bashfulness neither of them once touched upon private matters concerning their household affairs, and this naturally made her feel more at ease, enabling her to talk much more freely with her dear cousin.
After a little time, however, their conversation began to drag a little, and sometimes they would both become silent. Whenever this happened, she would drop her smiling eyes, and would gaze at the burning coals in the brazier. In the depths of her heart she had a feeling of expectation, but it was the merest suggestion of expectancy only. Whether it was done purposely or not, her cousin always managed to drive this feeling from her mind by suddenly finding some other new topic to discuss. This caused her a slight feeling of misgiving, and she would at once raise a questioning face to see if she could detect anything at all which betrayed his feelings towards her. But she noticed nothing at all. He seemed very calm in his manner and continued to puff leisurely at his cigarette. She would have rather liked to believe that he was feigning a little, yet his manner was quite collected and serene as he chatted to her.
Shortly after this Teru-ko came back, and finding her elder sister waiting for her, she was beyond herself with excitement and joy. Though Nobu-ko smiled, there were a few stray tear-drops in her eyes.
For a while the two sisters, forgetting all about the presence of Sunkichi, plied each other with eager questions concerning their respective lives during the past year or so. The younger woman’s cheeks glowed
