Parents, wife, sons, daughters, even their newborn child.

It was regrettable but necessary. The past history of Ne-Issan had been shaped on more than one occasion by orphaned children of deposed domain-lords who had grown to become avenging generals of armies and had swept away those who had unwisely spared them.

Lord Yama-s.h.i.ta had eliminated all serious rivals, but with the disappearance of his own direct line, a worthy and, it was hoped, a more amenable - successor would appear. All great families, including the Toh-Yota, had strong and weak branches. They were like trees; when a strong branch which took the greater share of the light was lopped off because it shadowed its owner's house, the weaker branches prospered.

The measures taken against the house of Yamas.h.i.ta would be punishing but not crippling. Their commercial activities were inextricably linked to the general economic well-being of Ne-Issan. If they were forced to pay too high a price, it would create a source of continuing disaffection.

A balance had to be struck. Firmness had to be tempered with magnanimity. But they would no longer have the monopoly on trade with the Mutes. Their former allies the Ko-Nikka would henceforth be able to build and operate wheelboats across the Western seas, and the Se-Iko would become the land-agents for the slave trade.

The Yama-s.h.i.ta could still bring them ash.o.r.e, but they could only be sold through the Se-Iko. It was through these two crucial deals, masterminded by Ieyasu, that their loyalty had been purchased - leaving the Yamas.h.i.ta to pay the price.

The ship flying the house-flags of the Hase-Gawa was, in fact, part of the Shogun's battle fleet. It was this heavily disguised vessel which had brought Yoritomo and the six domain-lords into the port of Ba-satana during the night.

On the command of Lord Min-Orota, a salvo of cannon was fired from the island fort which guarded the entrance to the outer bay. It was the signal for the other five warships from the same flotilla to enter harbour. When they have into sight and their ident.i.ty became clear, their sister ship hauled down the Hase-Gawa flags and revealed her true colours.

'As troops of the Min-Orota flooded on to the dockside, it was clear to the astonished captains of Yamas.h.i.ta's vessels that there had been a sea-change in the political fortunes of their dead master's family.

With six TohYota ships, barring the only exit, there was little chance of breaking out into the open sea. They were left with two choices: go down fighting, scuttling their junks when defeat seemed certain, or surrender.

Two deck officers from each of the three boats went to the dockside to parley under a flag of truce with representatives of the Toh-Yota, Min-Orota and the six visiting domain-lords. They informed the deck-officers of the charge of high treason against their house. Their vessels were now forfeit. If they surrendered by the next tide, their crews would be returned unharmed to their native domain. Resistance was pointless, but if the captains chose to scuttle their boats, not one man would escape alive. All would be judged to be as guilty as their late master.

The deck-officers returned to their respective ships. An hour later, the house-flags of the Yama-s.h.i.ta were hauled down and laid reverently over the corpses of the three captains and their senior officers. It was all over without a shot being fired.

Lord Yama-s.h.i.ta's death at the hands of the mysterious white witch had not been antic.i.p.ated by Ieyasu, but if he had lived, the result would have been the same. The pike and not the minnows would have fallen into the trap !aid with the help of Kiyo Min-Orota.

The chastened domain-lord, shaken by his own narrow escape from a similar charge of high treason, was now pathetically eager to work his way back into favour.

He had actually gone as far as to broach the subject of a marriage between one of his children and one of the Shogun's many nephews or nieces when escorting Yoritomo to the gangway of his vessel.

Yoritomo agreed that the proposal merited serious consideration, but reminded Min-Orota that he still awaited his proposals for compensating Her Highness the Lady Mishiko for the loss of her husband. The veiled threat robbed the domain-lord of the relief he might otherwise have felt at watching the Shogun's fleet sail out of his harbour.

The Shogun had been advised by Ieyasu to keep his parting words cool and ambiguous, but political necessity required that there be a marriage, whatever his own personal feelings. And that saddened him.

He had thought Kiyo Min-Orota strong, even if he was not totally trustworthy, but he was spineless and treacherous.

Perhaps a grandson, who would carry the blood of the Toh-Yota in his veins, would prove to be made of sterner stuff.

On the journey back to his palace on Arongiren, Yoritomo reflected on the ferment of intrigues that had first been uncovered by Toshiro, his most trusted Herald. It had been Ieyasu who had pressed him to award the licence to build flying-horses to Kiyo Min-Orota. With the discovery of the conspiratorial axis between his house and the Yama-s.h.i.ta, the Shogun had been convinced that his wily old opponent had finally made the serious error of judgement that could be used to secure his removal from office.

He had secretly hoped Toshiro would produce evidence that would prove Ieyasu was directly implicated in the conspiracy, but it was now evident that he could not have been more wrong. Kiyo Min-Orota had been chosen because the Lord Chamberlain knew exactly what he was doing. He knew Min-Orota's strengths and weaknesses and had used him to ensnare and finally betray the Yama-s.h.i.ta. The sly old fox was still as fast on his feet as ever, and Yoritomo could only count himself fortunate that Ieyasu's allegiance was unshakeable. They might disagree about ways and means, but they both served a common end - the maintenance of the Toh*Yota Shogunate.

