CHO[U]BEI GETS THE NEWS
The _chu[u]gen_ stood over the toilet dealer now coming out of his
half-trance condition. The eyes of the two men met and showed mutual
astonishment. "Naruhodo! Mobei San! In a quarrel over his wares with the
vile women of this district?"--"Kakusuké San! Ah! There is much to tell.
O'Iwa San...." The _chu[u]gen_ of Ito[u] Kwaiba was amazed attention.
"This Mobei to his ill fortune, met with the lady of Tamiya. Her
condition, her ignorance, was too pitiful. Learning all the truth from
Mobei she inflicted on him this punishment. May it cease there! Namu
Amida Butsu! Namu Amida Butsu!... Heavy the grudge against your master
Ito[u] Dono; against Iémon Sama, his wife O'Hana San, all in the plot
against the Lady O'Iwa. 'To seven existences grant this Iwa opportunity
to vent her anger. Every one of the perpetrators of this deed shall be
seized and put to death.' She invoked all the gods and Buddhas; Nay, the
king of Hell--Emma Dai-o[u] himself. Look to yourself, Kakusuké San.
Deign to seek employment elsewhere." Kakusuké completed his task of
raising the battered and scratched toilet dealer to his feet. "Mobei
San, you have acted the fool; without doubt. Relate what has happened."
Mobei did so in full detail. Kakusuké was thoughtful. "Much of this
Kakusuké hears for the first time. A servant gets but snatches of the
inside of such matters. Just now the mission has been from his master,
Ito[u] Dono, to the Inagaki _yashiki_ near Ho[u]onji; matter of transfer
involved in the late adoption of Kibei Dono into the House of the Danna
Sama.... So that scoundrel Cho[u]bei sold the lady of Tamiya to Toémon
for a harlot. Alas! She deserved a better fate. One way or another they
would kill her; and Cho[u]bei, his money in hand, abetted the crime.
Where is this brothel?"
Surrounded by his women Toémon was listening to their excited
statements. Takézo was crying with rage and pain, as she examined her
fissured countenance before a toilet stand (_kyo[u]dai_). Ko[u]ta,
brought back to consciousness, lay groaning in a corner. They were
applying cold compresses to her broken jaw. Toémon looked up
suspiciously as Kakusuké entered, supporting the lamed and maimed Mobei.
"Look to this man's wares, scattered in the roadway; and to the man
himself." He spoke roughly, and with authority. Toémon did not dare to
resent his manner. With well feigned solicitude he addressed Mobei--"Ma!
Ma! A terrible punishment. Your face has the blush of the plum blossom
marked upon it.... O'Haru, run to the house of Wakiyama Sensei. Ko[u]ta
is badly hurt; his skill is needed. Stop at the drug store. Here is the
'cash' to bring salve for this good man's wounds. Alas! That a woman of
Toémon's house should so maltreat others. When caught her
punishment...."--"Shut up!" said Kakusuké. He had already taken his line
of conduct in his master's interest. "How comes it that the Lady O'Iwa
is found at the house of Toémon?"--"The Lady O'Iwa!" replied the brothel
keeper in well-feigned surprise. Turning to Mobei--"It is true, then,
what the women report; that Mobei San called the O'Iwa of this house
'Shinzo[u].' Who is this O'Iwa?" Said Kakusuké coldly--"The Lady O'Iwa
is the granddaughter and heir of Tamiya Matazaémon, a higher
_do[u]shin_. She is the wife of the _go-kenin_, Tamiya Iémon."
Toémon now was truly aghast. "Heir and wife of _go-kenin_! This Toémon
had not the slightest inkling of her _status_. Cho[u]bei has juggled
this Toémon most outrageously." He turned savagely on O'Matsu. "So much
for stupid brutality. One must give you head, or have no peace. Why not
treat the woman kindly, learn her story? Lies or truth that of all the
women in the house is known. But O'Iwa San was a mark for malice.
