Chapter 10 : The Nightingale Floor

'Run!' whispered Akiko urgently later that night. 'They're coming!'

Jack bolted from their hiding place underneath the staircase. He

hurried down the corridor and into a room with a large silk-screen painting

of two ferocious tigers. He heard a cry from behind and realized the guards

had already caught Akiko. They would be after him now.

Opening the shoji door on the other side of the Tiger Room, he glanced

down the hallway, saw it was deserted and ran. He switched left at the end,

then took the first right. He had no idea where he was going, since the

daimyo's castle was a complete labyrinth of rooms, corridors and

passageways.

Running on tiptoe so that he made as little sound as possible upon the

wooden floorboards, he followed the corridor round past two closed shoji

doors and then bore left. But it was a dead end.

He heard a guard's voice and spun round. But the corridor was empty.

Jack retraced his steps, stopping where the corridor switched right. He

then listened for the sound of approaching feet.

Dead silence.

Warily, he peeked round the corner.

The corridor was windowless and only one of the paper lanterns that

hung from the beams had been lit. In the flickering gloom, he could see a

single shoji at the far end of the passageway.

With no sight or sound of anyone, he stepped out.

And his foot disappeared through the floor.

He cried out as he plummeted downwards. In sheer desperation, he

flung himself to one side, grabbing at the wall. His fingers found purchase

on a wooden crosspiece and Jack clung on for all his life was worth.

To his alarm, he hung over a gaping hole in the woodblock floor. A

sliding trapdoor had been opened to catch unsuspecting intruders.

Jack peered into the depths. A small set of steps led down into

unfathomable darkness. Jack cursed himself for his hastiness. He could

easily have broken his leg, or even his neck. Here was all the proof he

needed that escape was futile.

Regaining his composure, he edged backwards until his feet found

solid ground again.

'Come on! This way!'

A guard had heard his cry and they were now in pursuit.

Skirting the hole, Jack made his way down the corridor, but he could

hear footsteps rapidly approaching.

'He's not in here.'

Jack quickened his pace, keeping one eye on the floor and one eye on

where he was headed. His pursuers would soon turn the corner and discover

him.

He reached the end of the corridor, slid the shoji open and stepped

through, swiftly closing the door behind him.

The rectangular room he had entered was large enough for twenty

tatami straw mats. Jack guessed it was a reception room of some kind. At

the rear was a polished cedar dais, adorned with a single zabuton cushion,

behind which was a large silk wall hanging of a white crane in flight.

Otherwise, the fawn-coloured walls were completely bare.

No windows. No other doors. No escape.

Jack could hear his pursuers running down the corridor.

He was trapped.

Then Jack noticed the crane shifting slightly as if caught in a breeze.

But with no windows or doors, something had to be causing it to move.

Jack hurried over to inspect the hanging more closely. There,

concealed behind the silk screen, was a secret bolt-hole. Without a second

thought, Jack scrambled through, pulling the wall hanging back to hide the

entrance just as the shoji was jerked open.

'So where is he?' demanded a voice.

'He can't have vanished,' replied another, this one female.

Jack held his breath. He could hear the two of them pacing the room.

'Well, he's not here,' said the first voice. 'Maybe he doubled back?'

'I told you we should have checked that first room. Come on!'

The shoji slid shut with a soft whoosh and the voices receded down the

hallway. Jack let out a relieved sigh. That had been too close. If he'd got

caught, it would have been all over for him.

In the gloom of the bolt-hole, Jack noticed a narrow passage leading

off to his left. With no other choice open to him, he turned and slipped

along the walkway. He had no idea where he was headed, but after a couple

of turns the passage lightened, a dim glow filtering through the translucent

walls.

'Where can he have gone?' said a voice, close by his ear.

Jack froze, then realized his hidden walkway ran parallel to one of the

main corridors. He could see his pursuers' silhouettes through the paperthin wall. Yet, as he was in shadow, they were completely oblivious to his

presence, barely a knife thrust away.

'Let's try down here. He can't have got far.'

Jack heard their bare feet pad away down the corridor before

continuing along the passageway until, to his surprise, he hit another dead

end.

Convinced the passage must lead somewhere, Jack felt around for a

door. He tried to slide the wall panels back, but nothing shifted. He gave

one a firm push to see if it opened that way. All of a sudden, the lower

section gave way and he was catapulted into the main corridor.

'There he is!' came a shout.

Jack jumped to his feet as the false wall sprang back into place. He ran

as fast as he could, dodging left and right down the warren of corridors.

Spotting a narrow staircase, he was up the stairs in three quick bounds. As

he landed on the top step, the entire staircase retracted upwards, Jack's

weight triggering the hidden fulcrum. From the corridor below, the staircase

had completely disappeared into the ceiling.

Astounded as he was by the remarkable staircase, Jack had the wits to

remain silent and still. Oblivious to his presence above their heads, his

pursuers shot by beneath.

Walking carefully back along the steps, the staircase descended to its

original position and Jack backtracked down the now deserted corridor until

he found a door he hadn't yet tried. On the other side was a long corridor

with a highly polished wooden floor. It ended in a wooden gateway that had

to be the way out.

With barely the length of a ship's quarterdeck to cross, he knew he

could escape the daimyo's castle. Jack started for the exit, but as his foot

went down, the floorboard warbled like a bird. He tried to lighten his

movements, but however softly he trod the floor sang out with every step he

took, mocking his attempted flight.

He could hear the pounding of feet coming his way.

Jack ran as the floor sang even louder.

'Got you!' said the guard, grabbing hold of Jack. 'The game's up.'