The evening world. Newspaper, September 15, 1922, Page 32

+ i } THE CHARACTERS IN THE STORY. THE Captain in the HONORABLE GEOFFREY BARRINGTON, son of Lord Brandan, a British Army. resigns his commission when he weds pS THE -EVENING WORLD, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1922." Ohn Par Illustrated By will.B. Johns path which led to the discreet se- clusion of Reggie Forsyth's domain. Reggie must have heard them com- ing, for he changed the dreamy ASAKO FUJINAMI, heiress, daughter of Japanese parents who are dead, melody which he was pfying into brought up and educated in breach don society by LADY EVERINGTON, a brilliant matchmaker, who did not foresee the result Geoffrey laughed. of the trnging together of the two, At the reception toasts are drunk tothe again! convent schools and introduced to Lon- the chorus of a poptilar song which had been life in London a year ago. “Father's home Father's home again!" he closer union of Britain and Japan, but both British and Japanese diplomats hummed, fitting \the words to the in the distinguished company evade the suggestion that the couple visit Japan tune, a! he waited for the door to as appears to te their desire. Some ot the reception guests frankly question open the wisdom of the marriage and doubt the possibility of a happy life for the Lady Everington. in her anxiety for the young Captain, who has by Reggie bes het special protege, interviews ‘They were greeted in the passage He was dressed in all respects like @ Japanese gentleman, COUNT SAITY, the Japanese Ambassador, who tells her the Fujinamis belong to in black silk haorl (cloak), brown the nouveaux riches of ee but gives little information of their origin or wadded kimono and fluted hakama * the source of their wea ith. A visit te his wife's guardians, the Muratas, a (skirt). He wore white tabi (socks) lapantse {1mily living in Paris,anda sojourn among the cosmopolitans of and straw zori (slippers). It ts a be- Dea .vzile st NISCOUNT KA whom he has never seen. Japan. A stop shorked by the Americans and favorably regarded formance. 1ANAKA. a nondescript Japanese attaches himself to the Barringtons, fol- rpens the desire to see Japan. Aboard the ship the 1IMURA, returning home to wed a bride chosen by A part ot the revelation is the Chonkina or Geisha dance, seef by Barrington 1n company with two English acquaintances. nglishmen that marriages with Japanese women are not lows them evarywhere qnd accompanies them to Tokio, where Geoffrey ects REG 31E FORSYTH. attache of the British Embassy, musical and romantic, shaking off old attachments in Paris for a new one in Japan, the novelty being VAE SMITH daughter of a Japanese mother and an English father. Bar- rington meets Miss Smith, who ‘smokes and languishes in Forsyth’s apart- ments at the Embassy. CHAPTER Vill. Tomarite mo Tsubasa wa ugoku Kocho kana! The Half-Caste Girl, Little butterfly! Even when it settles Its wings are moving. EXT mérning ft was snowing and bitterly cold. Snow in Japan, snow in April, snow upon the cherry trees, what hos- pitality was this? The snow fell all. day, muf- fling the ailent city, Silence ts at all times o1 of Tokyo characteristics. For so large and important a metropolis \it is Strangely silent always. The only continuous street noise is the grating and crackling of the trams. The lumbering of horse vehicles and the pulsation of motor traffic are absent; for as beasts of burden horses are more costly than men, and in 1914 rotor cars were still a novelty. Since the war boom, of course, every nari- kin (nouveau riche) has rushed to buy his car; but even so, the state of the roads, which alternate between boulders and slush, do not encourage the motorist, and are impassable for heavy lorries. So incredible weights and bundles are moved on hand-bar- wows; and bales of goods and stacks @f produce ure punted down the dark ‘uterways which give to parts of Tokyo a Yenetian picturesquencss. Passengers, too proud to walk, filt past noisclessly in rubber-tired rick- shaws—which are not, as many be- Veve, an ancient and typical Oriental conveyance, but the modern inven- tion of an English missionary called Robinson. The hum of the city ts dominated. by the screech of tramears in the principal streets and by the patter of the wooden clogs, an inces- sent, Irritating sound like rain. But these were now hushed by the snow. Neither the snow nor the other of Nature's