Part 7 (1/2)
”You don't know her yet? She is the most beautiful girl about here. She is so beautiful that the teachers in the school call her Madonna. You haven't heard that?
”Ah, the Madonna! I thought it was the name of a geisha.”
”No, Sir. Madonna is a foreign word and means a beautiful girl, doesn't it?”
”That may be. I'm surprised.”
”Probably the name was given by the teacher of drawing.”
”Was it the work of Clown?”
”No, it was given by Professor Yos.h.i.+kawa.”
”Is that Madonna not all right?”
”That Madonna-san is a Madonna not all right.”
”What a bore! We haven't any decent woman among those with nicknames from old days. I should suppose the Madonna is not all right.”
”Exactly. We have had awful women such as O-Matsu the Devil or Ohyaku the Dakki.
”Does the Madonna belong to that ring?”
”That Madonna-san, you know, was engaged to Professor Koga,--who brought you here,--yes, was promised to him.”
”Ha, how strange! I never knew our friend Hubbard Squash was a fellow of such gallantry. We can't judge a man by his appearance. I'll be a bit more careful.”
”The father of Professor Koga died last year,--up to that time they had money and shares in a bank and were well off,--but since then things have grown worse, I don't know why. Professor Koga was too good-natured, in short, and was cheated, I presume. The wedding was delayed by one thing or another and there appeared the head teacher who fell in love with the Madonna head over heels and wanted to many her.”
”Red s.h.i.+rt? He ought be hanged. I thought that s.h.i.+rt was not an ordinary kind of s.h.i.+rt. Well?”
”The head-teacher proposed marriage through a go-between, but the Toyamas could not give a definite answer at once on account of their relations with the Kogas. They replied that they would consider the matter or something like that. Then Red s.h.i.+rt-san worked up some ways and started visiting the Toyamas and has finally won the heart of the Miss. Red s.h.i.+rt-san is bad, but so is Miss Toyama; they all talk bad of them. She had agreed to be married to Professor Koga and changed her mind because a Bachelor of Arts began courting her,--why, that would be an offense to the G.o.d of To-day.”
”Of course. Not only of To-day but also of tomorrow and the day after; in fact, of time without end.”
”So Hotta-san a friend of Koga-san, felt sorry for him and went to the head teacher to remonstrate with him. But Red s.h.i.+rt-san said that he had no intention of taking away anybody who is promised to another. He may get married if the engagement is broken, he said, but at present he was only being acquainted with the Toyamas and he saw nothing wrong in his visiting the Toyamas. Hotta-san couldn't do anything and returned. Since then they say Red s.h.i.+rt-san and Hotta-san are on bad terms.”
”You do know many things, I should say. How did you get such details?
I'm much impressed.”
”The town is so small that I can know everything.”
Yes, everything seems to be known more than one cares. Judging by her way, this woman probably knows about my tempura and dango affairs. Here was a pot that would make peas rattle! The meaning of the Madonna, the relations between Porcupine and Red s.h.i.+rt became clear and helped me a deal. Only what puzzled me was the uncertainty as to which of the two was wrong. A fellow simple-hearted like me could not tell which side he should help unless the matter was presented in black and white.
”Of Red s.h.i.+rt and Porcupine, which is a better fellow?”
”What is Porcupine, Sir?”
”Porcupine means Hotta.”
”Well, Hotta-san is physically strong, as strength goes, but Red s.h.i.+rt-san is a Bachelor of Arts and has more ability. And Red s.h.i.+rt-san is more gentle, as gentleness goes, but Hotta-san is more popular among the students.”