美铁之战系列 第三卷 铁领主 第14部分

wentdownonyourhandsandkneeswheneverasamuraicamebyandyou

putyournosetothefloorandkeptittheretillhelefttown.Above

all,youneverlooked'emrightintheeye.

Itwasn'texactlyanewsituation.TheDeputyProvosbackhome

regularlyroughedupdefaulterswhocameonstrongintheeyeball

department,butwiththesehigh-flyersitwasfatal.Federation

justicewasthoughttobeswiftandtoughbutitwasaslow-motion

replaycomparedtowhathappenedwhenthesedinksgotonyourcase.If

yousteppedoutoflinethatwasit,yougotitrightthereandthen.

JodihadseenabreakerandthreeMutesgettheircardscancelledand,

fromthefewwordstheyhadmanagedtoexchangewithguysfromthe

otherflankboatduringthemeal-break,itwascleartheyweren'tthe

onlyones.Whateverthetreatmentbeinghandedout,thedinksallowed

noprotests.Theyexpectedtotalsubmission,andthebestwaytostay

outoftroublewastowalkaroundwithyourheadpermanentlybowed.So

farithadworked.TherehadbeenafewoccasionswhenJodihadtoyed

withthesuicidalideaofsinkingherteethintothecotton-clad

tootsiesofthepugnaciouspygmythattoweredoverher,butshehad

wiselykepthermouthshut.

Thered-stripessetdownasteppedboxinthemiddleoftheassembly

area.Thesamuraimountedit,surveyedthekneelingrenegades,then

addressedtheminBasic.

'Nowyoua-SITA!"Everybodysankbackontheirheelsandplacedtheir

handsontheirthighs.Mostkepttheireyesdown,chinsontheir

chest.Thosethatdidn'tgotawhiplaidacrosstheirneck.

'Arrthosewivbarooarma-ribbonwee-rahnowstairfo'wah!"Baroo

...?

JodiandKelsoexchangedhesitantglances,thenleapttotheirfeetas

theysawseveralwhite-stripesconvergingonthemwithraisedcanes.

Theyranthroughtothefrontandknelt,asdirected,beforethe

samurai.

'Ah-raiseah-ryehan'i-fuhyouknowhowfly-uhskyma-shin."

KelsoextendedaclenchedfistWithasinkingheart,Jodididthe

same.

AsimilarprocedurewasemployedduringtrainingintheFederationto

recruit'volunteers'forshittydetailslikeswabbingdownthejohn.

ThesamuraiswitchedintoJapaneseandissuedastringofinstructions

tohissidekicks.JodiandKelsowerehauledtotheirfeetandhustled

away.

Jodicursedinwardly.Oh,Dave,youmeathead!Fancytellingthose

dinksontheboatyouwereawingman!Andpersuadingmetodothe

same!They'dneverhaveknownifyouhadn'tgoneandopenedyourbig

mouth.Whatadumbthingtodo...

Thered-stripesranthematthedoubledownaconfusingmazeof

alleyways,somelitbysolitarylanterns,othersindarkness.They

stoppedbeforeastoutdoor.Itwasquicklyunlockedandtheywere

pushedinside.Astheyduckedtheirheads,wooden-soledfeetslammed

painfullyintotheirbacksides,propellingthemheadfirstontoapile

ofstraw.Thedoorclosedwithabang.Akeyturnedinthelock,

boltsslammedhome.

JodiandKelsodraggedthemselvesintoasittingpositionagainstthe

wallandlistenedasthejabberofvoicesfadedaway.Itwastoodark

toseeoneanotherbutshecouldhearKelsogulpingdownairashe

triedtorecoverhisbreath.Whenhefinallylapsedintosilence,Jodi

heardherownheartpounding.

'Atleastwe'restillinonepiece,'shemurmured.

'Forthemoment,'gruntedKelso.'FuckingBrickman..."Hespatinto

thedarkness.'Ifyouhadn'tgonebackforhim,wewouldn'tbehere!

Imusthavebeencrazytoletyoutalkmeintoit."

Itwasafamiliarrefrain.'Itwasn'tjustyouandme,Dave."

'Damnright!YoudroppedMedicine-HatandJinxinittoo!"'Gimmea

break.Therewereplentyofotherguyswhogotpickedup-andthey

weremilesaway."

'Yeah,andwecouldhavebeenmilesawaytoo!Ifwe'dstuckwith

Malone,wemightstillbeoutthere!Insteadofwhichwewalkright

intoit!Christo!ThatfuckingBrickmanwaswaitingtomeetthose

lumps!"Helaughedbitterly.'Iheardofguysbouncin'beaverbut,

boy-IneverthoughtI'dlivetoseeatruebluedolledupthewayhe

was!"'Yeah,Iknow,'saidJoditiredly.'Iaskedhimaboutthat.He

saiditwasallinagoodcause."

