Page:Tayama Katai and His Novel Entitled Futon (Reece).pdf/289

 Tokio stopped her as she was about to leave and pressed her to show them Tanaka's letters dating from before and after her trip to Saga, to prove her innocence.

On hearing this, Yoshiko suddenly blushed. Her face and attitude clearly revealed that she was very much embarrassed.

"I recently burned all his letters from those days," she said in a low voice.

"You burned them?"

"Yes." Yoshiko hung her head.

"Burned them? I don't believe it."

Yoshiko blushed all the more. Tokio could not hold his temper. The reality forcefully stabbed his breast.

Tokio stood up and went out to the lavatory. He was irritated and felt dizzy. The realization of having been deceived by her intensely pierced his mind. When he came out of the lavatory he found Yoshiko nervously standing outside of the sliding door.

"Sensei...honestly, I burned them all...."

"Don't lie!" Tokio said in a tone of rebuke and slamming the sliding door he went back into the room.

After being entertained to supper, the old man returned to his lodgings. Tokio's anguish that night was very great. With thoughts of having been deceived, he could not refrain from getting exasperated. Tokio got angrier as he had tried with sincerity to help Yoshiko's love affair in spite of her having lost her virginity to a young student. In that case--Tokio was no longer required to