Dragon of the Red Dawn: A Merlin Mission (4 page)

Basho led Jack and Annie through a wooden gate in a high wall. They walked over a wide stone bridge that crossed a moat. When they came to the other side of the bridge, they followed a path that led to a small boat dock on a river.

Three fishermen were loading wicker baskets into a long flat-bottomed boat. Hundreds of shiny little fish were inside each basket.

Basho walked over to the fishermen. “Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning, Master Basho,” the fishermen said. All of them bowed.

Everyone seems to know Basho
, Jack thought.

“May my students and I ride with you down the river?” asked Basho.

“Oh, yes, of course, Master Basho!” one of the men said. “We would be most honored to carry you in our humble boat!”

“Thank you,” said Basho.

Jack and Annie followed Basho onto the deck of the boat and sat next to the wicker baskets.

One of the fishermen untied the boat, and the others used long poles to push it away from the dock. The men began poling down the river.

The fishing boat floated under a series of bridges, moving in and out of shadows and glittering light. As it passed under one of the
bridges, it scraped the bottom of the river. Basho, Jack, and Annie were thrown forward.

“Forgive us, Master!” one of the fishermen called to Basho. “The river is very shallow.”

“There has been no rain for a long time,” said another fisherman. “It is very worrisome to us.”

“Yes, it worries me, too,” said Basho.

“What’s everyone so worried about?” Annie asked Basho.

“When the weather is very dry, the people of Edo worry about fire,” said Basho. “Twenty-five years ago, during a dry spell, half our city was destroyed by a terrible fire. Thousands died.”

“Oh, that’s awful!” said Annie.

“Yes. Since then, everyone has worked hard to rebuild the capital,” said Basho. “Edo is now even more beautiful than before. In fact, along this riverbank are many new castles of the samurai. See? There one hides now.”

Basho pointed at a steep rocky cliff above the riverbank. Jack shaded his eyes as he looked at
the curved roof and high stone walls of a samurai castle. “Its largest room is called the Thousand-Mat Hall,” said Basho.

“What does that mean?” asked Jack.

“It means the room can hold a thousand floor mats,” said Basho.

“Cool,” said Annie. “Basho, where do
you
live?”

Basho smiled. “My castle is on the other side of the Great Bridge,” he said.

Jack wondered how many mats Basho’s castle could hold.

Beyond the steep cliffs, the boat traffic grew heavier. Now there were many boats floating on the wide river: big sailboats, barges loaded with lumber, and ferries filled with passengers holding parasols.

The fishing boat glided toward a crowded dock next to a market. In the market, thousands of gleaming fish were laid out on tables. Men and women also sold fish and other sea creatures from baskets that hung from poles across their
shoulders. “Shrimp!” “Tuna!” “Octopus!” “Eel!” they shouted.

“Wait for us while we deliver the fish,” Basho said to Jack and Annie. “Then we will travel further on the river.”

The fishermen tied up the boat. Jack and Annie waited on the landing as Basho helped the crew unload the wicker baskets. Then each man put a basket on his head and started up the stone steps that led to the fish market.

“Oh, no!” said Annie. “Look!” She pointed toward the other end of the dock.

Jack looked. He saw several samurai getting off a boat. “Quick! Grab a basket!” he said.

Jack and Annie each picked up a basket of fish. As Jack tried to lift the basket to his head, he tilted it. A couple of fish hit him on the nose as they fell to the dock.

“Leave them! Come on!” whispered Annie.

Carrying the baskets on their heads, Jack and Annie followed Basho and the fishermen up the
steps and delivered their fish to a young woman at one of the tables. Jack glanced back at the river. The samurai were standing on the landing, checking someone’s passport.

Jack looked at Basho. Basho was watching the samurai, too. He turned to the fishermen. “Thank you for the ride,” he said calmly, bowing to the men. “We will walk from here.”

The fishermen nodded and smiled.

Good plan
, Jack thought, relieved.

“Come,” said Basho. He led Jack and Annie away from the market. Soon they came to a busy road crowded with pedestrians and travelers on horseback.