discouragements can keep the Japanese for long indoors, Per- ups it is because’ their own houses are so draughty and uncomfortable. This day they were out in their thousands, men and women, drifting eimlessly along the pavements, as 1s their wont, wrapped in gray ulsters, their n&cks protected by ragged furs, pathetic spoils of domestic tabbies, and their heads sheltered under those wide oil-paper umbrellas, which have become a symbol of Japan tn foreign eyes, the gigantic sunflowers of rainy weather, hugs blooms of dark blue or black or orange, inscribed with the Dame and address of the owner in cursive Japanese script ‘The snow falls, covering the city’s fMeannesses, its vulgar apings of Americanisms, its crude advertise- ments. On the other hand, the true native architecture asserts Itself and becomes more than aver attractive The first chill of the rough weather kept Geoffrey and Asako by their {reside But the indoor amenities of Japanese hotel ite are few. There are a stuleness in the public rooms and £\ angular discord in the private sit Ung rooms which condemn the idea of » comfortable day of reading or of veriting to friends at home about the pirit of the t. So at the end of the first ha a desolate afternoon, & visit embassy suggested itelf Lady Cynthia Cairns's drawing room Was hot an artistic apartment; it-was too comfortable for that. There were too many chairs and sofas; and they were designed on broad lines for id, permanent sitting of stout, ab bodies, There were too nny photographs on view of pers distinguished for than for their ir solidity rath 1 looks, the por tiaits of the guests whom one would expect to find installed in those chairs, Out of the sea of easy circumstances rose Lady Cynthia. A daughter of the famous Hurl of Cheviot, hers was a @hegt bul not unmajestic figure, in- cased tn black silks which rustled and showed flashes of beads and jet in the dancing light of the fire. Miss Gwendolen Cairns, who had apparently,been reading to her moth er when je visitors arrived, was a tall girl with fair cendre hair. “How are you, my dears?’ Lady Cynthia was saying. ‘I'm so glad you've come in spite of the tempest. Gwendolen was just reading mo to sleep.” ¥ “It was @ shock when I heard the bell ring. “So youjve seen Reggie Forsyth al- ready, he tells me. What do you think of him?" “Much the same as usual; seemed rather bored.’ Lady Cynthia had led her guest away from the fireside, where Gwen- dolen Cairns was burbling to Asako. Geoffrey could feel the searchlight of her judicial eye upon him, and a sensation like the pause when a great man enters a room. Something es- sential was going to invade the com- monplace talk. “Capt. Barrington, your coming here just now is most providential. Reggie Forsyth is not bored at all, far from it." thought-he would like the coun- try,” said Geoffrey guardedly. “He doesn't like the country. why should he? But he likes somebody In the country. Now do you under- staid?” , “Yes,’’ agreed Geoffrey, “‘he showed me the, photograph of a half Japancse girl. We sai} that she was his inspl- ration for | i color.’* “Wxactly, and she's turning his brain yellow,” snapped Lady Cynthia, forgetting, as everybody else did, in cluding Geoffrey himself, that the same criticism might apply to Asako. However, Geoffrey was becoming more sensitive of late, He blushed a Uttle and fidgeted, but he answered: “Reggie has always been casily in- flammable.”’ “She is a dangerous young lady,"’ said the Ambassadress. ‘Two years ago a young business man out here was engaged to be married to her. In the autumn his body was washed ashore near Yokohama. He had been bathing imprudently, and yet he was a good swimmer. Last year two of- ficers attached to the Embassy fought a duel, and one was badly wounded It was turned into an accident, of course; but they were both admirers of hers, This year it js Reggte's turn And Reggie is a man with a great future, It would be a shame to lose him,"* Lady Cynthia, aren't you being rather pessimistic? Besides, what can I do?” “Anything, everything. Eat with him, drink with him, play cards with him, go to the dogs with him—no, what @ pity you are married. But, even #0, it's better than nothing, Play tennis with him; take him to the top of Fujiyama, I can do noth- ing with him. He flouts me publicly. The old man can give him an official scolding; and Reginald will just mimic him for the benefit of the Chancery. I can hear them laughing all the way from here when Reggie is doing what he calls one of his ‘stunts.’ But you--why, he can see in your face the whole of London, the London which he respects and appre- ciates in spite of his cosmopolitan airs. He can see himself introducing Miss Yae Smith in Lady Evertngton's drawing room as Mrs. Forsyth." “Is there a great objection?" asked Geoffrey. “It ia impossible,"’ said Lady Cyn- thia A sudden weariness Geoffrey. Did that ruthless “Impos- eible" apply to his case also? He must have shown signs of his embar- rassment, for Lady Cynthia said: “Don't be absurd, Captain Barring- ton. The case is entirely different A lady {8 always a lady, whether she is born in England or Japan. Mt Smith is not a lady; still worse, she is a half-caste, the daughter of an adventurer journalist and a tea-house woman. What can one expect? It is bad blood. After taking leave of the Cairne, Geoffrey and Asako crossed the garden compound, white and Christ- mas-like under its covering of snow. came over which led into a further apartment were thrown open. Two big fires were blazing, and old gold screens glittering like Midas's © treasury, warded off the draught from the win- dows. She looked like a jeweled butterfly on a great black leaf. 'Yao—Miss Smith,’’ sald. Reggie, “these are my old friends whom I was telling you about.’’ The small creature rose slowly with @ dreamy grace, and stepped off her cushion as a fairy might alight from her walnut-shell carriage. “Lam very pleased to meet yo she purred. It was the stock American phrase MISS YAE SMITH HAD ARRIVED ON HER DAILY VISIT TO THE COURTS.” which has crossed the Pacific west- wards; but the citizen's brusquencess was replaced by the condescension of a queen. . Her face was a delicate oval of the same creamy smoothness as Asako's. But the chin, which In Asako's case receded a trifle in obedience to Japa nese ennons of beauty, was thrust vig- orously forward; and the curved lips in their Cupid's bow seemed moulded for kissing by generations of European Passions, whereas about Japanese mouths there 1s always something sullen and pinched and colorless. The bridge of her nose and her eyes of deep olive green,‘the eyes of a wild- cat, gave the lle to her mother's race. Reggie's artistry could not help watching the two women together with appreciative satisfaction. Yae was even smaller and finer-fingered than the pure-bred Japanese, Ever since he had first met Yae Smith he had compared and contrasted her in his mind with Asako Barrington. He had used both as models for his dainty music, His harmonies, he was wont to explain, came to him in woman's shape. To express Japan he must see a Japanese woman, Not that he had any interest in Japanese women, physically, Yae Smith seemed most anxious to please in spite of the affectation of her poses, which perhaps were neces- fary to her, lest, looking so much like @ plaything, she might be greeted as such. She always wanted to be liked by people, She was voluble in a gentle catlike way, praising the rings on Asako's fingers, and the cut and material of her dress. But her eyes were forever glancing toward Geoffrey. He was so very tall and broad, standing in the framework of the folding doors beside the slim figure of Reggie, more girlish than ever in the skirts of his kimono, Capt. Barrington, the son of lord! How fine he must look in unl- form, in that cavalry uniform, with the silver culrass and the plumed hemlet like the English soldiers in her father's books at home “Your husband is very big,” she said Agako; “much too big for Jape COPYRIGHT, (922. little Eurasian; “lt must be nice. There was a warmth, a sincerity in the tone which made Asako stare at her companion. But the childish face was innocent and smiling, Reggie sat down at the plano, and, still watching the two women, he be- gan to play. “This {s the Yee Sonata,” he ex- plained to Geoffrey. It began with some bars from an old Scottish song: “Had we never loved so sadly, Had we never loved so madly, Never loved and never parted, We had neer been broken-hearted.” Insensibly the pathetic melody faded away (nto the staccato beat 1 d sensible dress for any:°f @ seisha’s song, with more fe Carly, un : reny’ rhythm than tune, which doubled re : doubled its pace, stumb- at Nagasaki is the first sight of real It was warm tndeed. There was and re: r . the heat of a greenhouse in Reggie’s ling and leaping up again over Barrington is @rtistically ordered room. It was lar- strange Eda’ ji ‘a di: learn from the tal ger too than on the occasion of Geof- All of @ sudden the , musician it onarritgen: with rest frey's visit; for the folding doors stopped. “T can't describe your wife, now that I see her,"’ he sald. ‘I don't know any dignified old Japanese music, some- thing like the gavottes of Couperin only in a setting of Kyoto and goid screens; and then there must be a dash of something very English which she has acquired from you—'Home, Sweet Home’ or ‘Sally tn Our Alley.’ “Never mind, old chap!" said Geof frey: ‘play ‘Father's Home Again!’ "* Reggie shook himself; and then struck up the rolling chorus; but, as he Interpreted it, his mood turned pen- sive again. The tone was hushed, the time slower. Reggle ceased playing. The two girls were stitting together now on the big black cushion in front of the fire. ‘Uhey were looking at a’ portfolio of Japanese prints, Reggie's embryo col- lection. The young frien “Geoffrey, you've not been in the East long enough to be exasperated by ft. Ihave. So our ideas will not be in sympathy. “It's not what I thought’ it was going to be, I must admit. Everything is so much of a muchness, If you've seen one temple you've seen the lc and the same with everything here is the first uge. Disappoint We have heare so much of th Zast and {ts splendors, the gorgeous East and the rest of it. The reality is small and sordid, and like so much that is ugly in our own country. “The second sfage in the observer's progress is Discovery, Have you read diplomat said to his Lafeadio Hearn's books about Japan?" “Yes, some of them," answered Geoffrey. ‘It strikes me that he was a thorough-paced lar." “No, he was a poet, a poet; and he jumped over the first stage to dwell for some time in the second, probably because he was by nature short-sighted. That is a great ad- vantage for discoverers."’ “But what do you mean by the sec- ond stage?" “The stage of Discovery! Fave you ever walked about a Japanese city in the twilight wher the evening bell sounds from a hidden temple? Have you turned into the by-streets and watched the mén returning to their wise little houses and the family groups assembled to meet them and help them change into their kimonos? Have you heard the splashing and the chatter of the bath-houses which are the evening clubs of the common ple and the great clearing houses ‘They found their way dows . “im, I should like that," said the of gossip. Have you see anything = e Is tone... BY BON! AND LIVERIGHT. of this without a feeling of deep pleasure and a wonder as to how these people live and think, what we have got in common with them, and what we have got to learn from them?" “TL think I know what you mea: sald Geoffrey. “It's all very plo- turesque, but they always seem to be hiding something.”* “Exactly,” said his friend; “and every man of intelligence who has to live In this country thinks that he need only learn thelr language and use their customs and then he wilt find out what {ts hidden, That 1s what Lafcadio Hearn did; and that is why P wear a kimono. But what did he find out? A lot of pretty stories, echoes of old civilization and folk- lore; but of the mind and heart of the Japanese people—the only colored people, after all, who have held their heads up against the white races— little or nothing until he reached the third stage, Disillusionment. Then he wrote ‘Japan, an Interpretation,’ which 1s his best book.'* “T haven't read it. “You ought to, His other things are mere melodies; the kind of stuff £ can play to you by the hour, This ts a serious book of history and political science." jounds @ bit dry for mi Geoffrey “It is a disillusioned man's ex- planation of the country into which he had tried to sink, but which had rejected him. He explains the pres laughed ent by the past. That ts reasonabie. The dead are the real rulers of Japan, he says. Underneath the surface changing, the nation ts deeply con- servative, suspicious of all interfer- ence and unconyentionality, sullenly self-satisfied; and, above all, still as much locked in {ts primitive family system as it was a thousand years 0. You cannot be friends with a Japanese unless you are friends with his family; and you cannot be friends with his family unless you belong™to it. ‘This is the deadlock; and this is why we never get any forwarder."