Her eyes widened and shone.
“Oh!” she said.
“That’s only for the singing,” said Gonji; “if we become convert to his religion he will pay more.”
He turned to his companions for verification. They had moved on their way and he made to join them.
“No, no, don’t go! Wait a little while, please!”
“Well?”
“What is ‘convert?’”
“Why,” the Japanese boy of sixteen racked his brain for an explanation of the word, “why, that’s to—ah—that’s just abandoning the gods for a new one.”
“Oh!” His sleeve dropped from her grasp and she drew back, her face somewhat blanched.
“Abandon the gods!” she repeated. “But if we do that, then the gods will be angry with us.”