There are private silver mines here, when I thought all the

mined silver belonged to the emperor. Why is so much silver in

private hands, and what is the reason for the valuables office?”

Yamada relaxed a little. “Some of the mines belong to the

emperor, and the silver from them goes into storage in the gar-

rison until it is shipped to the mainland. But the landowners do

their own mining under special permits. This created a problem

in the past. There is very little minted currency in Sado, and

people began to barter in silver, which caused it to become

devalued, even the silver coins minted by the emperor, and so it

was thought best to control the matter by allowing people to

trade their silver for rice from the government storehouses.

Now the value of the silver is fixed. In addition, many people are

leaving their valuables in our hands for security. There are, after all, many criminals on this island.”

Akitada thought he had a pretty good idea what had

plunged Yamada into sudden but temporary poverty. The man

was trying to make restitution before the next inspection. For

the time being Akitada had to let the matter rest. There were far

more urgent worries on his mind.

After the evening meal, Akitada made his way in the dark to

a storage shed and climbed on its roof. From here he could see

over the tribunal walls down to the city and the peaceful bay.

The moon was nearly full and shone very brightly on the shim-

mering water. Below him huddled the dark roofs of the houses

of the city, and beyond rose the dusky headlands which stood

between him and his home and loved ones. The bay looked like

molten silver where the moonlight touched it. The distant coast

of Echigo was hidden behind the dark mountains, but he fixed

his eyes on the faint silver line which marked the separation of

land and sky and thought of Tamako and their son.

I s l a n d o f E x i l e s

95

He had almost died on the way here, and he might die in the

attempt to carry out his orders. The possibility of never seeing

his wife or child again threw him into a stomach-twisting panic,

and he was tempted to give up this mad assignment and go

home.

Oh, how he longed for safety from the tangled and deadly

schemes of men, and from the tear-drenched eyes of a brave

and lovely girl.

C H A P T E R S I X

T W I S T I N G A S T R AW RO P E

Midmorning of the following day the governor paid a surprise

visit to the archives. He came accompanied by a small, round-

bellied man who walked with short, quick steps and cast a curi-

ous glance into Akitada’s cubicle. The governor passed by with-

out a nod and made straight for Yutaka’s office. A murmur of

voices told Akitada nothing, but after a few minutes Yutaka, his

face stiff with disapproval, put his head in and told him the gov-

ernor wished to see him.

“This,” said Mutobe, when Akitada had knelt and bowed, “is

Inspector Osawa. He is leaving on an inspection tour, and you

are to accompany him as his secretary. One of Yutaka’s scribes

will also go along.”

Akitada bowed again, suppressing his amusement. A pro-

motion from scribe to secretary? Mutobe must really be un-

comfortable with his lowly status. He bowed also to Osawa, who

merely stared back. Primly attired in brown robe and black cap,

the inspector was in his late forties, and looked like a typical

I s l a n d o f E x i l e s

97

midlevel provincial official. Such men were born and trained in

their own provinces, where they made themselves indispensable

to the governors with their knowledge of local conditions. Here

on Sadoshima, such a man might have allegiances with the

wrong factions, and Akitada decided not to trust him.

Mutobe told Osawa, “Perhaps you had better just look

into the matter of the Valuables Office before you leave. I

will send word to Yamada to have the books ready tomorrow

morning.”

Akitada cleared his throat.

“Yes?” asked Mutobe. “Is there a problem?”

“No, Your Excellency. Superintendent Yamada mentioned

that he had some copying work for me to do in my spare time.

Since I am indebted to him for my lodging, may I take your

message and offer my assistance in getting the accounts ready

for Inspector Osawa’s visit?”

Mutobe looked momentarily confused, no doubt wonder-

ing what possible interest Akitada might have in an inspection

of the Valuables Office, but he said only, “Good idea. Why don’t

you go now?”

Akitada bowed to Mutobe and Osawa and went to tell Yutaka

that the governor had dispatched him to Yamada.

“Oh, all right,” muttered the shijo, pursing his lips. “But it is very disappointing. First he sends you here, then he sends you

away. Yes. Very disappointing.” He shook his head, sighed, and

bent to his copying work.

Akitada found Yamada in the small garden behind his

house. He was digging radishes and putting them in a basket

which already contained some leafy vegetables. When he saw

Akitada, he looked embarrassed. “Ah, hmm,” he said. “Back

already? You find me at my hobby. Gardening is very good for

health and useful, too.” He pointed to the basket. “For our

evening meal. I wish the radishes were bigger, but I don’t seem

98

I . J . P a r k e r

to have the touch. And caterpillars have been in the cabbages.

Do you happen to know about such matters?”

Akitada had no time to discuss gardening. He said brusquely,

“I’m afraid not. The governor sent me to tell you that Osawa will

inspect the books of the Valuables Office tomorrow.”

Yamada was too shocked to take note of Akitada’s abrupt-

ness or his lack of courtesy titles for Mutobe and Osawa. He

dropped his spade, turned perfectly white, and began to sway

on his feet. Akitada caught his arm and helped him to the

veranda steps.

“All is lost,” groaned Yamada, putting his head into his

muddy hands. “All the hard work in vain. Poor Masako. Poor

child. And what will become of my son when his father’s dis-

grace is known?” He ran his fingers through his hair and shook

his head in hopeless despair.

Akitada sat down beside him. “What precisely is wrong in

the Valuables Office?” he asked.

Yamada raised his head. His mud-streaked face and disor-

dered hair would have looked comical, if it had not been for his

tears. “I discovered a month ago that two bars of silver were not

what they were supposed to be. Masako and I have been trying

ever since to save the money to replace them. One has already

been purchased, but we shall not be in time to replace the sec-

ond one. Osawa was not supposed to visit until the end of the

month, and I would have received my salary by then, as well as

Masako’s pay for prison maintenance. It was enough to make up

another bar. Now it is all for nothing.”

“What do you mean, ‘two bars were not what they were sup-

posed to be’?”

“I accidentally dropped one of them and it broke. It was only

clay covered with a thin layer of silver foil. I frantically checked and found another one. Now it will be thought that I made the

substitution. They will say I stole the silver to equip my son, who I s l a n d o f E x i l e s

99

is an officer with the northern army. But that is not so. I sold

everything we owned to do that. Then I started this garden and

dismissed all my servants. We were so poor when I discovered

what had happened to the silver that I could not make good the