37

ON THE NARROW bunk in his tiny cabin above the rudder of the Susquehanna, Samuel Armstrong pitched and tossed restlessly back and forth between the borders of sleep and a troubled wakefulness. An anxious sheen of perspiration was glistening on his brow and he muttered aloud and twitched every now and then as he drifted towards a hazy state of consciousness. A knocking noise seemed to be intruding into his clouded mind from some unidentified source, tearing at the last shreds of sleep: harsh and persistent, it sounded as though distant hammers were crashing urgently against wooden planks, and the noise was echoing and re-echoing ringingly across the dawn waters of the bay.
He was unsure whether the noise was real or dream-inspired and he tried, still without waking fully, to shut it out of his hearing. Part of his mind was already obscurely aware that the crucial fourth day at anchor before Uraga was dawning - Tuesday 12 July, the last of the three days allowed by Commodore Perry for the Japanese to reply to his ultimatum. Only a few hours were left now for them to decide whether to accept the letter from the President of the United States with due formality, or risk an American fighting force landing to deliver it.
‘Today we’ll know if it’s to be peace or war,’ Armstrong’s half-wakened self had been whispering in. an agitated tone inside his head since long before dawn. ‘Today we shall know whether our bluff has been called. Today we’ll find out if our marines and sailors will have to try and fight their way into Yedo...’
Perhaps, he thought suddenly in his half-dream, preparations for the despatch of the small invasion force had already begun. Perhaps the ship’s carpenters had all been ordered to rise early and begin constructing coffins. When fighting began, he told himself sadly, casualties were bound to be heavy Throughout the long hours of the previous day he had paced restlessly back and forth along the Susquehanna’s decks, watching the Japanese fighting units grow in density around the cliff top forts of Uraga and on beaches along both sides of the bay. Archers, pikemen and musketeers were seen being marshalled rapidly into defensive positions along the shores, and occasional cavalry units galloped vigorously into view with pennons flying. Estimates, among the flagship’s officers, of the total strengths of the shore battalions varied from ten to fifteen thousand in the immediate vicinity and if these estimates were true the American marines and sailors on the warships were overwhelmingly outnumbered by at least ten to one.
It also seemed certain that many more Japanese warriors would be held in reserve, hidden from sight.
With other members of the Susquehanna’s crew, Armstrong had watched apprehensively as the Mississippi weighed anchor on Perry’s orders at midmorning and steamed off provocatively up the bay towards Yedo, flanked by a flotilla of armed cutters. When alarmed Japanese officials had dashed out to the flagship in their boats, he had personally translated to them the brusque explanation from the Susquehanna’s captain that the bay was being charted so that an American force could sail towards the capital and fight its way directly into Ye do if necessary In the following hours big flotillas of local guard-boats had swarmed off around the point in pursuit of the steamer, and the land reinforcements arriving to man Uraga’s coastal defences had swelled further in volume.
The Mississippi had returned safely before dusk to report many tense moments with the guard-boats, and after night had fallen more new beacons had flared above the heights of the bay; the war-gongs and temple bells, which died away during Sunday, had also begun to beat and toll ominously again, and in response the Susquehanna had got up steam, taken in thirty fathoms of her anchor cable, and made the necessary preparations to slip the remainder quickly in any emergency. Guns had been shotted and run out, all the watches had again been doubled during the night, and extra lookouts had been posted aloft on all four ships.
Unable to rest because of the high tension, Armstrong had roamed around the ship into the small hours, anxiously watching the beacons and the troop movements, before falling into an uneasy slumber on his bunk around 4 a.m. Never fully asleep for long, and intensely aware that the rumbling boilers in the flagship’s bowels were keeping her in a state of constant readiness, he had first noticed the loud sound of knocking at the moment when he began to dream that hundreds of hangman’s scaffolds were being built onshore - one for every crew member of the entire US squadron. Then he remembered, in a bout of wakefulness, that the Japanese had no tradition of execution by hanging; but when he fell asleep again he dreamed with horrifying vividness about the mass crucifixion of Christian converts in Japan two centuries earlier.