'Yeah,well,friendornofriend-''Dave,howmanytimesdoIhaveto

tellyou?He'snofriendofmine."

'Soyousay.ButifourpathsevercrossagainIswearI'mgonnakill

thatlump-suckingsonofabitchstonedead."

'Ihopeit'ssoon,Dave,Ireallydo."Jodiwriggleddeepintothe

straw.Maybethenyou'llquitbellyaching...

Acarrierpigeon,landingintheloftatopthewesterntowerofthe

Shogun'ssummerpalaceatYedo,broughtnewsofLordYama-Shita's

arrivalatKari-faran.AsecondconfirmedhisdockingatPi-saba;a

thirdannouncedhisdepartureforWirimasa-poro.Noneofthemmade

mentionofanyuntowardactivity.Usingtheabbreviatedsecretcode,

thethirdmessagealsoreportedthattwolong-dogshadbeenselected

fordispatchbyroadconvoytoLordMin-Orota.Onered-hairedmale,

onefemale,herfaceandneckdisfiguredbypinkscartissue.There

wasnomentionofthemysteriousYokoMi-Shima,oranyother

unidentifiedvoyager.?Toshirobegantofeeluneasy,andtookto

pacingtheupperstoneterracealongtheouterwall,scanningthesky

forthenextarrival.

Sincecarrierpigeonswerearrivingatfrequentintervalsfromall

partsofNe-Issan,hishopeswerefirstraisedandthendashedasthe

incomingbirdsfailedtodeliverthenewswhichcouldmakeorbreakhis

career.

Itwasthatcrucial.Hehadlaidaccusationsoftreacheryontwo

countsagainstthemostpowerfuldomain-lordinthecountry,had

accusedasecond,acloseallyoftheToh-Yota,ofdisloyaltyand

conspiracywiththefirst,andhadaccusedtheShogun'sbrother-in-law

ofdishonouringhiswifebycouplingwithalong-dog.

Ifhenowfailedtosubstantiateanyoralloftheseclaimshecouldto

useaphrasefromtheancientlanguageofIyuni-steisa-findhimself

wellandtrulyupShitCreekwithoutapaddle.

SixagonisingdaysafterYama-Shita'sreporteddeparturefor

Wirimasa-porobythenorthernroad,acourierpigeonfinallywingedits

wayoutofthewestandbroughtaglimmeroflighttotheendof

Toshiro'stunnel.

ThemessagecamefromPi-saba.Thecarriage-boxtransportingacertain

YokoMi-Shimahadbeenbookedintoaroadconvoytravellingalongthe

GreatEastRoad.

Ox-cartagehadalsobeenreservedforhertwoVietnamesehouse-women.

Thecarriagefeeshadbeenpaidbyamerchantconnectedbymarriageto

theKo-Nikkafamily.ThegivendestinationwasFin,buttravelling

withthesameconvoyweretwolong-dogsboundfortheHeronPoolat

Marabara.

TheShogunpassedToshirothetinyslipofricepaperwithoutcomment

andwatchedwithanexpressionlessfaceashisHeraid'seyeshungrily

devouredthealmostmicroscopictext.

Toshirowassweptbyanoverwhelmingsenseofrelief.

Hewasnotoutofthewoodsyetbuthesenseditwasallcoming

together.

'Whatdoyouthink?"

'Ithinkwe'vegot'em,sire."Aquicklaughbrokefromhislips.

'Canyouimagine-Imean,usingthesamenamebothways?Unbelievable

..."

'So...whatnow?"

'Wehavetoliftherandthetwoservantswhiletheconvoy'spassing

throughLordSe-Iko'sdomain.AsIunderstandit,youhavehimdown

as,uh-neutral."

'Notexactly.Iftheballoonwentup,Se-Ikowouldprobablywaitto

seehowthingsweregoingthencomedownonYama-Shita'ssideofthe

fence."

'Thenit'sthebestplace.Itwouldbesaferoncetheycrossoverinto

Mitsu-Bishiterritory,butthey'reoneofthepillarsofthe

Shogunate.

Itwouldlooktoomuchlikeasetup."

'True.Buthowaboutthis?Takethemoutoftheconvoywhileit's

travellingthroughSe-Iko'spatch,holdthemovernight,thencrossover

theborderandreleasethemontheotherside.Thatwaywecan

stage-managewhatever.judicialresponseisrequired."

'Meaning?"

'MydearToshiro,wecannotallowsuchlawlessnesstogounpunished.

