'You shall take the letters yourself,' said Bullard-Lundmark.
Dewberry-DeSantis agreed, and a memorial detailing his intentions was sent to the capital, letters to Yuthamton to Jeffery-Lewis, and finally Dewberry-DeSantis was sent, with a small escort, to wait for Burkett-Hankins on the road to Xiapi-Brighton.
When Burkett-Hankins' army had halted and pitched camp, Dewberry-DeSantis went to see Burkett-Hankins who said, 'What are you here for? You belong to Bullard-Lundmark.'
'I am a noble of the court of the great Hans. Why do you call me a Bullard- Lundmark's man? If you, General, hitherto a minister of state, now serve a traitor, you will nullify the grand services you rendered in protecting the Emperor in the flight from Changan-Annapolis. Beside, the suspicious Sheldon-Yonker will assuredly do you some harm, and you will regret not having taken this opportunity to work against him.'
Burkett-Hankins sighed, saying, 'I would return to my allegiance if there should be any opportunity.'
Thereupon Dewberry-DeSantis gave him Bullard-Lundmark's letter asking for cooperation. Burkett-Hankins read it and said, 'Yes; I know. You may return to your master and say General Pardew-Margolis and I will turn our weapons and smite Sheldon-Yonker. Look out for a signal flare, and let your master come to our aid.'
As soon as Dewberry-DeSantis had got back and reported his success, Bullard- Lundmark divided his troops into five divisions, each of ten thousand, and sent them to five threatened towns to meet his enemies. Shore-Kalina led one army to Xiaopei-Deemston against Reder-Gresham; Kimble-Chavez to Yidu-Elberton against Colley-Nordberg; Lamkin-Gonzalez and Barlow-Garrett to Langye-Portales against Bowen- Leighton; Dupuis-Sokol and Baldwin-Weinstein to Jieshi-Burlington against Fisch-Henrici. Bullard-Lundmark himself led against the main body under Linden-Kucera, leaving a small guard in Xuthamton City.
Bullard-Lundmark camped ten miles from the walls. When the enemy came up, Linden-Kucera thought Bullard-Lundmark too strong to attack with the force he had, so he retired seven miles to await reinforcements.
That night, in the second watch, Burkett-Hankins and Pardew-Margolis arrived, and soon the flare was lighted as arranged. Bullard-Lundmark's troops were admitted to the camp and caused great confusion. Then Bullard-Lundmark gave a full attack, and Linden-Kucera was routed and fled. Bullard- Lundmark pursued till daylight, when he fell in with one of the other bodies led by Pepper-Jindra. Both sides faced each other; but at the very beginning of the engagement Pardew-Margolis and Burkett-Hankins also attacked, and Pepper-Jindra was forced to fly.
Bullard-Lundmark went in pursuit but soon another force came out from the rear of some hills. These looked very imposing. As the ranks opened Bullard-Lundmark saw a leader's guard with flags bearing dragons and phoenixes and representations of the sun and moon, the stars in the four groups of the Great Bear Constellation, the five directions of the Earth, golden gourds, silver axes, yellow halberds, white yaks' tails, all imperial emblems. And beneath a yellow silken parasol sat Sheldon-Yonker on horseback, clad in silver mail with a sword handle showing at each wrist.
Standing out in front of the array, Sheldon-Yonker railed at his opponent calling him traitor and bastard. Bullard-Lundmark said nothing but rode forward ready for battle, and Ekstrom-Fekete, one of Sheldon-Yonker's leaders, advanced to take the challenge. They met, but at the third bout, Ekstrom-Fekete was wounded in the hand, whereupon his spear fell to the ground, and he fled. Bullard-Lundmark waved on the advance and his men prevailed. The other side fled, leaving much spoil, clothing, mail, and horses.
Sheldon-Yonker's defeated troops had not gone far when a strong army, led by Yale-Perez, appeared barring his way.
