his cousin from Uchisaiwaicho had come that day and had informed him his uncle would be going to Osaka on business in four or five days. "I phoned him," Sunaga said, "and asked him to see you before he leaves since I thought it would be better for you not to put it off till his return. He agreed. So if you want to see him, the sooner the better. Just keep in mind that I couldn't talk about you in detail over the phone with my sore throat."
"Thanks very much. I'll call on him as soon as possible," said Keitaro. As he put down the receiver, it occurred to him that since he had to make the visit, he might as well do it that night. Again he returned to his room, put on the serge hakama he had recently had made, and left.
He did not forget to slip his letter into the mailbox at the corner of the street, but by that time his concern for Morimoto's welfare retained only a slight glow, though when he heard the thud of the letter dropping to the bottom of the box after sliding it through the slot, it was with a not altogether unpleasant feeling that he imagined Morimoto opening it within a week.
He walked straight ahead until he caught a streetcar, his thoughts directed straight toward Uchisaiwaicho. By the time the streetcar had passed the stop at the foot of Kanda Shrine, he found himself repeating in his mind what he had heard Sunaga say on the phone a while ago, when suddenly some of the words came out automatically and startled him: "Today a cousin of mine from Uchisaiwaicho visited me." Those had been Sunaga's exact words. No doubt this cousin was the child of Sunaga's uncle. But the imperfection of the Japanese language failed to indicate whether the cousin was male or female.
"Which is it?" Keitaro was suddenly obsessed by this question. If male, it gave no clue about the woman he had seen from behind. This woman who had so aroused his curiosity would then remain standing in obscurity. But if the cousin were a woman, she was most likely the same person who had entered Sunaga's house before Keitaro had: the day, the hour, and the way she had gone into the house would prove her identity. Skillful at combining the imagined and the real, Keitaro decided the latter was true before it was proved. The moment he had interpreted everything in this way, he felt the satisfaction of having poured cold water onto his seething curiosity, but at the same time he experienced a disappointment in finding a clue in a quarter less extraordinary than he had expected.
When he came to Ogawamachi, he had half a mind to get off the streetcar for a moment and drop in at Sunaga's to ascertain the fact from his very lips. But unable to find any grounds for meddling into another's personal affairs, save his own rather simple curiosity, he suppressed the inclination and changed for the Mita Line. Still, as his streetcar rapidly passed over Kanda Bridge and ran through Marunouchi, he was quite conscious of his rushing toward the house of Sunaga's cousin. So taken was he by this thought that he inadvertently rode to Sakurada-Hongocho, one stop past the stop near the Kangyo Bank where he ought to have gotten off. Surprised, he went back toward the darker quarter. The street at night was deserted, but he had no difficulty in finding the house he was to visit. Looking in from the gate with its gaslight globe on which the name Taguchi was written, he found the house set further back than he had thought it to be. On entering the grounds, however, he discovered that a graveled path curving obliquely toward the porch hid it from the street and that a dark cluster of trees screening the facade added to the dignified impression of the house in the darkness of the night. Seeing this, Keitaro realized that the residence itself was not as extensive as it appeared.
The porch had two glazed front doors in pseudo-foreign style. These were closed, and no servant came to respond either to Keitaro's call or to his ringing of the doorbell. Not knowing what to do, he
"Thanks very much. I'll call on him as soon as possible," said Keitaro. As he put down the receiver, it occurred to him that since he had to make the visit, he might as well do it that night. Again he returned to his room, put on the serge hakama he had recently had made, and left.
He did not forget to slip his letter into the mailbox at the corner of the street, but by that time his concern for Morimoto's welfare retained only a slight glow, though when he heard the thud of the letter dropping to the bottom of the box after sliding it through the slot, it was with a not altogether unpleasant feeling that he imagined Morimoto opening it within a week.
He walked straight ahead until he caught a streetcar, his thoughts directed straight toward Uchisaiwaicho. By the time the streetcar had passed the stop at the foot of Kanda Shrine, he found himself repeating in his mind what he had heard Sunaga say on the phone a while ago, when suddenly some of the words came out automatically and startled him: "Today a cousin of mine from Uchisaiwaicho visited me." Those had been Sunaga's exact words. No doubt this cousin was the child of Sunaga's uncle. But the imperfection of the Japanese language failed to indicate whether the cousin was male or female.
"Which is it?" Keitaro was suddenly obsessed by this question. If male, it gave no clue about the woman he had seen from behind. This woman who had so aroused his curiosity would then remain standing in obscurity. But if the cousin were a woman, she was most likely the same person who had entered Sunaga's house before Keitaro had: the day, the hour, and the way she had gone into the house would prove her identity. Skillful at combining the imagined and the real, Keitaro decided the latter was true before it was proved. The moment he had interpreted everything in this way, he felt the satisfaction of having poured cold water onto his seething curiosity, but at the same time he experienced a disappointment in finding a clue in a quarter less extraordinary than he had expected.
When he came to Ogawamachi, he had half a mind to get off the streetcar for a moment and drop in at Sunaga's to ascertain the fact from his very lips. But unable to find any grounds for meddling into another's personal affairs, save his own rather simple curiosity, he suppressed the inclination and changed for the Mita Line. Still, as his streetcar rapidly passed over Kanda Bridge and ran through Marunouchi, he was quite conscious of his rushing toward the house of Sunaga's cousin. So taken was he by this thought that he inadvertently rode to Sakurada-Hongocho, one stop past the stop near the Kangyo Bank where he ought to have gotten off. Surprised, he went back toward the darker quarter. The street at night was deserted, but he had no difficulty in finding the house he was to visit. Looking in from the gate with its gaslight globe on which the name Taguchi was written, he found the house set further back than he had thought it to be. On entering the grounds, however, he discovered that a graveled path curving obliquely toward the porch hid it from the street and that a dark cluster of trees screening the facade added to the dignified impression of the house in the darkness of the night. Seeing this, Keitaro realized that the residence itself was not as extensive as it appeared.
The porch had two glazed front doors in pseudo-foreign style. These were closed, and no servant came to respond either to Keitaro's call or to his ringing of the doorbell. Not knowing what to do, he
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