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Show Ill Bain's eyes touched him with admonitory absent-mindedness, but without interrupting memories. In Tomo politeness and audacity had merged in triumphant paradox: automatically he bobbed into a bow, hissing like a raptured kettle whenever he faced an officer; at the same time his very solicitude was offensive, since the hisses veiled suggestions of unparal-lad effrontery. Luckily it was made in such carefully garbled English that the full insolence did not strike the auditor until the middle of the night, when he sat up in bed. "Ret me," he said now. Captain Bain had spotted the station-master, and was rummaging in his briefcase for the orders. "Tomo do things wer." "ARIGATO, TOMOYUKI-SAN. BOKU GA YARU." Bain's years in Japan made him slip into the other language with ease if not total intelligibility, for having studied from a book he presented Japanese clothed in English sounds, so that the melody came through distantly, a tune played in a bottle. Tomo looked up with black, soft, insolent eyas. "Prease. Speaking Japanese ranguage.?" Tomo and Bain conversed often; had he been offered a movie-pass he would not have missed a syllable. "MOCHIRON NIHONGO DESU. NIHONGO J'A NAI N'DES'KA?" "Nip-pon-go?" Tomo gave each syllable a beautifully invidous enunciation. "Nip-pon-go desu ka? Japanese, sir?" "TOMOYUKI-SAN, NIJUNENKAN NIHONGO WO HANASHITE IMAS' - " Tomo looked around and smiled. "Japanese is difficurt ranguage. 'Nihongo" is Japanese. Sometimes we say 'Nippongo.' Boss mean |