Harry said nothing.

Hooper laughed weakly. “At least you don’t lie about it, I suppose that’s something.”

“The Lord hates a lying tongue. How did you know about the plane?”

“You’re not the only one in Tokyo with contacts.”

“You’re the only one at the embassy with contacts.”

“The American embassy is staffed with keenly intelligent men.”

“Right, starting with the ambassador, only he can’t speak a word of Japanese and he’s deaf as a post. Where is he now?”

“As a matter of fact, I think he’s golfing. He’s a very decent man, and he’s made friends with the top people.”

“The top people don’t run this country, the army does. The man has never met ninety-nine percent of the Japanese. He couldn’t communicate with them if he did. If a beautiful woman took his hand and slipped it in her pants and said, ‘Give it to me, Mr. Ambassador, give it to me good,’ he wouldn’t know what to say.”

Hooper developed hiccups. Harry shared the flask again.

“Thank you. The ambassador doesn’t learn Japanese because-”

“Because he’s got you.”

“Because he’s afraid of making a mistake that would damage the dignity of the United States. How would it be if, say, an ambassador from China came to the States and said, ‘No tickee, no washee’?”

“That’s the level of competence you expect the ambassador to reach?”

“No. But face is important.”

“Not anymore. Something’s up.”

The hiccups vanished. Hooper looked around. “Harry, I can’t give you intelligence information.”

“You’ve got it backward. I’m giving you.” Harry plucked a rose and put the petals, like dabs of paint, on Kato’s stone.

Hooper said, “You’re a tainted source.”

“Any good source is tainted. This is not a pact with the devil, do you want the information or not?”

“Harry, I don’t know. I’m not even supposed to be seen with you.”

“Have I ever lied to you, ever?”

“You’re such a cynic.”

“Exactly, that’s what you call a guy who tells you the truth.”

Hooper smiled with resignation. “Okay, Harry, then I’ll tell you. The Japanese Combined Fleet disappeared a week ago. It’s exercising radio silence, which is the same as sounding a fire alarm, so far as I’m concerned. It could be just to rattle us. I don’t think so, they don’t have enough oil for that kind of bluff. They’re going to the Dutch Indies, I’m sure. That’s where the oil is. They’ll also probably strike in Malaysia and Singapore. Even the Philippines. It’s a matter of days at the most. You’ll get out by the skin of your teeth.”

“That’s the plan.” Harry looked at his watch. Where he really wanted to be was the ballroom, to keep tabs on Michiko and lay low.

“You have something to add?”

“Hawaii.”

Hooper raised his eyebrows. His bow tie went up and down. “You’re serious? Impossible. They’d never reach it without being seen, and then they’d be hung out to dry.”

“That’s where they’re going. If you were going to fight a hundred-foot snake and you had one shot, would you go for the tail or the head? They’re after Hawaii-the fleet, the planes and the oil tanks-and then they’ll rule the Pacific. They’re going to gamble big, Hoop, they don’t have a choice.”

“Oil tanks, too?”

“Especially.”

“When is this attack going to take place?”

“Very soon.”

“Just ‘soon’? You didn’t see a written order?”

“No.”

“Where does this information come from?”

From urgent questioning with a bamboo rod about cooked books, not the kind of source the embassy would recognize. “From me.”

“From you? From Harry Niles?”

It was one of those moments, Harry thought, when your life was put on the scale and the needle didn’t budge.

“I’m the best source you ever met, Hoop. The Russians have sources, but Americans don’t, because our embassy is a club of Christian gentlemen who don’t snoop. I do.”

“You make that sound like a virtue.”

“In my trade, yes. And no one knows the Japanese like me.”

“That’s the problem. Very well, on what exactly is your information based?”

Harry didn’t want to go into the details of nonexistent oil tanks, and he didn’t have time for a debate. “Hawaii, that’s it. Tell the ambassador.”

“I told you, he’s golfing.”

“Warn Pearl, at least. They ought to be on alert, put some planes up, look around.”

“They are on alert. Besides, it’s Saturday there. It’s the navy’s Christmas-party day, and Hawaii is not going to go to battle stations because someone in Tokyo has secret information he won’t divulge. I’m sorry, Harry, it’s just not credible. Maybe you mean well, maybe you feel a patriotic twinge, maybe you’re just playing us for suckers, which is what you usually do. Anyway, no one is going to attack Hawaii. It’s too far from here, and it’s too well defended.”

“When is the ambassador coming back?”

“He’ll be golfing most of the day, so there’s no point even trying to get him at the embassy. I tell you what, if you don’t take that plane, I’ll get a group of fellows together later in the week, somewhere outside the embassy, and we’ll kick around your ideas, how’s that? It can even be a kind of rehabilitation for you. A start, anyway.”

“You know those monkeys who hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil? You could be a fourth monkey covering your ass.”

“I give up. I don’t know what you’re up to, some inscrutable scheme to turn a tragic situation into a buck, but I’m washing my hands of you, Harry.”

“People always say that. Wait.” Harry clapped a couple of times and bowed to Kato’s stone. He straightened up. Most of the stones in the cemetery weren’t carved, just selected for their dignity. “You know why we got along, Hoop?”

“I always hate that nickname.”

“Know why, more than the obvious reasons that you secretly liked breaking the rules and I needed a lookout? Because we both liked Japan. It was like a mysterious club no other Americans could join. We knew what was going on and no one else did, not our parents, not our teachers, not our preachers. We understood Japan.”

“That’s over now.”

“I don’t think so. No matter how hard you try, I think you still have a mustard seed of intelligence. You asked when this attack was going to take place. Did I see a written order? No, but I did see Tojo in the park this morning.”

That got Hooper’s attention. “Really? What was he doing?”

“He was riding. He was riding horseback in tweed and breeches and a sporty hat, followed by the missus and daughters in a convertible. The tweeds are important because, as we know, General Tojo is never seen out of uniform, and he never, ever takes a day off from running the busy empire. Today of all days, he took the time to ride around Ueno Park with his lovely family and be presented flowers by a little girl. There were photographers. The embassies all take each edition of every paper. Everyone can go to sleep tonight with a picture of a new, peace-loving Tojo under their pillow. Now you tell me when they’re going to attack.”

“Tweeds? Gosh, I wish I’d seen that.”

“So?”

Hooper rocked back and forth. Finally he said, “I can’t do it. Signal Hawaii on a hunch?”

“It’s not a hunch. You know.”

“All on your say-so, Harry. I’ll check the evening paper and see if Tojo’s in it.”

“And you’ll still sit on the pot. Or pray.”

Hooper flushed as if Harry had slapped him. In fact, Harry felt a band of pain across his back from bending to the joss stick and thought, Well, I’ve made my pitch to save the world and failed. It was stupid to even try. Now he thought about aspirin, Michiko and Ishigami, in that order. A gang of kids ran along the cemetery with their arms out like planes. A breeze pushed first one petal and then another off Kato’s stone to Hooper’s feet. Harry didn’t move, and Hooper became aware that although he was with Harry, he could as well have been alone. Before he headed out the gate, he said, “I’ll pray for you, too, Harry.”