in valorous deeds. The very thought of a desperate hand-to-hand struggle did much to restore his coolness and self-possession, which had been considerably disturbed by the tragic scene through which he had passed, and by the revelations which his old attendant had made to him.