Текст книги "Rashomon Gate "

Автор книги: Ingrid J. Parker

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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 25 страниц)

Three

Rabbit

Early the following morning, Akitada met with Seimei and Tora. His mother was still blissfully unaware of his new occupation, and Akitada hoped to escape before she could send for him.

They were in Akitada's room, which looked out on the sadly overgrown garden. In the distance Lady Sugawara's veranda struck a jarring note with its pale new wood next to the dark, weathered walls of the ancient Sugawara mansion.

"My mother has grown quite fond of you, I think," Akitada told Tora. "Offering to repair her veranda was a master stroke."

Tora smirked. There had at first been a certain stiffness between the old lady and the former robber. "I am to see to the garden next," he stated proudly.

"Well," Akitada said, "that's why I wanted to talk to you. The garden will have to wait. I have an assignment for you. I am working on a case at the university and shall need you both." He explained about the misdirected blackmail note.

Tora clapped his hands. "Great!" he cried. "I like investigating. Just turn me loose and I'll find out what's going on at that school."

Seimei sniffed. "You had better watch your step! They are not your ramshackle friends from the city. Professors are learned noblemen, and the students young gentlemen. They have been studying the precepts of Master Kung and have immersed themselves in the wisdom of the five sages." He turned to his master. "Perhaps I had better take off a few days also, sir. That way I can make sure this young hothead does not get into trouble."

Akitada smiled. "No, my friend. I shall need you in the government offices. Professors are officials of rank, and that means the Bureau of Education will have files on them." He picked up a sheet of paper and handed it to Seimei. "See what you can find about these people in the archives and by talking to the clerks. Especially any recent changes in their financial standing."

"What do you want me to do?" Tora asked eagerly.

"You may present yourself at the university as my servant. Mingle with the staff, servants, students, groundskeepers and so forth. Pick up any gossip about the professors and students that might tell us what is behind the blackmail."

Tora nodded and rubbed his hands. "I may need some money, sir."

"Don't give him a red copper, sir!" cried Seimei. "He will spend it buying wine for every low class person he encounters."

Tora protested, "Haven't you always told me that walls have ears and bottles have mouths? I thought I'd be the wall and listen to the wine talking."

"Make sure the wall is sound or our plan will collapse," Akitada said dryly, as he counted the copper coins on a string before handing it to Tora.

Tora grinned and tucked the coppers in his sash. He headed towards the door, with Seimei following more slowly, when Akitada remembered something else. "Seimei," he called, "while you are checking the names on the list, try to find out how the late Prince Yoakira left his estate and who will benefit from his death."

Seimei turned. "Oh, sir! You must stop this nonsense about the prince's death. It's not reasonable and . . . not really your affair. Besides it is most unwise. Think of the people involved! If word gets out about what you suspect, they will destroy you." He flushed. "I beg your pardon for speaking bluntly."

Tora's eyes were bright with curiosity. "What are you talking about?"

Seimei muttered, "The master thinks the prince was murdered."

"Truly?" Tora sounded thrilled. "That's a lot better than demons devouring him. You wouldn't believe the stories people are telling about that. Horrible!" He shuddered.

Akitada smiled. Tora was notoriously nervous about supernatural events. "They can't be any more ridiculous than the pious tale of a miraculous transfiguration," he said dryly, adding, "By the way, don't mention any of this to my mother or sisters. Perhaps you had better take care of your household duties before leaving, Tora."

• • •

Tora made short shrift of his chores by relegating most of them to the kitchen help and sauntered into the university shortly after the start of classes. From many halls came the sounds of young voices reciting answers or the dry tones of professors lecturing. The streets, courtyards, and most other buildings were silent and empty.

Tora saw few promising sources of information until he strolled into the courtyard of the administration hall. Here he came face to face with one of the clerks, a short, middle-aged man, dressed shabbily in an old gray robe and faded black cap, who carried a wine jar and was accompanied by a gangly youth in a dirty student's robe who was gingerly balancing a stack of three steaming bowls. When the clerk saw Tora, he stopped in his tracks, a guilty look on his face. The gangly youngster stumbled and almost dropped his food.

