One evening, when Jiuyemon, as was his wont, had gone out to play at checkers with Kajiki Tonoshin, O Hiyaku took advantage of the occasion to go and fetch the wrestler, and invite him to a little feast; and as they were enjoying themselves over their wine, O Hiyaku said to him—­

“Ah!  Master Takasegawa, how wonderfully chance favours us! and how pleasant these stolen interviews are!  How much nicer still it would be if we could only be married.  But, as long as Jiuyemon is in the way, it is impossible; and that is my one cause of distress.”

“It’s no use being in such a hurry.  If you only have patience, we shall be able to marry, sure enough.  What you have got to look out for now is, that Jiuyemon does not find out what we are about.  I suppose there is no chance of his coming home to-night, is there?”

“Oh dear, no!  You need not be afraid.  He is gone to Kajiki’s house to play checkers; so he is sure to spend the night there.”

And so the guilty couple went on gossiping, with their minds at ease, until at last they dropped off asleep.

In the meanwhile Jiuyemon, in the middle of his game at checkers, was seized with a sudden pain in his stomach, and said to Kajiki Tonoshin, “Young sir, I feel an unaccountable pain in my stomach.  I think I had better go home, before it gets worse.”

“That is a bad job.  Wait a little, and I will give you some physic; but, at any rate, you had better spend the night here.”

“Many thanks for your kindness,” replied Jiuyemon; “but I had rather go home.”

So he took his leave, and went off to his own house, bearing the pain as best he might.  When he arrived in front of his own door, he tried to open it; but the lock was fastened, and he could not get in, so he rapped violently at the shutters to try and awaken his wife.  When O Hiyaku heard the noise, she woke with a start, and roused the wrestler, saying to him in a whisper—­

“Get up! get up!  Jiuyemon has come back.  You must hide as fast as possible.”

“Oh dear! oh dear!” said the wrestler, in a great fright; “here’s a pretty mess!  Where on earth shall I hide myself?” and he stumbled about in every direction looking for a hiding-place, but found none.

Jiuyemon, seeing that his wife did not come to open the door, got impatient at last, and forced it open by unfixing the sliding shutter and, entering the house, found himself face to face with his wife and her lover, who were both in such confusion that they did not know what to do.  Jiuyemon, however, took no notice of them, but lit his pipe and sat smoking and watching them in silence.  At last the wrestler, Takasegawa, 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.”