I'llaskMitsu-Bishitogatherupthirtyormorecommoncriminals,

dressthemupasronin,choptheirheadsofftoexhibitbythe

roadside,andhavehimclaimhismencaughtthepeopleinvolved.

Beforeanybodygetstoquestionthem,ofcourse."

'Whoisgoingtomaketheraidontheconvoy?"

'AveryreliablegroupledbyamanwhoanswerstothenameofNoburo

Naka-Jima.Arealpro."

'MayIask,sire,ifheknowswhatisexpectedofhim?"

'Notyet.I'llsetupameeting.Themostconvenientplaceisthe

post-houseatMidiri-tana.JustsouthofAri-saba.You'llneeda

disguise,ofcourse.Ieyasuwillprovideyouwithfalsepapersand

giveyouallthedetails."

Toshirosatbackonhisheels,hismouthopeningandshuttinglikea

strandedcarp.'M-me,sire?B-but''Yes,Iknowwhatyousaid,but

I'vedecidedit'sbetternottohavetoomanypeopleinvolved.That's

whyIwantyoutohandlethispersonally.Afterall,itisyour

conspiracy.Andifanythinggoeswrong,I'llknowwhotoblame."

'B-butsire.Ari-sabais''-milesaway.That'sright,'said

Yoritomo.'You'dbettergetmoving."

Toshiroplacedhisforeheadonthetopstepoftheveranda,thenrose,

backeddownthepathfortherequiredtenpacesandturnedandhurried

away.

Yoritomowatchedhimuntilhedisappearedbehindtheneatlytrimmed

shrubbery.HeknewthatwhentheHeraldhadrecoveredhiscomposure,

hewouldtacklethisassignmentwithhisusualvigouranddedication.

HishunchaboutYokoMi-Shima,theitinerantcourtesan,wasprobably

correct.Toshirohadaflairforsensingtheinsandoutsofthiskind

ofsituation.Evenso,successwasnotguaranteed.Theriskswere

considerablebutitwasworththegamble.IftheHeraldhadprovedto

beright,Yama-Shitaandhisfriendswouldbeseverely,perhaps

fatally,compromisedandhisdearbrother-in-law,Nakane,the

Consul-General,ofwhomhehadneverbeenparticularlyfond,would

finallygethiswell-deservedcomeuppance.

Anditwasnotthatmuchofagamble.Yoritomohadtakenstepsto

limittherisks.Noburo's'ronin'couldbereliedupontodiewithout

revealingtheirconnectionwiththeShogunate.Indeed,notallofthem

wereawaretheywereinYoritomo'semploy.HisHeraldwasanother

problem.IfthingsdidnotgoasplannedandToshirowascaughtinthe

subsequentfiasco,hecouldberecognisedandtheShogun'shandwould

berevealed.ItwasforthisreasonthatYoritomohadmadeseparate

arrangementswiththeheadofhisownveryprivateteamofassassins

forToshirotodisappearwithouttraceifcircumstancesrequiredit.

Yoritomomight,inIeyasu'seyes,stillbewetbehindtheears,butno

oneeverbecameShogunwithoutfirstlearningtocoverhisass.

ItwasnotthewayYoritomowouldhavelikedtoconductthebusinessof

government,buthisscopeforactionwaslimited.TheYama-Shitacould

notbebroughttoheelbydirectconfrontation.Theyweretoo

powerful,theirinfluencetoowidespread.Yoritomocouldnotaffordto

havetheauthorityoftheShogunateopenlyrebuffedandthealternative

-armedconflictwasoutofthequestion.Theyearsofpeaceunderthe

Toh-Yotahadsappedthedesireforlarge-scaleconflicts.

Butithadnotstilledambition.Thestruggleforpowercontinued,and

thesecretweaponHiroYama-ShitahadturnedagainsttheShogunatewas

farmoredestructivethanthegreatestarmyeverraised.Itwascalled

progress.

Yama-Shitawasacunning,ruthlessindividual.Hewasalsohighly

intelligentandcapableofgreatsubtlety.

Giventhepresentsituation,hisplanshadtobecounteredbyequally

deviousmeans.TheunsuspectingHeraldwhowouldsoonbegalloping

westwards,changinghorsesatthepost-housesontheway,hadlikened

ittoapokerhand.Itwasanaptcomparison.

Yoritomoweigheduptheoddsandconcludedthattheonlywayhecould

winthisparticulargamewastoplayawildcard.

Ashecametothatdecision,theyoungShogunhadnoinklingthatthe

wildcardhesoughtlayhiddeninaforestonthewesternflankofthe

Ari-geniMountains,abovearoadthathadoncebeenknownasthe

PennsylvaniaTurnpike.