"Sorry, sir, the Settlement's in a bit of an uproar and Mr. Struan thought I should give you the details."
Marlowe said, "You can use my cabin, Sir William."
"Thank you. Best you come along too, after all you're "Admiral in charge of our Naval Defense," however temporary."
Marlowe laughed. "I could certainly use the salary, sir, if not the rank, however temporary."
"Wouldn't we all! Come along, you too, Phillip." They followed him, Marlowe last.
Before Marlowe left the bridge, he beckoned his Number One. "Engine room to get steam up, all cannon cleaned, oiled and made ready, ship's company prepared for battle stations."
In the small, austere stern cabin, with a bunk, private head and chart table, they sat down.
"Well, Jamie?"
"First, Sir William, the tai-pan and all traders want to congratulate you on a successful meeting."
"Thank you. What uproar?"
"There's been trouble: early this morning a Jappo tried to break into Angelique's bedroom in the French Legation, the sentries shot him, killed him. Dr. Hoag and Dr.Babcott w--"
"Christ Almighty, was she hurt? Touched?"
To their relief Jamie shook his head, "No sir, she said she heard him fumbling with the shutters and began screaming bloody murder an--"
"Then it was someone, like last time!" Tyrer burst out, "not the wind rattling the shutters!"
"We're inclined to think so." Jamie ran on quickly, "Babcott and Hoag were summoned--she was in shock, not hurt as I said but shaking. They took a look at the dead man and at once Hoag said he was the same bugger he operated on in Kanagawa..." Phillip Tyrer gasped and Marlowe looked at him quickly, "... the same we suspect was one of Canterbury's murderers, same man who might have been at our Kanagawa Legation and Captain Marlowe and Pallidar tried to catch."
"I'll be damned!" Sir William glanced at Tyrer who had blanched. "Do you think you could identify him, Phillip?"
"I don't know, I don't think so.
Malcolm might be able to, I don't know."
Sir William's mind had hurled him onwards: If this is the same man then both probable murderers are dead so how does this affect our demand for indemnity? "French Legation, eh? Astonished they shot the bugger, their security's abominable at the best of times and marksmanship worse. But why was the man there, was he after her or what?"
"We've no idea, sir. It also turns out he was Catholic--at least he was wearing a cross. Wh--"
"That's curious! But... but wait a minute, Angelique there? I thought she had moved back to Struan's."
"She had but her quarters were fire damaged.
I forgot to mention, after the earthquake, sir, we had a small fire, us and also Norbert. The--"
"Anyone hurt?"
"No sir, thank God, nor anywhere in the Settlement far as we know. The French offered her accommodation but th--"
"Was Malcolm Struan staying there too?"
Jamie sighed at the continual interruptions, "No sir, he was at our place."
"Then you can't have had much damage."
"No sir, fortunately, and not much in the whole Settlement though Norbert lost most of his upper floor."
"Well, that should please you. So the girl wasn't touched, the assailant's dead so what's the fuss about?"
"I've been trying to tell you, sir,"
Jamie said then rushed on, refusing this time to be interrupted by Sir William's shocked questions.
"Some of the morons in Drunk Town, aided I'm sorry to say by some of our more stupid traders, decided that every Jappo in the village was responsible so a couple of hours ago a mob of them started beating up anyone they could find, that brought samurai steaming in, troops and Navy fellows confronted them and now there's a standoff, both sides armed, reinforced and getting grimmer by the minute, some of our cavalry there, the General's in command and bristling to order a charge like the Light Brigade at Balaclava."
Bloody fool, Sir William thought.
"I'll go ashore at once."
Marlowe said, "I'll send a detachment of marines with you, sir. Orderly!"
The cabin door opened instantly.
"Yessir?"
"Marine Captain and ten marines with a signalman to the main deck gangway on the double!" then to Jamie, "Where's the riot, exactly?"
"The south end of the village, near No Man's Land."
"Sir William, I'll be standing off, close in. Any trouble, use my signalman and you can order up a barrage."
"Thank you, but I doubt if I'll need naval support."
Jamie said, "Another problem is--"
"When we're in the cutter." Sir William was already halfway to the main deck. "We'll take yours, it's faster. Head for the Drunk Town wharf."
In moments the Struan cutter was at full speed, marines crowded into the stern, Sir William, Jamie and Tyrer in relative comfort in the midship cabin. "Now, Jamie, another problem?"
"It's Mr. Tyrer's not-so-tame samurai, Nakama." Jamie glanced at Phillip briefly. "Part of the mob attacked him but he broke away, somehow got some swords and fought back, cut one drunk, an Aussie, but not badly, and would have killed the rest if they hadn't fled. Some of them got guns, rushed back and nearly blew him away so he retreated into a village store, we think there may be some samurai with him--and there's a dozen or so maniacs surrounding the place, ready to lynch him."
Sir William gasped, "A lynch mob?
In my jurisdiction?"
"Yes, sir. I tried to get them to leave him alone but they told me to piss off. Nakama wasn't at fault initially, Sir William, I saw him on High Street, that much I'm sure of."
"Good," Sir William said tightly.
"Fortunately we've one law for the rich and the same for the poor, and the same for anyone under our protection. If he's lynched we will lynch the lynchers. I'm tired of Drunk Town and their rabble nonsense. Until we get our allotment of Peelers from London we'll form our own police force. I'm Chief. Jamie, you're temporary Deputy Police Chief with Norbert an equal Deputy--equally temporary."
"Not on your nelly, Sir Wil--"
"Then it's Norbert alone," Sir William said sweetly.
"God dammit, all right," Jamie said, not pleased at all, knowing that that job had to be a thankless task. "Norbert, eh? Did you hear about Norbert and the tai-pan?"
"What about them?"
Jamie told them about the quarrel and challenge. "The betting's five to one they sneak off one dawn and one of them will end up very dead."
Sir William's eyes looked to heaven and he said wearily, "I'm away three days and everything's up the creek." He thought a moment.
"Phillip, you'll order both of them into my office first thing tomorrow." His voice changed and the other two men winced at the venom therein: "Advise them both, in advance, that they had both better be wise, docile and better listen to, and be guided by my gentle homily. Coxswain! Get a bloody move on, for God's sake!"
"Aye aye sorr..." "Did you bring my briefcase, Phillip?"
"Yessir." Tyrer thanked Heaven he had remembered.
Hiraga was peering through the slats of the barricaded door of the shoya's shop-house at the shouting, angry men, armed with pistols and muskets. Sweat ran down his face. He was choked with rage and not a little afraid though he hid it from the others. Blood from a slight wound in his back stained his shirt--he had discarded his frock coat the moment he had rushed in here to fetch some swords. The shoya stood nervously beside him, unarmed except for a fishing harpoon--only samurai could bear arms, on pain of death.
Trapped with them was a greying ashigaru, a foot soldier, who watched Hiraga with awe and confusion: awe for his fighting ability and because he was clearly shishi, confusion because he wore gai-jin clothes and grew his hair like them and seemingly lived in the Settlement with them, yet was also the subject of these unwarranted attacks.
Stinking gai-jin, he thought, as if a futile attempted burglary by a baka ronin mattered--of course the man was just a simple ronin thief and not after the girl, what civilized man would want one of them? The fool was correctly killed for his impertinence, no one was hurt, so why all the violence? Baka gai-jin! "Is there a way out the back?" he asked.