mass of the temple. Then forming in line, and raising the shout
of victory, the youthful band of heroes marched off to the village.
Under pain of his displeasure--which meant much--Jinnosuke forbade any
bragging or reference to the affair. Wisely: a day or two after a
peasant came on the scene. In fright the man hastened to make report. At
once buzz was most tremendous. Was it accident or the work of thieves,
this disaster? Said one man sagely--"The _do[u]mori_ was a great
drunkard. Deign to consider. The temple furniture is untouched. Thieves
would have carried it off. He carried it out to safety, to fall a victim
in a further attempt at salvage. The offence lies with the priest, not
with the villagers." The report pleased all, none too anxious to offend
the bands of robbers ranging the mountain mass and the neighbouring
villages. Thus report was made by the village council to the Daikwan's
office. The temple authorities had a severe reprimand for allowing such
a drunkard to be in charge of the shrine. Jinnosuke stuck his tongue in
his cheek. "Trust to the valour and skill of this Jinnosuke. These
constables are fools." But his companions were a little frightened with
this late exploit. Their numbers fell off. Many of them now came to the
age fit for farm work. Jinnosuke was not long in finding substitutes in
the real thieves who haunted the neighbourhood. Their spy, and often
engaged in their raids, yet in his own district he was only known as a
bad and dissipated boy.

Something of this had to come to the ears of Jisuke; but not the full
extent of his son's wickedness. He sought a remedy for what he thought
mere wild behaviour. Now in the town, years ago, there had lived a poor
farmer and his wife; "water drinkers," in the local expression for
bitter poverty. The man laboured at day tasks, and the wife laboured as
hard with him, bearing her baby girl on her back. Jisuke aided as he
could, and as was his wont, and when the pair were taken down and died
with a prevailing epidemic disease, it was Jisuke and his wife who took
the child to themselves, to bring her up as their own. O'Ichi San grew
into a beautiful girl, and at this time Jisuke and his wife trusted to
her favour and influence to bring Jinnosuke to the sedateness and
regularity of a farmer's life. The girl blushed and looked down as she
listened to what was more than request, though put in mildest form. "One
so humble is hardly likely to please the young mast