Tora noted with interest the clerk's florid complexion and decided to try his luck. "Having a second breakfast?" he remarked with a grin. "Lucky fellow! Getting paid a good salary for doing nothing and fed well on top of that! I see you have a good appetite when the food is free."

The man bristled. "It's not free! And what's it to you?" he blustered, but he cast an uneasy eye on Tora's neat blue robe and small black cap.

Tora drew himself up. "Nothing whatsoever, my man. I want to ask directions and, since there doesn't seem to be anybody else about, you'll do. I'm the new Professor Sugawara's assistant. Can you direct me to his office?"

"Oh! I do beg your pardon, sir." The clerk bowed deeply, a sudden movement which brought his hip in collision with the gaping youth and upset the stack of bowls, one of which tumbled to the ground, spilling a savory-smelling stew of vegetables. The clerk immediately turned and cuffed the youngster's ear. The unfortunate lad blinked and almost dropped the other two bowls, but Tora caught them in time, handing them to the clerk, while the young man crouched, cleaning up the spilled food.

"Oh, dear!" cried the clerk. "Thank you kindly. I cannot imagine why I pay this clumsy oaf for his services. My soft heart always gets me in trouble. Well, sir, you go out that gate," he pointed, "then turn right and cross the next street, and you will find the law school in the last courtyard to the south. And please forgive my rudeness. I should have recognized a learned gentleman immediately. The name is Nakatoshi, administrative clerk, at your service." He bowed again.

"Not at all, my dear fellow," smiled Tora, basking in his new role. "My name is Kinto. As you see, I am earning my daily bowl of rice just like you, and if it comes to that, I am sure you people have your own skills, or you wouldn't be in charge of a bunch of learned professors." He slapped the man's shoulder and laughed at this witticism.

Clutching the teetering bowls and the wine jar tightly to his chest, the clerk smiled thinly. "You are very understanding, sir. Great care is required to keep track of everybody here. We have almost four hundred students; hard work for only three clerks. My colleagues and I find that by mid-morning a bit of sustenance does wonders for the concentration. Thank heaven, the staff kitchen is next door and not at all bad."

Tora, who had sniffed the aroma of the stew appreciatively, said, "It smells delicious! Positively gives a man an appetite. Please don't let me keep you from enjoying your snack."

"Thank you." The clerk hesitated, then said, "Perhaps you might like to join us and sample the food? The cooking in the staff kitchen is vastly superior to that done for the students."

"A pleasure, my dear Nakatoshi, on condition that you allow me to replace the spilled portion and pay for my share." Tora clinked the string of coppers in his sleeve.

Nakatoshi expressed himself deeply honored, reluctantly accepted the money from Tora, and dispatched the youngster for more food. Leading the way into the hall, he took Tora to a dusty cubicle where two elderly clerks shuffled about among tall shelves filled with papers and boxes. Both were pale, bent, and nearsighted from their work, but cheered up at the unexpected company. Nakatoshi introduced Tora, who immediately engaged his hosts in conversation about the terrible working conditions at the university and the general poverty of its staff.

When the student returned with the rest of the food, Nakatoshi told him severely, "It's a good thing you did not spill anything else. I would have taken it out of your wages if this gentleman had not made it good."

"Thank you for your kindness," the student told Tora politely.

Tora thought that, on closer inspection, there was something very much like a rabbit about his protruding front teeth and the long ears, but his voice was pleasant and his speech courteous.

"You can go sweep the hall for the rest of the hour," Nakatoshi ordered, and the youth nodded and left.

"I hear that the grandson of Prince Yoakira is a student," Tora remarked after a few bites.

Nakatoshi looked uneasy. "Well," he said, "we are not really supposed to talk about it, but seeing that you are going to be a member of the university, I suppose it's all right. Yes, the boy was left here the very evening after the miracle. His fees were paid by his uncle, Lord Sakanoue, a very grand person, far above people like you and me. I had the honor of making the arrangements and took the young lord to his quarters. He looked very pale and was trembling. I was worried that he might be suffering from some illness and started to ask him questions, but he got quite haughty and told me to mind my own business. That's the nobility for you! Already the great lord, and no more than ten years old!"

