At once the officer launched into a reply.
Hiraga waited until it had ended. "Shake head," he whispered. "Say Iy`e, domo, bow quick-quick, back house. Order me go too."
More controlled now, Tyrer firmly shook his head. "Iy`e, domo!" he said importantly and in awed silence, the center of the world, he stomped back towards the house, stopped in sudden confusion, turned and called out in English, "Ukiya! come along... oh Christ," searched frantically for the Japanese word, found it and beckoned him: "Ukiya, isogi!"
With the same grovelling run Hiraga obeyed.
At the top of the steps so that only Tyrer could hear, stooping abjectly, his back to all eyes he said, "P'rease order o'rr men, now safe.
Inside house quick p'rease."
Obediently Tyrer called out, "Captain Pallidar, order the men to stand down, it's, er, it's quite safe now!"
Once inside the Legation, out of sight, Tyrer's ashen relief turned to anger. "Who are you, what the devil did I say, eh?"
"Exp'rain 'rater, Taira-san.
Samurai want search, you, o'rr men, want take guns," Hiraga said, stumbling over the words, not yet recovered from his own fear. He stood erect now, looking him straight in the eyes, not as tall but as sweat-stained, knowing he was not yet out of the trap. "Captain very anger, want guns, taking guns, want searching for ... for Bakufu enemy. You say him, "No, Captain, kinjiru, forbidden searching. Today I and men 'reave here, then you search. Not now, kinjiru. We keep weapons when 'reave. Kinjiru forbidden stop us. Thank you. I now prepare go Yokohama."
"That's what I said?"
"Yes. P'rease now outside again, order me, gardeners back to work angri'ry. Word hataraki-mashoi," Hiraga said queasily.
"We speak 'rater, in secret, you me, yes?"
"Yes, but not alone, with an officer present."
"Then no speak, so sorry." Hiraga assumed his grovelling posture and backed out of the room, the exchange having taken only a few seconds, and once more dropped to his knees before Tyrer, rump towards the forecourt.
Unsettled, Tyrer stepped out into the light.
He saw that everyone was still waiting. "Captain Pallidar, and, er, Captain McGregor, stand the men down, then please join me for a conference.
Hataraki-mashoi! Ikimasho! Get to work! Hurry up!" he shouted at the gardeners who obeyed at once. Thankfully Hiraga fled to the safety of the garden muttering to the gardeners to cover him, officers and sergeants started shouting orders and the world began again.
Oblivious of everything, Tyrer stood on the veranda watching Hiraga, undecided, aghast that obviously he was a spy at the same time blessing him for saving them.
"You wanted us?" Pallidar said, breaking his revery.
"Oh! Oh yes... please follow me."
He led them into his office, closed the door, and told them what he had said.
Both congratulated him. "Damned impressive, Phillip," Pallidar said.
"For a moment I was sure we were going to have a showdown and Christ knows what would have happened then.
Too many of the buggers really--eventually they would have overrun us. Eventually. Of course the fleet would have revenged us but we would have been pushing up daisies and that's a pretty bloody boring thought."
"More than a bit boring," Captain McGregor muttered then glanced at Tyrer.
"What do you want us to do now, sir?"
Tyrer hesitated, astonished that neither had heard Hiraga's English, but pleased with his newfound stature--it was the first time McGregor had called him "sir." "We'd best obey Sir William. Order everyone to pack up and... but without making it look like an ignominious retreat, can't let them have our guns --what cheek!--or let them think we're running away. We'll march out with, er, with bands and pomp."
"Perfect, after we've ceremoniously run down the flag."
"Fine! Well, I'd better... I'd better make sure all dispatches are boxed etc."
Captain McGregor said, "May I suggest, sir... I really think you've earned a large glass of champagne--I do believe we've a few bottles left."
"Thank you." Tyrer beamed. "Perhaps we, let's Splice the Mainbrace," this was the traditional naval phrase for issuing a ration of rum to all hands. "Also we should all have tiffin first --show them we're not going to be hurried."
"I'll get it organized right away,"
McGregor said. "Damn clever to think of getting that gardener to help with the words, some of them sounded quite English. But why did they want to search the Legation?"
"To find... to search for Bakufu enemies."
Both men stared at him. "But there aren't any Jappos here, except gardeners, if that's what they meant."
Tyrer's heart surged as this at once pegged Ukiya but Pallidar was saying, "You're not really going to allow them to search our Legation, are you? Surely that would create a dangerous precedent."
At once his bonhomie vanished forof course Pallidar was right. "Damn, didn't think of that at the time!"
McGregor broke the silence. "Perhaps, perhaps before we leave, sir, you could invite the samurai officer to walk around with us, inspect the Legation, nothing wrong with inviting him. He can inspect the gardeners at the same time or we could just send them off before we all leave and we lock our gates."
"A perfect compromise," Pallidar said happily.
Hiraga was weeding near a side door of the Legation, an open window nearby, dirty and sweaty, the late afternoon sun still hot. Baggage being piled in carts in the forecourt, horses groomed, some soldiers already drawn up in marching order. Sentries patrolled the circumference walls. Outside the walls massed samurai squatted under sunshades or lolled around, malevolently.
"Now!" It was Tyrer's voice from inside the room. Hiraga made sure he was not observed, ducked down into the undergrowth and quickly opened the door. Hastily, Tyrer led the way down the corridor into a room that overlooked the forecourt and bolted the door. Curtains over the closed windows filtered the sunlight. A desk and a few chairs, rolls of documents, files, and a revolver on the desk. Tyrer sat behind it and motioned to a chair. "Please sit down. Now tell me who are you."
"First, sek'ret I speak Ingerish, yes?"
Hiraga remained standing, at his full height and somehow menacing.