Cho[u]bei has lied. Between you the house is ruined. Since when were
_samurai_ women sold to life service? Fool! It means imprisonment,
exile, to those implicated. This Toémon ends his days among the savage
fishermen of Sado." He would have struck her. Kakusuké and the
_banto[u]_ interposed. The woman did not budge. Defiant, she stood with
folded arms--"It was Toémon's arrangement to buy her in blind belief of
Cho[u]bei. Why blame this Matsu? Since when were women exempt from
service or punishment? The rule of the house is one or the other. How
long has it been since O'Seki left the house--in a box; and Toémon had
to make answer at the office." Then catching herself up in the presence
of strangers--"Danna Sama, this is no time for a quarrel. Those of the
house will say nothing; in their own interest. As for this worthy
gentleman, the Lady O'Iwa was wife and heir neither of himself nor his
master. Toémon San is grossly neglectful of courtesy due to guests.
Leave Mobei San to this Matsu." She whispered in his ear.
Toémon had now recovered his balance. Kakusuké was a _chu[u]gen_. He
had an object in coming to Toémon's house, instead of making report at
once to his master, to the outraged Iémon Dono. Of course Toémon
misinterepreted this motive; and Kakusuké was quite ready to profit by
his mistake. To the now courteous brothel keeper he was equally cordial.
O'Matsu and her women carried off Mobei, to salve his wounds, regale him
with fish and wine and good treatment, carefully to make inventory of
his goods, and repack them with substantial diminution of purchases.
What more could Mobei ask. His valued rosary, the necklace, the
_kanzashi_, all the treasures were uninjured. His exchequer was palpably
swollen, and more pleasingly than his phiz. His beating had turned out a
good day's venture; and without misgiving he can be left in the careful
hands of O'Matsu and her women. Meanwhile Kakusuké and Toémon sat over
their wine. From the _chu[u]gen_ and toilet dealer the latter secured a
complete view of his situation. It was bad, but not irreparable. As
Kakusuké with due tardiness prepared to depart, the hospitable innkeeper
had ample time to prostrate himself in salutation, meanwhile pushing
over a golden _ryo[u]_ wrapped up in decently thin paper which permitted
the filtering through of its yellow gleam. "Great has been the trouble
and delay of Kakusuké San. Mark not this day in memory, good Sir."
Kakusuké was equally polite in salutation--"Fear enters: thanks for the
kind entertainment of Toémon San. This alone is to be kept in mind, mark
of a day otherwise of but little import." These last words were a
healing balm; and Toémon rejoiced.
With the departure of Kakusuké, the chief of the "night-hawks" turned at
once to his aides. "Také! Haru!... Ah! Ko[u]ta is completely done up.
You, Také, bear the marks of the day's encounter. Go to Asakusa
Hanagawado[u]. Cho[u]bei is to be brought here at once. The house must
clear its skirts of this affair. If he refuses to come, put a rope about
his neck and drag him here." The women bowed. At once they prepared for
the street, a mission welcome enough under other conditions. O'Také was
smarting from her wounds and not very willing to be an object lesson.
O'Haru had in mind the fearful curse of O'Iwa, plainly heard by the
women. Very willingly she would have had nothing to do with the affair.
Cho[u]bei was engaged at _go_ with the metal dealer of his
neighbourhood. The fish and wine were in course of preparation in the
kitchen close by and under the skilled hands of O'Taki. The perfume,
vinous and of viands, came to the noses of the competitors, to the
disturbance of their game. Cho[u]bei had just made a profitable stroke.
He had five _ryo[u]_ in hand, commission from the worthy _doguya_ for
the successful sale of a daughter to the Yamadaya of Nakanocho[u]. This
enterprising plebeian, having a son to succeed him in the business, had
secured the necessary furnishing and adoption of a second son into the
rival house of the ward, by means of the fifty _ryo[u]_ secured for the
girl through the experience and clever tactics of Cho[u]bei. Many the
compliments and congratulations exchanged by these excellent men and
worthy representatives of their class as they tussled over their game of
_go_. Profuse were the thanks of the metal dealer for past services and
future feasting. It was with some displeasure therefore that O'Taki had
her offices interrupted to respond to a loud and harsh--"Request to
make!" sounded at the house entrance. Said she crossly--"Who is it?...
