to do. Jiuyémon, however, took no notice of them, but lit his pipe and
sat smoking and watching them in silence. At last the wrestler,
Takaségawa, broke the silence by saying--

"I thought, sir, that I should be sure to have the pleasure of finding
you at home this evening, so I came out to call upon you. When I got
here, the Lady O Hiyaku was so kind as to offer me some wine; and I
drank a little more than was good for me, so that it got into my head,
and I fell asleep. I must really apologize for having taken such a
liberty in your absence; but, indeed, although appearances are against
us, there has been nothing wrong."

"Certainly," said O Hiyaku, coming to her lover's support, "Master
Takaségawa is not at all to blame. It was I who invited him to drink
wine; so I hope you will excuse him."

Jiuyémon sat pondering the matter over in his mind for a moment, and
then said to the wrestler, "You say that you are innocent; but, of
course, that is a lie. It's no use trying to conceal your fault.
However, next year I shall, in all probability, return to my own
country, and then you may take O Hiyaku and do what you will with her:
far be it from me to care what becomes of a woman with such a stinking
heart."

When the wrestler and O Hiyaku heard Jiuyémon say this quite quietly,
they could not speak, but held their peace for very shame.

"Here, you Takaségawa," pursued he; "you may stop here to-night, if
you like it, and go home to-morrow."