At first Tom thought that when he heard one crack on the gong it meant that that was the first time he had come in. But when he heard only one stroke the second and the third time, while some other people got two taps the first time they came, he knew that this must be a mistake.
Before he found out what these taps really meant Moriyama returned to town. Tom greeted him heartily enough, and as they went into the house together that morning the porter struck, first two taps, then one.
“What is that banging for?” cried Tom. “I’ve been trying to find out ever so long, but it’s too much for me.”
“Why two taps are for me and one is for you,” said Moriyama.
“How’s that?”
“He taps once for a citizen or a merchant,” said Moriyama, “and twice for an officer or an interpreter—I didn’t tell you I had been appointed an interpreter since I returned—and for a governor or a consul he’d strike three times, and four times for an admiral or higher officer.”
“Once for me and twice for you,” said Tom. “What a fool the man must be!”
“He does what he has to do, according to our laws,” said Moriyama.
“But anybody ought to know better than that,” cried Tom. “Look here! I’m going to talk to him and then you can interpret what I say, Mr. Two-taps.”
So Tom stepped up to the porter and remarked: