a in the Yoshiwara. At his name the
_banto[u]_ expressed surprise. "The _oiran_ was about to send a message;
most opportune the honoured coming. Deign for the moment to wait."
Related to their great attraction Sampei had every attention. Shortly
the sound of _zo[u]ri_ was heard, and O'Yui entered the room. Jumatsu
viewed her beauty and splendour with grave approval, astonishment, and
fear. "Obasan (auntie)? But she is young; beautiful, just like mother.
Oh! Just like the pictures of the great Tayu." The two elders listened,
preoccupied and with pained smile. "What book; and where seen?... Oya!
Oya! In the priest's room at the Fukuganji? That should not be. Priest
and _oiran_ are not of kin." O'Yui's laugh was so silvery that Jumatsu
in admiration pressed close to her knee. Clasping him she spoke to
Sampei. Ah! How great was her anxiety. As she told her tale the heart of
Sampei was filled with wrath and certainty--"This Chu[u]dayu is such a
strange fellow. The weather still holds him to the place. Hence by good
luck it was possible to ask for a consultation. Has not some injury
befallen the person of Ne[e]san? The ravings of this man in his drunken
sleep, the vision of the sister, the face and garments all dyed with
blood, cannot these find confirmation or disproof? In the embrace of
this man Yui shudders." She wept.

With growing weight and terror at heart she noted the increasing gloom
of Sampei's face. "Kiku is no longer of this world. It is true. Herself
she told the tale to Jumatsu. At the _yashiki_ all is confusion with the
death of the lady of the House. By accident Jumatsu's vision is
corroborated by the blind shampooer, led into the cook shop of Kudanzaka
by the same hand which led Chu[u]dayu to the arms of the _oiran_ O'Yodo.
The evidence is complete for this Sampei. To-night--at the first
opportunity--Sampei kills this Aoyama Shu[u]zen; then cuts belly. As for
Chu[u]dayu, Kiku has brought him to O'Yui San. Deign to accept the
charge. Last night he has been the lover, and the chance of the weather
and the charms of O'Yui have kept him here. Let the coming night be his
last." He put a restraining hand on the sleeve of O'Yui. In vengeance at
once she would have rushed off to poniard this obscene fellow. Be once
more the object of his embraces? Alas! Hers indeed was "the bitter
toil," which led her to the arms of this scoundrel dripping with a
sister's blood. But she listened to the cold and cautious counsel of
Sa