more and more excited with refusal, and they
were at a loss what to do. Finally the child was brought, to her
distress and confusion. Then--as from the ceiling--"Shame on the House
of Aoyama Shu[u]zen. A maimed child, a monster is born as its issue."
And the voice began to count, followed by the moving lips of her
ladyship--"One"--"One"--"Two"--"Two"--"Three"--"Three"--monotonously it
went on to--"Nine.... Ah! What shall I do! One is missing. Wa! Wa!" So
lamentable the crying voice that a chill went to the hearts of all.
Again the count went on; again the failure and the lamentable cry and
weeping. Her ladyship sat up. They strove to restrain her, but in her
madness she shouted back in answer to the counting--"One, two, three,
four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.... Ha! One is missing! Vile slut!
Thus to maim the child in malice." She raved and tore at the covering.
From the disordered hair streaming around face and bust looked out at
them the wan face of O'Kiku. In disorder the women fled. Driven back by
the necessity of their duty they found her lying dead in a pool of
blood. As for the maimed and deformed monster, he took well to the
nurse's breast. Such they always do.

Where was Chu[u]dayu in all this confusion? Shu[u]zen had men hunting
him high and low. Angered at his absence, his own dislike and suspicion
of him as possible rival grew with the night and the hours, rendered
bitter by these household scenes. He would settle matters with
Chu[u]dayu. "Yokubei" he had heard him called; and covetousness turns
not only to gold and such like. As fact Chu[u]dayu had good excuse for
absence. Much out of sorts he had betaken himself to his own rooms and
the care of the old woman in charge, his only female companion in lieu
of wife. Ah! What weather! The snow changed to sleet and rain drove into
and chilled to the marrow those out in the storm. The _baya_ (old woman)
at his entrance was all astonishment--"Danna Sama! The garments are wet
through. Condescend at once to make a change." Gruffly Chu[u]dayu
accepted her aid. Stripping off first one and then another of the outer
garments he too grumbled in his turn--"What a fool the woman was! To
lose life against the sacrifice of such a trifling thing. Ah! She was a
maddening beauty; of the kind to drive the blood to boiling heat. Never
again.... What's that?" Pon-pon: the sound of someone knocking ashes
from a pipe into the receiver came from the inner room. The _baya_ was
laug