This dream, to his consternation, repeated itself later in an even more alarming form and he saw and heard a forest of wooden crosses being erected noisily by leering Japanese carpenters on a hill opposite the ships. Moaning in protest, he was being lifted and nailed to the first cross himself when he was awakened fully at last by the sound of a loud knocking at his cabin door.
‘Mr. Armstrong, sir!’ called the concerned voice of Midshipman Harris. ‘Are you all right, sir? Are you awake?’
‘Yes, I’m awake: mumbled the missionary after a moment, opening his eyes in relief and sitting up. ‘Come in.’
Thro ugh the open scuttle of the cabin the perfect cone of Mount Fuji was just appearing; emerging dramatically from the mist into the early sunlight, its entire outline became fully visible in an instant, glowing with a greater clarity than he had ever seen before. As he gathered his scattered senses, he stared out through the scuttle, wondering silently at the purity of the image, and it was while he was looking towards the volcano that he noticed that the constant sound of hammering, which had invaded his slumbers so persistently, was continuing in reality: Turning to look at the eager young midshipman who was standing to attention in the cabin doorway, he noticed that the youth, in keeping with the flagship’s overall state of armed readiness, was wearing a cutlass slung from his waist.
‘I’m afraid I’ve slept rather badly, Mr. Harris,’ said the missionary wearily. ‘What can I do for you?’
‘Flag Lieutenant Rice presents his compliments, .sir,’ announced the midshipman, straightening his posture further and squaring his shoulders. ‘And he says he’d like to see you in his cabin as soon as you are ready.’
‘Very well.’ The missionary rubbed his eyes, realizing he had fallen asleep in his clothes. Straightening his cravat and smoothing his crumpled jacket, he swung his legs stiffly over the side of the bunk and stood up. ‘Is the summons for something particularly urgent?’
‘I believe the commander-in-chief has composed a new letter to the Emperor of Japan during the night, sir; said the midshipman promptly. ‘Lieutenant Rice has the letter, and a translation will be required before the Japanese delegation appears.’
‘Are the Japanese expected?’ asked Armstrong sharply. ‘Has there been any sign of their boat?’
‘Not yet, Mr. Armstrong, sir. But Lieutenant Rice says the commander-in-chief is confident they will appear soon.’
Armstrong drew a long breath and knitted his brows in a frown. ‘I hope he’s right. A thousand American lives may depend on it.’
‘The lieutenant asked me to say, sir, that the commodore is very concerned that everybody involved today should be correctly briefed as soon as possible
‘Thank you, Mr. Harris,’ said Armstrong distantly. ‘You’ve been very helpful.’ The midshipman had begun to turn smartly away but the missionary raised a hand in his direction, requesting that he wait. ‘You’ve heard that constant noise of hammering I suppose, have you?’
‘Yes, sir. It’s been going on most of the night.’
‘What is it, do you know?’
‘No, sir. Nobody seems to know sir. It’s coming from the shore - behind the bluff clown the bay. The sound carries very clearly over the water.’
Armstrong nodded bemusedly and stood up. ‘And what about the enemy fighting units on the shore? How do they seem to be behaving this morning?’
‘They’re already looking very active, Mr. Armstrong, sir. There’s been a lot of manoeuvring and marching. Lieutenant Rice thinks they’re putting on a deliberate show of force - or preparing for hostilities.’
‘1 see. Then tell him I’ll be there as soon as I’ve changed my clothes.’
‘Very good, Mr. Armstrong, sir.’
Although there was no need to acknowledge the civilian missionary formally, the midshipman saluted as a sign of respect before spinning round and marching away with one hand clenched self-importantly on the hilt of his cutlass.
When he had gone Armstrong took off his jacket and poured cold water into a basin from a jug to wash his face and hands. After changing his shirt and his cravat and puzzling for a moment over the continuing sound of hammering coming from the shore, he put on his jacket once more and walked quickly to the cabin of the flag lieutenant. When he entered, he found Rice was poring over a chart, writing in details of the soundings taken by the Mississippi and the cutters the, previous day. After exchanging greetings with the missionary the young officer looked up with a pleased expression on his face.
‘The cutters found deep soundings all the way up the bay for twelve miles, Mr. Armstrong. There’s a bottom of soft mud, and the channel very likely continues beyond the furthest point they reached.’
