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ariffs were the twin preoccupations of the Iron Masters in

time of peace. The Toh-Yota family was now immensely rich, but it

hadn't always been that way.

As supreme rulers of Ne-Issan, they were merely profiting from a

time-honoured tradition that had enriched their predecessors, the

Da-Tsuni - whose liquid assets had been expropriated along with their

domains.

'To the victor the spoils' was a maxim that still held good.

Government was an expensive business, and any opportunity to raise

additional revenue was eagerly seized on - no matter how piffling the

sum. When you took into account the number of transactions, it all

added up, thereby justifying the existence of the huge army of

tax-gatherers and customs men - and also providing the means to pay

their wages.

The documents of 'Yoko Mi-Shima' were presented by Su-Shan. After he

had knocked respectfully, the door of the carriage-box was opened far

enough to enable the harbour-master to satisfy himself that its sole

occupant appeared to be a courtesan dressed in the traditional

manner.

After bowing politely, he signalled the door to be closed. No attempt

was made to search the carriage-box or come face to face with the

person behind the mask. As long as the papers were in order, such

people were always passed through on the nod.

And with good reason. The masking of courtesans who had won the favour

of domain-lords and the Shogun dated back two centuries and was a

status-symbol granted by their noble masters, along with certain other

privileges - such as being able to travel incognito. As a result of

the discretion they were accorded it had become the custom among

high-born ladies to adopt the same protective colouring when indulging

in illicit liaisons. It must also be said that, on occasions, the

white mask and heavy silk kimono had concealed high-born gentlemen.

In order to avoid embarrassing discoveries, it was now standard

practice to treat such travellers with the utmost circumspection. All

professions have their cautionary tales, and it was common knowledge

that, in the past, a number of over-zealous customs officials and

tollgate keepers had ended up knowing far too much for their own

good.

Jodi and Kelso, who possessed nothing beyond what they stood up in, had

been provided with small flapped document-cases made of woven straw

that hung around their necks, where they could be read at a glance.

Together with their numbered armlets, it provided all the relevant

details: departure point and issuing authority to travel, route to be

followed, final destination and name of their new owner. Any Tracker

or Mute found wandering about the countryside without a "yellow card'

faced arrest and speedy execution as a runaway. They had already been

stamped with indelible ink on entering Atiran-tikkasita and, now they

were about to exit, the harbour-master's cachet was added to the

growing collection on the inside of their forearms.

After the customary round of haggling between the junk-captain and the

local leg-man, an all-in package price for the trip to Porofi-danisa

was agreed upon and sealed with cups of sake and smiles all round. The

Korean clerks coughed up the cash, the leg-man took his cut - which

included a rake-off for the harbourmaster and his opposite number in

the customs house - and, when all the niceties had been observed, the

travellers were invited to mount the gangplank.

Su-Shan and Nan-Khe preceded the porters beating the sealed

carriage-box on its carrying poles; Jodi and Kelso, as befitted their

station, brought up the rear. The box was set down opposite the door

leading to the stern deck cabins - one of which had been reserved for

the White Lady. The two house-women stood either side of the doorway

to mask Clearwater's exit, then followed her below. Jodi and Kelso who

had been booked on board as deck cargo - were allotted the fresh-air

suite between the raised bow-section and the forward hold.