Ah! O'Také and O'Haru San of Toémon Sama." Then in wonder--"Oya! Oya!
O'Také San.... Your honoured face.... Has O'Také San gone to bed in the
dark with the cat?" Answered O'Také, in no amiable mood--"It could well
have been. Your man Cho[u]bei deals in such articles. There are the
marks of O'Iwa's nails. As for Cho[u]bei, is the precious rascal at
home?"
O'Taki heard her with rising rage--"O'Iwa? What has Cho[u]bei San to do
with any O'Iwa and the house of Toémon San? Why call the man of Taki a
scoundrel?"--"Because he is such. Nay, Okamisan, don't get
angry."--O'Haru was speaking--"has your husband a brother in
Abegawacho[u], a brother in need of twenty _ryo[u]_ and with a daughter
who would do nothing but run after the men?" O'Taki was puzzled.
"Cho[u]bei San has no brother, in Abegawacho[u] or any other _cho[u]_.
Hence such brother has no daughter O'Iwa; nor are there children of his
own, except the one born to him by this Taki, and a girl already
sold...." A light was breaking in on O'Taki. Months before she had come
home to find that the Ojo[u]san had taken her departure. Explained
Cho[u]bei--"At Yotsuya everything has been adjusted. Iémon Dono is
established again with his wife. The Okusama will not come back to us.
Deign to rejoice at the auspicious settlement of her affairs." Which
O'Taki did; all the more as Cho[u]bei often was in funds in the
successive days through Tamiya. Now she looked from one woman to the
other, her fists clenched and working. Said the harsh voice of
O'Také--"Cho[u]bei lied then; just as the Danna Sama thought. Nearly a
year ago he brought to the house the daughter of his brother Kanémon. He
sold her into life service as a night-hawk. For this she turned out to
be worthless. O'Taki San knows our Okamisan. No matter how severely
beaten, even until the blood came, O'Iwa would not consent to serve.
Other means were tried, but the men of the house would have nothing to
do with her. She was too ugly. Finally she was degraded into being the
kitchen wench, to fetch and carry, and do the hardest and most
nauseating tasks. At this downfall in her prospects like a very fool she
rejoiced. To-day she met the toilet dealer Mobei. He recognized her as
the Lady O'Iwa of Tamiya in the Yotsuya. Drawn apart they spoke
together. Suddenly she was transformed into a demon. Leaping on Mobei
she tore and clutched at him. Ko[u]ta and this Také ran to aid him.
Ko[u]ta lies helpless and with a broken jaw. Truly it might have been
the kick of a horse she received. This Také is--as can be seen. The Lady
O'Iwa disappeared toward Warigesui. A _chu[u]gen_ saw her leap in.
Probably she has killed herself.... And now, O'Taki San, is not your man
Cho[u]bei a scoundrel?"
Said O'Taki--"Rightly spoken; more than right. Wait here." Abruptly she
entered the inner room. To Cho[u]bei--"You ... my fine fellow ... is
this a time for _go_? Up and off with you; to accompany O'Také and
O'Haru from Toémon's in Honjo[u]. A pretty business is in preparation
there." Said the embarrassed and enraged Cho[u]bei--"Wh-what does this
rude entrance of Taki mean? Is not the master of the metal shop present?
Is such language, such abruptness, to be used in his presence?"--"The
Danna of the _doguya_ is certainly present," coolly replied the woman.
