97
His sister-in-law did not stop sewing while talking to him. There was a big board made of ginko wood in front of her, with pieces of silk cloth, threads, and a pair of scissors that were scattered around in a disorderly manner on it. The mid-september night had grown late, it was somewhat chilly; a terrific vibrating sound was heard when a freight train of the Kobu Line passed along the dike back of the house.
Each time he heard the sound of wooden clogs he hoped that this time it would be her! Soon after the clock had struck eleven, he heard quick light steps echoing from a distance in the quiet night.
"Surely, this time, it must be Yoshiko-san," his sister-in-law said.
Indeed the footsteps stopped in front of the house, and the lattice door was opened with a rattling sound.
"Yoshiko-san?"
"Yes," her charming voice replied.
A beautiful figure wearing an uplifted hairdo slipped into the room from the entrance hall.
"Oh, my! Sensei!" she said. Her voice contained mixed feelings of surprise and embarrassment.
"I am sorry, I am so late," she said, coming to the threshold between the inner drawing room and the living room. She bent down slightly to glance quickly at Tokio's countenance and then immediately she pulled out something that was bundled up in a purple crepe wrapper, and slid it without speaking towards her landlady.
