3 The samurai's mission

Chapter 3 The samurai's mission Tempo flew down beside the samurai. Gently she poked him with her beak. "Cuckoo?" "It's okay," Sarah told her. "He's coming around." The samurai stirred and opened his eyes. "Hello," Sarah said. "Are you all right?" She was surprised by how young the warrior looked. "Just really tired," he said, sitting up. "I've traveled a long way, very fast." Jackson handed him their leftover tea and tofu. "Here," he said, "this will make you feel better." The samurai sipped the tea and ate some pieces of tofu. "You're right," he said. "I do feel better." "Cuckoo!" Tempo squawked happily.

第三章武士的任务天梯在武士身边飞了下来。 她轻轻地用喙戳他。 “杜鹃?”“没关系，”萨拉告诉她。 “他正在回心转意。”武士动了动，睁开了眼睛。 “你好，”萨拉说。“你没事吧？”她惊讶于这位战士看起来如此年轻。 “只是真的很累，”他说着坐了起来。 “我走了很长一段路，走得很快。” 杰克逊把剩下的茶和豆腐递给了他。 “给你，”他说，“这会让你感觉好些。” 武士呷了一口茶，吃了几块豆腐。 “你说得对，”他说。“我确实感觉好多了。” “杜鹃!”Tempo高兴地叫着。

The samurai looked at her. "Maybe your bird will bring me good fortune," he said. Sarah smiled. "She's already brought you two friends. I'm Sarah, and this is Jackson." "I'm Kojima," the warrior said. "Am I near the Shogun's castle?" Jackson pointed to the walled buildings. "You are! See?" Relief spread over Kojima's face. "I have to deliver an urgent message to the Shogun," he said. "It's from my Daimyo." "What's a Daimyo?" Sarah asked. "We're from far away," she added. Kojima sipped more tea and explained. "Daimyo Matsuzo is lord of the province where I live." Tempo put her head on one side and peered at the remaining tofu. "Cuckoo?" she squawked. "Not for you," Sarah said. "Kojima, eat this last piece." The samurai ate, then struggled to get up. Jackson reached out to steady him. "Stand still and wait until you feel ready to walk," he said, and picked up Kojima's curved sword. "Ah, my katana," Kojima said, taking it. "Thanks."

武士看着她。 “也许你的鸟会给我带来好运，”他说。 萨拉笑了。“她已经给你带来了两个朋友。 我是莎拉，这是杰克逊。” “我是小岛，”武士说。 “我在将军的城堡附近吗？”杰克逊指着那些有围墙的建筑。 “你是!看到了什么?”小岛的脸上满是宽慰。 “我要给将军送个紧急消息，”他说。 “这是我大名送的。”“大名是什么？”萨拉问。 “我们来自很远的地方，”她补充说。 小岛又喝了一口茶，解释道。 “松藏大名是我所住的省的领主。” 天宝把头侧向一边，凝视着剩下的豆腐。 “杜鹃？”她尖声叫道。“不适合你，”萨拉说。 “小岛，把这最后一块吃了。” 武士吃了饭，然后挣扎着站起来。 杰克逊伸手扶住他。 “站着别动，等你觉得可以走了再说。”他说着，拿起小岛的弯刀。 “啊，我的武士刀。”小岛接过刀说。 “谢谢。”

A passer-by stopped to retrieve the samurai's helmet. He handed it to Jackson and bowed. Jackson bowed back and gave the helmet to Kojima. As he put it back on, Sarah noticed that he was chewing his lip anxiously. "Is something wrong, Kojima?" she asked. "I'm afraid so," he said. "Daimyos must live in Edo for part of every other year. Spending time with the Shogun shows their loyalty, and proves that they're not becoming so powerful that they might plot against him. This system is one of the reasons Japan has been at peace for so long." "Is your Daimyo coming to Edo?" asked Jackson. "He should be traveling here right now," Kojima said. "But there's been an earthquake in our province. It caused avalanches at the mountain passes Daimyo Matsuzo's procession would normally take." Sarah was shocked. "The earthquake must have been terrible for your people," she said. Kojima nodded. "Their homes have been destroyed, there are floods, and they have little food," he said. "Daimyo Matsuzo will not leave his people while they are in such dire need."

一个过路人停下来取武士的头盔。 他把它递给杰克逊，鞠了一躬。 杰克逊鞠了一躬，把头盔给了小岛。 当他重新戴上时，萨拉注意到他焦急地咬着嘴唇。 “出什么事了吗，小岛？”她问。 “恐怕是这样，”他说。“大名必须每隔一年在江户居住一段时间。 和幕府将军在一起表明了他们的忠诚，也证明了他们并没有变得强大到可能会密谋反对他。 这一体系是日本能维持这么长时间和平的原因之一。” “你的大名要来江户吗？”杰克逊问。 小岛说：“他现在应该在这里旅行。” “但是我们省发生了地震。 它在松宗大名的队伍通常会经过的山口引发了雪崩。” 萨拉惊呆了。“地震对你们的人民来说一定很可怕，”她说。 小岛点了点头。他说：“他们的家园被毁，洪水泛滥，他们几乎没有食物。” “松宗大名不会在他的人民处于如此迫切需要的时候离开他们。”

