A Japanese miscellany - University of Oregon

272 Japanese Miscellany
left of me ; — I could not see them : we shouted
to each other. I tried to keep with the waves
— the others called to me: — ' Jinyo! Jinyo! —
!
come this way, — this way ' But I knew that
to go in their direction would be very dangerous;
for every time that a wave struck me
sideways, I was taken under. So 1 called back
to them ,
' Keep with the tide — !
keep with the
current 1
' But they did not seem to understand
— and they still called to me, ' Kocchi e koi !—
kocchi e koi ! '^ — and their voices each time
sounded more and more far away. I became
afraid to answer. . . . The drowned call to you
like that when they want company: Kocchi e
koi! — kocchi e koi! . . .
" After a little time the calling ceased ; and I
heard only the sea and the wind and the rain.
It was so dark that one could see the waves
only at the moment they went by, — high black
shadows,—each with a great pull. By the pull
of them I guessed how to direct myself. The
rain kept them from breaking much; — had it
not been for the rain, no man could have lived
long in such a sea. And hour after hour the
1 " Come this way I
"
;