“What was that, Kurokuma?' asked one of the escorts riding near him. The others chuckled at the name.'Nothing important,' Horace said. Then he looked at them suspiciously. 'What's this Kurokuma business?'The Senshi looked at him with a completely staight face.'It's a term of great respect,' he said. Several others within earshot nodded confirmation. They too managed to remain straight-faced. It was a skill the Nihon-Jan had perfected.'Great respect,' one of them echoed.”

“Come closer, Kurokuma. It's quite safe.'Horace shuffled closer to the edge...'Quite safe, my foot,' he muttered to himself. 'And what's this Kurokuma you keep calling me?''It's a term of great respect,' Shigeru told him.'Great respect,' Shukin echoed.”

“All we could get out of them was that they were taking us to 'Kurokuma'. We didn't know if that was a place or a person. What does it mean, by the way?''I'm told it's a term of great respect,' Horace said, unwilling to admit that he didn't know.”

“What the devil is Chocho?' Will whispered.Horace's grin broadened. 'You are. It's what the men call you,' he said. Then he added, 'It's a term of great respect.'Behind them, Halt nodded confirmation. 'Great respect,' he agreed.”

“What is this Chocho business?' Will muttered to himself. But his friends overheard the comment.'It's a term of great respect,' they chorused, and he glared at them.'Oh, shut up,' he said.”

“Easy climb, Kurokuma. You do it easily.''Not on your life,' Horace said... 'That's what we have Rangers for. They climb up sheer rock walls and crawl along narrow, slippery ledges. I'm a trained warrior, and I'm far to valuable to risk such shenanigans.''We're not valuable?' Will said, feigning insult.Horace looked at him. 'We've got two of you. We can always afford to lose one,' he said firmly.”