Page:Tales from old Japanese dramas (1915).djvu/394

316 She has only gone to die." So saying, he wept passionately, the tears fast rolling down his cheeks.

"Your sorrow is natural," said Sawarabi, pretending to be brave. "But it cannot be helped. See, even I, who am her mother, have stopped crying. Surely, Katsugorō, it is unmanly for a man to weep like that."

"I should be a devil if I did not weep like this! I fear that Hatsuhana has by this time been killed by that fiend Gōsuké."

He took out a small bell, and sounding it, prayed to Buddha. The mother joined in the prayer, saying: "Namu Amida Butsu! Namu Amida Butsu!"

While they were fervently praying, a dim figure of a young woman appeared, and approached near to them. They looked intently at it, and were astonished to see that it was Hatsuhana.

"How did you make your escape, daughter?" asked the mother.

"How glad I am to see you, dearest wife," said Katsugorō. "Tell me quickly! Have you killed Gōsuké?"

"Alas, no!" answered Hatsuhana, sorrowfully.

"Then why have you come back, craven girl?" scolded the mother.