Clambering back down, Jack and Miyuki joined the others and hurried after him. They discovered the ditch was still far from complete, more than a third remaining to be dug. Yet none of Saburo’s team was working. Kunio sat morosely on a pile of fresh earth, his shovel discarded to one side, his head in his hands.

‘It’s been a total waste of time!’ he moaned.

Walking over to the ditch, Saburo pointed to its muddy bottom. ‘Hayato was flooding the paddy fields and I asked his team to divert a channel from the river, so we could test the moat. But as you can see, it doesn’t work. Because the village lies on a slope, the water just drains away.’

Jack stared into the ditch and then at the other young samurai. They all realized the scale of the problem.

‘It’s my fault,’ said Saburo, shaking his head with despair. ‘It was a stupid idea in the first place.’

‘No, it’s still another defence,’ consoled Jack, although he knew the immense effort made by the farmers had hardly been worth it.

‘But without water, the bandits can easily cross.’

‘Not if we fill it with thorn bushes instead,’ Miyuki suggested.

There was a pause while this was considered. Then everyone began to nod their heads with approval.

‘That’s a great idea!’ said Jack. He turned to Yuudai. ‘Can your team collect more bushes?’

‘Of course,’ said Yuudai.

His ready agreement generated a groan of protest among his farmers.

‘We’ve cut ourselves to shreds just building the barricade!’ objected one man, raising his forearms to show the countless scratches he’d suffered.

‘Akuma will cut far more than your arms,’ said Yuudai, showing no sympathy. ‘Come on, we’ve got work to do!’

As he led his group away for their painful mission, Hayato strode over.

‘All the fields should be flooded by tonight,’ he announced. ‘Then we’ll take down the bridge tomorrow.’

‘Good work,’ replied Jack. ‘And we’ve found a solution to the moat – thorn bushes.’

Hayato regarded him with admiration. ‘Brilliant idea, Jack!’

‘Thanks,’ said Miyuki, flashing him a smile, and Hayato winced at his unintended praise of her.

Concealing his amusement at their awkwardness, Jack handed them each a shovel. ‘Let’s start digging!’ he said, jumping into the ditch.

28 A Lost Cause

28

A LOST CAUSE

The frozen earth was as hard as rock, hampering their progress to a snail’s pace. Blisters formed on their hands and their muscles ached with the strain of digging. At the opposite end of the trench, repeated yelps and curses could be heard as Yuudai’s team packed thorn bush after thorn bush into the ditch. After several hours of hard labour, Jack called a halt. Downing tools, the farmers headed wearily back to their homes.

‘They can’t leave yet,’ said Hayato, wiping the sweat from his brow. ‘We’ve still got army training.’