"It would be better if he was at home.... Honoured Sir, pray betake
yourself there. This Cho[u]bei has business with Toémon Sama of
Honjo[u], the brothel keeper and chief of the night-hawks, to whom he
has sold for life service as a street harlot the Lady O'Iwa, wife of the
_go-kenin_ Iémon Dono and heir of Tamiya Matazaémon the _do[u]shin_. A
man can be too clever--as this Cho[u]bei, who cheats his wife and all
others. Do you be clever enough to take the hint and depart.... Off with
you!" The _doguya_ had sat in silence. His eyes were popping out of his
head in frightened amaze. Cho[u]bei bounded up in a rage--"You
huzzy--shut up! Would you publish the affairs of this Cho[u]bei to the
world? Many a bridge is to be passed in the course through this world;
and none too sure the footing. Money must be had to live and enjoy life.
The result, not the means, is the important factor in its acquisition.
Such rudeness to a guest! Vile jade, Cho[u]bei will...." O'Také and
O'Haru had to interfere--"Fight it out later, Cho[u]bei San. This
quarrel is no concern of ours. The sooner the master is seen, the better
for Cho[u]bei San. His rage is great, and mounting. You have the
contract? With that face the master; if you can."--"Just so! Just so! As
for this wench--she shall have something to remember this Cho[u]bei
by...." The worthy and trembling metal dealer took this remark as threat
of renewed violence. "For the kind reception and entertainment: thanks.
Jubei calls later." Nimbly he was on his feet. Diving under the _haori_
into which Cho[u]bei was struggling he bounced out the front, leaving
Cho[u]bei on the ground and floundering in the folds of his garments,
from which issued most violent language. For the first time that day
O'Také and O'Haru had something to amuse them. O'Taki refusing, they
assisted Cho[u]bei to his feet and adjusted his robe. Then one on each
side of him they set out for Honjo[u] Yoshidacho[u]. As parting salute
to O'Taki, Cho[u]bei finished his sentence.... "Something to remember on
Cho[u]bei's return." Her laugh in reply was so savage that the women
turned to look at her. In fright they hastened off with their prize.
At Honjo[u] the reception of Cho[u]bei called forth the whole house.
The pimp entered the presence of Toémon with confident and jaunty air.
"He has the contract?" said Toémon to the woman. O'Haru indicated a
sleeve. The _banto[u]_ and one of the _wakashu[u]_ (young men employes)
grasped the arms of Cho[u]bei. The incriminating document was deftly
removed by O'Haru and passed over to Toémon. "Now the fellow can neither
produce it, nor play his tricks with it." He looked it over carefully;
then placed it with his own copy. Cho[u]bei was too outraged and
frightened to do more than squat and gasp as he looked around the circle
of hostile faces. Without cushion he sat on the bare _tatami_, much as
does a criminal at the white sand. Said Toémon severely--"For once
Cho[u]bei has drunk hot water with this Toémon. Does he think to act
thus with impunity. The younger sister of his brother Kanémon, 'a noted
wench for the streets,' was brought here for life service; sold to
Toémon for twenty _ryo[u]_. Toémon does not intend that the price shall
be too high for him. Cho[u]bei cannot lie out of his own contract.
Toémon has it in his hands. Cho[u]bei has the twenty _ryo[u]_. Toémon
loses his money. Well and good: Toémon clears himself from the affair.
The responsibility lies wholly with Cho[u]bei. Let him look to it."
Cho[u]bei seized the moment when lack of breath in his anger halted the
speech of Toémon. He would have lied, but Toémon again broke in.
"Cho[u]bei has no brother. Cho[u]bei has no woman to dispose of on his
own signature. The one he did have, the one he possesses, Toémon knows
where to find. Toémon had a woman O'Iwa in his house. You sold the wife
of a _go-kenin_, Iémon Dono of Yotsuya; a woman who was the heir of
Tamiya Matazaémon the _do[u]shin_. The Lady O'Iwa is traced to the hands
of Cho[u]bei. Settle the matter with those in office--_machibugyo[u]_,
_do[u]shin_, _yakunin_--when the affair comes to light...."--"Easily,"
burst in Cho[u]bei, once more himself. "Honoured chief, matters do not
call for such earnestness. All this is mere froth and fury. It is true
that Cho[u]bei has deceived the chief; but it was at the orders of those
much higher. The lady of Tamiya was an obstacle. The sale was ordered by
Iémon Dono himself; backed by Ito[u] Kwaiba the head of the Yotsuya
ward."--"Cho[u]bei, you lie," said Toémon. The words and advice of
Kakusuké still rang in his ears. "Iémon Dono? Ito[u] Dono? Who else will
Cho[u]bei bring in as his bails? Such a man is not to be trusted. With
this Toémon there is no more dealing. The guild is to be warned by a
circular letter."
