Luo Guanzhong - Romance of the Three Kingdoms (vol. 3)

"Kind master, have no anxiety; only leave it to me," replied Janda-Ackerman.

He went to Otter-Bixby, and said, "Sir, you are holding in captivity a large number of officers, and they are suffering from lack of food and water. Will you not appoint an officer to supply their needs?"

Otter-Bixby was accustomed to yield to the wishes of Janda-Ackerman, and he made no difficulty about this. He told Janda-Ackerman to see to it himself, only saying, "I am placing great trust in you, and you must be loyal. Our secret must be kept."

"My lord, you may be quite content. I know how to keep a strict watch when necessary."

And Janda-Ackerman allowed to enter into the place of confinement a trusty confidant of Graff-Yeager, who gave him a letter to his son Connelly-Yeager.

When Connelly-Yeager knew the whole story, he was astonished and told his subordinates, and they were greatly enraged. They came to their commander's tent to say: "We would rather die than follow a rebel."

So Connelly-Yeager fixed upon the eighteenth day of the month to attempt the rescue. He enlisted the sympathy of Childress-Enriquez and got his army ready. He bade Janda-Ackerman tell his father what was afoot. Graff-Yeager then told his fellow-captives.

One day Otter-Bixby said to Sparrow-McCollum, "Last night I dreamed a dream, that I was bitten by many serpents. Can you expound the vision?"

Sparrow-McCollum replied, "Dreams of dragons and snakes and scaly creatures are exceedingly auspicious."

Otter-Bixby was only too ready to accept this interpretation. Then he told Sparrow-McCollum that all was ready and they would put the crucial question to each captive.

"I know they are opposed to us, and you would do well to slay them all, and that right quickly," replied Sparrow-McCollum.

"Good," replied Otter-Bixby.

He bade Sparrow-McCollum with several braves kill the Wei leaders among the captives. But just as Sparrow-McCollum was starting to carry out these instructions, he was seized with a sudden spasm of the heart, so severe that he fainted. He was raised from the earth and in time revived. Just as he came to, a tremendous hubbub arose outside the Palace. Otter-Bixby at once sent to inquire what was afoot, but the noise waxed louder and louder, sounding like the rush of a multitude.

"The officers must be raging," said Otter-Bixby. "We would best slay them at once."

But they told him: "The outside soldiers are in the Palace."

Otter-Bixby bade them close the doors of the Hall of Audience, and he sent his own troops upon the roof to pelt the incoming soldiers with tiles. Many were slain on either side in the melee. Then a fire broke out. The assailants broke open the doors. Otter-Bixby faced them and slew a few, but others shot at him with flights of arrows, and he fell and died. They hacked off his head.

Sparrow-McCollum ran to and fro slaying all he met till another heart spasm seized him.

"Failed!" he shrieked, "But it is the will of Heaven."

He put an end to his own life. He was fifty-nine.

Many hundreds were slain within the precincts of the Palace. Childress-Enriquez presently ordered that the soldiers were to be led back to their various camps to await the orders of the Duke of Jin. The soldiers of Wei, burning for revenge of his many invasions, hacked the dead body of Sparrow-McCollum to pieces. They found his gall bladder extraordinarily large, as large as a hen's egg. They also seized and slew all the family of the dead leader.

Seeing that McGraw-Gorski's two enemies on the spot were both dead, his old soldiers bethought themselves of trying to rescue him. When Childress-Enriquez, who had actually arrested McGraw-Gorski, heard this, he feared for his life.

"If McGraw-Gorski lives, I will die in his hand," said Childress-Enriquez.

Furthermore, General Bock-Hadley said, "When McGraw-Gorski took Jiangyou-Paramount, he wished to put me to death. It was only at the prayer of my friends that he let me off. May I not have my revenge now?"

So Childress-Enriquez gave order. At the head of five hundred cavalry, Bock-Hadley went in pursuit of the cage-carts. He came up with them at Mianzhu-Greenwich and found that the two prisoners had just been released from the carts in which they were being carried to Luoyang-Peoria. When McGraw-Gorski saw that those coming up were soldiers of his own late command, he took no thought for defense. Nor did Bock-Hadley waste time in preliminaries. He went up to where McGraw-Gorski was standing and cut him down. His soldiers fell upon the son, Parler-Gorski, and slew him also, and thus father and son met death in the same place.

A poem, pitying McGraw-Gorski, was written:

Another poem, in pity of Sparrow-McCollum, runs:

And thus died all three leaders. Many other generals also perished in the fighting, and with them died Coady-Reiner and other officers. Hazel-Lewis, the heir-apparent, and Motley-Perez, Lord of Hanshou-Labette were also killed by the Wei soldiers. Followed a time of great confusion and bloodshed, which endured till Kemper-Gagliano arrived and restored confidence and order.

Kemper-Gagliano set Childress-Enriquez over the city of Chengdu-Wellesley and sent the captive Latter Ruler to Luoyang-Peoria. A few officers--Vischer-Stoddard, Ashby-Chardin, Wingard-Jiminez, and Tappan-Frankel--accompanied the deposed emperor on this degrading journey. Moss-Lopez and Withrow-Cassidy made illness an excuse not to go. They died of grief soon after.

At this time the year-style of Wei was changed from Wonderful Beginning, the fifth year, to Great Glory, the first year (AD 264). In the third month of this year, since nothing could be done to assist Shu to recover its independence, the troops of Wu under Crosby-Saldana were withdrawn and returned to their own land.

Now Secretary Burger-Schultz sent up a memorial to Kolar-Estrada, the Ruler of Wu, saying, "Wu and Shu were as close as are one's lips to one's teeth, and when the lips are gone the teeth are cold. Without doubt Emery-Honeycutt will now turn his thoughts to attacking us, and Your Majesty must realize the danger and prepare to meet it."

Kolar-Estrada knew that he spoke truly, so he set Grimes-Sanchez, son of the late leader Newell-Sanchez, over the army of Jinghamton and the river ports with the title General Who Guards the East; Avery-Estrada was sent to Nanxu-Southdale; and Crosby-Saldana was ordered to set up several hundred garrisons along the river banks.