"He—is—dead," said the little woman, forcing each word out of her heart with agony, laughing shrilly at the end like a creature of pleasure.
"Ha, ha!" laughed Jones.
"Ha, ha, ha," echoed Hoshiko.
"You're as glad as I am!"
"Yes," smiled Hoshiko.
"Sure he's dead?"
"By your large God!" swore the laughing wife.
"Oh! I understand. And believe you, too! All right, my little Japanese doll," cried the delighted Jones. "Here's money."
What followed I may not tell: save that Hoshiko made a cold bargain—Jones calls it his Japanese marriage to this day,—whereby she got a great deal of money in a short time.
The next day Zanzi got this cable:—