Half-Light over Warm Seas 97 



it, but it was the proudest possession of the village, and was always 

 kept in the best of repair. It had been several months since it had 

 last been wetted, and it was very stiff. The gang had to wait until 

 all the boats had been launched and all the gear assembled before 

 they had enough hands to move it. By then Masatoshi had jumped 

 ashore, gabbling away in great excitement. 



liye was immediately at his side, elaborating on all that he said, 

 although it is not the place of unmarried girls to speak when men- 

 folk are talking, but nobody rebuked her, not only because they 

 were so excited, but because they had all learned long before that 

 their best efforts would be to no avail. liye, although only seventeen, 

 was taller than anybody else in the village, and she had a sweet, 

 friendly, and most courteous disposition, but she was irrepressibly 

 ebullient, had not the slightest respect for any custom or tradition, 

 and, being as strong physically as any man, did almost exactly as she 

 pleased. The girls as well as the men adored her, and backed her up 

 in anything she did, for it is an ancient tradition in Nippon that out- 

 standing women make the best leaders, which is more important 

 than that they should keep silent. So it was that liye ended up 

 giving orders to all who would listen. 



Nevertheless, furious argument broke out as to what was to be 

 done, and this might have continued all day, for the manning of the 

 oars was a most important point in the lives of these people, when 

 one of the children gave a shout of glee and pointed to Masatoshi's 

 boat. In it sat liye at the left forward oar, smiling quietly, her chin 

 resting on her hands. 



At this the men burst out laughing, but the older women set up a 

 deplorable wailing, while the children ran about screaming, ''Yuki- 

 mashOy" which can best be translated as, "Let's go." And the chil- 

 dren prevailed over the wailing women, for the men made a con- 

 certed dive for the boats, and before the ancient ones' counsel or 

 commands could be heard, they had pushed off, liye pulling the lead 

 in Masatoshi's boat with a stroke that put the other oarsmen to 

 strenuous work. And so the fleet of more than twenty boats strung 

 out down the bay, liye in the lead boat, and the big boat of Jindo 

 San, with Masatoshi at the helm and filled with the net, trailing be- 

 hind. The mist closed upon them beyond the headland and they 

 disappeared into a bright, white, clammy gloom that blanketed the 



