“Your voice so hard,” she said.
His eyes were still stern. He spoke mechanically.
“I was going to say something—something personal to you to-day. You have shocked me. That is all. But I want to hear what you have to say. There may be extenuating—well, tell me how it came about that you pretended conversion.”
“I wanted moaney,” she said.
She saw his hands clinch and shrank before the look upon his face. She shook her head uncertainly.
“For money!” he repeated.
“Yaes, I needed some velly much. Gonji say you pay big moaney to convert, and so—and so—I became convert.”
The minister closed his eyes, then covered them spasmodically with his hand. Sitting back in his seat he remained with his face thus half shielded while she spoke on.
“But,” she said, “you din not give me moaney; no, not even one half sen.” She laughed a little, almost joyously.
“Ah, I am so glad you din nod give,” she said. “I doan want that moaney. After that first day my honorable step-mother doan be unkind no more. Also she give me plenty to eat, an’ new dress, also Matsuda Isami ask me marry wis him evelly day in those weeks.”