enom, crawled up to the ceiling
in the room where Jiraiya and his wife were sleeping, and reaching a spot
directly over them, poured the poisonous venom on the heads of his
rivals. The fumes of the prison so stupefied Jiraiya's followers, and
even the monks, that Orochimaru, instantly changing himself to a man,
profited by the opportunity to seize the princess Tagoto, and make off
with her.

Gradually the faithful retainers awoke from their stupor to find their
master and his beloved wife delirious, and near the point of death, and
the princess gone.

"What can we do to restore our dear master to life?" This was the
question each one asked of the others, as with sorrowful faces and
weeping eyes they gazed at the pallid forms of their unconscious master
and his consort. They called in the venerable abbot of the monastery to
see if he could suggest what could be done.

"Alas!" said the aged priest, "there is no medicine in Japan to cure your
lord's disease, but in India there is an elixir which is a sure
antidote. If we could get that, the master would recover."

"Alas! alas!" and a chorus of groans showed that all hope had fled, for
the mountain in India, where the elixir was made, lay five thousand miles
from Japan.

Just then a youth named Rikimatsu, one of the pages of Jiraiya, arose to
speak. He was but fourteen years old, and served Jiraiya out of
gratitude, for he had rescued his father from many dangers and saved his
life. He begged permission to say a word to the abbot, who, seeing the
lad's eager face, motioned to him with his fan to speak.

"How long can our lord live," asked the youth.

"He will be dead in thirty hours," answered the abbot, with a sigh.

"I'll go and procure the medicine, and if our master is still living
when I come back, he will get well."

Now Rikimatsu had learned magic and sorcery from the Tengus, or
long-nosed elves of the mountains, and could fly high in the air with
incredible swiftness. Speaking a few words of incantation, he put on the
wings of a Tengu, mounted a white cloud and rode on the east wind to
India, bought the elixir of the mountain spirits, and returned to Japan
in one day and a night.

On the first touch of the elixir on the sick man's face he drew a deep
breath, perspiration glistened on his forehead, and in a few moments more
he sat up.

Jiraiya and his wife both got well, and the war broke out again. In a
great battle Dragon-coil was killed and the princ