The Collected Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Japan (26 page)

I heard something being dragged over the statue – this large sack, obviously. I said earlier that there were little gaps, here and there, in the gold metalwork surrounding the frame of the statue, which served to let in just enough air so that Holmes and I could breathe.

But with this sack covering the statue, would we now stifle to death…?

‘Holmes-
san
, the key…’ I said as quietly as I could, though terror caused my voice to tremble, there in the total, imprisoning darkness. ‘For pity’s sake, let us open the hatch and – ’

‘Patience, Yoshida-
sensei
, just a few minutes more,’ returned the Englishman. ‘They cannot be carrying this statue far – they surely landed their hot-air balloon at a spot close to where they have their boat moored, which I assume they have in turn assured is sited well away from the other ships in the harbor.’

‘A hot-air balloon?’ I murmured incredulously. Then, ‘Of course…!’

‘Tonight, as on the last near-moonless night,’ continued Holmes in the lowest possible voice, as we felt the statue being carried along, ‘the hot-air balloon was launched from its remote spot on the side of one of the mountains – carried there from the ship belonging to that suspiciously well-behaved group of
wokou
we saw earlier – and launched so that it sailed towards the temple with the two valuable gold dragons upon its roof. Doubtless the pilot of the balloon is highly-skilled, and so able to navigate even by the least possible light.

‘There above the temple roof the balloon hovered, as several pirates dropped down using ropes, doubtless carrying a few small lamps shielded by a shutter so that the flame is protected from the wind – and, also, so that the least possible light may be seen by any prying eyes.

‘It was quickly realized that only four bolts needed to be undone in order to free the dragon statue, and once this was completed ropes were tied around the head and tail of the dragon, and the men returned inside the large basket of the balloon before the statue was lifted into the air.

‘But it is heavy – hence the way the tail of the lopsided dragon carved a furrow in that field the other evening. The pilot of the balloon was obliged to send a burst of flame into the gas-filled expanse of canvas above him, which illuminated the head of the dragon below and which Takayama – what with his poor eyesight, and being somewhat in a state of alcoholic ‘refreshment’ – misinterpreted as being flames blown by the dragon itself.

‘The words he heard were, I suspect, the leader of
wokou
we saw earlier – the man with an eye-patch – admonishing the pilot for having flown so low.

‘And if I’m not mistaken, we are now being carried onto the boat. Courage, Yoshida-
sensei
, we will be out of here in just a few minutes – but from now on, be sure to have your pistol close at hand…’

5

‘This statue feels a damn sight deal heavier than the one before,’ grunted a male voice (not the sinister voice of before), as the vessel which contained us was deposited unceremoniously upon what – if Holmes was correct – was the deck of a pirates’ ship.

‘Much more things inside it, gold and such, I’m betting,’ declared another man. ‘Let’s get this sack off it, and break open the lock. There was a good deal inside that large statue, too – which is also worth a fortune in itself!’

‘We’ll do that,’ said the sinister voice. ‘And then we’ll go and get the balloon, fold it up, and with its basket bring it on ship and set sail, while it’s still dark. We may have moored up out of the way of the other ships, and kept ourselves to ourselves to avoid any undue attention, but the authorities here won’t turn a blind eye to our presence forever…’

I heard the sack being hurriedly pulled off the statue, and at once the pitch darkness inside lightened ever so slightly.

‘Gun ready, Yoshida-
sensei
!’ urged Holmes in my ear, so that I pulled the weapon from inside my
kimono
. (Holmes, as usual, was wearing western-style dress.)

There came a general hammering at the base of the statue, something being forced inside the lock of the wooden hatch and then twisted around, so that the lock was broken. The statue was lying lengthways, and with an effort Holmes twisted himself around, so that he was lying facing the entrance to the interior of this gold dragon. (The hatch was located by the base of the twisting tail, which was a part of the statue too narrow for any person to enter).

