CHAPTER VIII
EVEN more than usually quiet and deserted was the narrow street. Thenoon sun glaring down on the town had sent everybody into the shade, andat first June attracted little attention as he trudged off in thedirection of the parade grounds. He knew the way that far, for Torooften took him there to watch the men drill. Soldiers passed him now intwos and threes, looking very smart in their buff uniforms with swordsclanking at their sides, and as they passed they laughed and turned tolook curiously at the small foreign boy. In fact curious eyes werepeering out of many of the open front shops, and mothers were evenholding up their babies and pointing to the strange little person whowas passing.
Here and there children were dipping water with their hands from pailsand sprinkling the dusty street, and when they saw June they paused andgazed open-mouthed, or shouted derisively: "Eijin! Eijin!" The wholeworld seemed strange and unfriendly, and even the sun tried to see howhot it could glare down on June's bare head.
When he reached the parade ground, he stopped to rest, but no sooner hadhe sat down than a circle gathered around him, two jinrikisha men, fourboys, a girl with a baby on her back and an old fish woman. There was nochatter, they were all too interested to talk, they just stood andlooked and looked until June felt that their eyes were pins and that hewas the cushion. After a while he turned to one of the men and said: "Doyou know where Monsieur Carre lives?"
They looked at each other and smiled. It was much as if a new bird hadtwittered a strange note, and one boy tried to imitate the sound andrepeated "Carre lives?" to the great amusement of the rest.
"Monsieur Carre!" went on June, getting angry, "he's a Frenchman. Don'tyou know where he lives?"
"Where he lives?" mimicked the boy and they laughed more than ever. Junewas so angry by this time that he could not tell which he wanted most todo, to cry or to fight.
Beyond him was a wilderness of criss-cross streets with strange eyespeering at him from every quarter. What if he should get lost andswallowed up for ever in this strange place where nobody knew him norloved him nor spoke his language?
Instinctively he looked back toward the way he had come. He had only toretrace his steps past the parade ground, hurry back in a straight lineuntil he came to the big red gate that marked the entrance to thetemple, and then turning to the right run breathlessly down the streetto the little gate in the wall, and after that to throw himself intoSeki's arms and tell her all his troubles!
But what would become of Monsieur? It must be very dreadful to be sickin bed with a guard waiting to arrest you if you do not get some papersfor him, papers which you do not possess. And if Monsieur was arrestedhe never would get back to France!
All this flashed through June's mind as he sat under the pine tree,trying with all his might to keep the black eyes all around from seeingthat he was about to cry. Just then a soldier went by holding himselfvery erect and looking neither to the left nor the right. Suddenly Juneremembered that soldiers did not cry, and with resolution he got up andturning his back to the temple gate and the parade grounds, he continuedcourageously on his way.
Far in the distance he could see, high on a hill, the old castle whichhe knew he must pass before he should come to Monsieur's. There weremany streets to be passed, and many obstacles to be overcome, for asJune got further from home the curiosity concerning him increased. Itwas very warm and he was tired but he dared not sit down for he dreadedthe gaping crowd and the curious eyes. By and by he came to the old moatwhich circled the castle, and as the road led out into the country, theboys who had followed him gradually fell back until he realized with joythat there were no more wooden shoes clattering after him.
In the moat big lotus leaves floated on the water and working among themwere coolies, naked, except for a loin cloth. They were too busy to takeany notice of a strange little boy, so he sat on a rock under a tree fora long time and wondered how it would feel to be down there under thelily pads and the lotus leaves, and if the same hob-goblins and spritesthat live under the sea did not sometimes come to play in the moats, andtake moonlight rides on the big broad leaves?
The sun which had beaten so fiercely on his head was slowly droppingtoward the distant mountain when he started once more on his way, and along shadow went beside him. The shadow was a great relief for it kepthim company without staring at him. By and by even the shadow desertedhim and he trudged along the country road following a vague impressionthat somewhere around the foot of the mountain Monsieur lived.
It was very quiet and lonesome with only the crickets and the frogstalking to each other out there in the grasses, and June's feet weretired and his head ached and he was hungry. A big lump kept lodging inhis throat no matter how often he swallowed. Now that the gray twilightwas creeping on, all sorts of fears assailed him. Ever since he couldremember Seki San had told him of the hob-goblins and gnomes that hauntthe woodlands and mountains in Japan. There were the Tengu, half birdand half man, that play all sorts of mischievous pranks on the farmers,there was the "Three-eyed Friar," and the "White Woman" who wandersabout in the snow, and worst of all was a bogie with horns, whose legsdwindled away to nothing at all, but whose body was very large andhorrible with a long neck twisted like a snake.
As he thought about it his heart began to thump, and he quickened hissteps to a run. All the trees seemed to be reaching out clutching handsas he sped by, and the darkness kept creeping closer and closer. Thesobs which he had held back so long came faster, and at last breathlessand panic-stricken he sank exhausted by the roadside and waited in dumbterror for what might happen.
Looking fearfully around he saw just above him a kind, white facepeering out of the twilight. It was only a stone face, and it belongedto an image that was sitting cross-legged on a mossy stone, but Junefelt as if he had met a friend. Of all the gods and goddesses that SekiSan had told him about, the one he knew best was Jizo, the friend oflittle children. The drooping figure, the gentle face, and the shavenhead had become as familiar to him as the pictures of Santa Claus athome. He had met him in the temples, in the woods, on the river road, inbig stone statues and little wooden ones, and now when he found him herein this lonesome night world, he felt a vague sense of relief andprotection.
Climbing up on the stone he fingered the pebbles that filled Jizo's lap,and touched the red cotton bib that was tied about his neck. He knewwhat it all meant for Seki San had told him many times. Jizo was theguardian of dead children, and the red bib and the pebbles had beenplaced there by mothers who wanted the kind god to look after theirlittle babies who had passed away into another world. There werehundreds of pebbles about the statue, in its lap, about its hands andfeet, and even on its bald head, and June was very careful not todisturb any of them. He wished he had something to give the good god,but he was too tired to go down and look for a pebble. He searchedthrough his pockets but nothing seemed to suit. Finally he separated oneobject from the rest, and placed it gently in Jizo's upturned hand. Itwas the old sword hilt that Monsieur had given him.
"It was the old sword-hilt that Monsieur had given him."]
Then, because he was very sleepy and tired, and because he was afraid ofthe dark, he nestled down in the niche under Jizo's upraised arm, andall the hob-goblins and evil spirits slipped away, and the stars cameout and the big white moon, and the monotonous droning of the cricketsand frogs seemed to be Seki San humming him to sleep, and the stonefigure against which he leaned seemed to sway toward him in themoonlight and the face changed to the gentlest, sweetest one he knew,and instead of the little pebbles on the head there was a crown ofthorns.
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