Reaching for her scarf, she cried, “Oh, no. The governor

must not know. I hope Father has not had another urge to bare

his soul.” She twisted her hair up and tied it quickly under the

scarf. Akitada admired the way her breasts strained against the

thin fabric of her shirt. Starting toward the door, she said, “I

must talk to him immediately.”

“Too late. He has already left to discuss the matter with His

Excellency.”

She turned with a wail. “Oh, no. Then all is lost. How could

you let him do such a stupid thing?”

“Because,” he said, getting to his feet and rearranging his

own clothes, “I will not take part in an illegal act even if it is to catch a thief. And what we plan is against the law unless it has

the approval of the governor.”

“What?” She suddenly looked furiously angry. “So! I see it was

your idea. To catch a thief according to the letter of the law, you will ruin my family. And you a convict yourself! What sort of man

are you? Did you trade my father’s honor for your freedom?”

He flinched and tried to mend things. “You misunderstand.

What we have in mind will clear your father and allow you to

return to a normal life. And your father will receive the credit

for the capture of the thief.”

After a moment, she asked suspiciously, “What is this plan?”

He told her and watched her face begin to relax and her eyes

to shine with excitement. “It might work. Very well, let’s get

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started right away. You and I can move the goods here, and then,

after dark, we’ll make a hole in the outside wall.”

“That will not be necessary, Masako. A torn paper covering

on one of the windows, a broken lock, and an abandoned iron

bar, and it will look convincing enough.”

She nodded after a moment. “Yes. You’re right. Less damage

is easier to fix.” That settled, she became suspicious again. “How

did you find out about the silver bars?”

“It’s a bit complicated.”

Her eyes narrowed. She folded her arms across her chest.

“Never mind! I want to know.”

“Well, I wondered what would cast a family like yours into

such abject poverty that you had to work like this.” He gestured

at her clothing. She blushed, ripping off the unflattering cotton

scarf so that her glossy long hair fell freely about her shoulders

again. His fingers yearned to touch it, but he continued, “At first I wondered if either your father or your brother was a gambler,

but then you said the hard times would soon be over. Since

gamblers don’t change their habits, it occurred to me that some

other costly mishap had befallen your father. Then I found out

about his stewardship of the Valuables Office. Your reaction

when I asked you about it proved that I had guessed correctly.

Your father admitted the rest a short while ago when I told him

about the inspection. That was all.”

“Very clever. Do you always pry into other people’s affairs?”

“Yes,” he said quite seriously.

She chuckled, thinking he had joked. “Oh, very well. But

don’t try to tell me that this was Father’s idea. He is a dear man

and a most honest official, but he has never been devious.”

◆

The trap was set during the night. Having made the necessary

arrangements, Akitada returned to his room for a few hours’

I s l a n d o f E x i l e s

109

rest. Masako had laid out his bedding, and he took off his robe

and got under the quilts. A moment later, his door opened qui-

etly, and she slipped in and joined him. He wished she had not

come, but when he felt her naked body searching with eager

passion for his embrace, he gave in.

Very early the following morning, notices appeared all over

town. The notices read:

To t h e pe o p l e o f Sa d o s h i m a

Robbers and thieves have broken into the Valuables Office.

I, the governor, order all those who have made deposits to

appear in person with their receipts to identify their property

or receive compensation for their loss. It is the duty of all

citizens to report any knowledge of the criminals.

These orders must be obeyed.

A noisy crowd gathered in front of the message board out-

side the gates to the tribunal, and within minutes a short line

had formed at the door to the Valuables Office. Two guards

stood watch outside. People chattered excitedly, pointing up at

the broken window. Inside Yamada and Akitada had been

joined by the governor.

Yamada stood on a small cask and peered through the torn

paper down at the waiting people.

“Do you recognize anyone?” the governor asked.

“No, but it’s still early.”

“Yes,” said Akitada, “if he isn’t here yet, he will be. He’s a

greedy man who expects to collect two bars of real silver in

exchange for two of clay, and without having to worry that the

theft will ever be laid at his door.”

The governor muttered, “Perhaps. But this is most incon-

venient. You were supposed to leave right after the inspection

today. Now we have to wait another day. I cannot imagine what

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made you so careless, Yamada. You should have inspected all the

silver daily.”

Yamada stepped down from his cask and hung his head. “I am

most sorry, Excellency. I wish you would accept my resignation.”

Mutobe waved the offer away irritably. “I told you, I cannot

spare you. At least you thought of a way to rectify your careless-

ness—even if, as the saying goes, we are twisting a straw rope

after the thief has escaped. Still, if you catch the man, we will say no more about it. Well, I must be off. Taketsuna can help you

interview the claimants. If nothing else, you will be able to

confirm ownership that way.”

When the governor had left, Akitada said encouragingly,

“There. I told you it would be all right. Now let us get busy

twisting that rope. We’ll tie that thief up yet.” He opened the

door and admitted the first claimant.

By midday they had interviewed nearly fifty people and

produced two hundred bars of silver and assorted other items

of value demanded by their nervous owners. Seeing their prop-

erty safe, most claimants decided to leave it on deposit. Yamada

was able to update and correct his ledgers. Of course, no one

had any information about the robbers, although one old man

attempted to trade information for wine. The old-timer told a

rambling story about a man in his quarter who had been brag-

ging only that morning about a sudden windfall. The windfall

turned out to be no more than some fifty or a hundred coppers,

and they more than likely had been earned by his wife, who was

a potter. They refused the old-timer’s offer and sent him away in

disgust.

Yamada fell to brooding, and Akitada did not feel much

more cheerful. Why had the thief not come or sent an associate?

From the beginning, Akitada had suspected the former clerk.

The clay bars differed in weight from the real thing and anyone

accustomed to handling silver bars would have known they

I s l a n d o f E x i l e s

111

were a sham. In fact, they should have been weighed. Short of

Yamada himself, the clerk was the only other person who could

have accomplished the fraud. But there was no proof until he

claimed the two bars of silver, and this he would hardly do in

person. No, he would send someone else. As Akitada considered

the matter of a likely accomplice, a memory stirred, and he

turned to Yamada. “Do you suppose the man whose wife makes