A Servant of Satan: Romantic Career of Prado the Assassin — page 144: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

136 A SERVANT OF SATAN. passed: by. Frederick was unremitting in his attention, and nursed her with what was apparently the most Kees solicitude. Their residence at the ‘‘ vashiki” was brought to a sud- den close shortly afterward by a tragic incident. A valu- . able gold bracelet belonging to Nina had disappeared, and as the young Samurai (nobleman) who acted as interpreter and major-domo, had engaged the servants and rendered himself personally responsible for, their honesty, Frederick laid the blame on him, and reproached him about the,theft in the most violent and unmeasured terms. ‘The poor fel- low seemed to take the matter to heart very much, but ut- tered no word of response. The following day, however, he summoned all ‘ia friends and relatives, to the number of about twenty, and caused them to assemble in one of the detached pavilions of the villa which had been assigned to his use. Squatting on their heels around the room, with their “ hibashi” or char-— coal boxes in front of them, from the burning embers of which they every few minutes lighted their small and pecu- larly shaped pipes, they listened in silence to a long docu- ment which the young man, who was seated in the middle of the room, read to them. Its contents were to the effect that he had rendered himself responsible for the honesty of the servants of his employer’s establishment, that an im- portant theft had occurred, that he had been held accoun- table, and that not only had he been loaded with reproaches, but even himself been suspected ‘of being the thief. Dis- honor such as this could only be wiped out by his blood. He had therefore requested his friends and relatives to be present during his last moments, and to receive his dymg wishes. As soon as he had concluded the reading of this docu- ment eyery one of those present prostrated himself with a long-drawn exclamation of ‘‘ Hai,” which seemed to come comicbooks.com —