Musashi - Eiji Yoshikawa [573]
Iori didn’t give the matter any thought. Impressed by their show of concern, he contributed by gathering rocks for them.
“That should do it,” said Gensuke. He took a step on the bridge, decided it was safe and said to Gonnosuke, “I’ll go first.” Holding his arms out for balance, he crossed quickly to the other side, then beckoned for the others to follow.
At Sugizō’s urging, Gonnosuke went next, Iori just behind him. They were not quite to the middle when they let out a shout of surprise. Ahead of them, Gensuke had a lance pointed at them. Gonnosuke looked back and saw Sugizō had also acquired a lance.
“Where did the lances come from?” thought Gonnosuke. He swore, bit his lip angrily and considered the awkwardness of his position.
“Gonnosuke, Gonnosuke …” Taken off guard, Iori clung to Gonnosuke’s waist, while Gonnosuke, holding his arm around the boy, shut his eyes for an instant, entrusting his life to the will of heaven.
“You bastards!”
“Shut up!” shouted the priest, who stood higher up on the road, behind Gensuke, his left eye swollen and black.
“Keep calm,” Gonnosuke told Iori in a soothing voice. Then he shouted. “So you’re behind this! Well, watch out, you thieving bastards! You’ve tangled with the wrong man this time!”
The priest stared coldly at Gonnosuke. “You’re not worth robbing. We know that. If you’re no smarter than that, what are you doing trying to be a spy?” “You calling me a spy?”
“Tokugawa dog! Throw that staff away. Put your hands behind your back. And don’t try anything funny.”
“Ah!” sighed Gonnosuke, as though the will to fight was deserting him. “Look, you’re making a mistake. I did come from Edo, but I’m not a spy. My name is Musō Gonnosuke. I’m a shugyōsha .”
“Never mind the lies.”
“What makes you think I’m a spy?”
“Our friends in the east told us some time ago to be on the lookout for a man traveling with a young boy. You were sent down here by Lord Hōjō of Awa, weren’t you?”
“No.”
“Drop the staff and come along peacefully.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Then you’ll die right here.”
Gensuke and Sugizō began to close in from front and back, lances ready for action.
To keep Iori out of harm’s way, Gonnosuke slapped him on the back. With a loud shriek, Iori dived into the bushes covering the bottom of the gully. Thundering “Y-a-a-h!” Gonnosuke rushed Sugizō.
The lance requires some space and good timing to be effective. Sugizō extended his arm to thrust his weapon forward but missed the exact moment. A loud croak came from his throat as the blade cut through thin air. Gonnosuke slammed into him, and he fell backward, with Gonnosuke on top of him. When Sugizō attempted to rise, Gonnosuke rammed his right fist into his face. Sugizō bared his teeth but the effect was ludicrous, for his face was already a bloody mess. Gonnosuke stood up, used Sugizō’s head for a springboard and cleared the distance to the end of the bridge.
Staff poised, he shouted, “I’m here waiting, you cowards!”
Even as he shouted, three ropes came slithering across the top of the grass, one weighted with a sword guard, another with a short sword in its scabbard. One rope looped around Gonnosuke’s arm, another around his legs and the third around his neck. In a moment, still another rope wound around his staff.
Gonnosuke wriggled like an insect caught in a spiderweb, but not for long. Half a dozen men ran out of the woods behind him. By the time they were finished, he lay helpless on the ground, trussed up tighter than a bundle of straw. With the exception of the surly priest, all his captors were dressed as cord salesmen.
“No horses?” asked the priest. “I don’t want to walk him all the way to Mount Kudo.”
“We can probably hire a horse in Amami Village.”
A Pear Blossom
In the dark, solemn forest of cryptomerias, the voices of the lowly shrike, mingling with those of the celestial bulbul, sounded like the jeweled tones of the mythical Kalavinka bird.
Two men, coming down from the top of Mount Kōya, where they had visited the halls and pagodas of the Kongōbuji