The abandoned well was near the canal fence, in a wasteland of weeds and derelict junk.

Seashore not far off. Broken-down houses, deep potholes in the dirt roadways. Snarl of a foraging dog nearby. Raucous voices singing on the wind. Now Hiraga had his bearings. They were in Drunk Town.

Friday, 17th October

Friday, 17th October: In the morning light in Yedo Castle, Misamoto--the fisherman, fake samurai, and Yoshi's spy--was trembling on his knees in front of the alarmed Council of Elders, the English version of Sir William's reply shaking in his hand. Beside him cowered a Bakufu official.

"Speak up, fisherman!" Anjo, the chief Elder repeated, the audience room hushed and tense and chill. "Never mind if you don't understand all the Ing'erish words, we want to know if has the Bakufu official translated the message accurately? Is that what the gai-jin message says? Exactly?"

"It's, well, yes, more or less, yes, Sire," Misamoto mumbled, so frightened he could hardly speak. "It's as the lord Official... more or less, Sire... more ... or..."

"Have you seaweed for a tongue, fish offal for brains? Hurry up! Lord Toranaga says you can read Ing'erish--read!" An hour ago Anjo had been awakened by the unnerved Bakufu official who had brought Sir William's reply in Dutch and English. Hastily Anjo had convened a meeting of the Council where the official had just repeated his translation of the Dutch. "What does the paper say in Ing'erish?"

"Well, Sire, yes, it's, er..." Again Misamoto's voice died away, once more choked with panic.

Exasperated Anjo looked at Yoshi. "This fish head is your spy," he said with just the right amount of ice. "It was your idea to fetch him, please make him speak up."

"Tell us what the letter says, Misamoto,"

Yoshi said kindly, inwardly almost blind with frustration and anger. "No one is going to hurt you. In your own words. The truth."

"Well, Sire, it's more or less as... more or less as the lord Official said, Sire,"

Misamoto stuttered, "but this's, this letter's, I don't know all the words, Sire, but some of them ... well, well..." His face was twisted with fear.

Yoshi waited a moment. "Go on, Misamoto, don't be afraid, speak the truth, whatever it is. No one will touch you. We need the truth."

"Well, Sire, the gai-jin leader,"

Misamoto stammered, "He says he's going to Osaka in eleven days as the Official said, but not, not to make a, a "Ceremonial visit"..." He quailed under the strength of their eyes, so terrified that now his nose was running and saliva dribbled his chin, then he blurted out, "He's not at all happy in fact he's strongly angry and he's going... going to Osaka with his fleet, going in force to Kyoto with cannon, sixty-pounders, and cavalry and soldiers to see the Son of Heaven and the Lord Shogun--he's even named them, Sire, Emperor Komei and the boy Shogun, Nobusada."

Everyone gasped, even the guards-- normally impassive and not supposed to be listening. Misamoto shoved his head to the tatami and kept it there.

Yoshi pointed at the Bakufu official who blanched as all attention focused on him. "Is that correct?"

"Ceremonial visit, Sire? For your august ears that should be the correct translation ... the barbarian wording is rude and uncouth and should, I sincerely believe, be correctly construed as a Ceremonial, State visit, an--"

"Does it say with "cannon and cavalry" and such?"

"In principle, Sire, the lett--"

To everyone's shock, Yoshi almost shouted, "Yes or no?"

The Official swallowed, aghast that he was ordered to answer so directly, the first time in his life, and appalled that he was being challenged and ordinary rules and manners and the niceties of diplomacy were being disregarded. "I regret to inform you that in principle, it does mention those but such an impertinence is clearly a mistake and--"

"Why did you not translate accurately?"

"For august ears, Sire, it is necessary to interpret--"

"Are those august persons named? Yes or no?"

"Their names are contained but y--"

"Are the characters of their names the correct ones?"

"It would seem, sire the characters appear to be c--"

"Write an exact translation of what it says at once." The raw words were said softly but the violence ricocheted off the unadorned stone walls. "Exact! Make all future communications from them, or to them, equally exact.

EXACT! One mistake and your head will be on a rubbish dump. Get out! Misamoto, you did very well, please wait outside."

The two men fled, Misamoto cursing his ill luck and the day he had agreed to accompany Perry to Japan, believing the Bakufu would welcome him for his unique knowledge, would grant him a fortune-- the Official swearing to be revenged on Yoshi and this lying fisherman before the Council made good the sentence that he, a wise and correct official, could not avoid.

Yoshi broke the silence, his mind working frantically to formulate the next move in the never ending conflict. "We cannot possibly allow an armed visit to Kyoto! This proves what I have been saying all along: we must have English speakers, translators we can trust--who will tell us what their foul messages really say!"

"That is not necessary," Toyama grated, his heavy dewlaps shaking with fury. "This gai-jin impertinence is insulting beyond belief, tantamount to a declaration of war. Such impertinence must be answered in blood." A rustle went through the guards. "It is a declaration of war. Good. In three or four days I will lead the surprise attack on the Settlement and finish this nonsense once and for all."

"That would be baka. We dare not. Baka!"

Anjo repeated, more for the guards than anyone, easy for one to be a secret shishi admirer or sonno-joi adherent. "How many times must I say no attack yet, not even a surprise attack."

Toyama had flushed even more. "Yoshi-san," he said, "we could smash them and burn Yokohama, neh? We could, neh? I cannot bear the shame, it's too much!"

"You are right, of course we could destroy Yokohama, easily, but Anjo-dono is correct--we cannot get at their fleet. I suggest we continue as before," Yoshi said calmly, not feeling calm at all, "we supply them with watered soup and no fish: we offer them a meeting with the Council of Elders in thirty days, allowing ourselves to be negotiated down to eight days, delay that as long as we can."

"I will only meet those dogs on a battlefield."

Yoshi curbed his temper. "I'm sure you will do what the roju decides, but I propose you are represented by an imposter at this meeting: Misamoto."

"Eh?" They all stared at him.

"He'll be a perfect substitute."

Anjo said, "That stupid fisherman will never b--"

"Dressed in ceremonial clothes, taught to wear them, eight days is enough time. He looks like a samurai now though he does not act like one.

Fortunately he is not stupid and so frightened that he will do whatever we order, and most important, he will tell the truth which is in short supply." Yoshi saw Anjo redden. The others pretended not to notice.

"What then, Yoshi-san?"

"Next, we'll hold the meeting here in the castle."

"Out of the question!" Anjo said.

"Of course we first offer Kanagawa,"

Yoshi told him irritably, "then allow ourselves to agree to meet them here."

"Out of the question," Anjo said again to the agreement of the others.

"With the castle as bait we can delay again, perhaps even another month--their curiosity will consume them --and we only allow them into the outer area. Why not the castle? All the gai-jin leaders of their own free will within our grasp? We could take them hostage, their presence gives us a dozen chances to entwine them further."

They gaped at him, off balance. "Take them hostage?"