Read Cloud of Sparrows for Free Online Page B

arrival of their longboat. At the base of the pier, three men in much more elaborate attire sat at a table. Stark could see that all three wore two swords in their sashes. They must be what Zephaniah had said were samurai, the warrior caste that ruled Japan. All of the Japanese regarded their approach without expression of any kind.
    “May God in heaven watch over you,” Captain McCain said, “because it’s for certain He’s not anywhere ashore.” The skipper of the Star of Bethlehem went with them to arrange for his ship’s provisions. Unlike his passengers, he had been to Japan before, and his opinion of the place and its inhabitants was not high.
    “God is everywhere,” Cromwell said, “and in everything. He watches over all without exception.”
    McCain grunted. The wordless syllable made his thoughts on the matter clear. He stepped out onto the pier with the longboat’s mooring rope in hand and passed it to one of the waiting Japanese dockworkers. This man bowed deeply as he accepted it. No words passed between them, since McCain spoke no Japanese, and none of the Japanese wharf men spoke English.
    “The Star sails for Hong Kong in a fortnight,” McCain said. “If you’re not back aboard by then, it will be six weeks before we return on our way back to Hawaii.”
    “We will see you in six weeks, then,” Cromwell said, “to bid you a good journey. This is where we will remain, doing God’s work, for the rest of our lives.”
    McCain grunted again and stalked off toward the dockside warehouses.
    “Prior arrangements have been made,” Cromwell said to Emily and Stark. “Permissions have been granted. We face only formalities here. Brother Matthew, if you will keep Sister Emily company and watch over our luggage, I will deal with the Shogun’s officials.”
    “I will do so, Brother Zephaniah,” Stark said.
    Cromwell hustled off to the table where the three officials sat. Stark offered his hand to Emily. She took it and stepped from the boat onto the pier.
    The obvious fact that all the workers were Japanese didn’t cause Stark to relax. Men could do a task because they were driven to it. They could do it because they were afraid not to do it. And they could do it because they were paid to do it. Anyone among them could be such a man. He had no intention of dying as soon as he stepped ashore, stopped before he could even begin.
    “You seem taken by the appearance of the Japanese, Brother Matthew,” Emily said. “Do you find them so unusual?”
    “Not at all,” Stark said. “I was only admiring their efficiency. They have removed our belongings from the longboat in a quarter of the time it took our own seamen to place them there.”
    They followed their luggage to the table where the three officials sat. Cromwell had become engaged in a rather heated discussion with them.
    “No, no, no,” Cromwell said. “Do you understand? No, no, no.”
    The official in the center was apparently chief among them. His face remained bland, but his voice, too, rose as he said, “Must yes. Yes, yes. Understand you?”
    “They’re insisting on searching our luggage for contraband,” Cromwell said. “That is expressly forbidden by treaty.”
    “No yes,” the official said. “No Japan come.”
    “What harm is there in allowing a search?” Emily said. “We carry no contraband.”
    “That’s not the point,” Cromwell said. “If we yield to arbitrary interference now, there will be no end to it. Our mission will be destroyed before it can begin.”
    A samurai came running up to the table. He bowed to the chief official and said something in Japanese. His tone was urgent. All three officials jumped to their feet. Following a quick exchange among them, the two junior officials went running off with the samurai who had brought the message.
    The stubborn look was gone from the remaining official’s face. Now he appeared agitated and extremely worried. “Please to wait,” he said with a bow, suddenly