Dragon of the Red Dawn: A Merlin Mission

“But you are not spies, either, are you?”
“No,” said Jack.
“I did not think so,” said the man. “That is why I thought you needed my help.”
“Thank you,” said Jack.
“You are most welcome,” said the man. “Now perhaps you will tell me who you really are,and how you came to be here in the Imperial Garden.”
“Our names are Jack and Annie,” said Jack. “And we—” He paused. It seemed impossible to explain: Teddy and Kathleen’s visit, Merlin’s sorrow, Morgan’s research book.
“We came here to search for a secret of happiness,” said Annie.
The man smiled. “I believe that is something we all seek,” he said. “But you must be very careful, Jack and Annie. The shogun does not allow foreigners into our country. If you do not have passports, you could be caught and punished.”
“We know,” said Annie. “What should we do?”
“Perhaps you should travel with me today,” said the man. “You can continue to be my students, Baku and Koto.”
“Good plan!” said Jack.
“You must remember, seek harmony with your surroundings,” said the man. “Observe thepeople of Edo and do as they do. If you do not stand out, you will not be noticed by the samurai.”
“Got it,” said Annie.
Seek harmony with your surroundings. Observe the people of Edo and do as they do , Jack repeated to himself.
“Come,” said the man. He started walking briskly through the garden.
Jack and Annie hurried after him. “Excuse me, but what’s your name?” Annie said.
“My friends call me Basho,” the man answered.
“Basho? That’s a cute name!” said Annie.
“And why did the samurai call you ‘Most Honored Master’?” asked Jack.
“Because I am their teacher,” said Basho.
“What do you teach them?” asked Jack.
Basho smiled. “Today they learned how to listen to a cricket in a woodpile,” he said, “and how to think like a frog.”
“Cool,” said Jack. Those must be warrior skills , he thought, special ways to listen for an enemy or jump around with a sword. He remembered how ninjas used secrets of nature to fight their enemies.
Basho led Jack and Annie through a wooden gate in a high wall. They walked over a wide stone bridge that crossed a moat. When they came to the other side of the bridge, they followed a path that led to a small boat dock on a river.
Three fishermen were loading wicker baskets into a long flat-bottomed boat. Hundreds of shiny little fish were inside each basket.
Basho walked over to the fishermen. “Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning, Master Basho,” the fishermen said. All of them bowed.
Everyone seems to know Basho , Jack thought.
“May my students and I ride with you down the river?” asked Basho.
“Oh, yes, of course, Master Basho!” one of the men said. “We would be most honored to carry you in our humble boat!”
“Thank you,” said Basho.
Jack and Annie followed Basho onto the deck of the boat and sat next to the wicker baskets.

One of the fishermen untied the boat, and the others used long poles to push it away from the dock. The men began poling down the river.
The fishing boat floated under a series of bridges, moving in and out of shadows and glittering light. As it passed under one of thebridges, it scraped the bottom of the river. Basho, Jack, and Annie were thrown forward.
“Forgive us, Master!” one of the fishermen called to Basho. “The river is very shallow.”
“There has been no rain for a long time,” said another fisherman. “It is very worrisome to us.”
“Yes, it worries me, too,” said Basho.
“What’s everyone so worried about?” Annie asked Basho.
“When the weather is very dry, the people of Edo worry about fire,” said Basho. “Twenty-five years ago, during a dry spell, half our city was destroyed by a terrible fire. Thousands died.”
“Oh, that’s awful!” said Annie.
“Yes. Since then, everyone has worked hard to rebuild the capital,” said Basho. “Edo is now even more beautiful than before. In fact, along this riverbank are many new castles of the samurai. See? There one hides now.”
Basho pointed at a steep rocky cliff above the riverbank. Jack shaded his eyes as he looked atthe curved roof and high stone walls of a samurai castle. “Its largest room is called the Thousand-Mat Hall,” said Basho.
“What does that mean?” asked Jack.
“It means the room can hold a thousand floor mats,” said Basho.
“Cool,” said Annie. “Basho, where do you live?”
Basho smiled. “My castle