stitions of the coast recurred to me,—old vague warnings of peril in the time of the passage of Souls. I reflected that were any evil to befall me out there in the night,—meddling, or seeming to meddle, with the lights of the Dead,—I should myself furnish the subject of some future weird legend. … I whispered the Buddhist formula of farewell—to the lights,—and made speed for shore.
As I touched the stones again, I was startled by seeing two white shadows before me; but a kindly voice, asking if the water was cold, set me at ease. It was the voice of my old landlord, Otokichi the fishseller, who had come to look for me, accompanied by his wife.
“Only pleasantly cool,” I made answer, as I threw on my robe to go home with them.
“Ah,” said the wife, “it is not good to go out there on the night of the Bon!”
“I did not go far,” I replied;—“I only wanted to look at the lanterns.”
“Even a Kappa gets drowned sometimes,”[1] protested Otokichi. “There was a man of this
- ↑ This is a common proverb:—Kappa mo oboré-shini. The Kappa is a water-goblin, haunting rivers especially.
