All this while Tônoshin was looking for the hidden lover; but, as he
could not see him, he made up his mind that Kashiku must have let him
out by the back door; so he secreted one of the sandals in his sleeve
as evidence, and, without seeming to suspect anything, said:--

"Well, I shall be very busy this evening, so I must go home."

"Oh! won't you stay a little while? It is very dull here, when I am
all alone without you. Pray stop and keep me company."

But Tônoshin made no reply, and went home. Then Kashiku saw that one
of the sandals was missing, and felt certain that he must have carried
it off as proof; so she went in great trouble to open the lid of the
box, and let out Hichirobei. When the two lovers talked over the
matter, they agreed that, as they both were really in love, let
Tônoshin kill them if he would, they would gladly die together: they
would enjoy the present; let the future take care of itself.

The following morning Kashiku sent a messenger to Tônoshin to implore
his pardon; and he, being infatuated by the girl's charms, forgave
her, and sent a present of thirty ounces of silver to her lover,
Hichirobei, on the condition that he was never to see her again; but,
in spite of this, Kashiku and Hichirobei still continued their secret
meetings.

It happened that Hichirobei, who was a gambler by profession, had an
elder brother called Chôbei, who kept a wine-shop in the Ajikawa
Street, at Osaka; so Tônoshin thought that he could not do better than
depute Jiuyémon to go and seek out this man Chôbei, and urge him to