James Clavell - Gai-Jin
Page 44
His ears caught the word "Shimonoseki."
The gai-jin officer was talking volubly and seemed quite excited, and though most of the words were lost, Hiraga gleaned that cannon had fired on some ships in the Straits, had killed some sailors, and that all gai-jin were furious because the
Straits were essential to their shipping.
Yes, it is, Hiraga thought with grim amusement, which is exactly why you will never have our
Straits. With the cannon we have even now we can close them and keep them closed to any barbarian fleet--and soon our Dutch-built and designed armament factory will be casting sixty-pounders, completing three a month, with gun carriages!
The tide has turned in our favor at long last: Lord Ogama of Choshu, alone of all daimyo, obeys the Emperor's wish to attack and expel the gai-jin; correctly he and Choshu troops firmly hold the palace gates;
Katsumata is gathering all shishi to ambush and destroy the Sh@ogun, unbelievably winkled out of his lair, on the way to Ky@oto; and now our grip tightens on the gai-jin's citadel, Yokohama...
Abruptly all attention in the forecourt went to the barred and guarded gates as shouting erupted.
Hiraga's stomach turned over. A samurai officer at the head of a patrol under the banners of the Bakufu, and personal insignia of
Toranaga Yoshi, was loudly demanding entrance, the redcoated soldiers telling him, as loudly, to go away. Just behind him, bound and battered and cowed, was Joun--his shishi comrade.
A bugler sounded the alarm. All troops inside the walls rushed to action stations, some with half-buttoned uniforms and hatless but all with rifles, full magazines and bayonets, all gardeners were on their knees, heads into the earth--
Hiraga, caught off guard, remained standing for a moment then hastily followed suit feeling totally naked. Warriors, massed in the square, began collecting ominously.
Shakily Tyrer got to his feet. "What the devil's up?"
With studied slowness Pallidar said, "I suppose we'd better find out." He got up leisurely, saw the Captain in charge of the
Legation guards at the doorway queasily opening his holster. "'morning, I'm Captain
Pallidar."
"Captain McGregor. Glad you're here, yes, very glad."
"Shall we?"
"Yes."
"How many troops do you have here?"
"Fifty."
"Good, more than enough. Phillip, nothing to worry about," Pallidar said to reassure him, outwardly calm but his adrenaline circulating strongly. "You're ranking official, perhaps you should ask him what he wants. We'll escort you."
"Yes, yes very good." Striving to appear calm, Tyrer put on his top hat, straightened his frock coat and walked down the steps, all eyes on him. The dragoons watched only
Pallidar, awaiting his orders. Five yards from the gate he stopped, the two officers just behind him.
For the moment all that he could think of was that he wanted to urinate. In the silence he said haltingly, "Ohayo, watashi wa
Taira-san. Nan desu ka?" Good morning,
I am Mr. Tyrer, what you want please?
The officer, Uraga, the big bearlike man who was at the shishi ambush of
Anjo outside the castle, glared at him, then bowed and held the bow. Tyrer bowed back but not quite as low--as Andr`e Poncin had advised--and said again, "Good morning, what you want please?"
The officer had noted the less than respectful bow and exploded in a rush of
Japanese that totally swamped Tyrer whose dismay mushroomed. So did Hiraga's because the officer was asking for immediate permission to search the Legation and grounds, and to interview all Japanese there at once because it was probable shishi assassins and revolutionaries were amongst them: "like this one," he finished angrily, pointing at Joun.
Tyrer searched for the words. "Wakarimasen.
Dozo, hanashi wo suru noroku." I don't understand, please to speak slowly.
"Wakarimasen ka?"--You don't understand? the officer said with exasperation, then raised his voice, believing like most people when talking to a foreigner that loudness made his words clearer and more understandable, and repeated what he had said, the guttural language sounding even more threatening, and ended with, "It won't take much time and please understand it is for your own protection!"
"So sorry, not understand. Please you to speak
English or Dutch?"
"No, of course not. It should be clear to you.
I only want to come in for a little while. Please open the gates! It's for your protection!
Look, your gates! Here, I will show you!" He stepped forward, grasped one of the bars and rattled the gates loudly, everyone inside shifted nervously, many safety catches came off and
Pallidar ordered loudly, "Safety catches on! No firing without my order!"
"I don't know what the hell he's talking about," Tyrer said, a chill sweat running down his back. "Except it's obvious he wants us to open the gates."
"Well we're not bloody doing that, not to that armed rabble! Tell him to go away, that this is
British property."
"This...." Tyrer thought a moment, then pointed at the flagstaff and Union Jack,
"this English place... no to enter. Please to go!"
"Go? Are you mad. I have just explained, this is for your own protection. We have just caught this dog and we are sure another is here or hiding near here. OPEN THE GATES!"
"So sorry, not understand..." Helplessly
Tyrer looked around as more Japanese words surrounded him. Then his eyes focused on
Hiraga not far away. "Ukiya, come here," he called out in Japanese. "Ukiya!"
Hiraga's heart almost stopped. Tyrer shouted at him again. With pretended terror in a stumbling, grovelling run, Hiraga put his head in the dirt at Tyrer's feet, his rump towards the gate, his coolie hat covering most of him.
"What man say?" Tyrer asked.
With much feigned shaking, all senses razor-edged, Hiraga replied softly,
"He's a bad man... he wants to come in, to... to steal your guns."
"Ah, yes, come in. Why?"
"He... he wants to search."
"No understand. What mean "ser'ch"?"
"Search. He wants to look at your house, everywhere."
"Yes, understand come in. Why?"
"I told you, to search--"
"You, gardener," the officer shouted and
Hiraga jerked as anger flowed over him. For the first time in his life, out there the center of attention, on his knees in front of a gai-jin, knowing that under his hat he wore a rough turban, if that was taken off it would reveal the shaven pate and topknot of a samurai, he was suddenly sick with fear.
"You, gardener," the man shouted again, rattling the gates, "tell the fool I only want to search for assassins--shishi assassins!"
Desperately Hiraga said softly,
"Taira-sama, the samurai wants to come in, to look at everyone. Tell him you are leaving, then he can come in."
"No understand. Ukiya go there!" Tyrer pointed at the gates. "Say go away, nice go away!"
"I cannot. I cannot," Hiraga whispered, trying to get his mind working and overcome his nausea.
"Phillip," Pallidar said, the sweat staining the back of his uniform. "What the devil's he trying to tell you?"
"I don't know."
Tension soared as the officer battered the gates again, once more demanding entrance, his men began to surge forward and grip the bars to assist him. Goaded into action, Pallidar went closer.
Coldly he saluted. Equally coldly the man bowed. Then, slowly Pallidar said, "This is
British property. You are ordered to leave in peace or accept the consequences."
The officer stared at him blankly then, again, with words and actions, told him to open the door--and quickly.
"Go away!" Without turning his back
Pallidar called out, "Dragoons only!
Prepare volley!"
Instantly the ten dragoons rushed forward in
unison, formed two ranks just in front of the gates, in unison the front rank knelt, all ten safety catches came off, shells went into the breech and they aimed. In the sudden silence Pallidar slowly unbuckled his holster.
"Go away!"
Abruptly the officer laughed and his laugh was taken up in the square. There were hundreds of samurai there and he knew thousands were nearby and tens of thousands within reach. But none of them had seen the carnage that a few stalwart, disciplined
British soldiers could cause with their fast and easy-to-fire breech-loaders.
As quickly as the laughter arose, it died. Both sides waited for the inevitable first move.
Frantic expectation swept everyone: This'll be to the death, shi kiraru beki, Christ
Almighty, Namu Amida Butsu...
Hiraga sneaked a quick look up at Tyrer, saw the blank helplessness and cursed, knowing that any second the officer must order the attack to save face amidst the rumbling animosity outside. Before Hiraga could stop himself, his self-survival mechanism decided to gamble and he heard himself whisper in English--never once before had he made any indication to Tyrer he could speak the language, "P'rease to trust-- p'rease say words: Sencho... doz--"
Tyrer gaped. "Eh? Did you say
"trust"? Eh?"
Committed now, heart thundering and hoping that the two officers nearby were so concentrated on the outside they would not overhear him, Hiraga whispered haltingly, his pronunciation only fair, l's impossible for him. "P'rease quiet. Danger!
Pre'tnd words yours. Say Sencho, dozo shizuka ni... say words!" Sick with fear he waited then, sensing that samurai tension outside was at breaking point, hissed in English again, as an order: "Say-words-now! Now!
Sencho... dozo shizuka ni... quick!"
Almost out of himself Tyrer obeyed.
"Sencho, dozo shizuka ni..." parroting the words exactly and those following, not knowing what he was saying and endeavoring to put into perspective that this gardener could speak English and that this was not a dream. Within seconds he saw that the words were having an effect. The officer shouted for quiet. Tension was lessening in the square. Now the officer listened intently to him, occasionally saying,
"Hai, wakatta"--Yes, I understand.
Tyrer's courage flooded back and he concentrated on Hiraga and the Japanese. The words ended quickly with, "Domo."
At once the officer launched into a reply.
Hiraga waited until it had ended. "Shake head," he whispered. "Say Iy`e, domo, bow quick-quick, back house. Order me go too."
