Another day went, and another night came, and the dead
came with it. But this time no lamentation was heard without the house of
Hagiwara; for the faithless servant found his reward at the Hour of the Ox, and
removed the o-fuda. Moreover he had been able, while his master was at the bath,
to steal from its case the golden mamori, and to substitute for it an image of
copper; and he had buried the Kai-On-Nyorai in a desolate field. So the
visitants found nothing to oppose their entering. Veiling their faces with their
sleeves they rose and passed, like a streaming of vapor, into the little window
from over which the holy text had been torn away. But what happened thereafter
within the house Tomozo never knew.
The sun was high before he ventured again to approach his
master's dwelling, and to knock upon the sliding-doors. For the first time in
years he obtained no response; and the silence made him afraid. Repeatedly he
called, and received no answer. Then, aided by O-Mine, he succeeded in effecting
an entrance and making his way alone to the sleeping-room, where he called again
in vain. He rolled back the rumbling shutters to admit the light; but still
within the house there was no stir. At last he dared to lift a corner of the
mosquito-net. But no sooner had he looked beneath than he fled from the house,
with a cry of horror.
Shinzaburo was dead—hideously dead;—and his face was the
face of a man who had died in the uttermost agony of fear;—and lying beside him
in the bed were the bones of a woman! And the bones of the arms, and the bones
of the hands, clung fast about his neck.
Hakuodo Yusai, the fortune-teller, went to view the
corpse at the prayer of the faithless Tomozo. The old man was terrified and
astonished at the spectacle, but looked about him with a keen eye. He soon
perceived that the o-fuda had been taken from the little window at the back of
the house; and on searching the body of Shinzaburo, he discovered that the
golden mamori had been taken from its wrapping, and a copper image of Fudo put
in place of it. He suspected Tomozo of the theft; but the whole occurrence was
so very extraordinary that he thought it prudent to consult with the priest
Ryoseki before taking further action. Therefore, after having made a careful
examination of the premises, he betook himself to the temple Shin-Banzui-In, as
quickly as his aged limbs could bear him.Ryoseki,
without waiting to hear the purpose of the old man's visit, at once invited him
into a private apartment.
“You know that you are always welcome here,” said Ryoseki.
“Please seat yourself at ease.... Well, I am sorry to tell you that Hagiwara
Sama is dead.”
Yusai wonderingly exclaimed:—“Yes, he is dead;—but how did
you learn of it?”
The priest responded:—
“Hagiwara Sama was suffering from the results of an evil
karma; and his attendant was a bad man. What happened to Hagiwara Sama was
unavoidable;—his destiny had been determined from a time long before his last
birth. It will be better for you not to let your mind be troubled by this
event.”
Yusai said:—
“I have heard that a priest of pure life may gain power to
see into the future for a hundred years; but truly this is the first time in my
existence that I have had proof of such power.... Still, there is another matter
about which I am very anxious....”
“You mean,” interrupted Ryoseki, “the stealing of the holy
mamori, the Kai-On-Nyorai. But you must not give yourself any concern about
that. The image has been buried in a field; and it will be found there and
returned to me during the eighth month of the coming year. So please do not be
anxious about it.”
More and more amazed, the old ninsomi ventured to
observe:—
“I have studied the In-Yo,(1) and the science of
divination; and I make my living by telling peoples' fortunes;—but I cannot
possibly understand how you know these things.”
Ryoseki answered gravely:—
“Never mind how I happen to know them.... I now want to
speak to you about Hagiwara's funeral. The House of Hagiwara has its own
family-cemetery, of course; but to bury him there would not be proper. He must
be buried beside O-Tsuyu, the Lady Iijima; for his karma-relation to her was a
very deep one. And it is but right that you should erect a tomb for him at your
own cost, because you have been indebted to him for many favors.”
Thus it came to pass that Shinzaburo was buried beside O-Tsuyu,
in the cemetery of Shin-Banzui-In, in Yanaka-no-Sasaki.