III
The ferry of Yaguchi, at which General Yoshi-oki died such a tragic death, was situated in the lower stream of the River Tama which flows about ten miles west of Tokyo. The ferryman was an old man named Tombei, and he was the incarnation of avarice and inhumanity. It was he who had, at the order of Takezawa Kemmotsu, bored the hole in the bottom of the boat and assisted him in the destruction of Yoshi-oki.
As a reward for so successfully accomplishing this villainous deed, Tombei had been rewarded by Taka-uji with a large sum of money. This money he had invested in gambling, and had speculated with it in various ways. These transactions had been fortunate, and his coffer had suddenly become full to overflowing. He was now a rich man, and well-known along the countryside. He had recently built a fine house with a splendid parlour upstairs. This house overlooked the river, and he was leading there a life of comfort with his only daughter, and his assistant boatman.
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