“Do not speak the words to him, mother,” she said, in Japanese. “He did not mean to make me weep.”
Aoi was quieted in an instant. She still looked uncertainly, however, at the stranger.
A sudden idea seemed to come to her mind. She went a hesitating step nearer to Saunders and raised her face to his, while her eyes searched his face. She said:
“You come to see me, august sir, or—or—my daughter?”
“Your—that is—”
He flushed uncomfortably, but indicated, with a slight nod of his head, the young girl.
Aoi’s eyes narrowed curiously. Her trembling lips compressed themselves into a stiff, rigid line. When she spoke her voice was quite hoarse.
“In Japan,” she said, “a young man does not visit a maiden unless he is her lover.”
Saunders swung his stick uneasily.
“I am an American,” he said, lamely.