Chapters 21-23 Summary

On the third day of his visit, Hervé Joncour and Hara Kei take a walk to the crest of a hill and watch a flock of birds. Hara Kei says that the local people read the future in the birds' flight and that he once brought down a blue bird with an arrow to find his fortune, at his father's prompting. The two men spend the afternoon together. When they are making their goodbyes, Joncour asks Hara Kei about the girl. Hara Kei behaves as if the question was never uttered.

On the last day of his visit, Joncour examines Hara Kei's aviary of rare birds He recalls a story about how men in the East honor the fidelity of their mistresses with exotic birds rather than jewelry. On his way back to the guesthouse, he watches the shadows cast on...