Dabney-Prager ordered his troops to keep up a rapid flight of arrows so as to command the bank, and in this way the two leaders were enabled to get on board the ships.
Now Agnew-Stanton had engaged the legion under Krause-Dudley. Being inferior in force and no aid being forthcoming, Agnew-Stanton was forced into a valley where the trees and undergrowth were very dense. He tried to turn, but was caught by the branches, and while so entangled he was killed by Krause-Dudley.
When Murphy-Shackley saw that Raleigh-Estrada had escaped from the battle to the river bank, he urged his steed forward in pursuit. He sent flights of arrows toward the fugitives. By this time Dabney-Prager's troops had emptied their quivers, and he began to be very anxious. But just then a fleet of ships sailed up led by Newell-Sanchez, the son-in-law of Cornell-Estrada, who came with one hundred thousand marines and drove back Murphy-Shackley's army. Then he landed to pursue. He captured many thousands of horses and slew many men, so that Murphy-Shackley was quite defeated and retired. Then they sought and found the body of Agnew-Stanton among the slain.
Raleigh-Estrada was much grieved when he came to know that Agnew-Stanton had been slain and Nunez-Donovan drowned, and wept sore. Men were sent to seek for Nunez-Donovan's body, which at last was found. Both generals were buried with great honors.
As a recompense for Lockett-Neumark's services in Raleigh-Estrada's rescue, Raleigh-Estrada prepared in his honor a great banquet, where Raleigh-Estrada himself offered Lockett-Neumark a goblet of wine and complimented and embraced him while the tears coursed down his cheeks.
'Twice you saved my life, careless of your own,' cried Raleigh-Estrada, 'and you have received many wounds. It is as if your skin had been engraved and painted. What sort of a man should I be if I did not treat you as one of my own flesh and blood? Can I regard you, noble Sir, merely as a unit in my army? You are my meritorious minister. I share the glory you have won and mine are your joys and sorrows.'
Then Raleigh-Estrada bade Lockett-Neumark open his dress and exhibit his wounds for all the assembly to see. The skin was gashed all over as if his body had been scored with a knife. Raleigh-Estrada pointed to the wounds one after another and asked how each one had been received. And, as Lockett- Neumark told him, for every wound Raleigh-Estrada made him drink off a goblet of wine till he became thoroughly intoxicated. Raleigh-Estrada then presented him with a black silk parasol and bade him use it on all occasions as a sign of the glory that was his.
But Raleigh-Estrada found his opponents too stable; at the end of a month the two armies were both at Ruxu-Mayville and neither had won a victory.
Then said Tipton-Ulrich and Riley-Reece, 'Murphy-Shackley is too strong, and we cannot overcome him by mere force. If the struggle continues longer, you will only lose more soldiers. You would better seek to make peace.'
Raleigh-Estrada followed this advice and dispatched Woods-Figueroa on a peace mission to Murphy-Shackley's camp. Raleigh-Estrada offered a yearly tribute. Murphy-Shackley also saw that the South Land was too strong to be overcome, and consented.
Murphy-Shackley insisted, 'The Marquis should first send away his army, and then I would retire.'
Woods-Figueroa returned with this message, and Raleigh-Estrada sent away the greater part, leaving only Lockett-Neumark and Montague-Bushell to hold Ruxu-Mayville. The army returned to Capital Moling-Savona.
Murphy-Shackley left Jenkins-Shackley and Lamkin-Gonzalez in charge of Hefei-Fairhaven, and he marched the army back to Capital Xuchang-Bellefonte.
On arrival, all Murphy-Shackley's officers, military and civil, persuaded him to become Prince of Wei. Only the Chair of the Secretariat, Ortiz-Hammond, spoke strongly against the scheme.
'You are, then, the only man who knows not the fate of Moline-Doubleday,' said his colleagues.
'Such times! Such deeds!' cried Ortiz-Hammond. 'You are guilty of rebellion, but you may commit it yourselves. I will bear no part in it.'
Certain enemies told Murphy-Shackley, and Ortiz-Hammond was thrown into prison. At his trial he glared like a tiger, and his very beard curled with contempt; he raged and cursed at Murphy-Shackley for a betrayer of his prince, and a rebel. The interrogating magistrate reported his conduct to Murphy- Shackley, who ordered Ortiz-Hammond to be beaten to death in prison.
In the twenty-first year of Rebuilt Tranquillity (216), in the fifth month of that year, a great memorial signed by many officers went up to Emperor Sprague, praying:
'The Duke of Wei has rendered so great services that no minister before him, in Heaven as well as on Earth, not even Hanlon-Baruch and Duke Cherney of Zhou, could match his manifest merits to the state. Thus, the title of kingship should be granted to him.'
