第50节

her long-dog!

Once again, Toshiro had swallowed his anger, agreeing without demur.

Four, fourteen, forty - the number was academic. Toshiro had not

hesitated to kill Noburo and his two red-stripes in order to conceal

his previous error of judgement; these three troublesome outlanders

would meet the same fate. Once they were disposed of, there would be

nothing to weaken his case.

The conspirators would be either dead or fatally compromised, his own

position in relation to the Shogun would be strengthened and he would

be one step nearer to achieving that which he most desired.

From the post-house at Midiri-tana, Toshiro had ridden north through

what was left of the night towards Ari-saba, with the cloud warrior

slung face-down over the back of his horse like the carcass of a stag

brought home by a huntsman. With dawn approaching, the Herald had

taken the precaution of blindfolding his prisoner. For his scheme to

succeed and to protect his own position, it was vital that Brickman did

not discover the identity of his benefactor.

The twelve-mile journey did not take long. Waiting for him on the

outskirts of Ari-saba were his own pair of red-stripes - part of the

disguise obligingly provided by Ieyasu, the Court Chamberlain, second

most powerful man in the Toh-Yota Shogunate. While his men held Steve,

Toshiro swapped his black assassin's garb for the travelling costume of

a samurai, then remounted and led the two foot-soldiers and their

prisoner through the dawn mists to the post-house where he had rented

rooms the previous day. They arrived before the first servants had

begun to stir, and were able to slip back into their quarters

unobserved.

Steve was kept securely bound and blindfolded for most of the following

day. He knew from the unintelligible conversations that he was guarded

by two Japs, and he could hear the muffled voices of people in

movement outside, but none of it made any sense. The only thing that

marked the passage of time for Steve was the arrival of two bowls of

rice topped with vegetables.

These were delivered several hours apart by his unseen captors, who

freed his right hand and guided it to the bowl placed on the floor

between his knees.

Toshiro, meanwhile, remained in his own quarters and worked out his

next moves. When he was satisfied he had every angle covered and knew

what he would say in advance to the cloud warrior, he made his way to

the room occupied by the red-stripes and told them to stand guard

outside while he interrogated the prisoner.

Before he switched into Basic, the Herald rolled up two small strips of

cotton and stuck them inside his cheeks to alter the sound of his

voice. Adopting the identity of an unidentified colleague of Noburo

and the man in black, Toshiro laid out his plan of action. The

blindfolded cloud warrior listened attentively and did not raise a

single query or objection. The Herald found this newfound reticence so

unsettling he felt obliged to enlarge upon the possible dangers,

stressing the points at which he felt extreme caution would be

needed.

Brickman greeted these strictures in the same offhand manner,

dismissing potential problems with the phrase 'Let's cross that bridge

when we come to it."

The young man's assurance was breathtaking. Toshiro realised that he

would have to be careful not to be misled by his own innate feelings of

superiority into underestimating this ill-mannered individual.

Brickman might come from a different world with totally different

values, but he was endowed with an intelligence that was every bit as

penetrating and devious as his own.

The Herald proceeded to outline his scheme to integrate Steve into the

labour system as a roadrunner. As soon as he was registered,

arrangements would be made for his immediate transfer to the

government's chief postal depot in Lord Min-Orota's domain. This would

enable him to move openly and legally across Ne-Issan.

The Heron Pool lay some four hundred miles from their present

position.

The journey would take several weeks to accomplish for, in his new

role, Steve would be required to carry mail along the route that would

be mapped out for him. However, upon reaching his destination he would