“Whom have you been feasting with to-night?”

“Oh!” replied Kashiku, who, notwithstanding her distress, was obliged to invent an answer, “I felt so dull all alone here, that I asked an old woman from next door to come in and drink a cup of wine with me, and have a chat.”

[Footnote 47:  Hichi, the first half of Hichirobei, signifies seven.]

All this while Tonoshin 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 Tonoshin 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 Tonoshin 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 Tonoshin 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 Chobei, who kept a wine-shop in the Ajikawa Street, at Osaka; so Tonoshin thought that he could not do better than depute Jiuyemon to go and seek out this man Chobei, and urge him to persuade his younger brother to give up his relations with Kashiku; acting upon this resolution, he went to call upon Jiuyemon, and said to him—­

“Sir Jiuyemon, I have a favour to ask of you in connection with that girl Kashiku, whom you know all about.  You are aware that I paid thirty ounces of silver to her lover Hichirobei to induce him to give up going to her house; but, in spite of this, I cannot help suspecting that they still meet one another.  It seems that this Hichirobei has an elder brother—­one Chobei; now, if you would go to this man and tell him to reprove his brother for his conduct, you would be doing me a great service.  You have so often stood my friend, that I venture to pray you to oblige me in this matter, although I feel that I am putting you to great inconvenience.”

Jiuyemon, out of gratitude for the kindness which he had received at the hands of Kajiki Tozayemon, was always willing to serve Tonoshin; so he went at once to find out Chobei, and said to him—­