This, then, must be the chief, the man who held his life in his hands. Tora returned the look with equal curiosity.
“Bring him!” The chief’s voice boomed and echoed from the mountainside. Tora thought it appropriate for a commander of an army.
Dragon Tattoo grasped Tora’s arm, thrusting him forward so that he stumbled and fell to one knee. Catching himself, Tora shook a fist at Dragon Tattoo and then walked the few steps to the pirate chief.
“Hah!” said the chief. “You think you can threaten one of my men?”
“He’s a coward and a bastard who likes to hurt people.”
Dragon Tattoo ran up with a snarl, his own fist raised.
“No,” said the chief. “He’s right. You are a coward and I’ve seen you torturing prisoners. Tell me why you decided to bring a stranger here.”
Dragon Tattoo shot Tora a furious glance, but he lowered his fist. “He’s a spy, chief. He was asking questions about us.”
The chief glowered. “And you thought it was a good idea to show him our island? What am I to do with him?”
Dragon Tattoo’s face fell for a moment. Then he said, “You can find out who he works for before I kill him. No harm done.” He chortled.
“You’re not only a coward, you’re an idiot!” the chief roared, getting to his feet so violently that his stool fell over.
Tora saw that the others gathered around the fire where the woman was dishing out helpings of whatever was in the large pot. He was ravenous. “If you don’t mind, chief,” he said, breaking into the ominous silence before the storm, “I’d very much like something to eat and drink before you go on with this. Your men haven’t been exactly hospitable.”
The chief’s jaw dropped. He looked at Tora speechlessly for a moment, then burst into a laugh. “You’re a cool bastard. What if I let Tojo kill you? He wants to badly enough, don’t you, Tojo?”
Tojo cringed but nodded his head. “I’ll do it, chief. Right here and now. Just say the word.”
Tora gave him a pitying look. “He can’t do it. Not unless you have me tied up again.”
Dragon Tattoo exploded into another attack, fists flying. Tora skipped aside, stuck out a leg to trip him and, when he was down, sat on him. “You see?” he said to the chief with a grin.
The chief grinned back. “Let him go and get something to eat. We’ll talk later.”
Tora got up. “Thanks, chief. And by the way, the name’s Tora.”
The food was good and plentiful, fish cooked with rice. The rice was of the best quality, very white and with a rich flavor. It was what the wealthy ate. No doubt, it came from those bales he could see stacked inside the cave. Life was good to pirates.
The chief was now deep in conversation with the man who had been at the rudder of the ship, its captain or master. A small but heavy bag changed hands. The chief peered into it, then shoved it inside his shirt. He said something, and both men turned their heads to look at Tora. Tora quickly raised his bowl to his face. He was nearly done and still hungry. Holding the empty bowl out to the woman who was stirring the pot, he gave her a pleading look. She spat and turned her back on him.
“Fill his bowl!” roared the chief.
She glared at Tora but gave him another helping. He bowed to the chief and thanked her, adding a compliment on her cooking. In vain. She turned away.
Tora sighed. A spy’s life was hard.
And dangerous.
Dragon Tattoo came for his own meal and gave Tora a look of such sheer hatred that he choked on his next bite. The chief might be a man of some humanity, but the same did not apply to his people. There was little doubt that Dragon Tattoo would kill him at his first opportunity.
Tora finished his food and felt better. There was nothing to do but to await developments. The fact that no one made a move to unload the ship meant that they had made a delivery in Kawajiri and been paid off. That was why the master had passed a bag of money to the chief. Perhaps he could find out who had bought the pirated goods.
He glanced around and saw nothing but hardened faces. The chances of getting information were not good. He had better think about getting away and let the government take care of the pirate hideout.
Chances were that on its next departure the ship would resume the hunt for prey. He could not escape that way. And even if he could convince the chief that he was a promising recruit, Tora shuddered at what he would be expected to do. Pirates were ruthless about slaughtering ships’ crews.
Was there some other way?
The plateau around the great cave was high above the sea but enclosed by rocky ridges and forest. Only toward the west, he could catch a glimpse of the water. He saw two other islands, fairly close, and knew there were many more. But even so, he could not hope to swim that far.
“You! Tora! Come here.”
Tora spun around. The chief was gesturing. He got up, dusted himself off, and strolled over.
“They say you’re a spy,” the chief growled.
Tora chose a rock and sat down across from the chief. “They’re idiots,” he said, grinning.
The chief narrowed his eyes. “What were you doing in the hostel?”
“I needed a place to sleep. What else?”
“You’d been asking questions all over town. Don’t lie to me.”
“I always ask questions. I like to know what’s going on and who people are.”
“You asked questions about us.”
“No. I didn’t know anything about you. I asked about pirates.”
“Why?”
Tora looked up at the sky. After the storm it was a clear blue again. High above him circled several birds of prey. Below he could hear the cries of gulls. “I was thinking of becoming one,” he said, “but now I’m not so sure. Are you going to split that money with your men?”
“What?”
Tora brought his eyes back to the chief’s bulging shirt and grinned. “The master of your ship brought you a bag of coins. It looked heavy. Maybe it was gold. Anyway, I guess being a pirate is a dangerous and bloody business. I’d like to think there’s quite a lot of gold to be earned. The food was good, but I don’t work for food alone.”
“You’re a cocky bastard all right,” said the chief. “Cocky bastards are trouble. Best make short work of them.”
“Cocky bastards are what you need more of. Not idiots like Dragon Tattoo. And by the way, he stole my sword. I want it back.”
The chief snorted. “He took it off you; you take it back. I’d like to see you try.”
“Very well.” Tora got to his feet. “It’s been a pleasure, chief,” he said, made a slight bow, and walked away.
He did not really feel very cocky, but by now and with a full stomach he was very angry. Part of the anger was directed at himself for having been careless. Part was directed at Dragon Tattoo, the man he held responsible for his capture. It had become clear that the bastard had acted out of personal spite rather than because he really thought Tora was a spy and a danger to their enterprise. Sometimes a fool is more dangerous than the slyest villain.
Since they made no effort to restrict his movements, he wandered around, trying to get an idea how to get away. They watched him though, and he knew better than to go off by himself. Instead, he stayed with groups of the pirates, watching their work, asking questions from time to time that received no answers, and surveying as much of the island as he could.
They would not let him explore the cave where they stored their loot, but nobody objected when he joined some men who headed down to the hidden harbor. They got into the boat that had brought them ashore, and rowed out to the ship. Tora sat on the sandy beach and watched them begin repairs.
When the boat returned to pick up some lumber, he got up to meet them. “I can help,” he offered. “I’d rather work than sit about doing nothing.”