The Herald, Toshiro Hase-Gawa, took no part in the judgement proceedings. In fact, the secrecy surrounding the event was so complete, he was not even aware that the Shogun and Ieyasu were in Ba-satana. When the action moved into the public domain with the seizure of Yama-s.h.i.ta's three ocean-going junks, the Herald was already on his way south to Nyo-poro with the Consul-General's grieving wife and her three tearstained children.

The Lady Mishiko had expressed her wish to return to her brother's palace at Yedo on Aron-giren, and it was his duty to escort her carriage and baggage-train which, among other things, included the casket containing the grossly distorted body of her late husband.

Toshiro had, in any case, to make his personal report to the Shogun on the successful outcome of his a.s.signment. The mexican had escaped with his prisoners; the Consul-General had met his death in the prescribed manner. But he was less certain about how to explain what had occurred after the female Mute had intervened in the struggle. He had left the field immediately after Nakane Toh-Shiba had crashed to earth, so he had not personally witnessed what some of the Min-Orota line-officers claimed had taken place.

If it was true that Clearwater had employed the demonic powers that witches were reputed to possess then it placed him in a rather delicate position. Better by far to attribute the highly selective earthquake to a wayward Mother Nature and the stories of flying stones to shock, hysteria or over-heated imaginations.

Travelling by the longer but considerably faster sea-route, the Shogun returned to Aron-giren before the Herald arrived with the newly widowed Lady Mishiko.

After she had been welcomed in private by the Shogun and had received his brotherly condolences, the Herald was summoned to give his account of what had taken place at the Heron Pool.

When Toshiro entered the Shogun's study, he was surprised to find that Yoritomo was not alone. His uncle, Ieyasu, was with him and had apparently been invited to sit in on the meeting. The Herald paid homage to both men, then sat back cautiously when given permission to do so. It was the first time that the Lord Chamberlain had been present at a debriefing, and Toshiro found his grey, spider-like presence unsettling. What, he wondered, did it presage for the College of Heralds - the end of their privileged access to the Shogun? Had Ieyasu finally managed to outmanoeuvre Yoritomo in their thinly concealed struggle for control of the Inner Court?

Yoritomo and Ieyasu listened in silence as Toshiro presented his carefully edited version of the catastrophic outcome to the flying display. Since he was unsure just how far the Shogun had taken Ieyasu into his confidence, he avoided any reference to the part he had played in the escape of Brickman and his friends and the Consul-General's downfall. Or to the fact that Yoritomo had ordered both.

When he fell silent, the gaunt, ageing Chamberlain said: 'Your tact is highly commendable. But let me put your mind at ease. I have been made fully aware of your central role in this affair and, especially, your negotiations on behalf of this court with the so-called "mexican".

The real Brickman, as opposed to the individual who - for reasons we have yet to discover a.s.sumed his ident.i.ty."

'There is another aspect of this affair which fascinates us. His Exalted Highness and I would like to know if you have had any thoughts on the role of the female who . . ." Ieyasu chose his words carefully '... was the object of the Consul-General's fatal fascination."

Toshiro had a sudden presentiment that he was standing on quicksand, but he had talked his way out of tight corners before. This time, however, he had no glib reply. 'I am not sure I understand you, sire."

'Perhaps I can explain." Yoritomo leafed through the wad of papers that lay beside him and selected three handwritten sheets. 'These are recorded eyewitness accounts of the disaster at the Heron Pool - some of which cover incidents that occurred after you led the troops from the Mara-bara garrison from the field."

Toshiro bowed. 'I did explain my reason for doing so."

'You did - and it was a wise decision. I am, by the way, extremely pleased at the way you handled this a.s.signment. It has turned out much better than any of us could have hoped."

Ieyasu nodded. 'I agree. Most satisfactory."

Yoritomo perused the top sheet, then let it fall back on top of the others in his lap. 'What puzzles me are these accounts - all confirmed by independent witnesses - about the actions of a female long-dog. Am I right in a.s.suming that this is the same individual who occupied the lake-house?"

'I cannot state that with absolute certainty, sire. But I have been given to understand that the female you are referring to was wearing a white mask."

'Of a courtesan."

'Again, I did not see it myself, but that may be so."

'You seem to be avoiding my question,' said Yoritomo. 'My brother-in-law's harlot wore a white mask when you met her on the way back from Kari-varan. She was part of the escape package, and you arranged her transfer to the Heron Pool. I think we can safely a.s.sume that it was she who performed the actions described by these eye-witnesses - don't you?"

The Shogun consulted the papers on his lap, picking out various lines: '... splitting the earth with a shout ... causing stones to rain down from the sky ...

turning aside arrows with a wall of light. killing up to a dozen samurai by pointing her fingers at them and...

forcing Lord Yama-s.h.i.ta to kill himself several times over and - it would seem - keeping him alive and on his feet while he did so."

He shuffled the papers together and pa.s.sed them to Ieyasu. 'Even if only half of these are true, it is clear that Lord Yama-s.h.i.ta was confronted by someone endowed with quite extraordinary power. Do you have any explanation for what happened?"

'None, sire. People who spoke to me afterwards called her a witch.

They said she called upon the dark forces of earth magic. But as you know, little credence is given to such ideas nowadays."

'True,' replied Yoritomo. 'But if it was not by some form of magic how were these deeds accomplished?"

Toshiro bowed. 'I cannot say, sire."