If I continued
walking this way, I thought I might strike a house with the sign of
"boarders taken" or something similar, and I would consider the first
house with the sign the one provided for me by Heaven. I kept on going
round and round through the quiet, decent part of the town when I found
myself at Kajimachi. This used to be former samurai quarters where one
had the least chance of finding any boarding house, and I was going to
retreat to a more lively part of the town when a good idea occurred to
me. Hubbard Squash whom I respected lived in this part of the town. He
is a native of the town, and has lived in the house inherited from his
great grandfather. He must be, I thought, well informed about nearly
everything in this town. If I call on him for his help, he will perhaps
find me a good boarding house. Fortunately, I called at his house once
before, and there was no trouble in finding it out. I knocked at the
door of a house, which I knew must be his, and a woman about fifty years
old with an old fashioned paper-lantern in hand, appeared at the door. I
do not despise young women, but when I see an aged woman, I feel much
more solicitous. This is probably because I am so fond of Kiyo. This
aged lady, who looked well-refined, was certainly mother of Hubbard
Squash whom she resembled.
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