Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Matsuoka Read Free Book Online Page B

Japan.”
    “Thank you, Lord Genji,” Cromwell said. “We are most honored to be here.”
    Clattering noises came from the land end of the pier. Three small two-wheeled carriages came their way, pulled, not by horses, but each by a single man.
    “They have slavery here,” Stark said.
    “I had thought not,” Cromwell said, “but it appears I was mistaken.”
    “How terrible,” Emily said. “Human beings used as beasts of burden.”
    “It’s the same in the slave states,” Stark said, “and worse.”
    “Not for long, Brother Matthew,” Cromwell said. “Stephen Douglas awaits inauguration as President of the United States, and he is pledged to abolition.”
    “It might not be Douglas, Brother Zephaniah. It might be Breckinridge or Bell or even Lincoln. This past election was full of uncertainty.”
    “The next ship will bring the news. But it matters little. Whoever is President, slavery is finished in our country.”
    Genji listened to their conversation. Here and there he thought he recognized a word. Human. United States. Pledged. He couldn’t be sure. He had practiced conversational English with tutors since he was a child. But the flow of the language from the mouths of native speakers was another matter altogether.
    The rickshaws stopped in front of the missionaries. Genji gestured for them to step aboard. To his surprise, all three adamantly refused. The ugliest of the three, their leader, Cromwell, gave a long explanation to the harbormaster.
    “He says their religion does not permit them to ride in rickshaws.” The harbormaster nervously wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.
    Genji turned to Saiki. “Did you know this?”
    “Of course not, lord. Who would ever think rickshaws had anything to do with religion?”
    Genji asked the harbormaster, “In what way do rickshaws offend them?”
    “He’s using many words I don’t understand,” the harbormaster said. “Forgive me, Lord Genji, but my usual task is dealing with freight. My vocabulary is limited mostly to trade items, landing permits, fees, prices, and the like. Religious doctrine is far beyond my ken.”
    Genji nodded. “Very well. They will have to walk. Load the luggage into the rickshaws. We’ve paid for them. We might as well put them to some use.” He gestured for the missionaries to proceed on foot.
    “Good,” Cromwell said, “we have won our first victory. We have made our host understand how firmly we stand for Christian morality. We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.”
    “Amen,” Emily and Stark said.
    Amen. There was a word Genji recognized. His ears were so poorly attuned to the actual sound of the language, he had completely missed the prayer that had preceded it.
    Saiki moved closer to him as they walked. He spoke quietly, as if the missionaries could understand his words if they overheard him. “Lord, we cannot let the woman walk along with us.”
    “Why not? She appears to be in good health.”
    “It is her appearance that concerns me, not her health. Have you taken a good look at her?”
    “Frankly, I have tried to avoid doing so. She is singularly uninspiring.”
    “That is a kind understatement, lord. She dresses like a ragpicker, she’s the size of a draft animal, her coloration is shocking, her features excessive and grotesque.”
    “We’re walking with her, not marrying her.”
    “Ridicule can cut as deeply as a blade, and as fatally. In this degenerate age, alliances are fragile, resolve is weak. You should take no unnecessary chances.”
    Genji looked back at the woman. The two men, Cromwell and Stark, flanked her gallantly, as if she were a precious beauty. The pretense was admirable. She was without question the most difficult woman to look upon that he had ever encountered. Saiki was right. The ridicule she would bring down on them could be extremely damaging.
    “Wait.” They had come alongside the palanquin. “What if she rode in my place?”
    Saiki