"So that's why you've traveled here so quickly—to tell the Shogun that your Daimyo can't come?" said Jackson. "Yes. I've brought a message written by Daimyo Matsuzo himself," said Kojima. "It's inside this." He removed an inro from his belt. Sarah and Jackson admired its intricate octopus design. Golden tentacles twisted and curled against a blue background. "This is Daimyo Matsuzo's inro," said Kojima. "The octopus is his personal emblem. It will prove to the Shogun that the message it contains is genuine." He returned the inro to his belt, then frowned. "That's strange," he said, pointing at a cherry tree. Sarah turned to look at the tree, too. A spray of blossoms withered before her eyes. The pink petals drifted to the ground, where they immediately turned brown and slimy. Sarah and Jackson shared an anxious glance. A glitch in time, Sarah thought. DeLay must be nearby...

“所以这就是你这么快赶来的原因——告诉将军你的大名不能来？”杰克逊说。 “是的。我带来了松宗大名亲自写的信。”小岛说。 “就在这里面。”他从腰带上取下一枚手枪。 莎拉和杰克逊欣赏它复杂的章鱼设计。 金色的触手在蓝色的背景下扭曲卷曲。 小岛说：“这是松三大名的介绍信。” 章鱼是他的个人标志。 它将向将军证明它所包含的信息是真实的。” 他把护照放回腰带上，然后皱起了眉头。 “真奇怪，”他指着一棵樱桃树说。 萨拉也转过身去看那棵树。 一朵花在她眼前枯萎了。 粉红色的花瓣飘到了地上，立刻变成了褐色的黏糊糊的。 萨拉和杰克逊都焦急地看了一眼。 时间上的小故障，莎拉想。 延误一定就在附近……

"I hope it's not a bad sign," said Kojima. "If the Shogun doesn't believe my story, he may suspect Daimyo Matsuzo has betrayed him." He took out a small piece of silk and rubbed the dust off the panels of his armor. "Must look tidy to see the Shogun..." he muttered. Sarah whispered to Jackson, "That message of Kojima's is exactly the sort of thing DeLay would interfere with. If it doesn't reach the Shogun, he might think Daimyo Matsuzo is planning a war." Jackson's eyes went wide with horror. "That would destroy peace in Japan!" "Kojima, we'll come to the castle with you," Sarah told him. "Thank you," he said. "I will enjoy your company."

小岛说：“我希望这不是一个坏迹象。” “如果幕府将军不相信我的话，他可能会怀疑松藏大名背叛了他。” 他拿出一小块丝绸，擦去盔甲镶板上的灰尘。 “一定要打扮整齐，才能见到将军……” 他咕哝着说。莎拉低声对杰克逊说：“小岛的信息正是迪莱会干扰的那种东西。 如果信没有传到幕府将军那里，他可能会认为松藏大名在策划战争。” 杰克逊惊恐地瞪大了眼睛。 “那会破坏日本的和平！”“小岛，我们和你一起去城堡。”莎拉告诉他。 “谢谢你，”他说。“我会喜欢你的陪伴。”

They walked quickly past neat houses and a small school, then followed a stream that flowed into the castle moat. Kojima led the Timekeepers across a drawbridge to a gate in the wall. A guard in armor that was even bulkier than Kojima's blocked their way. His helmet came down over his forehead, while a big peak at the front stuck out so far that it completely shadowed his face. "Stop right there," he said in a gruff voice. "I must search you for weapons before you enter." Tempo perched nearby while Sarah and Jackson pushed their sleeves up to prove they weren't hiding any daggers. Then Sarah showed that the bulge in her obi sash was just origami paper. The guard said Kojima could keep his katana, as he was a samurai, then searched him carefully. When he was satisfied, he waved them through the gate. "Enjoy your time in Edo castle," he said, with a strange grin. The three friends set off along a tree-lined path. They had hardly gone any distance at all when Kojima yelped and clapped his hand to his belt. "The inro!" he cried. "It's gone!"

他们快步走过整洁的房子和一所小学校，然后顺着一条流入城堡护城河的小溪走。 小岛带领计时员穿过吊桥，来到城墙上的一扇门前。 一个穿着比小岛还要笨重的盔甲的卫兵挡住了他们的去路。 他的头盔落在前额上，而前面的一个大峰突出得如此之远，以至于完全遮住了他的脸。 “站住，”他粗声粗气地说。 “在你进来之前，我必须搜查你有没有武器。” 节拍停在附近，莎拉和杰克逊挽起袖子，证明他们没有藏匕首。 然后莎拉展示了她腰带上的鼓包只是折纸。 警卫说小岛可以留着他的武士刀，因为他是一名武士，然后仔细地搜查了他。 当他感到满意时，他挥手示意他们通过大门。 “好好享受你在江户城堡的时光，”他说，脸上露出奇怪的笑容。 三个朋友沿着一条绿树成荫的小路出发了。 他们还没走多远，小岛就大叫起来，用手拍着腰带。 “那家伙！”他叫道。“这是不见了!”