At this fearful threat all Cho[u]bei's jauntiness left him. His
livelihood, his existence, were at stake. He prostrated himself before
Toémon, dragging his body over the _tatami_ to the _zen_ (low table) at
which was seated this autocrat of the night-hawks, this receiver of the
refuse and worn-out goods of his greater brothers in the trade. Toémon
harshly repulsed him with his foot. Cho[u]bei in despair turned to
O'Matsu--"Honoured lady the chief is unreasonably angry. There shall be
no loss of money, no harm suffered by the affair. Deign to say a word
for Cho[u]bei."--"Since when has Matsu had aught to do with the affairs
of the house? The women are her concern. She goes not outside her
province." The pimp sought the feet of O'Také--"Condescend to plead for
Cho[u]bei. His fault is venial. When no injury results, pardon follows.
This is to cut off the breath of Cho[u]bei, of wife and child. Deign to
intercede." The street harlot laughed. Her cracked voice was rough--"The
commission of Cho[u]bei San has no attractions. This Také has had enough
to do with the matter. Truly Cho[u]bei is a wicked fellow. Také would
fare badly in such intercourse. Besides his company is too high flown.
Officials! Samurai! Cho[u]bei San seeks and will find promotion in the
world. Lodgings are preparing for Cho[u]bei Sama in public office--on
the Ryo[u]gokubashi; of such he is assured." She drew away from him,
harshly cackling. Thus he crawled from one to the other. It was
"Cho[u]bei Sama," "Cho[u]bei Dono," in derision they would call him
prince--"Cho[u]bei Ko[u]." All stuck out their tongues at him. The young
fellows of the house, several of them, stood round the entrance,
ostensibly occupied, but with one eye on the scene. As Cho[u]bei sought
the _banto[u]'s_ aid, the man raised a long lean leg and gave him a
violent kick in the breast. Strong hands seized him as he rolled over
and over to the edge of the platform, to land in the arms of the
enthusiastic _wakashu[u]_. The next moment, and Cho[u]bei was picking
himself up out of the mud and snow of the street. The lattice of the
house entrance closed noisily.
In his confusion of mind by force of habit Cho[u]bei turned round and
bowed with ceremony toward the place of his unceremonious exit--"The
time is inopportune. Cho[u]bei intrudes. He will call again." The
opening of the wicket gate, the peering, scowling face of the _banto[u]_
recalled the past scene to mind. With all the haste his tottering gait
allowed Cho[u]bei sprang off northward to the Adzumabashi and home. As
he sped, swaying along, his active mind was making calculations.
"Ryo[u]gokubashi, the last home of the outcast beggar--other than the
river which flows beneath it!" He shuddered at the prophecy. "Bah! One
rascal loses; another gains. Toémon loses twenty _ryo[u]_. From Iémon
San ten _ryo[u]_ was the commission. Ito[u] Dono gave five _ryo[u]_ and
asked no questions. The total to Cho[u]bei sums up thirty-five _ryo[u]_.
For a year the affair of O'Iwa has fattened Cho[u]bei; with something
still left." His foot struck a stone in the roadway. He looked up and
around to find himself before the Genkwo[u]ji. About to enter on the
maze of temple grounds and _yashiki_ separating him from the bridge his
gaze fell on the stagnant squalid waters of the canal. It was in the
dirty foulness of this North Warigesui that O'Iwa had disappeared.