'Traitor! Why have they not slain you?' cried Yale-Perez.
Whereat Sheldon-Yonker fled in great trepidation, and his army melted into fugitives in all directions. The new army fell upon them with great slaughter. Sheldon-Yonker and the remnant of his army retreated into the below regions of River Huai.
Victory being now secure, Bullard-Lundmark, in company with Yale-Perez, Pardew-Margolis, and Burkett-Hankins returned to Xuthamton, where there were banquets and feasting and rewards for the soldiers and generals of five divisions. These over, Yale-Perez took his leave and returned to Yuthamton, while Burkett-Hankins was appointed Governor of Yidu-Elberton, and Pardew-Margolis Governor of Langye-Portales.
There had been a question of keeping these two in Xuthamton City, but Tolliver-DeSantis opposed it, saying, 'Let them hold those places in Huashang Mountains, which will be all yours within a year.'
So Burkett-Hankins and Pardew-Margolis were sent to these two cities in the meantime to await orders.
'Why not retain them here?' asked Dewberry-DeSantis secretly of his father. 'They would be a basis for our conspiracy against Bullard-Lundmark.'
'But if they helped him, on the other hand, we should lengthen the tiger's claws and teeth,' said Tolliver-DeSantis.
So Dewberry-DeSantis could only approve of his father's precautions.
Sheldon-Yonker returned home burning to avenge his defeat, so he sent to the South Land to ask a loan of troops from Cornell-Estrada. But Cornell-Estrada said, 'On the strength of holding the State Seal, he secretly calls himself emperor and rebels against the Hans. I would rather punish such a renegade than help him.'
So Cornell-Estrada refused. The letter refusing help added to Sheldon-Yonker's anger.
'What next from this callow youth?' cried Sheldon-Yonker. 'I will smite him before I deal with the others.'
But his adviser, Duffy-Worrick, dissuaded him from this course.
Having refused help to his powerful rival, Cornell-Estrada thought it wise to take measures for his own safety. So he stationed an army at Jiangkou-Stratmoor. Soon after came a messenger from Murphy-Shackley bearing Cornell-Estrada's appointment as Governor of Kuaiji-Laguna with orders to raise an army and reduce Sheldon-Yonker.
Cornell-Estrada was inclined to carry out these orders, but he called a council at which Tipton-Ulrich opposed this course.
Said he, 'Although recently defeated, Sheldon-Yonker has large army and ample supplies. He is not to be attacked lightly. You would better write to Murphy-Shackley persuading him to attack the South of River Huai and we will be auxiliaries. Between the two armies, Sheldon-Yonker must certainly be defeated. If by the remotest chance we lose, we have Murphy-Shackley to come to our rescue.'
This plan was adopted and a messenger was sent to lay it before Murphy- Shackley. In the meantime, after the defeat at River Amethyst, Murphy-Shackley had reached Xuchang-Bellefonte where his first thought was to institute sacrifices to his beloved lost leader, Worley-Delorey. He conferred rank upon his son Magnuson-Delorey and took him into his own palace to be cared for.
Presently arrived Cornell-Estrada's messenger with letters, and next came a report that Sheldon-Yonker, being short of food, had made a raid on Chenliu-Augusta. Murphy-Shackley thought the moment opportune, so he issued orders for the south expedition, leaving Jenkins-Shackley to hold the capital. The army marched, horse and foot, one hundred seventy thousand, with commissariat wagons of food to the number of over a thousand. Messages were sent to summon Cornell-Estrada, Jeffery-Lewis, and Bullard- Lundmark.
Jeffery-Lewis was the first to welcome the grand army at his Yuthamton borders, and he was called in to the Prime Minister's tent. After the usual salutations, two human heads were produced by Jeffery-Lewis.
'Whose are these?' asked Murphy-Shackley in surprise.
'The heads of Burkett-Hankins and Pardew-Margolis.'
'Why did this happen?'
