One of the soldiers responded, speaking with a Russian accent. “State your business?”
The man’s rank was visible on his badge: Матрóc 1-й cтaтьѝ. Though Sherlock did not understand Russian, he was aware that the badge indicated a first-class seaman. He also glanced at the man’s name, imprinted on his buckle. “First-Class Seaman Mitkov, I wish to speak with the commander of the Kondrat.”
Unfortunately, Mitkov was apparently not so easily taken in with this gambit as Lt. Colonel Kanevsky was. Perhaps as a petty soldier he was only too aware of the fact that few people would know his name. Mitkov narrowed his eyes. “Only essential personnel of the Russian Navy may pass. Do you have an appointment?”
“This is my advisor from England,” Ito began. “I am—”
Sherlock raised a hand to stop him. “I wish to speak with your superiors.”
Mitkov was unmoved. “Do you know the names of any of the ships other than the Kondrat?”
“The Kesar.”
“And the others?”
“The others…?”
“You tell me you have business here when you do not even know what ships have been anchored? Move along.”
Ito’s face twisted in outrage. “The insolence! Do you know who…”
Sherlock grabbed his arm. Ito trailed off mid-sentence. Mitkov continued to stubbornly block their way. Sherlock left, ushering Ito away with him.
Once they distanced themselves from the gate, Ito spoke in a dissatisfied tone. “If I had identified myself we could have gone inside.”
“No. We would not have been shown inside, as the commander would have come out to greet you. As Chairman Ito, your position is too elevated. We can’t allow for any preferential dispensation. If we are to discover any information of a private nature we must infiltrate the area by less exceptional means.”
“The Russians have brought these ships to intimidate us. What do you hope to accomplish by visiting the fleet? Have you discerned something of why the ships are here? They still have not given us a clear answer.”
Sherlock ignored his questions. “That sailor sounded as if he is accustomed to asking those questions. Most likely he is in a regular habit of having visitors tell him the names of the ships and deciding based on their answers whether to allow them to pass.”
He stared out toward sea. He could not see any of the names of the ships on the hulls.
“Russian warships don’t display their names in very large letters,” Ito said, following Sherlock’s gaze. “In accordance with international treaties, however, they do list the names on both port and starboard, albeit in very small English lettering. The names can be found engraved at both the bow and the stern, but you would likely have to approach quite close before you saw them.”
“With a strong telescope I might be able to see the names of the ships in front, but the subsequent rows are shadowed. And the three ships in the middle row would be difficult to make out even from the offing—oh, but what do we have here?”
He thought no one was allowed to approach the waters where the Russian warships were anchored. But now he saw a small fishing boat in between the ships, heading to shore.
“Fishermen are allowed to pass through,” said Ito. “It is their livelihood, after all. There are, however, restrictions in place. They must approach from the southeast, and then pass either to the north or the west. If they attempt to turn back they will be apprehended. Nor are they permitted to stop or slow down.”
Sherlock pointed toward the horizon. “The sea is to the east?”
“It is. The fishermen do not put out to sea from here, they only pass through on their way home. Even if we posed as fishermen, it would be impossible to get a full circuit view.”
Several fishing boats had been pulled aground on the dunes to Sherlock’s left, facing the ocean. The bare-chested fishermen had finished their work and were now busy unloading their hauls, just as he had seen docking in Yokohama.
It was worth a try. Sherlock began walking in their direction. “We will ask the fishermen.”
Ito matched his stride. “You mean whether they were able to read the names of the ships?”
“Fishermen have good eyes. And in Japan, I believe even the common classes receive education in English. I experienced this myself, yesterday. They may have only had glimpses, but a glimpse may be enough.”
Sherlock came up to the fishermen who were still on their feet, busy at work. “Good morning. I have some questions. Did you see the names of those ships when you passed by them?”
As he’d expected, the fishermen only furrowed their eyebrows and stared. Sherlock glanced at Ito expectantly. Ito began translating, his expression reluctant.
One of the fishermen began speaking. He did not seem to realize that this white-bearded man was none other than Hirobumi Ito.
“He passed through in a zigzag,” Ito explained to Sherlock, “so he does not remember which ship was which. He is unsure if he read the names correctly, but he believes he read Kesar, the Kondo-some-thing-or-other, the Lasu-something-or-other, and the Kuri-some-thing-or-other. It is unclear in what order he saw them.”
“Hurm.” Sherlock glanced over the fishermen. “Did anyone else see anything?”
A second man spoke. Sherlock cocked his ear towards the chairman, and Ito interpreted: “I saw Kesar and the Kuri-some-thing-or-other, too. But I don’t remember what route I took. And there was something like Timur, and another starting with a W, I think. I only passed four ships.”
The third man said, “I can’t remember my route either. I only saw seven ships. The Kondrat, something starting with ‘Ya’ I think, one that looked like… zori. The Kesar, Arsen, and the one starting with a W.”
“That is only six ships,” Sherlock said.
The fisherman looked sheepish. “I don’t remember any more. I saw them all out of order, too.”
The other fisherman shook their heads, helplessly. In the end, the majority had paid no attention to the names of the ships. Ito was even more perplexed than before.
But Sherlock bowed his head in thanks. “Thank you. It has been extremely enlightening.”
He turned on his heel and returned in the direction they had come. Ito trotted after him. “I told you. That is the most we can expect from the fishermen.”
“And yet it was enough. Do you not agree?”
“We can list the names we know, but that sailor is certain to follow with more difficult questions. Last time he chased us from the gates. This time he may attempt to apprehend us.”
“Chairman, you ought endeavor to take a more positive view.” Sherlock pointed to a signboard erected on one of the dunes. “I have noticed something about the kanji letters in this area since we arrived. Many of them include three dots along the left side.”
“Ah, that is called the sanzui. It represents a spray of water. This one here, with the sanzui, is the character for ‘sea,’ and this one is the character for ‘wave.’” Ito pointed to another kanji character with the same three dots. “This one means swimming. As I’m sure you’ve guessed, these characters all have something to do with water.”
“Very edifying.” Sherlock continued walking. “I learned some of the rudiments of kanji from Asako. She explains things very well, much like you. I suspect she would make an excellent teacher.”
“Asako, a teacher?” Ito grimaced. “That would be fine, but I’m afraid she is only playing the cat for you.”
“Playing the cat…?”
“Excuse me, it is a Japanese expression. It is like the English phrase… butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth?”