Cho[u]bei pulled up short. A dead cur, copper hued, with swollen
germinating sides and grinning teeth, bobbed at him from the green
slime. Cho[u]bei slewed round--"A vile ending; but after all an ending.
Iémon profits; Cho[u]bei gets the scoldings. Ah! If it was not that
Ito[u] Kwaiba is engaged in this affair; Tamiya should pay dearly. There
is a double ration to share with Cho[u]bei--and not to be touched!
Ito[u] Dono is no man to trifle with. There was that affair with Isuké;
and now, as he says, Iémon is a very son to him." A memory seemed to
touch Cho[u]bei. His pace became a crawl. "Why hasten? Cho[u]bei rushes
to the fiend--that demon Taki. Cho[u]bei would rather face O'Iwa than
Taki in a rage." He laughed--"The attenuated hands of a ghost and the
thick fist of Taki, the choice is not uncertain. From the lady mild and
merciful there is nothing to fear. Evidently she has settled matters
once and for all in the Warigesui. But at the tenement--there it is
another affair. This Cho[u]bei will fortify himself against the shock. A
drink; then another, and still more. The scoldings will fall on a
blunted mind wandering in some dreamland. Time will soothe her rage.
To-morrow Cho[u]bei wakes, to find the storm has passed and Taki his
obedient serving wench." Near the Adzumabashi, following his
prescription against domestic enlivenment, he entered a grog shop; to
turn his good coin into wine.
The quarter at Hanagawado[u] in Asakusa was in an uproar. What had
occurred was this--There was an old woman--"Baba" in the native parlance
for Dame Gossip--a seller of the dried seaweed called _nori_ (sloke or
laver), still called Asakusa _nori_, though even at that time gathered
at Shinagawa, Omori, and more distant places. This old trot had
returned, to make her last sales to the excellent metal dealer who lived
opposite her own home in the _nagaya_, in which she lived next door to
the Cho[u]bei, husband and wife. The tongue of the _doguya_ was still in
full swing of the recital, not only of his own experiences, but of the
revelations of O'Taki. He was only too willing for this twenty-first
time to repeat the tale to the _nori_ seller, his good neighbour. The
good wife and wives listened again with open mouths. The Baba was the
most interested of them all. This choice morsel of gossip was to be
gathered at the primal source, from the lips of O'Taki herself. She was
all sympathy in her curiosity--ranging in the two cases of Cho[u]bei and
wife on the one part, and the metal dealer and his insulted household on
the other part. Away she stepped quickly from the assembly of ward
gossips. At the door of Cho[u]bei's quarters she stopped--"Okamisan!
Okamisan!... Strange: is she not at home? Is she so angered that no
answer is given? However, this Baba fears no one.... Nesan! Nesan!" She
passed the room entrance and went into the area. Glancing into the
kitchen--"Oya! Oya! The meal is burnt to a crisp. It has become a soppy,
disgusting mass. Nesan! Nesan! The rain falls, the roof window
(_hikimado_) is open." She put down her empty tubs in order to play the
good neighbour. The first thing was to close the window against the
descending rain. Quickly and deftly she proceeded to wipe the moisture
off the shining vessels, to put everything in order in O'Taki's usually
immaculate kitchen. Women of this class are finicky housekeepers in
their own homes. As the old wife became less engaged she began to hear
strange sounds above. Some one was in conversation--and yet it was a
one-sided queer kind of talk. The voice was threatening and wheedling.
Then she heard a child cry. Surely O'Taki was in the upper room; and
thus neglectful of her lord and household.
The old Baba went to the foot of the ladder and listened. "Nesan!
