“Was the gentleman at that stall on that day? Certainly he must have been!” thought he. But how did he find my address? Very strange! The house, however, where I was treated to-day was the very same restaurant that the clerks at our shop talked about. How in the world did the gentleman hear the talk of our clerks?”
It seemed a miracle to Senkichi. He did not dream that Mr. A. and Mr. B. had been discussing that same sushi-reataurant too. An idea then took strong hold of him. Mr. A. must have somehow heard the discussion of the two clerks, and so had decided to tread him to the same restaurant. If that had not been the case, then why did Mr. A. pick on that special house that day?
At any rate Senkichi began to think about Mr. A. as a most miraculous customer, and one who knew how he had been disgraced at the sushi-stall. He must have been aware of the clerks’ conversation, and must have been able to read their innermost thought into the bargain, and so had decided to treat him so splendidly, and in such a kind way. Snch a person must surely be above any ordinary man. “He may be a patron saint,” thought the boy, “or he may perhaps be a hermit, or a Fox-god.”
His reason for thinking him a Fox-god was because he had an aunt who was a strong believer in such a God, and who once had almost been beside herself in this belief. When possessed by the Fox-god, her body would tremble like an aspen-leaf, and at such time she
