The corpse gave a little, and the man glued his eyes to the
aperture. Barbara held the sword behind her, and with her
shoulder against the door attempted to reclose it.
"Go away!" she cried. "I shall be killed if you awaken Oda
Yorimoto, and, if you enter, you, too, shall be killed."
The man stepped back from the door, and Barbara could
hear him in low converse with some of the women of the
household. A moment later he returned, and without a word
of warning threw his whole weight against the portal. The
corpse slipped back enough to permit the entrance of the
man's body, and as he stumbled into the room the long sword
of the Lord of Yoka fell full and keen across the back of his
brown neck.
Without a sound he lunged to the floor, dead; but the
women without had caught a fleeting glimpse of what had
taken place within the little chamber, even before Barbara
Harding could slam the door again, and with shrieks of
rage and fright they rushed into the main street of the village
shouting at the tops of their voices that Oda Yorimoto and
Hawa Nisho had been slain by the woman of the sei-yo-jin.
Instantly, the village swarmed with samurai, women, children,
and dogs. They rushed toward the hut of Oda Yorimoto, filling
the outer chamber where they jabbered excitedly for
several minutes, the warriors attempting to obtain a coherent
story from the moaning women of the daimio's household.
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