In the barbarians’ garden, three sentries sat playing cards, their backs to him. Smoke rose from their pipes. Tethered goats grazed; chickens scratched in the pen by the vegetable patch. Beyond stood the barbarians’ houses. Sano slipped through the gate, closed it quietly, and sprinted across the garden. Ducking behind the goat shed, he studied the guards, who seemed unaware of anything amiss. The stairs to the balcony lay perhaps ten paces away. Then a clear remark emerged from the mutter of the guards’ conversation:

“With all the extra troops on Deshima and all the barbarians locked up in the common room together, it’s like a holiday for us regulars. We should have war more often.”

Laughter followed; Sano’s heart sank. How would he speak to Dr. Huygens in private, especially if the barbarians were under even heavier surveillance than usual? The task he must accomplish afterward also seemed impossible.

And how would he get off Deshima alive?

Sano thought of Hirata and Peony; of Old Carp and the other servants killed in the fire; of Kiyoshi, perhaps wrongfully condemned. He pictured Governor Nagai, Chief Ohira, Interpreter Iishino, Urabe, Abbot Liu Yun, and the barbarians, free to murder and smuggle again unless he stopped them. His particular anger at Dr. Huygens flared; his resolve hardened. Watching the sentries and keeping alert for others, Sano left his shelter and angled toward the gap between the houses. Through it he could see the street, the warehouse opposite, and the patrolling guards. Danger prickled his skin like the energy current before a lightning strike. Halfway there. Just ten paces to go …

Sano darted into the gap. He pressed himself against the wall and expelled the breath he’d been holding. Then he crept toward the street and cautiously peered up and down it.

Except for a sentry at each guardhouse, Deshima’s security force was concentrated on the building that contained the common room, across the street and some fifty paces to Sano’s right. There were ten men outside the door, three on the balcony, probably others at the rear. Could he create a diversion and draw the guards away so he could get inside to Dr. Huygens?

Then, looking down the street, Sano saw Nirin walk out of the doctor’s surgery. Sano ducked back into the yard and hurried toward the surgery. A guard emerged from a building, and Sano darted behind a tree. At last he reached his destination. He peered through the window.

Inside, Dr. Huygens stood by the table where they’d examined Jan Spaen’s corpse. Upon it slept a young man, covered with a quilt. A lone guard leaned against the wall, his back to the door. In an instant, Sano was in the surgery, his arm locked in a choke hold around the guard. The patient didn’t awaken, but Dr. Huygens exclaimed in surprise.