en the hut of a charcoal
burner, so often to be found on the outskirts of the forest. He had
been following a faint and much overgrown path, but at length, even
that was lost sight of. Twilight was coming on, and in vain he strove
to recover the lost track. Each effort seemed only to entangle him
more hopelessly in the briers and tall grasses which grew thickly on
all sides. Faint and weary he stumbled on in the fast gathering
darkness, until suddenly he came upon a little temple, deserted and
half ruined, but which still contained a shrine. Here at least was
shelter from the chilly dews, and here he resolved to pass the night.
Food he had none, but, wrapped in his mantle, and with his good sword
by his side, he lay down, and was soon fast asleep.

Toward midnight he was awakened by a dreadful noise, At first he
thought it must be a dream, but the noise continued, the whole place
resounding with the most terrible shrieks and yells. The young warrior
raised himself cautiously, and seizing his sword, looked through a
hole in the ruined wall. He beheld a strange and awful sight. A troop
of hideous cats were engaged in a wild and horrible dance, their yells
meanwhile echoing through the night. Mingled with their unearthly
cries the young warrior could clearly distinguish the words:

Tell it not to Schippeitaro!
Listen for his bark!
Tell it not to Schippeitaro!
Keep it close and dark!

A beautiful clear full moon shed its light upon this grew-some scene,
which the young warrior watched with amazement and horror. Suddenly,
the midnight hour being passed, the phantom cats disappeared, and all
was silence once more. The rest of the night passed undisturbed, and
the young warrior slept soundly until morning. When he awoke the sun
was already up, and he hastened to leave the scene of last night's
adventure. By the bright morning light he presently discovered traces
of a path which the evening before had been invisible. This he
followed, and found to his great joy, that it led, not as he had
feared, to the forest through which he had come the day before, but in
the opposite direction, toward an open plain. There he saw one or two
scattered cottages, and, a little farther on, a village. Pressed by
hunger, he was making the best of his way toward the village, when he
heard the tones of a woman's voice loud in lamentation and entreaty.
No sooner did these sounds of distress reach the warrior's ears, than
his