mention of the chapel set him thinking of the scene of the
previous night, and he went over all the details again in his
mind. 'Who is Schippeitaro?' he suddenly asked; 'can any of you
tell me?'

'Schippeitaro is the great dog that belongs to the overseer of
our prince,' said they; 'and he lives not far away.' And they
began to laugh at the question, which seemed to them so odd and
useless.

The young man did not laugh with them, but instead left the hut
and went straight to the owner of the dog, whom he begged to lend
him the animal just for one night. Schippeitaro's master was not
at all willing to give him in charge to a man of whom he knew
nothing, but in the end he consented, and the youth led the dog
away, promising faithfully to return him next day to his master.
He next hurried to the hut where the maiden lived, and entreated
her parents to shut her up safely in a closet, after which he
took Schippeitaro to the cask, and fastened him into it. In the
evening he knew that the cask would be placed in the chapel, so
he hid himself there and waited.

At midnight, when the full moon appeared above the top of the
mountain, the cats again filled the chapel and shrieked and
yelled and danced as before. But this time they had in their
midst a huge black cat who seemed to be their king, and whom the
young man guessed to be the Spirit of the Mountain. The monster
looked eagerly about him, and his eyes sparkled with joy when he
saw the cask. He bounded high into the air with delight and
uttered cries of pleasure; then he drew near and undid the bolts.