* “Phen ['ve got a chance since I've got a Japanese family “[ dont know, of course," said Reggte; ‘but I shouldn't think th would have much use for you. They will receive you most politely, but they will look upon you as an inter- loper and they will try to steer you out of the country.’ “But my wife?’ said Geoffrey is their own flesh and all."" “Well, of course, I don't know. But if they are extremely friendly I should look out, if I were you. The Japanese are conventionally hospitable, but they are not cordial to strangers un- less they have a very strong motive."* Geoffrey Barrington looked in the direction where his wife was seated on a corner of the big cushion, turn- ing over one by one a portfolio full of parti-colored woodprints on their broad white mounts. The firelight flickered round her like a crowd of im. portunate thoughts. Asako was holding up a pled en. graving of a sinuous Janaese woman, an Utamaro from an old block recut, zzling raiment, with her sash tied ront of her and her head bristling ish amber pins like a porcupine. Geoffrey, will you please take me Yoshiwara?"' she asked. erequest dismayed Geoffrey He knew well enough what was}to be “she blood,+ after seen at the Yoshiwara. He would have been Interested to visit the licensed quarter of the demi-mondo himself in the company of—say Reg- gle Forsyth. But this was a branch of inquiry which to his mind should be reserved for men alone. But Reggie, who was used to the curiosity of every tourist, male and female, about the night-life of Tokyo, answered readily: Yes, Mrs. Barrington. It's well worth seeing. We must arrange to go down there.”* “Miss Smith tells me,’ sald Asako, “that, all these lovely gay creatures are Yoshiwara girls; and that you can see them there now.”’ “Not that identical lady, of course,’* said Reggie, who had Joined the group by the fireside; ‘she died a hundred years ago; but her professional great- granddaughters are still there.”’ “And I can see them!" Asako clapped her hands. ‘Ladies are al- lowed to go and look? It does not matter? It is not improper?’ “Oh, no,” said Yae Smith, ‘my brothers have taken me. Would you like to go?" “Yes, I would,” said Asako, glanc- ing at her husband, who, however, showed no signs of approval. CHAPTER IX Ito San Ama no hara Fumi-todorokasht Naru-kami mo Omou-naka wo ba Sakuru mono ka wal Can even the God of Thunder Whose f all resounde In the plains of the sky Put asunder Those whom love joins? EOFFREY'S conscience was disturbed. His face was lined and = worrled with thought, such as had left him untroubled since the effervescence of his early youth, Like many young men of his caste, he had soon submit ted all the baffling riddles of conduct to the thumb rule of Good This Yoshiwara question was to him some- thing more than a moral conundrum, It was a subtle attack by the wife of his bosom, aided and abetted by his old friend Reggie Forsyth and by the mysterious forces of this unfamiliar land as typified by Yae Smitlf, against the citadel of Good Form, against the stronghold of his principles. Geoffrey himself wished to see Yosh- iwara, His project had been that one evening, when Asako had been Invited to dinner by friends, he and Reggte would go and look at the place. This much was sanctioned by Good Form. For him to take his wife there, and for people to know that he had done ko, would be the worst of Kad Form, the conduct of a rank outsider, Un- fortunately, it was also Bad Form for him to discuss the matter with Asako, A terrible dilemma. . . . . . The tennis courts at Tokyo—which stand in a magnificent central posl- lion one day to be occupied by the Japanese Houses of Parliament—are ‘orm every afternoon the meeting place for youth in exile with a sprinkling of Japanese, some of whom have ac- quired great skilleat the game, Towards tea-time the ladies arrive to watch the evening efforts of thetr husbands and admirers, ‘and to escort them ~ome when the light begins to fail. Bo the tennis courts have be- come a little social oasis in the vast desert of ortental life The day was warm and bright. The snow had vanished as though by supernatural command. Geoffrey en- joyed his game thoroughly, although he was beaten, being out of practice and unused to gravel courts. But the exercise made him, in his own Ian guage, “sweat like a ple," and he felt better, He thought he would shelve the unpleasant subject for the time being; but it was Reggle himself who revived It. “About the Yoshiwara," he sald, seating himself on one of the benches placed round the courts, “They are haying a special show down there to- morrow, It will probably be worth seeing.” “Look here,” sald Geoffrey. ‘Is tt the thing for ladies—English ladfes— to go to a place like that?” “Of course,” answered his friend, “It 1s one of the sights of Tokyo. Why. T went with Lady Cynthia not so long ago. She was quite fascinated.” “By Jove!" Geoffrey ejaculated “But for a young girl?. Did Miss Cairns go too?" “Not on that occasion; but I have no doubt she has been."’ “But tsn't {t much the ‘same as taking a lady to a public brothel?" “Not tm the least," was Reggie's answer. “It is like along Piccadilly after nightfall, looking in at the Em- Dire, and returning via Regent Street; and tn Paris, like a visit to the Rat Mort and the Ral Tabarin. It is the loval version of an old theme." “But is that a nice sight for a lady?" “It 1s what every lady wants to Bee."" Geoffrey Barrington started to laugh at his own discomfture. “Reggie, you were always a devil for arguing!"’ he sald, “At home one would never talk mbout things like that." “There must be a slight difference | then between home and abroad. Cer- tain bonds are relaxed, Abroad, one is a sightseer. One is out to watch the appearance and habits of the na- tives in a semt-scientific mood, just as one looks at animals in the Zoo. Besides, nobedy knows or cares who one fs.” “But my wife,’ Geoffrey con- tinued, troubled once more, “I can't imagin “Mrs. Barrington may be an excep- tion; but take my word for It, every woman, however good and holy, ts in- tensely interested in the lives of her fallen sisters. They know less about them than we do. They are therefore more mysterious and interesting to them.” The tennis courts were filling with youths released from offices. In the court facing them, two young fellows had begun a single. One of them was a Japanese; the other, though his hair and eyes were of the native breed, was too fair of skin and too tall of stature. He was a Eurasian. They both played exceedingly well. rallies were long sustained, the drives beautifully timed and taken. The few unemployed about the courts soon made this game the object of their epecial attention. “Who are they?" asked Geoffrey, glad to change the conversation. “That's Aubrey Smith, Yae's broth- er, one of the best players here, and Viscount Kamimura, who ought to be quite the best; but he has just mar- ried, and his wife will not let him play often enough.” “Oh,” exclaimed Geoffrey, “he was on the ship with us coming out." He had not recognized the gbod- looking young Japarfese. He had not expected to meet him somehow in such a European milieu. Kamimura had noticed his fellow-traveller, how- ever; and when the set was over and the players had changed sides, he came up and greeted him most cordi- ally. : “LT hear you are already married," said Geoffrey. ‘Our best congratula- tions!" “Thank replied Kamimura, blushing se Musi? readily in 8P of complexion, We Japanese must not boast about our wives. It is what you call Bad Form, But I would like her to meet Mrs. Barrington. She speaks English not so badly.’ “Yes,"" said Geoffrey, “I hope you will come and dine with us one eve- ning at the Imperial.” “Thank you very much,"’ answered the young Viscount. ‘How long are you staying in Japan?"* “Oh, for some months. “Then we shall meet often, I hope," he said, and returned to his game. Miss Yae Smith had arrived on her daily visit to the courts. She was already surrounded by a little retinue of young men, who, howeyer, scat- tered at Reggie's approach. Miss Yae smiled graciously on the two newcomers and inquired after Mrs, Barrington. “It was so nice to talk with her the otner day; it was like being intEng- land again."” Yes, Miss Yae had been in England and in America too, She preferred those countries very much to Japan It was so much more amusing. ofirey took his leave and re- turned to his hotel Asako had been entertaining a visi- tor, She — out shopping for an > Th®*Asako asked Tanaka, who had been hour, not altogether pleased to find herself alone. On her return 4 Japa- nese gentleman in a vivid Breen suit { had risen from a seat in the lounge of the hotel and had introduced hims “T am’Ito, your attorney-at-law. He was a sinall, poly pgrson with @ round, olly face and heavy, voluted mustaches. The expression of his eyes was hidden behind gold-rimmed