“Tell it to your master, that Lord Perry. Ask that he demand the truth from those sent to meet him, in the public gathering.”
“Why, this is astounding! It must be looked into. Will you come on board with me and report it in person?”
Mori shook his head.
“No, I cannot,” he replied, “but let him seek the truth where it must be told unto him.”
They had been speaking in Japanese, with an occasional word of English, when one was unable to understand the other’s rendering of its equivalent. The officer returned to English.
“Your name?” he asked.
Mori replied in Japanese.
“Your master is honorably ignorant of my name and rank. The truth from any source is sufficient. Ask at the proper place, and you will know that I speak truth.”
The officer paused, with one leg lifted over the gunwale of the boat. He made a sudden movement towards his men, sitting with raised oars.
“Seize him!” he ordered.