"I don't call it being a real friend to have any combination at all," put in Elinor, "because anybody who learns the combination can get the secret."
Nicholas laughed.
"You don't understand the Japanese, Miss Butler," he exclaimed. "They regard all persons with important secrets as combination safes. Sooner or later they believe they can learn any combination if they only persist."
"Why don't you stand up for your country, Mr. Ito?" asked Nancy.
"What Nicholas says is true," answered Yoritomo. "If the secret concerns his country, the Japanese will learn it if he must give up his life. What you call 'spy' in your language should be changed to patriot, or one who risks all for his country. Every Japanese is a spy, because every Japanese will suffer for Japan."
"Perfectly good logic," said Nicholas.
"Are you a spy?" asked Mary, so innocently that even the imperturbable
Yoritomo laughed.
"I am, in the sense of being a patriot," he answered. "There is nothing I would not do for Japan."
"Are you a Samurai?" asked Billie, hardly understanding the meaning of the word.
"My grandfather was. There are no real samurai now. Only descendants."