The Romance of Old Japan, written by the Champneys in 1917. From Chapter VII, "The Folly of the Khan":

My forebodings were confirmed when the Khan suddenly grasped my arm:
"Ware thee, Marco," he cautioned beneath his breath. "Hojo hath commanded that we be beheaded. For the moment mask thine alarm; but when I give the sign -- flee!"
An icy sweat oozed from my every pore.
Tokimune with hateful sneering face pressed close upon me.
"Is the honorable Tojin ill?" he snarled. "Meseems thy complexion hath assumed the hue of a green olive."
"Verily," assented the Khan, "the melons of which my master partook anon have engendered most damnable gripes. Needs must he repose himself for a little space. Request is proffered that the august General retire."
Bowing obsequiously our host resumed his promenade.
Parting the foliage the Khan disclosed a wall. "Mount upon my shoulder and leap!" he whispered.
"But what of yonder side?" I gasped.
"It can hold naught worse than death!" was his reply.

If Reischauer's prose was that purple I might have finished his history by now.