so he stood up bravely, when one of the officers, coming up from the roof of a neighbouring house, attacked him with a spear; and at the same time several other soldiers clambered up.  Chobei, seeing that he was overmatched, jumped down, and before the soldiers below had recovered from their surprise he had dashed through their ranks, laying about him right and left, and cutting down three men.  At top speed he fled, with his pursuers close behind him; and, seeing the broad river ahead of him, jumped into a small boat that lay moored there, of which the boatmen, frightened at the sight of his bloody sword, left him in undisputed possession.  Chobei pushed off, and sculled vigorously into the middle of the river; and the officers—­there being no other boat near—­were for a moment baffled.  One of them, however, rushing down the river bank, hid himself on a bridge, armed with. a spear, and lay in wait for Chobei to pass in his boat; but when the little boat came up, he missed his aim, and only scratched Chobei’s elbow; and he, seizing the spear, dragged down his adversary into the river, and killed him as he was struggling in the water; then, sculling for his life, he gradually drew near to the sea.  The other officers in the mean time had secured ten boats, and, having come up with Chobei, surrounded him; but he, having formerly been a pirate, was far better skilled in the management of a boat than his pursuers, and had no great difficulty in eluding them; so at last he pushed out to sea, to the great annoyance of the officers, who followed him closely.

Then Jiuyemon, who had come up, said to one of the officers on the shore—­

“Have you caught him yet?”

“No; the fellow is so brave and so cunning that our men can do nothing with him.”

“He’s a determined ruffian, certainly.  However, as the fellow has got my sword, I mean to get it back by fair means or foul:  will you allow me to undertake the job of seizing him?”

“Well, you may try; and you will have officers to assist you, if you are in peril.”

Jiuyemon, having received this permission, stripped off his clothes and jumped into the sea, carrying with him a policeman’s mace, to the great astonishment of all the bystanders.  When he got near Chobei’s boat, he dived and came up alongside, without the pirate perceiving him until he had clambered into the boat.  Chobei had the good Sukesada sword, and Jiuyemon was armed with nothing but a mace; but Chobei, on the other hand, was exhausted with his previous exertions, and was taken by surprise at a moment when he was thinking of nothing but how he should scull away from the pursuing boats; so it was not long before Jiuyemon mastered and secured him.

For this feat, besides recovering his Sukesada sword, Jiuyemon received many rewards and great praise from the Governor of Osaka.  But the pirate Chobei was cast into prison.

Hichirobei, when he heard of his brother’s capture, was away from home; but seeing that he too would be sought for, he determined to escape to Yedo at once, and travelled along the Tokaido, the great highroad, as far as Kuana.  But the secret police had got wind of his movements, and one of them was at his heels disguised as a beggar, and waiting for an opportunity to seize him.