spectacles, It would have been im- possible for a European to guess his age, anything between twenty-five and fifty. His thick,plum-colored hair was brushed up on his forehead In @ butcher boy's curl. His teeth glit- tered with dentist's gold. He wore @ tweed suit of bright pea-soup color. Over rainbow tie and yellow boots, the bulge of an egg-shaped stomach hung a massive gold watch-chain Diossoming — into semi-heraldic charm, which might be a masonio emblem or a cycling club badge. His breastpocket appeared to hold a quiv- erful of fountain pens. “How do you do, Mrs. Barrington? I am pleased to meet you. “Iam your friend Ito,” he began, “your father’s friend, and I am sure to be your friend, too." But for the reference to her father she would have snubbed him. She di cided to give him tea in the lounge, and not to invite him to her private rooms. He patted her han& and called her “little girl.'* “Tam your old lawyer,” he kept on saying, our father’s friend, and your best friend too. Anything you ant, just ring me and you have it. ‘There's my number. Don't forget now. Shiba 1826. What do you think of Japan, now? Beautiful country, I think. And you have not yet seen Miyanoshita, or Kamakura, or Nikko temples. You have not yet got auto- mobile, I think. Indeed, I am sorry for you. That Is a very wrong thing! I shall at once order for you a very splendid automobile, and we must make a grand trip. Every rich and noble person possesses splendid auto- mobile."* “My husband gives me all I want, and a great deal more,” said Asako. “Hé is very kind man," grinned the lawyer, “because the money is all yours—not his at all. Ha, ha!’* Then, seeing that his officiousness was overstepping the mark, he add- ed: “I know American ladies very well. They don't give money to their hu bands. They tell their husbands, ou give money to me.’ They just do everything themselves, writing checks all the time! “Really?"’ said Asako; “but my husband ts the kindest and best man in the world!"" “Quite right, quite right. Love your husband like a good little girl. But don't forget your old lawyer, Ito. I was your father's friend. We were at school together here in Tokyo." This interested Asako immensely. She tried to make the lawyer talk further, but he said that it was a very long story, and he must tell her some other time. Then she asked him about her cousin, Mr. Fujinami Gentaro. “He is away from town just now, When he returns, I think he wil] in- vite you to splendid feast."” With that he took his leave, “What do you. think of him?’ watching the interview with an at- tendant chorus of boy sans, “He is halkara gentleman," was the reply. Now, hatkara {s a native corruption of the words “high collar,” and de- noted at first a variety of Japanese “nut,"" who aped the European and the American in his habits, manners and dress—of which pose the high collar was the most visible symbol. The word was »resumably contemp- tuous fn its origin. Asako must have looked very thoughtful; for when Geoffrey came in, he saw her still sitting in the lounge, and exclaimed: “Why, my little Yum Yum, how serious we are! We look as if we were at our own funeral. Couldn't you get the things you wanted?’ “Oh, yes,"" said Asako, trying to brighten up, ‘‘and I've had a visitor. Guess!" Relations?" and yes, lawyer." “Oh, that little blighter. That re- minds me. I must go and see him to- morrow, and find out what he ts do- ing with our money." “MY — money, laughed “Tanaka never lets me forget t ‘Of course, little oney’ said Geot- frey, “I'd be in the workhouse if it wasn't for you." “Geoffrey, darling,” said his -wif hesitating, “will you give me som thing “Yes, of course, what do you wan’ “I want a motor car-—yes, please; and I'd like to have a check book of my own. Sometimes when I am out by myself I would like” Why, of course," said Geoffrey; “you ought to have had one long ago, But it was yowr own idea; you didn't want to be bothered with money.’ “Oh, Geoffrey, you angel; you are 80 good to me. She clung to his neck; and he, see- It was Mr. Ito, the my sweetheart; ing the hotel dogerted and nobedy abuut, or he his army apd carried her bodily upstairs to the mn: tercst and amusement of the chorus of boy sans, who had just been dis- cussing why nna san had teft okusan for so many hours that after- noon, and who and what was the Japanese gentleman who had beem talking to okusan in the hall (To Be Continued To-Morrovay 4 ‘