The boy travellers in the Far East : adventures of two youths ... - Library

THE MAID OF THE INN. 285
THE FERRY-BOAT.
would have been a serious matter if the beast liad broken away and
jumped into the stream with all his load about him. A Japanese ferry-
boat does not appear the safest thing in the world, but, somehow, one
never hears of accidents with it. If any occur, they must be carefully
kept out of the papers.
After riding about three hours through a succession of villages and
across fields, they reached a hotel, where John suggested they had better
halt for lunch. It was a Japanese inn, without the slightest pretence
of adapting itself to foreign ideas. There were the usual fish-stew and
boiled rice ready, and with these and their own provisions our travellers
made a hearty meal, well seasoned with
that best of sauces, hunger. There was
a stout maid -of -all -work, who bustled
about in a manner not altogether char-
acteristic of the Japanese. At the sug-
gestion from the Doctor that he would
like to bathe his head in some cool
water, she hurried away, and soon re-
turned, bearing a bucket so large and so
full that she was forced to bend her body
far to one side to maintain her equilib-
rium. Her powerful limbs and general
ruddiness of feature were indicative of
the very best condition of robust health,
and the boj'S agreed that she would make
a most excellent model for an artist who
was endeavoring to represent the best
types of the Japanese peasantry. the hotel-maid.