More controlled now, Tyrer firmly shook his head. "Iy`e, domo!" he said importantly and in awed silence, the center of the world, he stomped back towards the house, stopped in sudden confusion, turned and called out in
English, "Ukiya! come along... oh
Christ," searched frantically for the Japanese word, found it and beckoned him: "Ukiya, isogi!"
With the same grovelling run Hiraga obeyed.
At the top of the steps so that only Tyrer could hear, stooping abjectly, his back to all eyes he said, "P'rease order o'rr men, now safe.
Inside house quick p'rease."
Obediently Tyrer called out, "Captain
Pallidar, order the men to stand down, it's, er, it's quite safe now!"
Once inside the Legation, out of sight,
Tyrer's ashen relief turned to anger. "Who are you, what the devil did I say, eh?"
"Exp'rain 'rater, Taira-san.
Samurai want search, you, o'rr men, want take guns," Hiraga said, stumbling over the words, not yet recovered from his own fear. He stood erect now, looking him straight in the eyes, not as tall but as sweat-stained, knowing he was not yet out of the trap. "Captain very anger, want guns, taking guns, want searching for
... for Bakufu enemy. You say him, "No,
Captain, kinjiru, forbidden searching. Today I and men 'reave here, then you search. Not now, kinjiru. We keep weapons when 'reave.
Kinjiru forbidden stop us. Thank you. I now prepare go Yokohama.""
"That's what I said?"
"Yes. P'rease now outside again, order me, gardeners back to work angri'ry. Word hataraki-mashoi," Hiraga said queasily.
"We speak 'rater, in secret, you me, yes?"
"Yes, but not alone, with an officer present."
"Then no speak, so sorry." Hiraga assumed his grovelling posture and backed out of the room, the exchange having taken only a few seconds, and once more dropped to his knees before
Tyrer, rump towards the forecourt.
Unsettled, Tyrer stepped out into the light.
He saw that everyone was still waiting. "Captain
Pallidar, and, er, Captain McGregor, stand the men down, then please join me for a conference.
Hataraki-mashoi! Ikimasho! Get to work! Hurry up!" he shouted at the gardeners who obeyed at once. Thankfully Hiraga fled to the safety of the garden muttering to the gardeners to cover him, officers and sergeants started shouting orders and the world began again.
Oblivious of everything, Tyrer stood on the veranda watching Hiraga, undecided, aghast that obviously he was a spy at the same time blessing him for saving them.
"You wanted us?" Pallidar said, breaking his revery.
"Oh! Oh yes... please follow me."
He led them into his office, closed the door, and told them what he had said.
Both congratulated him. "Damned impressive, Phillip," Pallidar said.
"For a moment I was sure we were going to have a showdown and Christ knows what would have happened then.
Too many of the buggers really--eventually they would have overrun us. Eventually. Of course the fleet would have revenged us but we would have been pushing up daisies and that's a pretty bloody boring thought."
"More than a bit boring," Captain
McGregor muttered then glanced at Tyrer.
"What do you want us to do now, sir?"
Tyrer hesitated, astonished that neither had heard Hiraga's English, but pleased with his newfound stature--it was the first time
McGregor had called him "sir." "We'd best obey Sir William. Order everyone to pack up and... but without making it look like an ignominious retreat, can't let them have our guns
--what cheek!--or let them think we're running away. We'll march out with, er, with bands and pomp."
"Perfect, after we've ceremoniously run down the flag."
"Fine! Well, I'd better... I'd better make sure all dispatches are boxed etc."
Captain McGregor said, "May I suggest, sir... I really think you've earned a large glass of champagne--I do believe we've a few bottles left."
"Thank you." Tyrer beamed. "Perhaps we, let's Splice the Mainbrace," this was the traditional naval phrase for issuing a ration of rum to all hands. "Also we should all have tiffin first
--show them we're not going to be hurried."
"I'll get it organized right away,"
McGregor said. "Damn clever to think of getting that gardener to help with the words, some of them sounded quite English. But why did they want to search the Legation?"
"To find... to search for Bakufu enemies."
Both men stared at him. "But there aren't any
Jappos here, except gardeners, if that's what they meant."
Tyrer's heart surged as this at once pegged
Ukiya but Pallidar was saying, "You're not really going to allow them to search our Legation, are you? Surely that would create a dangerous precedent."
At once his bonhomie vanished forof course
Pallidar was right. "Damn, didn't think of that at the time!"
McGregor broke the silence. "Perhaps, perhaps before we leave, sir, you could invite the samurai officer to walk around with us, inspect the Legation, nothing wrong with inviting him. He can inspect the gardeners at the same time or we could just send them off before we all leave and we lock our gates."