Page:Tales from old Japanese dramas (1915).djvu/157

Rh is no doubt getting cold, so I will take the liberty to bathe before you."

The priest then went to the bath-room, whilst the three women entered the inner room.

The moon was shedding its pale beams on the projecting roof of the bath-room, and the only sound that broke the stillness of the night was the croaking of the frogs in the rice-field near by. Suddenly Mitsuhidé appeared at the trellis of bottle-gourds close by the bath-room.

"That priest must be Hidéyoshi," he thought to himself. "I'll dispatch him at a single blow!" He cut down a bamboo from the grove, intending to use it as a spear. He then slowly approached the bath-room with soft stealthy steps. Hearing a sound within he thrust his spear in at the window with great dexterity. Immediately a woman's voice was heard, shrieking in agony. He thought this was very strange, so opening the door, he dragged out the wounded person from within. To his horror and consternation, he discovered that it was not Hidéyoshi, but his own mother Satsuki, who lay before him, writhing in intense pain.