Part 11 (2/2)

oGuards! Ohira shouted.

They burst into the room. Dr. Huygens fell to his knees, babbling in Dutch.

oHe says it's not a weapon, Iis.h.i.+no said. oIt's a scientific device. He begs permission to show you how it works.

oHe's telling the truth, one of the guards said. With a nervous glance at Ohira, he added, oI've seen it myself.

Sano sheathed his sword, ashamed of his mistake and horrified at what had almost happened. Overreacting after too many unsettling encounters with barbarians, he might have slain an innocent man and provoked the war he was trying to prevent. Vowing to keep a tighter grip on his self-control, he nodded at Dr. Huygens.

oAll right. Show me.

The doctor got clumsily to his feet, cradling in his palm the strange device. It consisted of two rectangular bra.s.s plates, sandwiched together by rivets at each corner. A clamp at one end held a long, threaded bolt parallel to the plates along their lengthwise axis. The bolt ended at a flat metal crosspiece with a tiny screw at one end and a pointed probe sticking out of its center. An even smaller screw pierced the probe at a right angle. Directly opposite the probe's tip, set into a hole in the plates, was a minute circle of gla.s.s. Sano almost forgot his troubles as he watched his first demonstration of foreign science.

Dr. Huygens sat at the desk and bent over a cleared s.p.a.ce surrounded by pages of foreign script and beautiful ink drawings of sea life. He evidently occupied his days with the study of nature, when he wasn't acting as s.h.i.+p surgeon and his comrades didn't require medical care. Ceramic dishes held grains of dirt and other specimens brought to him by the Des.h.i.+ma staff. Dr. Huygens held the scientific device upright by the flared end of the long bolt. Into a dish of clear water, he dipped a pick and transferred a drop to the device's probe. He faced the window and brought the device to his eye. He looked through the gla.s.s while adjusting the screws on the probe and crosspiece. Then he turned to Sano, proffering the device.

Warily Sano grasped the bolt between his thumb and finger. The guards watched him with expectant smiles. Was this a joke? He raised the device to his eye, peered through the gla.s.s ”and cried out in shock.

In the center of his field of vision squatted a lumpy green monster, rapidly spinning a wheel-like appendage. Around it floated long, undulating worms and p.r.i.c.kly spheres.

Sano dropped the device and leapt backward. Dr. Huygens, with surprising agility for such a stout man, caught the instrument before it hit the floor. Sano s.n.a.t.c.hed up the water dish and looked into it, but saw no sign of monsters. What kind of barbarian magic had he witnessed?

The guards and the doctor burst out laughing. Even Chief Ohira smirked. oThe device is a magnifier, a magnifier, Iis.h.i.+no explained with a superior smile. oIt works on the same principle as Dutch spygla.s.ses, making small creatures in the water look big.

Embarra.s.sment burned Sano's face. oGet out, he told the guards. Mustering his dignity, he glared at Iis.h.i.+no and Ohira.

The guards slunk away, hands over their mouths. The chiefs and interpreter's expressions turned respectfully serious, but Dr. Huygens kept laughing. oHo ho, hee hee, hoo hoo! His belly shook; his face turned even redder.

oShut up! Sano commanded.

Then his eyes met the barbarians, and saw there good-natured enjoyment and pride in the scientific miracle, but not spite. And Dr. Huygens's jolly foreign chortles were comical. Sano smiled, then laughed, too. Shared mirth formed a bond between them. Liking the Dutch physician, Sano regretted that Dr. Huygens was a murder suspect, whom he must incriminate if he could.

Chief Ohira frowned; Iis.h.i.+no shook his head in disapproval. Sano ended his laughter on a rueful sigh. oHonorable Doctor, I have bad news for you. And I must ask you some questions.

THE INTERVIEW REVEALED that Dr. Huygens had joined the East India Company twelve years ago, accompanying Jan Spaen as s.h.i.+p surgeon on voyages since. Huygens had spent the evening of Spaen's disappearance working in his study, and the night fast asleep. No motive for murder emerged, and Sano searched his quarters without result. Secretly Sano had hoped to clear Dr. Ito's friend of suspicion, yet by doing so he'd lost a chance to save himself.

Now, as Sano contemplated the barbarian, who sat meekly at the desk, an idea dawned on him. Inclined to trust this man because Dr. Ito did, he believed in Dr. Huygens's innocence. And he needed his help.

oWill that be all? Interpreter Iis.h.i.+no asked. Chief Ohira waited impatiently.

What Sano wanted to do was dangerous, illegal ”treasonous. But he wanted the truth about Spaen's murder. He wanted the personal and professional triumph of delivering the killer to justice. If he didn't solve the case, he would lose the shogun's favor and cause a war. And he wanted to know the barbarian doctor and explore the world of foreign science denied him by the j.a.panese laws he abhorred.

oI'd like a moment alone with Dr. Huygens, he said.

Ohira frowned. oThis is highly irregular. The rules forbid me to allow it.

oBecause it's dangerous to be alone with a barbarian, Iis.h.i.+no chimed in, overy dangerous. Why, people might think you were plotting against the government together! And how can you communicate with him by yourself?

The doctor watched curiously, waiting for a translation.

oI'll take full responsibility for my actions, Sano said. oGo. I'll meet you at the gate when I'm done.

He watched from the balcony as Ohira, Iis.h.i.+no, and the guards descended the stairs and walked down the street. Then, with a sense of stepping ever deeper into jeopardy, he went back inside the study, closing the door behind him. Through the window, he surveyed the yard. Two guards patrolled there, safely out of hearing range. Sano turned to Huygens. Taking Dr. Ito's letter from beneath his sash, he handed it to Huygens, who looked puzzled, but adjusted his gla.s.ses, read silently, then smiled and nodded.

oIto Genboku, he said, pointing to the letter, then at Sano. oIto Genboku!

They'd established their mutual acquaintance with Dr. Ito, but how to proceed? Sano spoke loudly in an attempt to induce comprehension. oI need your help examining Director Spaen's body. To see if the killer left any clues. He gestured in vague pantomime, then shook his head. oThis is hopeless!

Without an interpreter, the doctor would never understand what he wanted; he could never learn anything from Huygens. More than ever Sano missed Dr. Ito, who not only had the requisite scientific expertise but had also learned Dutch from forbidden books.

oI help Ito friend, Dr. Huygens said. oI look body. His p.r.o.nunciation was strange, but the words intelligible. oI maybe see how die. Who kill.

Sano stared in amazement. oYou speak j.a.panese!

Glancing at the door, the doctor put a finger to his lips, then said, oTwo years I here. People talk. I listen. Learn. Now I help friend. Yes?

oCome on. Jubilant, Sano led Dr. Huygens to the house where Spaen's corpse lay. To the guards outside, he said, oThe doctor will prepare his comrade's body for the funeral now. Bring it to his surgery.

The guards hesitated. oChief Ohira told us to keep the body here, and the barbarians away from it, one demurred.

oI'll take responsibility, Sano said.

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