"A child of such august rank in a place like this!" muttered one of the old men through a mouthful of rice. "It's no wonder he looked ill when he saw the dormitories. I expect they send his food in from the outside, or he would be dead by now."

Tora chewed a bit of bean curd and smacked his lips. "This is very tasty. I'm glad I ran into you fellows. Are things really so bad for the students?"

The three clerks exchanged glances and grunted. "They treat animals better than they do students here," muttered Nakatoshi. "Of course that means we get some cheap help." He jerked his head towards the hall, where they could hear the sounds of energetic sweeping.

The other old man suddenly joined the conversation. "How can they house and feed them better on what the government allows us? I can remember when the university got twice as much every year, plus extra gifts from grateful parents. Nowadays we all starve, students, staff and faculty alike."

Tora regarded the empty bowls and reached for the wine flask. There were only a few drops left. "Allow me to pay for another round of wine!" he offered.

This was gratefully accepted, and Nakatoshi shouted the order to the student in the hall.

When they were well into the second pitcher, Tora considered the time ripe to probe some more. "Isn't it a bit strange," he asked, "that the son of a great family like the prince's should live here where conditions are so bad?"

"Hah!" cried one of the old men. "The very thing I said when I heard."

The other one nodded. "All the other children of the high nobles are day students and come only for their classes. The dormitories are for the sons of provincial families."

"Well," said Tora, "I have a friend who keeps preaching to me what a fine thing getting an education is, but from what you fellows tell me, it seems even ordinary clerks and humble assistants like me are better off than the students. At least we can buy decent food and wine."

"Speak for yourself!" Nakatoshi, his face positively glowing, gave his two colleagues a wink. "Perhaps your professor pays you well for your services, but let me tell you, we could not manage a simple meal like this without other sources of income." He chuckled.

One of the old men looked up and cleared his throat warningly, but the wine had loosened Nakatoshi's tongue and he boasted, "Our work is not without its fringe benefits." Leaning a little closer to Tora, he said, "For example, we are in the unique position of being able to advise those who would like to put some money on the outcome of academic competitions."

"Nakatoshi!" said the old man sharply.

"You don't mean you make book on the examinations!" Tora exclaimed, putting an arm around Nakatoshi's shoulders.

Nakatoshi giggled. "Not the term I would use, my friend, my very good friend," he babbled, "but similar. Say, would you like to see some odds for the upcoming poetry contest? Maybe wager a little? It's between Oe and Fujiwara on our team, and Okura and Asano for the government. What do you say?"

Tora grinned broadly. "This is my lucky day, and you're a man after my own heart!" he cried. "I can tell I shall like it here. Tell me more!"

But the old man who had grumbled all along now snapped, "Better watch your tongue, Nakatoshi! You remember what happened last spring."

"Nothing happened, you old fool!" Nakatoshi muttered.

"Who's an old fool?" The old man glared. "You nearly got killed when you sold the name of the favorite in the examinations for two strings of coppers a piece, and then another fellow won."

"That wasn't my fault," cried Nakatoshi. "We went over the grades of all the candidates carefully, and there was only one possibility. But then they picked a fellow who never got above a 'satisfactory' on anything except calligraphy! It was a fluke, I tell you. Anyway, that can't happen again now that we handle the bets ourselves."

Tora laughed and patted Nakatoshi's shoulder. "Mistakes happen in the best business. As for me, I look forward to placing a small wager with you as soon as I check out who's who."

They parted on friendly terms. On his way out, Tora walked past the poor student, who was just putting away his broom. For a moment he considered leaving him a few coppers as a tip, but then he remembered that, for all his politeness, the youngster had not addressed him as "sir," and went in search of a new quarry. Eventually he strayed into the large enclosure which contained the student dormitories. At this hour these were empty except for a couple of slovenly women with brooms and pails. Tora ignored them and crossed an open area dotted with pine trees and small shrubs, heading towards the service buildings. The largest of these was the kitchen: empty, filthy and filled with the rancid stench of moldy grain and rotting fish.

