Part 15 (2/2)

”This is outrageous! It is rough to resort to force before deciding the right or wrong of it!”

”Outrageous indeed!” Another clout. ”Nothing but wallopping will be effective on you scheming guys.” The remark was followed by a shower of blows. I soaked Clown at the same time, and made him think he saw the way to the Kingdom-Come. Finally the two crawled and crouched at the foot of a cedar tree, and either from inability to move or to see, because their eyes had become hazy, they did not even attempt to break away.

”Want more? If so, here goes some more!” With that we gave him more until he cried enough. ”Want more? You?” we turned to Clown, and he answered ”Enough, of course.”

”This is the punishment of heaven on you grovelling wretches. Keep this in your head and be more careful hereafter. You can never talk down justice.”

The two said nothing. They were so thoroughly cowed that they could not speak.

”I'm going to neither, run away nor hide. You'll find me at Minato-ya on the beach up to five this evening. Bring police officers or any old thing you want,” said Porcupine.

”I'm not going to run away or hide either. Will wait for you at the same place with Hotta. Take the case to the police station if you like, or do as you d.a.m.n please,” I said, and we two walked our own way.

It was a little before seven when I returned to my room. I started packing as soon as I was in the room, and the astonished old lady asked me what I was trying to do. I'm going to Tokyo to fetch my Madam, I said, and paid my bill. I boarded a train and came to Minato-ya on the beach and found Porcupine asleep upstairs. I thought of writing my resignation, but not knowing how, just scribbled off that ”because of personal affairs, I have to resign and return, to Tokyo. Yours truly,”

and addressed and mailed it to the princ.i.p.al.

The steamer leaves the harbor at six in the evening. Porcupine and I, tired out, slept like logs, and when we awoke it was two o'clock. We asked the maid if the police had called on us, and she said no. Red s.h.i.+rt and Clown had not taken it to the police, eh? We laughed.

That night I and Porcupine left the town. The farther the vessel steamed away from the sh.o.r.e, the more refreshed we felt. From Kobe to Tokyo we boarded a through train and when we made s.h.i.+mbas.h.i.+, we breathed as if we were once more in congenial human society. I parted from Porcupine at the station, and have not had the chance of meeting him since.

I forgot to tell you about Kiyo. On my arrival at Tokyo, I rushed into her house swinging my valise, before going to a hotel, with ”h.e.l.lo, Kiyo, I'm back!”

”How good of you to return so soon!” she cried and hot tears streamed down her cheeks. I was overjoyed, and declared that I would not go to the country any more but would start housekeeping with Kiyo in Tokyo.

Some time afterward, some one helped me to a job as a.s.sistant engineer at the tram car office. The salary was 25 yen a month, and the house rent six. Although the house had not a magnificent front entrance, Kiyo seemed quite satisfied, but, I am sorry to say, she was a victim of pneumonia and died in February this year. On the day preceding her death, she asked me to bedside, and said, ”Please, Master Darling, if Kiyo is dead, bury me in the temple yard of Master Darling. I will be glad to wait in the grave for my Master Darling.”

So Kiyo's grave is in the Yogen temple at Kobinata.

--(THE END)--

[A: Insitent]

[B: queershaped]

[C: The original just had the j.a.panese character, Unicode U+5927, sans description]

[D: aweinspiring]

[E: about about]

[F: atomosphere]

[G: h.e.l.loo]

[H: you go]

[I: goo-goo eyes]

[J: proper hyphenation unknown]

[K: pin-princking]

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