Nesan!" No answer came, beyond the curious droning monotone above,
varied by an occasional wailing cry of the child. It seemed to be in
pain. Resolute, the sturdy old Baba began to climb the steps. At the top
she halted, to get breath and look into the room. The sight she
witnessed froze the old woman in horror to where she stood. A woman was
in the room. She knelt over the body of the child, which now and again
writhed in the hard and cruel grasp. The queer monotonous voice went
on--"Ah! To think you might grow up like your father. The wicked,
unprincipled man! To sell the Ojo[u]san for a street whore, for her to
spend her life in such vile servitude; she by whose kindness this
household has lived. Many the visits in the past two years paid these
humble rooms by the lady of Tamiya. To all her neighbours O'Taki has
pointed out and bragged of the favour of the Ojo[u]san. The very
clothing now on your wretched puny body came from her hands. While
Cho[u]bei spent his gains in drink and paid women, Taki was nourished by
the rice from Tamiya. When Taki lay in of this tiny body it was the
Ojo[u]san who furnished aid, and saw that child and mother could live.
Alas! That you should grow up to be like this villainous man is not to
be endured.... Ah! An idea! To crunch your throat, to secure revenge and
peace, security against the future." She bent down low over the child.
Suddenly it gave a fearful scream, as does a child fallen into the fire.
The Baba, helpless, could only feebly murmur--"Nesan! Nesan! O'Taki San!
What are you about? Control yourself." She gave a frightened yowl as the
creature began to spread far apart the child's limbs, and with quick
rips of the sharp kitchen knife beside her dissevered and tore the
little limbs from the quivering body. At the cry the woman turned half
around and looked toward her. Jaws dripping red with blood, a broad
white flat face with bulging brow, two tiny piercing dots flashing from
amid the thick swollen eyelids, it was the face of O'Iwa glowering at
her. "Kiya!" The scream resounded far and wide. Incontinently the old
woman tumbled backward down the steep steps, to land below on head and
buttocks.
Some neighbours, people passing, came rushing in. A crowd began to
gather. "Baba! Baba San! What is wrong?" She could not speak; only point
upward and shudder as does one with heavy chills. As they moved toward
the stair a roar went up from the crowd in the street. O'Taki had
appeared at the window, her face smeared with blood and almost
unrecognizable. She waved a limb of the dismembered infant. The crowd
were frozen with horror. As some shouted to those within to hasten the
woman brandished the bloody knife. Thrusting it deep into her throat she
ripped and tore at the handle, spattering the incautious below with the
blood spurting from the wound. Then she fell backward into the room.
When the foremost to interfere rushed in they drew back in fear at what
they saw. The child's head was half knawed from the body; its limbs lay
scattered to this place and that. The body of O'Taki lay where she had
fallen. It was as if the head had been gnawed from the trunk, but the
head itself was missing. Search as they would, it was not to be found.
Meanwhile the news of these happenings spread rapidly. In the next block
it was shouted that the wife of the pimp Cho[u]bei had gone mad and
killed and eaten five children. A block further the number had risen to
twenty-five. At the guardhouse of the Adzumabashi she had killed and
gnawed a hundred adults.
These rumours were mingled with the strange tale of the old woman as to
O'Iwa San. In time there were many who had witnessed the suicide of
O'Taki, who were ready to swear they had seen the fearful lady of
Tamiya. Cho[u]bei first learned of the affair by being dragged from the
grog shop to the guardhouse of the Adzumabashi. Here he was put under
arrest. Distressed and discomforted he stood before the ruin in his
home, under the eyes of his neighbours. These stood loyally by him. As
happens in ward affairs in Nippon the aspect of the affair not
immediately on the surface was slow to reach official ears. Thus it was
as to the Tamiya phase involved. Cho[u]bei had suffered much, and was in
to suffer more. His fellow wardsmen were silent as to all but the actual
facts needed for interpretation. The marvellous only filters out slowly.
But they had their own way of dealing with him. The _kenshi_ (coroner)
made his report. Examinations, fines, bribes, the funeral costs, reduced
Cho[u]bei to his worst garment. With this after some weeks he was
permitted to go free. The house owner had turned him out. The wardsmen
had expelled him. Enough of Kazaguruma Cho[u]bei--for the present.