The cook and his helpers were taking their ease under a large paulownia tree behind the building. They were seated in a circle around a cracked bowl, pitching coppers towards it. A set of dice made the rounds and small heaps of copper coins lay before each man. There were four rough-looking adults and a handful of scruffy youngsters. When they saw Tora, they snatched up the money and jumped up.

"Don't disturb yourselves on my account," grinned Tora. "I'd be the last man to begrudge a working man his well-earned rest. For that matter, I like a good game myself."

The cook, recognizable by his girth and the many food stains on his clothes, was a cross-eyed brute who pursed his thick lips and looked Tora up and down suspiciously. The others settled back down and waited. Tora hitched up his gown, saying, "Better not get this new outfit dirty. My master'll have it out of my wages," and sat down cross-legged amongst them. "What're the rules?"

"You in service then?" asked the fat cook.

Tora nodded and began to count his coppers into neat little piles. The others watched avidly.

"Do a bit of gambling, do you?" the cook wanted to know.

"Not for a while. I was a soldier once and a buddy showed me how to roll the dice, but it was against the rules then."

The cook grunted and flopped down with the dull thud of a sack of rice. "Glad to have you," he growled. "Here, you can check the dice! To make sure we're on the up and up. You roll for the number of tries at the bowl. Hit the bowl with a copper and all the misses are yours."

"What do you mean?" Tora received the wooden objects and stared at them with a frown. They were crude but had not been tampered with. He handed them back. "They look like dice to me." He eyed the bowl, which was quite small and about ten paces away. The dirty ground around it was covered with copper coins. "I've never seen the game played like that, though."

Someone snickered, but the cook snapped, "Enough talking! Let's play!"

They were avid gamblers, but not particularly skilled at tossing for the bowl. Tora played judiciously, gauging the distance and the weight of the coins, slowly losing his pile of coppers before beginning to win steadily.

"Hey, you're getting good at this!" cried one of the men.

Tora boasted that he would not miss for the next ten tosses. They proposed a bet. Tora lost, but proposed other bets, which he won more often than not, until he sat before a small mountain of coppers, while his companions were dropping out of the game.

They sat with long faces. The cook glowered at Tora and muttered. Finally he snarled, "The bastard lied to us!"

Tora looked up from counting his coppers. "What did you say?"

The cook blustered, "You said you had no skill at the game."

"Did I not tell you that a buddy taught me how to play? Of course I know how to roll the dice," Tora said scornfully. "And I learned to toss pebbles when I was a kid."

"Well, you made it sound like you were green," whined another fellow. "We were just having a friendly game, and now you cleaned us out. What'll we tell our wives?"

Tora saw no reason why he could not succeed with the same method twice. "I tell you what," he said. "Just among friends and to show my appreciation for a pleasant game, why don't I use some of the winnings to treat you fellows to some really good wine?"

Their faces brightened instantly. "Here, runt!" shouted the cook to the smallest boy. "Run to the wine shop by the Left City Hall! They've got the strong stuff."

Tora scooped up his winnings, carefully counted out a generous amount and turned it over to the boy. "Get plenty!" he instructed, "and some tasty pickled radish to go with it."

There was a murmur of appreciation. The cook remarked that there were still some true gentlemen left in the world.

While they were waiting, Tora introduced himself as the new professor's servant and received, in return, information about the university, its staff, its professors and its students. The point of view on this occasion differed markedly from that held by the clerks. The kitchen staff and the groundskeepers and sweepers regarded students and faculty as inconsiderate nuisances who made their lives a constant misery. As soon as the wine, a very strong brew indeed, had made the rounds, their tongues loosened in the most helpful manner.

"I can see," Tora remarked to one of the sweepers, "that those youngsters are a lot of trouble to clean up after."

