"Oh, dear Yone!" sobbed the other,--"have we to go back to-night
again without seeing Hagiwara Sama? Ah! it is cruel!"

And the shadow of the mistress, weeping, was led away by the
shadow of the maid.


x

Another day went, and another night came, and the dead came with
it. But this time no lamentation was heard without the house of
Hagiwara; for the faithless servant found his reward at the Hour
of the Ox, and removed the o-fuda. Moreover he had been able,
while his master was at the bath, to steal from its case the
golden mamori, and to substitute for it an image of copper; and
he had buried the Kai-On-Nyorai in a desolate field. So the
visitants found nothing to oppose their entering. Veiling their
faces with their sleeves they rose and passed, like a streaming
of vapor, into the little window from over which the holy text
had been torn away. But what happened thereafter within the house
Tomozo never knew.

The sun was high before he ventured again to approach his
master's dwelling, and to knock upon the sliding-doors. For the
first time in years he obtained no response; and the silence made
him afraid. Repeatedly he called, and received no answer. Then,
aided by O-Mine, he succeeded in effecting an entrance and making
his way alone to the sleeping-room, where he called again in
vain. He rolled back the rumbling shutters to admit the light;