At last Hattori was seated upon the cushion which the servant had placed for him, and tea was brought in. When the servant had withdrawn, the two men smoked in silence, until Hattori knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and asked:
“Have you seen him?”
Kano raised his brows slightly, and answered:
“I do not understand you. Do you mean the sponsor? Certainly, I have seen him.”
“Ah! you are thinking of to-morrow! No, I do not mean the sponsor or any one connected with your family. Bah! I mean the new guest we must entertain, and who will offer you his congratulations.”
“A new guest!” exclaimed Kano. “Surely, I must be growing dull, for I fail to catch your meaning.”
“Well, then,” said Hattori, cautiously looking into the garden, “another metsuké[28] arrived this afternoon from Yedo, and was bold enough to come to the castle and demand to be admitted. I was ordered to receive him and find out what he wanted. When I came into the room where he was waiting, he introduced himself by handing me a letter from the Go rojiu,[29] to the clan. There were enough councillors present to open it, so I excused myself and called our friends. It was very brief and to the point. The Go rojiu desires to mention our clan as a model for Japan, and has therefore sent this fellow to report.”
“What is his name?”
“Sawa.”[30]
“Sawa, Sawa,” repeated Kano slowly. “I think I know the name. How old is he, do you think?”