The man responded with a long list of abominations, but the cook snorted. "You think he's got trouble? The lazy rascal goes home at sundown. If you want to hear about trouble, it's me and my old woman you got to talk to. We're kept awake all night with the tricks those cursed students get up to."

"What sorts of tricks?" Tora asked, filling cups all around, but skipping his own.

"Oh, climbing the walls to get out. Smuggling in loose women. Breaking into the pantry and stealing food. Burning candles at night and setting the place on fire. You name it, they do it. Every night my old woman has to do a bed check, looking for their doxies."

"Doesn't trust you to do it, does she?" Tora remarked, grinning broadly.

This caused raucous mirth. One of the workers cried, "Him? He's so lazy, he wouldn't know what to do with a girl in his bed 'cept sleep. His old woman does the checking 'cause he's sacked out before the rest of us ever go home."

The cook glared, rolling his crossed eyes terribly. "Liar," he growled. "All day long I'm cooking to keep the little bastards' bowls filled! They eat like starved rats and beg for leftovers. Most of 'em don't have two coppers to rub together. Makes you wonder how they get the women! There's always a couple hungry enough to help out in the kitchen for a bit of extra food or a couple of coppers. It's my kindness! They steal more food than they're worth."

Tora thought this another example of how dubious a thing an education was. "If they are so poor, how come they get treated like gentlemen?" he asked.

The cook and the others looked at each other blankly. "Well," said the cook, "now that you mention it, it is funny. One day a starved kid comes begging to me for the scrapings of the stew pot, or offers to sell his gown for some rice. Out of the goodness of my heart, I give him a job. Then, a little while later, the same fellow is dressed like a prince in brand new clothes and looks down his nose at me like I was some slug under a rock when I ask him why he hasn't come to work."

"Yeah!" cried one of the boys. "I know the one you mean! Ishikawa! He used to fetch water from the well along with me last year. Now he wants me to call him Mr. Ishikawa."

"How'd he get rich all of a sudden?" asked Tora. "Some relative died and left him a fortune?"

"Naw," grunted the cook. The fat man's broad face was turning alarmingly red and glistening with sweat and he slurred his words. "Tha's what I thought at first. But tha' wasn't it. Eh, guys?"

They all shook their heads. The source of Ishikawa's wealth was a mystery to them. Anyway, the consensus of the group was that one couldn't understand the ways of students. They were crazy. All that reading was bad for the brain. Tora grinned.

"Take that Rabbit!" offered the cook.

"What rabbit?" asked Tora, looking around.

The cook saw a joke and began to giggle until tears ran down his fat cheeks. "Please!" he gasped, clasping his belly and wheezing with laughter. "He, he. Take the Rabbit! Har, har! You can have him." His companions joined in the laughter.

Tora looked blank until someone explained that Rabbit was the nickname of one of the cook's student helpers.

"Helper!" cried the cook, who had calmed himself somewhat with another draught of wine. "Useless as a blind man's lantern! Half the time I tell him sh . . . somethin' and he doesh shomethin' else. Jush las' night I tell him to put the rice on an' he forgets the rice and boils the empty steamers. Had to feed everybody leftover millet from breakfast. 'N when you talk to him, he shtands there with that shilly grin on his face an' his big ears flappin' or else a hangdog look like his mind is really shome other place an' you're no more'n a moshkito buzzing at him." He paused to peer up at the sun with his good eye. "Come to think, he's about due now. Musht be time to shtart up the fires again."

He heaved his bulk up with the help of his companions and stood swaying. "Damn good wine!" he muttered with a nod to Tora. "You're a pleashant fellow! Whash your name again?"

At that moment a terrible racket broke out inside the kitchen. Angry shouts rang out, followed by the crash of broken crockery. They ran to see what was going on.

Inside the long low kitchen they found two young men on the hard dirt floor, rolling about among broken dishes, assorted vegetables and a slimy gray substance which the outraged cook identified as millet gruel. One of the youngsters, a tall gangly figure who looked strangely familiar to Tora, was belaboring the other, shorter but more muscular, with his fists. "You dirty dog!" he gasped between blows, totally oblivious to his audience, "How dare you read my letter? How dare you make filthy insinuations! I'll kill you if you say one word about this to anyone!" He grabbed the other's shoulders and pounded his head on the floor to make his point.

