Read Tokyo Bay for Free Online Page A

into focus, and this merging of rare beauty with something ominous and undefined made him shudder physically in the cold damp of the dawn.
‘Looks like we’re going to find out something now, sir,’ breathed the marine guard at Eden’s side, gesturing in the direction of the shore.
Realizing suddenly how distracted he had become, Eden gathered himself and screwed up his eyes to follow the direction indicated. Through the mist he could see the smudged outline of a towering headland, flanked by a lower mountain range. His dream memories, both exhilarating and disturbing in the same moment, had heightened the sense of excitement he felt at finally coming in sight of their goal, and this long-anticipated glimpse of land quickened his pulse. He screwed up his eyes, trying to pick out figures who might bring life and depth to the coastline but only the stark grandeur of the cliffs and mountains could be seen.
‘This is Cape Idzu,’ whispered a voice in Japanese, at Eden’s elbow. ‘We’re now entering the Gulf of Yedo.’
Glancing round, the American officer saw that Sentaro, the Japanese castaway, had appeared beside him and was peering intently into the mist. As he scanned the hazy shoreline, his narrow eyes became bright with emotion.
‘It’s nearly four years now since I saw my homeland, master,’ he murmured anxiously. ‘So many times I’ve longed for this moment - but, as I said before, I’m very afraid...’
The light coastal mist was dispersing slowly to reveal a calm, mirror-like sea. N, boat or vessel of any kind disturbed its glittering surface and the rocky shoreline, becoming clearer with every passing moment, also lay quiet and deserted, as far as the eye could see.
‘There doesn’t seem to be much to worry about here,’ said Eden quietly, returning his cutlass to a nearby weapons rack. ‘No sign at all of any armed men.’
‘There are no fortifications here, master,’ replied the Japanese, still peering towards the shore. ‘Nearer to Yedo in the bay itself there are many forts. High on the cliffs... everywhere.., a lot of guns. No foreign ship has ever dared to sail past them.’
Through the retreating mist the three other ships of the squadron were gradually materializing and taking on distinct form. For safety’s sake the Susquehanna and the Mississippi, both named after great North American rivers, had taken the sloops-of - war in tow and the strengthening sun revealed the squadron to be an impressive sight for their crews, as well as for the many unseen Japanese eyes already watching fearfully from the shore. Weighing around two thousand tons each, the steam frigates embodied two contrasting historical epochs in their appearance: each was barque - rigged with three masts and a full complement of sails from the past, but both also possessed massive, side - mounted paddle- wheels and tall smokestacks that foreshadowed the future. Hauling the lighter sailing ships easily in their wake, the steam-driven vessels looked majestic and impregnable as they moved through the brightening day at a speed of eight knots, with all sails tidily furled.
At the end of the Susquehanna’s taut hawser, which minutes before had seemed to haul nothing but a dense cloud of fog, the thousand - ton Plymouth was now fully visible. Almost abeam, a quarter of a mile off, the Mississippi, belching similar clouds of black smoke, was carefully keeping station, with Saratoga gliding silently at its heels. Eden could see that contingents of marine guards and sailors were drawn up at their battle stations on all of the four warships, and the signal flags fluttering from the mizzen mast of the Susquehanna visibly confirmed the dramatic command of the hour: ‘Clear ships for action’
For the past three days Eden and his fellow officers had put the gun crews repeatedly through their paces, clearing the decks, shotting and running out the massive sixty-four-pound cannon. The firepower of all the warships had also been augmented