Free Jade Palace Vendetta by Dale Furutani Page A

to spend,” Goro said.
    Hanzo hesitated a second, still not sure that the gruff, mud-covered man was completely human, but the wheedling of his friend finally got him to agree. The thoughts of the searching men were driven from his mind by the thought of more money than their little farm could earn in a year.

          CHAPTER 7
     
    Two chickens on a
branch. The clucking sounds of
meaningless discourse
.
     
    A few hours later, Kaze saw the merchant returning with two other figures. Kaze was in the midst of packing mud into the end of one of the large bamboo poles that formed the rails of the cart. The bamboo was almost as thick around as a man’s arm, and it took several scoops of mud to block off the end. Then Kaze bent down and washed his hands in a puddle of rainwater.
    Kaze’s brows furrowed into a V at the sight of the merchant’s recruits. Both were short and skinny. That wasn’t necessarily a sign of a lack of strength for pushing the cart, because peasants were notoriously wiry and full of stamina. What caused Kaze to frown was that both seemed to be engaged in some kind of dispute, gesturing wildly and shaking their fists at each other.
    Hishigawa, leading the quarreling pair, had a grim look to his face, his jaw set and a clear look of displeasure painted across his visage. As the trio approached, Kaze was able to pick up the substance of the argument.
    “We should split it evenly,” one of the peasants said. He was wearing a filthy gray kimono.
    “No, I am the one who agreed to this job, then I asked you. Therefore, you are working for me. I should have two coins for every oneyou get. In fact, you should call me Boss Goro for the rest of the journey!” He was wearing a pair of traveling pants and a jacket. His bald pate was topped by a headband of twisted cloth.
    “Ridiculous!”
    “It’s ridiculous that you think it’s ridiculous!”
    “Yes? Well, it’s ridiculous that you think my saying it’s ridiculous is ridiculous!”
    Goro had his mouth working like a
fugu
, a blowfish, as he sorted through his companion’s retort, trying to understand what his response should be. He gave up and hit Hanzo on the forehead with an open hand. The blow made a sharp slapping sound.
    “
Itai!
Ouch! What gives you the right to hit me like that?”
    “Because I’m the boss.”
    “You’re not the boss! What makes you the boss?”
    “I told you it was my idea to take this job.”
    “You don’t speak for me. When you asked me, I was the one who said I would take the job.”
    “See! See! You admit I asked you. That makes me the boss.”
    “It doesn’t.”
    “It does!”
    “Ridiculous!”
    “Ridiculous yourself.”
    Slap.
    “I said that hurts! You better stop that before I get mad and hurt you, too. But I won’t just give you a slap on the head. I’ll smash you!” Hanzo shook a fist at Goro.
    Slap.
    “Oh! Now you’ve really hurt me!” Tears formed in Hanzo’s eyes. He grabbed his forehead and moaned.
    “There, there. I didn’t mean to really hurt you. I see I’ve gone too far. We’ll split the money evenly. I promise you. You don’t have to call me Boss.” Then, in a low mutter, he said, “But I’m still the boss!”
    Kaze cocked his head to one side and looked at Hishigawa. “This is the best you could do?” he asked dryly.
    “Of course it’s the best I could do,” Hishigawa said with a tight jaw. “They’ve been arguing like this ever since we left their farmhouse. They won’t stop!”
    “What are you called?” Kaze asked the peasants.
    The two were a bit surprised that a samurai would bother to ask their names.
    “I’m Goro,” the man with the headband said.
    “I’m Hanzo,” said the one in the filthy gray kimono.
    “What were you told about what we want you to do?”
    Goro pointed to Hishigawa. “He promised us ten coppers if we’d help him push a cart to Kamakura.”
    “You’ll get gold,” Kaze said.
    “Gold!”
    “What are you promising?” Hishigawa