What's that? he wondered, sitting up. He strained his ears, sure he had just heard a sound like a tree branch breaking and, just before that, the sound of muffled footsteps. He got up, went through the kitchen, and stealthily peeked outdoors. On this cold, clear light, the water in the large barrel was frozen, and icicles hung like swords from the wooden eaves. Looking up, he saw a man climbing the huge tree at the back. Hiyoshi guessed that the sound he had heard earlier was the cracking of a branch the man had stepped on. He observed the strange behavior of the figure in the tree. The man was swinging a light no bigger than a firefly around and around. A fuse cord? Hiyoshi wondered. The red swirl threw faint, smoky sparks into the wind. It seemed likely that the man was sending a signal to someone outside the walls.

He's coming down, Hiyoshi thought, as he hid like a weasel in the shadows. The man slid down the tree and set off with long strides toward the back of the grounds. Hiyoshi let him pass and then trailed after him.

"Ah! He was one of the guests this evening," he muttered in disbelief. It was the one who had introduced himself as Watanabe Tenzo, the man who had been served tea by the naster's wife, and who had listened raptly to Sutejiro's stories from beginning to end. All he other guests had gone home, so where had Tenzo been until now? And why? He was dressed differently from before. He wore straw sandals, the hems of his baggy trousers vere rolled up and tied back, and a large sword was belted at his side. His eyes took in the surroundings with a fierce, hawklike expression. Anyone seeing him would instantly realize that he was out for someone's blood.

Tenzo approached the gate, and just at that moment, the men waiting outside crashed against it.

"Wait! I'll loosen the bar. Be quiet!"

It must be a raid by bandits! Their leader had indeed been signaling to his followers, come to pillage the house like a swarm of locusts. Hidden in the shadows, Hiyoshi thought, Robbers! Instantly his blood surged, and he forgot all about himself. Although he did not think it through, he no longer cared about his own safety because he was concerned solely about his master's house. Even so, what he did next could only be described as foolhardy.

"Hey, you!" he called out, walking brazenly out of the shadows with who knew what in mind. He stood behind Tenzo just as he was about to open the gate. A shudder of fear ran up Tenzo's spine. How could he have guessed that he was being challenged by a fifteen-year-old boy who worked for the pottery shop? When he looked around, he was puzzled by what he saw: an odd-looking youth with the face of a monkey, eyeing him with a strange expression. Tenzo stared very hard at him for a moment.

"Who are you?" he demanded, perplexed.

Hiyoshi had completely forgotten the danger of the situation. His expression was unsmiling and blank. "All right, you, what's going on here?" he asked.

"What?" said Tenzo, now thoroughly confused. Is he crazy? he wondered. Hiyoshi’s unforgiving expression, so unlike a child's, overwhelmed him. He felt he had to stare the boy down.

"We are the ronin of Mikuriya. Raise a cry and I'll cut you down. We didn't come here to take the lives of children. Get out of here. Go lose yourself in the woodshed Supposing the gesture would intimidate the boy, he tapped the hilt of his long sword. Hiyoshi grinned, showing his white teeth.

"So you are a robber, eh? If you're a robber, you want to leave with what you came here for, right?"

"Don't be a nuisance. Get lost!"

"I'm going. But if you open that gate, not one of you will leave here alive."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You don't know, do you? Nobody knows but me."

"You're a bit crazy, aren't you?"

"Speak for yourself. You're the one whose head isn't right—coming to rob a house like this."

Tenzo's men, tired of waiting, knocked on the gate and called out, "What's going on?”

"Hold on a minute," said Tenzo. Then he said to Hiyoshi, "You said if we go into this mansion, we won't go home alive. Why should I believe you?"

"It's true."

"If I find out you're playing games, I'll cut off your head."

"You aren't going to find out for nothing. You'll have to give me something in return.”

"Huh?" Grumbling to himself, Tenzo was suspicious of this boy. Overhead, the starry sky was getting brighter, but the mansion, surrounded by its earthen wall, was still sunk in total darkness.

"What do you want?" Tenzo asked tentatively.

"I don't want a thing, only that you let me become a member of your gang."

"You want to become one of us?"

"Yes, that's right."

"You want to become a thief?"

“Yes.”

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Why do you want to become a thief?"

"The master drives me like a horse. The people here bully me, they call me 'monkey’. all the time, so I'd like to become a bandit like you and get even with them."

"All right, I'll let you join us, but only after you prove yourself. Now explain what said before."

"About you all being killed?"

"Yes."

"Well, your plan's no good. This evening you disguised yourself as a guest and mixed with a large group of people."

"Yes."

"Someone recognized you."

"That's impossible."

"Think what you like, but the master clearly knew who you were. So, earlier this evening, on his instructions, I ran to the house of Kato of Yabuyama and let him know we would surely be attacked in the middle of the night and would appreciate his help."

"Kato of Yabuyama… that would be the Oda retainer Kato Danjo."

"Because Danjo and my master are relatives, he got hold of a dozen samurai who live around here, and they all came in during the evening, dressed as guests. They're on watch for you at the house right now, and that's no lie."

Hiyoshi could see from the pallor of his face that Tenzo believed him.

"Is that so?" he said. "Where are they? What are they doing?"

"They were sitting in a circle, drinking sake and waiting. Then they decided you probably wouldn't attack this late, so they went to sleep. They made me stand watch out in the cold."

Tenzo grabbed Hiyoshi, saying, "It's your life if you cry out." With the huge palm of his hand, he covered Hiyoshi's mouth.

Struggling, Hiyoshi managed to say, "Mister, this isn't what you promised. I won't make any noise. Take your hand away." He sank his fingernails into the robber's hand.

Tenzo shook his head.

"Nothing doing. I am, after all, Watanabe Tenzo of Mikuriya. You want me to believe this house is prepared. Even if that's true, if I left empty-handed I wouldn't be able to face my men."

"But…"

"What can you do?"

"I'll bring out anything you want."

"You'll bring it out?"

"Yeah. That's the way to do it. That way you can finish this thing without the danger cutting people down or being cut down yourself."

"Without fail?" He tightened his grip on Hiyoshi's throat.

The gate was still closed. Afraid and suspicious, his men kept calling out in loud whispers and rattling the gate.

"Hey, boss, are you in there?"

"What's going on?"

"What's the matter with the gate?"

Tenzo loosened the bar halfway and whispered through the gap, "Something's wrong here, so keep quiet. And don't stay in a group. Split up and hide."

Going for what Tenzo had asked for, Hiyoshi crawled quietly from the entrance of the male servants' quarters into the main house. Once there, he saw that a lamp was lit in Sutejiro's room.

"Master?" Hiyoshi called out as he seated himself respectfully on the veranda. There was no answer, but he sensed that both Sutejiro and his wife were awake.

"Madam?"

"Who is it?" asked Sutejiro's wife, her voice trembling. Either she or her husband had awakened and shaken the other awake because just a moment ago there had been a vague rustling and the sound of voices. Thinking it might be an attack by bandits, both had shut their eyes in fear. Hiyoshi opened the sliding door and moved forward on his knees. Both Sutejiro and his wife opened their eyes wide.