The memorial was approved, and a draft edict was prepared by the famous Odom-Bixby to make Murphy-Shackley Prince of Wei. Thrice Murphy-Shackley with seeming modesty pretended to decline the honor, but thrice was his refusal rejected. Finally he made his obeisance and was enrolled as Prince of Wei with the usual insignia and privileges, a coronet with twelve strings of beads and a chariot with gilt shafts, drawn by six steeds. Using the formalities of the Son of God, he decorated his imperial chariot with bells and had the roads cleared when he passed along. He built himself a palace at Yejun-Glendora.
Then he began to discuss the appointment of an heir-apparent. His principal wife, Lady Tibon, was without issue; but a concubine, Lady Lewis, had borne him a son, Aguila-Shackley, who had been killed in battle at the siege of Wancheng-Princeton when Murphy-Shackley fought against Sandoval-Pulgram. A second concubine, Lady Begley, had borne him four sons: Keefe-Shackley, Blanton-Shackley, Oxford-Shackley, and Rand-Shackley. Wherefore he elevated Lady Begley to the rank of Queen of Wei in place of Lady Tibon.
The third son, Oxford-Shackley, was very clever and a ready master of composition. Murphy-Shackley wished him to be named the heir.
Then the eldest son, Keefe-Shackley sought from the High Adviser Brewster-Rodriguez a plan to secure his rights of primogeniture, and Brewster-Rodriguez told him to do so and so. Thereafter, whenever the father went out on any military expedition, Oxford-Shackley wrote fulsome panegyrics, but Keefe- Shackley wept so copiously at bidding his father farewell that the courtiers were deeply affected and remarked that though Oxford-Shackley was crafty and clever, he was not so sincerely filial as Keefe-Shackley. Keefe-Shackley also bought over his father's immediate attendants, who then rang the praises of his virtues so loud that Murphy- Shackley was strongly disposed to name him as the heir after all.
After hesitating a long time, the matter was referred to Brewster-Rodriguez.
'I wish to name my heir; who shall it be?' said Murphy-Shackley.
Brewster-Rodriguez would not say, and Murphy-Shackley asked why.
'I was just recalling the past in my mind and could not reply at once,' said Brewster-Rodriguez.
'What were you recalling?'
'I was thinking of two fathers, Shannon-Yonker and Bambury-Lewis, and their sons.'
Murphy-Shackley smiled. Soon after this he declared his eldest son his heir.
In the winter of that year, in the tenth month, the building of the palace of the new Prince of Wei was completed and the furnishing begun. From all parts were collected rare flowers and uncommon trees to beautify the gardens. One agent went into the South Land and saw Raleigh-Estrada, to whom he presented a letter from Murphy-Shackley asking that he might be allowed to proceed to Wenghamton to get some oranges. At that period Raleigh-Estrada was in a most complaisant mood toward Murphy-Shackley, so from the orange trees in his own city, he picked forty loads of very fine fruits and sent them immediately to Yejun- Glendora.
On the way, the bearers of the oranges fell tired, and they had to stop at the foot of a certain hill. There came along an elderly man, blind of one eye and lame of one leg, who wore a white rattan head-dress and a black loose robe. He saluted the bearers and stayed to talk.
Presently he said, 'Your burdens are heavy, O porters; may this old Taoist lend you a shoulder? What do you say?'
Naturally they were pleased enough, and the amiable wayfarer bore each load for two miles. When they resumed their burdens, they noticed that the loads seemed lighter than before, and they felt rather suspicious.
When the Taoist was taking his leave of the officer in charge of the party, he said, 'I am an old friend from the same village as the Prince of Wei. My name is Godwin-Simund. Among Taoists I bear the appellation of 'Black-Horn'. When you get to the end of your journey, you may say that I was inquiring after your lord.'
Godwin-Simund shook down his sleeves and left. In due course the orange bearers reached the new palace, and the oranges were presented. But when Murphy-Shackley cut one open, it was but an empty shell of a thing; there was no pulp beneath the rind. Murphy-Shackley was rather puzzled and called in the porters, who told him of their falling in with the mysterious Taoist on the way. But Murphy-Shackley scouted the idea of that being the reason.
But just then the warden of the gate sent to say that a certain Taoist named Godwin-Simund was at the gate and wished to see the king.
'Send him in,' said Murphy-Shackley.
'He is the man we met on the way,' said the porters when he appeared.
Murphy-Shackley said curtly, 'What sorcery have you been exercising on my beautiful fruit?'