As quickly as I was able, I followed Holmes’s example, so that we were both ‘upside down’, as it were, to our position of before. There we lay in wait, our pistols drawn and cocked, as the lock was broken and the wooden hatch wrenched open with an awful grinding sound.

It was dark outside, the night remaining almost moonless; but still it was instantly much lighter inside the statue than it had been even with the sack removed.

‘Back up, please,’ said Holmes, his words directed at the two dirty, hairy faces which were peering incredulously back at us. ‘Back right up, and raise your hands…’

As the two men did as requested, Holmes wriggled with snakelike speed out of the statue. A little slower, I did the same, so that I emerged behind him with my pistol also pointing at the group of men – six of them, the same number as had entered the inn earlier that same day – stood upon the deck of a not-overly large ship with square sails.

The man wearing the eye-patch – the captain – was the first to recover from his surprise.

‘Oh, well done,’ he declared, his single eye burning with cheated rage as it observed us. (There were a number of burning torches tied to the masts of the ship – but well below the sails – which served to illuminate the scene.)

‘I am Sherlock Holmes,’ said the Englishman, his voice strong. ‘Perhaps you have heard of me?’

  ‘Too many times,’ returned the captain, his hands twitching at his sides.

‘Kindly refrain from drawing your swords,’ continued Holmes, ‘or I and my friend here will shoot you down like rats.

‘Now, the other statue – where is it?’

‘Down in the hold,’ returned the captain shortly.

‘Go and get it, and bring it up here – with two other men,’ said Holmes. ‘Also, ensure that whatever you found inside it – gold, silks and such – is replaced. The rest of you, sit down there, with your hands upon your heads. Before you do – remove your weapons, and throw them overboard. All of you.’

With a number of grunted curses, the pirates did as ordered.

The other gold statue of the dragon was soon dragged upon the deck of the ship, and Holmes then ordered that it and its mate be removed from the boat and placed upon the old wooden jetty. With more vicious oaths concerning the general parentage of Holmes and me, the pirates obeyed.

‘Now,’ said Holmes, once we were all stood upon the jetty, the pirates assembled in a small group with the two pistols still trained upon them. ‘I could summon the authorities, and have you arrested.’ 

At once, the captain turned noticeably pale even in the torch-lit darkness.

‘For mercy’s sake, Holmes-
san
, have we not done exactly as you ordered?’ he declared, his tone somewhat less strident than before. ‘If you hand us over so casually, we will surely be executed…’

‘Which is no doubt what you deserve,’ retorted Holmes, and the sudden venom in his voice surprised me.

‘But still,’ he continued, giving vent to a sigh. ‘Just go, now, and do not look back….’

The six pirates looked quizzically at once another.

‘I said
go
!’ bellowed Holmes, discharging his pistol barely a couple of inches above the captain’s head.

At once the pirates began running, soon disappearing into the darkness.

‘They will hardly now become honest men, Yoshida-
sensei
, but they will need some time to obtain another boat, and so their little group may well disintegrate,’ observed Holmes quietly.

I could hear shouting, coming from behind us. Men from the harbor, away from this somewhat remote spot where the pirates had moored their ship. 

‘They heard the gunshot,’ said Holmes. ‘But before they arrive, let me just ensure that this vile ship is never used as a pirates’ vessel again…’

Quickly, Holmes hopped on board the boat, and taking hold of one of the flaming torches tied to a mast, stretched up his arm as high as he could and so just managed to touch one of the square sails above. It quickly caught light, and the roaring blaze instantly began to spread…

Holmes moved back onto the jetty, where the two golden statues reflected the growing fire in the darkness.

‘Ah, good evening,’ greeted the famous English detective cordially, as the first face appeared nearby, confusion etched upon it. ‘My name is Sherlock Holmes. I wonder if you’d be so kind as to take a message to the nearby
Kotaiji
temple, informing the priest there that my friend and I have recovered his two dragon statues, and that they will remain here until such time as he is able to arrange collection…?’

*

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