Page:Anthology of Japanese Literature.pdf/404

400 No, I had it from a customer that he was trampled to death.

They say Tokubei was fettered for fraud,
 * Or trussed for counterfeiting someone’s seal,
 * Not one decent thing have they to report:
 * Every question of condolence brings her grief.

Oh, please don’t say any more. The more I hear the worse my breast pains me. I think that I’ll be the first to die. I wish that I were dead already.

She gives herself to tears, then with one hand
 * She brushes them away and looks outside—
 * There in the dark, with covered face, is Tokubei.
 * At just a glimpse of his anxious, furtive form
 * Her heart leaps and she wants to rush to him,
 * But in the back room are the master and his wife,
 * And by the front gate stands the cook,
 * While in the garden sharp-eyed waits the maid.

I’m feeling so oppressed. I think I’ll step out for a breath of air.

She steals out softly.

What has happened to you? I’ve heard all kinds of rumors and I’ve been so worried I’ve almost gone crazy.

She lifts his hat and gazes at his face,
 * And weeps without a sound, in silent grief,
 * Sad and painful tears—he too is lost in tears.

I’ve been the victim of a clever plot, as no doubt you’ve heard, and the more I resist it the worse off I am. Everything has turned against me now. I can’t survive this night. I’ve made up my mind to it.

As he whispers voices come from inside.

Come on in, Ohatsu. You don’t want people to start gossiping about you.

We can’t talk here any longer. Do as I show you.

She hides him in the skirts of her great-robe:
 * He crawls behind her to the central door
 * Then slips beneath the porch next to the step.