Page:Madame Butterfly; Purple eyes; A gentleman of Japan and a lady; Kito; Glory (1904).djvu/229

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GLORY
213

"An'—an' she going marry you? You going marry she? " It took courage, but she had it.

"No."

"Ah—ah—ah! Tha' 's sawry—ver' sawry. I don' lig that. Tha' 's not nize. Take 'nother cup tea an' rice-cake? " But her face, radiant with joy, distinctly belied her words.

"She is not sorry—nor am I—now—nor need you be. But I was hit hard. I went to Tokio and enlisted. Was at Sei-kwang. Got this wound there. Am home on furlough. I tried to fancy it all patriotism. But it was—" He tapped the cardiac region and laughed. "I'm afraid you have healed me. I don't want to fight now."

The girl's face lit up anew.

"Oh!—an'—an' you go'n' marry me—lig our both parents promise each other—long ago? Ji-Saburo—you—go'n' marry—me?"

He had no such thought. But, as he looked at her now, she was beautiful to him in a way no American girl had ever been. Her key-note was daintiness. Miss Norris of Philadelphia had told him curtly that of course he must marry a Japanese, when it came to that. Well, Glory had panically