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O'Kami San looked much embarrassed and hung her head. "Make honorable journey to husband's home," she said in a low voice. "Have you been getting married?" demanded Billie, astonished. "Yesterdays passing four," answered O'Kami San. "You mean four days ago?" "Yes, honorable Mees Cam-el."
But little O'Kami San had gone up into the hills to her aged husband, and if she guessed that there was anything brighter and happier than just being an "attentionly wife" to an old man, she never murmured. No one has ever plumbed the depths of unselfishness and self-sacrifice of the little Japanese wife. During the last few miles of the journey they left the train and took to jinrikshas.
Scarcely had they settled themselves in the train when they became aware that two Japanese women were smiling and bowing repeatedly in the most cordial manner. "Why, it's Mme. Ito," exclaimed Miss Campbell. "And O'Kami San," finished Mary, who remembered names for everybody. "Are you going to Nikko, too, O'Kami San?" asked Billie, sitting beside the pretty little Japanese.
Me like honorable garden and beautiful American ladee," answered O'Kami, speaking slowly and distinctly. English pronunciation never seemed to trouble the Japanese. It was only choice of words and construction. "What do you do all day, O'Kami San?" asked Elinor. "Much honorable work," answered the Japanese girl. "Cook-ing; sew-ing"; she pointed to her kimono; "mu-seek; book-stu-dee.
Need attentionly young wife." Only once did O'Kami San glance at the two handsome young men who belonged to the Campbell party. But Nicholas, always gallant and thoughtful, helped Mme. Ito and her daughter to alight at the way-station where they were to change cars, while Reggie carried their small belongings and placed them on the platform.
He's sitting cross-legged in a little niche in the hillside below the bridge and he has a beautiful frame of clematis vines around him. I think he's delightful." O'Kami San was unable to grasp the meaning of this rapid fire of words, at least it seemed to her to be a rapid fire. Most people are under the impression that a foreign language is spoken faster than their own.
She was so entirely unreal and cunning that the girls had no eyes for the rosy rain of cherry blossoms dropping from the trees, nor the lovely vista of garden with its flaming bushes of azaleas and cool green clumps of ferns. Out of compliment to the season O'Kami San wore a robe of delicate pink embroidered all over with sprays of cherry blossoms in deeper shades.
"O'Kami San, will you not ask her?" said Billie. "Perhaps she would tell you in Japanese when she can't in English." At the words "O'Kami San," Onoye jumped to her feet in subdued excitement. "O'Kami San," she repeated. The two Japanese girls confronted each other.
"I think I'd just lay my head on the executioner's block and say, 'Strike it off. It's not worth the trouble." "Think garden pretty, O'Kami San?" began Mary, whose method of talking with the Japanese was to preserve only the framework of a sentence and drop all articles and small words. "Much pretty.
Nancy lingered behind and helped her out by giving Yoritomo an account of their accident on Arakawa Ridge. This he immediately passed on to his mother and aunt. In the meantime, O'Kami San, trotting along beside Billie, with Mary and Elinor following behind, might have just stepped out of a Japanese fan.
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