The chapter opens with a soliloquy by Hiroshige, in which he laments the fact that he has been tricked by the horis. He laments that the gypsies have tricked him into thinking that they are rats, and that he will be buried in the abyss. He curses them and curses the men who have been tricked into believing that he is a rat. He says that he wishes he were dead so that he could squeeze out of them, but that he would be satisfied only if he were alive. He also curses those who think he is not a rat because he has tricked them into thinking he is one. He tells them that one of the escaped women has gone to the "rattle thud thud" , which sounds like the rattle of a rat's foot. He then tells them to hurry up the stairs and find out what happened to the three women who were taken out by hannya mask. He adds that they must report to Tenmaru and put some guards outside so that the lord does not find out about their escape. He comments that it looks like he has yet to complete the hannya disguise. He wonders if the bastard is really blind, and wonders if he would like to kill him in a real combat match. He wants to know if he could win or lose in such a match, and if he knows what he would do. He imagines that they could use a torch to start a fire, so that they would be able to catch the whip and climb out of it. He plans to kill the two women who escaped, and then he will allow the match between the two men.