‘Is that a cause for celebration?’ asked the missionary acidly.
‘Yes, it is. The lead gave a depth of twenty fathoms in the centre of the channel. On the sides it struck banks of mud at around five fathoms. So it looks as if the whole squadron could push safely up as far as Yedo itself. .
‘I hope and pray that nothing so extreme will prove necessary; Lieutenant,’ said Armstrong soberly. ‘We’ve made our best progress in the negotiations so far by peaceful methods. That surely is our greatest merit.’
Rice bent over his charts again and wrote in another figure. ‘Our commander-in-chief believes the success of peaceful methods is best ensured by being prepared to act boldly and decisively with force of arms - should it prove necessary’
‘Doesn’t the commodore have any qualms about the hundreds of American lives he’s putting at risk?’ asked Armstrong mildly. ‘Or does he never think of such things?’
‘I can’t pretend I know the commodore’s every unspoken thought,’ said Rice slowly ‘His life will be at risk, too, remember. And I’m sure he believes that readiness to attack is the best means of defence - for his own skin as well as ours
‘But the odds against us on land are growing hour by hour, despite our superior firepower: insisted the missionary ‘They’ve probably got unlimited numbers of men under arms. The arms are ancient, but they’re known to be proud and fierce fighters hand to hand. Why should we risk pushing them into a bloody fight to the death at this stage?’
Rice continued to busy himself with his charts, and his voice hardened. ‘I don’t think the commodore would presume to tell you how to go about converting the heathen, Mr. Armstrong. So perhaps it would be best if you deferred your judgement - at least for a while
‘And how long exactly does the commodore expect to wait for his results?’ asked the missionary heavily. ‘How long might it take before all this blows up in our faces?’
‘A feint was made with the Mississippi yesterday replied Rice in the same calm voice. ‘The commodore deliberately gave the impression the ship was steaming directly for the capital. And she passed further up the Bay of Yedo than any foreign vessel has done for three centuries.’
‘That may not seem like a very great achievement if things go badly wrong as a result: said Armstrong, shaking his head.
‘The purpose was to stir up the Japanese and force a quicker response to our demand to deliver the President’s letter: continued Rice evenly. ‘And it clearly worked, because the Japanese dovecote has been in a flutter ever since. The commodore doesn’t expect to have to wait much longer.’
‘Stepping into the unknown like this involves great risks: said Armstrong severely. ‘I had a terrible nightmare before I awoke this morning. I felt I was being crucified for what we are doing here.’
‘The commodore has already marched fighting columns to famous shore victories in Mexico,’ said Rice, ignoring the missionary’s confidence. ‘In Africa he also landed an armed force and struck unexpectedly into the heart of a pirate stronghold..:
‘Japan is a very different kettle of fish to a pirate’s lair in Africa,’ protested Armstrong hotly. ‘It hardly compares-’
‘In both actions the commodore achieved his objectives without undue losses. So you can rest assured that he is a man who knows very well from experience what he’s doing.’
The flag lieutenant paused and picked up a single sheet of vellum bearing a short letter written in the strong, flamboyant hand of Commodore Perry, and handed it to Armstrong.
‘The commodore requests that you make a prompt translation of this new letter to the Emperor into Dutch and Japanese, so that it can be passed to the delegation as soon as they arrive.’
The missionary quickly scanned the short letter bearing Perry’s signature. It appeared to do no more than restate formally that, as commander-in-chief of the US Navy’s East India Squadron, he wished to meet one of the highest officials of the Empire of Japan as soon as possible, so as to present an urgent communication from the President of the United States. It added that he wished to hand over at the same time his own personal letter of credence. Armstrong read it quickly again, then glanced questioningly at Rice.
‘This doesn’t seem to add anything very much to our position, Lieutenant. What’s the purpose behind it?’
‘We’ve had very little contact with the Japanese for three days,’ replied Rice, laying aside his pen and looking up significantly at the missionary ‘I think its primary aim is to re-emphasize the commodore’s determination to stand firmly by his original demands until he gains satisfaction - here in the Bay of Yedo. I’ve also been asked to say that it’s most important that you translate every word with those sentiments firmly in mind.’