As they walked along with the crowd, Jack remembered Basho’s words: “Seek harmony with your surroundings.” He tried to blend in by walking at a steady pace. Keeping his eyes down, he worried about their mission.
How will we ever find the secret of happiness
, he wondered,
if we have to keep dodging the samurai?

“Look at that bridge!” said Annie.

Jack glanced up. A high, arched bridge spanned the river. Hundreds of people were walking across it.

“That is the Great Bridge,” said Basho. “It will lead us away from the heart of Edo to the bank of the Sumida River, where I live.”

“Great,” said Jack. He hoped they would be safer away from the heart of Edo. Then maybe they could focus on their search for the secret.

Jack, Annie, and Basho joined the crowd crossing the bridge. They walked single file, close to the wooden railing. Jack stared straight ahead, careful not to look anyone in the eye. He saw people having picnics on the other side of the bridge. Kids were flying red kites.

“What’s that mountain?” said Annie. She pointed to a snowcapped mountain looming in the distance. The white cone of the gray mountain rose above fleecy, rose-tinted clouds.

“That is a volcanic mountain called Mount Fuji,” said Basho.

“Oh, I’ve heard of Mount Fuji!” said Jack. “That’s the highest mountain in Japan, right?”

“Yes, and the most beautiful,” said Basho.

“It
is
beautiful,” said Annie.

Jack looked around. Actually, he thought everything seemed beautiful at that moment: the green and yellow parasols of the ferryboat passengers below, the pink cherry trees shimmering at the river’s edge, the red kites and white seagulls gliding through the sky.

“I love Japan,” Jack said softly.

“I do, too,” said Basho. “We call our world ‘the floating world,’ for it seems to float on beauty.”

“It really does,” murmured Jack. Walking across the Great Bridge, he felt as if he himself were floating through the floating world.

B
asho led Jack and Annie off the Great Bridge and down a crowded road. They passed huge stacks of lumber. Then they came to a row of stages built along the riverbank. On one stage women were dancing. Their faces were painted white. They wore shimmering kimonos and waved fans.

Musicians played on a second stage. They plucked three-stringed instruments and blew on bamboo flutes. Their music was high-pitched and strange, but Jack liked it.

On another stage was a puppet show. Puppeteers wearing black clothes moved a giant dragon puppet around the stage. A man stood to the side and told a story to the audience. From the back of the crowd, it was hard to hear him.

“What’s he saying?” said Annie.

“He is telling the legend of the Cloud Dragon,” said Basho. “The Cloud Dragon is one of the guardian animals of the four directions. She has the power of flight and commands the rain clouds.”

“Cool,” said Annie.

Basho led them on past rows of stalls where craftspeople sold beads, cloth, kites, and paper lanterns. Some boys were holding up yo-yos for sale. Jack was surprised to see yo-yos in old Japan.

Beyond the craft stalls was a row of inns and cafés. The smell of spices and grilled fish filled the air.

“Yum,” said Annie.

Jack was hungry, too.

“Would you like to stop at a teahouse?” Basho asked them.

“Yes!” Jack and Annie said together.

Basho led them toward a small building with an open front. At the entrance, Basho slipped off his sandals. Jack and Annie did the same. They placed their sandals in a row of shoes that other people had left by the door.

Inside the teahouse, cooks stirred steaming pots over a wood-burning stove. People sat at long low tables, eating with chopsticks and drinking from small cups. Several customers smiled shyly and bowed before Basho.

Basho must be a really famous teacher of the samurai
, thought Jack. It made Jack feel important to be with him.

Basho led them to a table and sat cross-legged on a straw mat. Jack and Annie did the same. A waiter with a kerchief around his head hurried to the table. “Welcome to our humble teahouse, Master Basho!” he said.

“Thank you,” said Basho.

Everyone is so polite in Japan!
Jack thought.

The waiter handed Jack, Annie, and Basho warm wet towels. “Thank you,” said Jack and Annie.

Jack watched Basho wipe his hands on the towel. He and Annie did the same. Then they all gave their towels back to the waiter.