I've been working like the devil to get everything ready."
"Don't know, old boy. Here."
Tyrer broke the seals on the official letter: P. Tyrer, Esq., British Legation, Yedo: This is to inform you I have agreed with the Bakufu to postpone the meeting from October 20th to Monday, November 3rd. To save unnecessary expense in troops, you and your staff will return immediately with Captain Pallidar.
"Three cheers! Yokohama here I come."
"When do you want to leave?"
"Immediately, the Great White Father says, immediately it will be. Can't wait. How about after lunch? Come and sit down. What's new in Yokopoko?"
"Not much." As they strolled back up to the veranda and easy chairs, Hiraga moved under the lee and continued hoeing.
Pallidar lit a cheroot. "Sir William, the General and Admiral had another bash at the local governor and Bakufu, swearing they would have his guts for garters if they didn't produce Canterbury's murderers--and now Lun's, pretty bloody awful, what?
All they got was the usual fawning and, Ah so sorry, we're watching all roads, all paths to catch them, so sorry for delays and inconvenience! Oh, says Sir William, then you know who they are? Oh no, says the Jappo, but if we check all papers and watch everyone, perhaps we'll find them, we do everything possible, please to help by being more careful of revolutionaries. A lot of balls! They could catch them if they wanted. They're liars."
"Terrible about Lun. Ghastly! I went into shock. Sir William almost had a stroke.
Still no sign of how the murderers got into our place at Kanagawa?"
"Nothing, any more than last time." Pallidar had noted the many pages filled with practice characters but did not comment. He loosened his collar.
"The Corporal left in charge was demoted and he and the other two given fifty lashes for dereliction of duty. Stupid not to be sharp after the other attack. But why the monkey's head?"
Tyrer shuddered. "Sir William thinks it was because Lun jeered at their Delegation, called them "monkeys" and it was their form of revenge."
Pallidar whistled. "That means at least one of them, unbeknownst to our people, secretly understands English--or at the very least pidgin."
"We came to the same conclusion." With an effort Tyrer threw off his fear. "To hell with that, I'm delighted to see you. What else is new?"
Pallidar was idly watching Hiraga. "The General believes there's more to the increased barricades and native troop movements than meets the eye. The traders say their Jappo contacts whisper that all roads out of Yedo are strangled and that the real reason's civil war's brewing. Damn nuisance not knowing.
We should be moving around like the Treaty allows, should be finding out for ourselves--the General and Admiral agree for once we should operate here like in India, anywhere else, send out patrols or a regiment or two to show the flag, by God, and contact some of the discontented kings to use them against the others. Do you have a beer?"
"Oh of course, sorry. Chen!"
"Yes Mass'r?"
"Beeru chop chop." Tyrer said, not at all sure his friend's militancy was the correct approach. The foreman of the gardeners came nearer and stood in the garden below and bowed deeply.
To Pallidar's surprise Tyrer bowed back though his bow was slight. "Hai, Shikisha?
Nan desu ka?" Yes, Shikisha, what do you want?
With even more astonishment Pallidar listened as the man asked something, Tyrer replied fluently and their conversation went back and forth. At length the man bowed and left. "Hai, Taira-sama, domo."
"My God, Phillip, what was all that about?"
"Eh? Oh, old Shikisha? It was just that he wanted to know if it was all right for the gardeners to prepare the garden in the back. Sir William wants fresh vegetables, cauliflower, onions, brussels sprouts, baking potatoes and... what's the matter?"
"You're really speaking Jappo then?"
Tyrer laughed. "Oh no, not really, but I've been cooped up here for ten days with nothing to do so I've been swotting and trying to learn words and phrases. Actually, though Sir William read me the Riot Act about pulling my finger out, I'm enjoying it immensely. I get a tremendous charge out of being able to communicate."
Fujiko's face leapt to the forefront of his mind, communicating with her, the hours spent with her --the last time ten days ago when he had returned to Yokohama for a day and the night. Hooray for Sir William, tonight or tomorrow I'll see her again, wonderful.
"Wonderful!" he said without thinking, beaming.
"Oh," he added hastily, "oh, er, yes, I enjoy trying to speak and read and write it. Old Shikisha's given me lots of words, mostly work words, and Ukiya," he pointed to Hiraga who was gardening industriously, always within distance, not knowing that "Ukiya" was an alias and just meant "gardener," "he's helping me with writing--jolly intelligent fellow for a Japanese."
During a writing lesson yesterday, he checked rumors he had heard, he asked him with signs and words Poncin had given him, to write the characters for "war," senso, and "soon," jiki-ni. Then he combined his crudely written attempts as "war, in Nippon, soon.
Please?"' He had seen a sudden change and surprise.
"Gai-jin toh nihon-go ka?"' Foreigners and Japanese?
"Iy`e, Ukiya. Nihonjin to nihonjin." No, Ukiya, Japanese and Japanese.
The man had laughed suddenly and Tyrer had seen how good-looking he was and how different from the other gardeners, wondering why he was seemingly so much more intelligent than the others, though, unlike the British equivalent worker, most Japanese could read and write. "Nihonjin tsuneni senso nihonjin! Japanese are always fighting Japanese," Ukiya had said with another laugh and Tyrer laughed with him, liking him even more.
Tyrer grinned at Pallidar. "Come on, what's new? Not business, for goodness' sake, Angelique?"
Pallidar grunted. "Oh, are you interested in her?" he asked flatly, greatly savoring the joke inside himself.
"Not at all." Tyrer was equally flat, equally teasing, and they chuckled together.
"Tomorrow's the engagement party."
"Lucky Malcolm! Thank God I'm released, marvelous! I'd hate to miss that party. How is she?"
"As pretty as ever. We had her as guest of honor at the mess. She arrived looking like a goddess, escorted by the frog Minister, pompous ass, and that Andr`e Poncin chap--don't like either of them. It was--"
"Andr`e's rather nice actually--he's helping me a lot with my Japanese."
"Perhaps he is but I don't trust him. There's a long article in the Times about the coming European conflict: France and probably Russia against Germany. We'll be dragged in again."
"That's one war we can do without. You were saying?"
An immense grin. "It was a terrific evening. Had one dance with her. It was smashing. A polka--danced my heart out. Close up her, well, without being disrespectful, I have to say her bosoms are like milk and honey and her perfume ..." For a moment Pallidar was reliving that heady moment, the center of attention on the hastily constructed dance floor, gorgeous sparkling uniforms, she the only woman present, candles and oil lamps and the Guards Band playing lustily, dancing on and on, the perfect couple, everyone else consumed with jealousy. "Don't mind admitting I envy Struan."
"How is he?"
"Eh? Oh, Struan? Slightly better so the story goes. I haven't seen him but they say he's out of bed. I asked Angelique and she only said, He's much better." Another beam.
"The new doctor, Dr. Hoag, their family doctor has taken over. I hear he's pretty damn good." Pallidar finished his beer.
Another appeared from the ever attentive Chen, smiling and round and a pattern of Lim, equally a plant, and also a distant cousin of the Struan compradore. "Thanks." Pallidar sipped it appreciatively. "Damn good beer."
"It's local. Ukiya says Japanese've brewed it for years, the best from Nagasaki. I imagine they copied some Portuguese beer years centuries ago.