Noticing from the officer’s tone that he was passing on formal instructions that brooked no argument, Armstrong accepted them expressionlessly and without comment. ‘Do I assume,’ he asked quietly, ‘that today’s meetings are to be conducted in the same manner as before?’
‘Yes. Commodore Perry will again supervise the negotiations invisibly, from the seclusion of his own cabin. But he anticipates the Japanese may try to employ new delaying tactics - or play for time in some way. He thinks they may even try to refer us to Nagasaki again. He will, of course, resist all such stratagems. And once more you are asked to assist by ensuring that every inflection of your translating shows our stand to be firm and unshakable. I trust that’s clear?’
‘It’s perfectly clear, Lieutenant: said Armstrong, inclining his head in acknowledgement. ‘I’ll go now and prepare the translation in my cabin.’ The missionary turned away towards the door, then stopped, tugging thoughtfully at his whiskers. ‘Lieutenant, may I ask if the subject of Robert Eden has been mentioned recently by the commodore?’
Rice shook his head. ‘No, Mr. Armstrong, there’s been no recent discussion at all about Lieutenant Eden in my presence. Is there any particular reason why you ask?’
‘None,’ said the missionary with a shrug. ‘Except he’s been missing now for three days. His absence has been noticed by some of the crew, and rumours are doing the rounds. I wondered if we might ask the Japanese when they come aboard today, if there’s any official news of him.’
The flag lieutenant shook his he2d decisively. ‘The commodore’s orders are very clear for today’s meetings: the negotiations are not to be jeopardized by the introduction of any extraneous topic whatsoever.’
‘Has the commodore offered no comment on the private information I passed to you on Sunday morning?’ asked Armstrong in a slightly offended tone. ‘Is it of no interest at all that Lieutenant Eden was spotted above Uraga, and was pursued inland after some skirmish?’
‘Nothing whatsoever has been said: answered Rice doggedly.
‘But why?’ demanded Armstrong with some heat. ‘Why is everybody seemingly indifferent to Eden’s fate?’
‘The subject is extremely delicate, Mr. Armstrong, as you must know. And the information you gave was quite informal. Perhaps that has something to do with it...’
Armstrong made as though to reply, then seemed to change his mind. Standing in the doorway he lifted his head to listen to the echoing crash of hammers that was still audible amidst the background clamour of gongs and drums.
‘The war drums seem to be getting louder again:
murmured the missionary. ‘And more persistent.’
Lieutenant Rice listened for a moment, then rose from behind his chart table, his expression suddenly more conciliatory. ‘For all practical purposes, Robert Eden and the Japanese castaway remain listed as “missing overboard”. If they returned to the ship they would be placed under close arrest for disobeying orders. In the absence of any official word about them, perhaps the only way we can deal with the matter is to ignore it.’ He paused, looking searchingly at the missionary. ‘Have you learned anything further from the Japanese interpreter?’
Armstrong sighed and shook his head. ‘No, nothing. I did try to talk to Mr. Haniwara yesterday, although they were only on board a few minutes. But he behaved very strangely. On Sunday morning he had listened carefully to what I had to say about Eden, and gave me the information I passed to you. This time he ignored my questions and stared through me as if I didn’t exist. His manner was most uneasy. . . It made me feel he was hiding something.’
A flicker of alarm appeared in the flag lieutenant’s expression but, before he could answer, footsteps were heard clattering quickly down a nearby ladder and a moment later Midshipman Harris appeared and saluted as he came smartly to attention.
‘Excuse me, sir: he broke in excitedly, addressing Rice. ‘The Japanese delegation is arriving! Their boat is approaching the port gangway.’
‘Thank you, Mr. Harris: said Rice crisply. ‘Return to the upper deck and conduct the visitors to the captain’s cabin, as before. We’ll follow you.’
As the cadet officer hurried off to comply, Rice smiled and buckled on his ceremonial sword, gesturing for the missionary to precede him. ‘Just as we expected, Mr. Armstrong, the response has come quickly. I think you’ll agree this proves that the commodore’s strategy is working well.’
‘Before offering my own congratulations I’ll wait until the exact nature of the Japanese response is known,’ replied the civilian, moving quickly out of the cabin. ‘And I’ll be surprised if matters proceed quite as simply as you hope.’