Thereafter Narihiro carried a silver pipe with him every time he went to the castle. It, too, was a most elaborate pipe with the plum-blossom-and-spear-point crest scattered over it.

Of course he was not so proud of the new pipe as he had been of the old one. In the first place, he seldom took it in his hand even when he was conversing with others. Even when he did, he put it away again immediately. This was because the same Nagasaki tobacco did not taste so good to him as it had when he smoked it in his pure gold pipe. But the changing of the metal of which the pipe was made did not affect only Narihiro. As the three loyal retainers had expected, it had an effect on the attendants as well. However, in the end, this effect utterly betrayed their expectation. For when the attendants saw that the gold had been replaced with silver, even those of them who had up to this time stood back because of the pure gold raced to ask for a pipe. Moreover, Narihiro, who begrudged not even a pure gold pipe, naturally was not averse to giving away a silver pipe. Whenever he was asked for one, he promptly tossed it [Pg 119]away ungrudgingly. Finally even he himself could not say whether he gave away a pipe when he went to the castle or went to the castle to give away a pipe,—⁠at least, he hardly could.

At this, Yamazaki, Iwata and Ueki knit their brows and conferred again. Now at last there was nothing for it but to make brass pipes as Ueki had proposed. Then when they were just on the verge of sending an order to Sumiyoshiya Shichibei as usual, a personal attendant came to them with a message from Narihiro.

“Our liege lord says that when he carries a silver pipe, he’s tormented by the attendants’ importunities. Henceforward you are to make his pipes of gold as heretofore.”

The three were struck dumb and knew not what to do.

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