Free The Samurai and the Long-Nosed Devils by Lensey Namioka Page A

night and was not discovered until this morning, you would have had plenty of time to get rid of the murder weapon.”
    There was a stir among Lord Fujikawa’s men and several of them raised their heads to exchange triumphant looks. They evidently thought that the investigation was going very well.
    Zenta looked anxiously at Pedro. In spite of having to use an unfamiliar tongue to address a largely hostile audience, the Portuguese looked calm and collected. Zenta felt a flash of admiration for him.
    Before Pedro could speak again, the silence of the courtyard was broken by the sound of excited voices coming from the back of the house. “I thought all the staff was assembled here,” said Kagemasa, looking annoyed. He turned to one of his men. “Go and see who is making the disturbance.”
    The man soon returned and made his report. “Some of Lord Fujikawa’s serving women have discovered that a portion of the fence in their garden was unfastened. They found footprints in the gap leading to the foreigners’ garden.”
    â€œThat’s the proof you need, my lord!” shouted one of the Fujikawa samurai. “The Portuguese made these prints when he returned after committing the murder!”
    Zenta cursed himself for not having checked the fence. He should have thought of it as soon as the murder was discovered. But the mention of footprints gave him an idea of how to prove Pedro’s innocence. He raised his head and caught Kagemasa’s eye. “May I have permission to speak?” he asked. At Kagemasa’s nod, he said, “I should like to inspect the footprints near the fence. On past occasions I have found that footprints can reveal a great deal about the person who made them.”
    â€œWhat can we possibly learn from footprints?” said one of the Fujikawa samurai. “This man is simply trying to delay justice!”
    Kagemasa looked thoughtfully at Zenta. “I should like to examine those footprints. I am curious myself to see what you can learn from them.”
    He pointed out two of the Fujikawa men who had been the loudest in denouncing the Portuguese. “You shall come with us. Then you can have no cause to say that the evidence has been tampered with.”
    Leaving his men to keep order in the courtyard, Kagemasa and the two Fujikawa samurai followed Pedro and Zenta to the garden at the back of the house. The section of the fence used by Chiyo and Maria for passing back and forth was unfastened and propped against a bush.
    The rain had washed away most of the footprints made on the wet, muddy ground, but near the fence, the camellia bushes grew thickly enough to provide a good cover. There were several distinct prints made by bare feet, and all of them pointed towards the house of the Portuguese.
    Zenta stooped down and inspected the clearest of the prints. What he saw gave him satisfaction. “There is no doubt about it. The Portuguese did not make these prints,” he said, rising.
    Kagemasa languidly waved an exquisitely painted fan, but his eyes were shrewd and alert. “Explain,” he ordered.
    Turning to Pedro, Zenta said, “Take off your shoes and walk a few steps. No, over here, on the soft ground.”
    Looking a little self-conscious, Pedro sat down on a rock and pulled off his heavy leather boots. Then with the eyes of everyone on him, he gingerly took a few steps. The soft earth oozing through his toes made him grimace. (He later explained that only the poorest peasants in his country walked barefoot.)
    Pointing to the fresh prints made by Pedro, Zenta said, “The foreigners wear a different kind of shoe from ours. Their footgear does not have a strap that comes between the big toe and the other toes. Look at the prints just made: the big toe and the second one are close together. But in the prints made earlier, the big toe is widely separated from the rest. These earlier prints were made by one of our