"And I'll kill you, you worthless piece of dung!" roared the cook. He seized a broom and struck the gangly fellow furiously about the head and shoulders.

The combatants parted and staggered to their feet. The skinny one cowered under the cook's blows, protecting his head with raised arms. Tora recognized him as the student who had been working for the clerks. His appearance had not improved; plain of face at the best of times, with his long nose, protruding teeth, receding chin, and overly large ears, he was now covered with gruel and dirt, his hair knot had come undone, and his mouth hung open. With a horrified glance at Tora and the cook, he made a sound somewhere between a squeal and a sob, and took to his heels.

"An' don't bother to come back!" roared the cook after him, shaking his fist. "I'll have the damages outta your hide, you shnot-nosed, rabbitty bashtard!"

The other student meanwhile had been brushing himself off. He was Rabbit's age and, in spite of the pummeling, in reasonably good shape. Turning his round face and button eyes on the cook, he whined, "I have done nothing, Cook. I swear it! Rabbit jumped me all of a sudden. You saw I wasn't even defending myself. There I was, cleaning the radishes as you told me, when he threw the whole pot of gruel at me! Thank the gods it was cold. I could've been scalded. I tell you, he's mad! They shouldn't allow mad people to live amongst the rest of us. It's dangerous. And look at the terrible mess he's made of your kitchen. I don't know how a nice man like you can put up with such people."

Mollified the fat man collapsed on a stool, breathed hard for a while, then grunted, "Never mind, Haseo! One of the fellows'll give you a hand and we'll have it cleaned up in no time. Then you can start the soup. You're a good boy, and so I shall tell them in the paymashter's offish."

• • •

Tora reported his discoveries with the greatest satisfaction. Akitada had just finished his noon rice (procured from the staff kitchen) and listened with flattering attention. He said, "Apparently, aside from the bed check by the cook's wife, there is no control of the comings and goings of the students or staff during the night hours. The gates are closed, but evidently anybody can climb over the walls or move about freely inside the grounds." He pondered this for a moment and frowned. "Of course that means that an outsider can get in also. It certainly widens the possibilities of potential blackmailers."

"For my money," said Tora, helping himself to some leftover pickled plums, "it's one of the students. Those poor bastards are half-starved and working part-time jobs to feed themselves. What about that fellow Ishikawa?"

"Ishikawa now has a job reading essays for one of the professors. That could explain why he no longer works for the cook, who is not, from your account, a nice man to work for. Also, Ishikawa is supposed to place first in the next examinations."

Tora snorted. "He'd better not count on it. According to the clerks, strange things happen in those examinations. You wouldn't believe what goes on!" He chuckled and explained the clerks' bookmaking operation.

Akitada's amused smile faded abruptly when Tora mentioned Nakatoshi's troubles after the last examination. He stiffened and cried, "What? Good Heavens! This goes far beyond a minor bookmaking operation by a few clerks! It sounds as if the examination results have been altered!" Jumping up, he started pacing. "It's shocking but nothing else fits. Nothing else explains the blackmail note so perfectly. And if it gets out . . . as it surely must with this abject poverty of students, staff and faculty . . . the emperor will have to take action. There will be a purge of the faculty at the very least."

Tora looked puzzled. "I don't see the point. Who cares about an examination? Now about Prince Yoakira's grandson . . ."

Akitada stopped his pacing. "What about him?"

"The kid was brought here by his uncle the night after his grandfather popped off. The clerk said he looked like he was sick. He thought it was strange they'd make him stay here."

"Yes, it is strange. I have the boy in one of my classes," said Akitada. "And I am worried about him. He really does not look healthy."

"You want me to go ask more questions about the kid?"Tora offered eagerly.

But Akitada's mind was again on the scandal involving the university and on vague suspicions that he did not yet dare admit to himself. "No," he muttered. "Go on home for now. I have to think about all this."