Free Dragon of the Red Dawn: A Merlin Mission by Mary Pope Osborne Page B

guess we should just start looking for a secret of happiness and hope no one catches us,” said Annie.
“Shh,” said Jack, “listen.”
A bell was ringing in the distance. The ringing grew louder. Then came the sound of horses. Jack and Annie crouched down. They raised their heads just high enough to peek out the window. Through the flowery tree branches, they saw a small procession coming through the garden.
The man leading the procession was ringing a bell. Two men walked behind him, holding up banners. Behind them, four men rode slowly on horseback. They all wore baggy trousers and puffy shirts. Their heads were shaved, except for knots of black hair. Each had two swords—a long one and a short one—hanging from his belt.
At the very end of the procession rode a man in a billowing purple robe and a small purple hat. Red tassels hung from the bridle of his large black horse.
Jack looked at their research book again. He found a picture that looked like the man on the black horse. He read the caption to himself:
In the 1600s, the military ruler known as the shogun (say SHOW-gun) lived in the center of the Imperial Garden in a palace that had hundreds of rooms.

“That last guy is a shogun,” Jack whispered to Annie. “He lives in a big palace in the garden.” He kept reading:
Often the shogun’s warriors traveled with him. They were called samurai (say SAM-uh-rye).
“Oh, man,” whispered Jack. “Those other guys are samurai!” He and Annie had barely escaped an armored samurai on their earlier trip to Japan.
Samurai were excellent horsemen well trained in the arts of fighting. The code of the samurai was strict. Samurai did not show their feelings. They had great powers of concentration.
“They’re gone,” said Annie.
Jack looked out the window. The shogun and his samurai warriors had disappeared down a tree-shaded dirt road.
“We should get out of the Imperial Gardenfast,” said Jack. “If we stay here, we’re just asking to be caught.”
“How do we get out?” asked Annie.
Jack looked in the Japan book. He found a map of Edo. “Look,” he said, pointing at the map. “We have to get over this bridge that leads away from the Imperial Garden into the city. The bridge is on the east side of the garden.”
“The morning sun is over there,” said Annie, squinting into the sunlight. “So that must be east. Let’s climb down and head that way.”
“Good plan. Then we’ll be walking in the opposite direction of those samurai,” said Jack.
“Right,” said Annie. She started down the rope ladder.
“Be careful,” said Jack. “We don’t want anyone to see us sneaking around the Imperial Garden.”
Jack put the Japan book into his burlap bag and slung the bag over his shoulder. As he stepped onto the ladder, he nearly tripped on hiskimono. “Oh, brother,” he said. He held up the cloth and carefully climbed down.
Jack joined Annie on a wide path. A gust of dry wind carried petals from cherry trees through the air. The long branches of the willows swayed over the grass.
Jack and Annie began heading east, keeping their eyes and ears open for more people. They walked past flower beds and big rocks. They walked around a pond with swans. They started down a narrow lane between blossoming cherry trees.
Just as they came out from under the trees, Jack and Annie saw four men strolling toward them. One man was shorter and older than the others. He wore a straw hat and a tattered brown coat and used a walking stick. The other three had shaved heads with topknots, and two swords hung from each of their belts.
“Samurai!” whispered Jack.
“Yikes,” said Annie.
“Run!” said Jack.
Jack and Annie turned around and started running back down the narrow lane.
Jack heard the men running after them. “Halt!” cried a samurai.
Jack grabbed Annie’s hand and they stumbled to a halt. Out of breath, they turned to face the three samurai who were rushing toward them.
“Who are you?” one of the samurai