"It need have only slight power," Hartford said. "It would throw its projectile only forcefully enough to penetrate the fabric of a safety-suit."

"It has been so many generations since we have been soldiers, we know nothing of weapons," Yamata-san said. He wet a fine brush with sumi, Chinese ink, and sketched rapidly. "I remember seeing pictures of Bushi carrying a sort of throwing-sticks with pointed ends in pockets on their backs, and flinging them like little spears with a kind of one-stringed lute."

Hartford stared at the calligrapher's drawing, then exclaimed. "Of course! A bow and arrow."

Takeko inspected the sketch. "The man who threw the stick is standing," she said. "Could we stand against troopers?"

"A man would have to stand exposed to shoot an arrow," Hartford admitted. "The Dardick-guns would mow us down before we'd punctured a single safety-suit." He paced up and down the room, the only trained warrior there, trying to devise his unkilling weapon.

"We have wine, Lee-san," Takeko said. "Please sit and drink."

Hartford, bemused with his problem, folded his legs onto his cushion and lowered himself gently. Takeko's mother appeared with tiny cups of hot wine, sake. Hartford bowed with the others and sipped. The stuff was good, rather like a dry sherry.

Takeko bowed to leave the room, returned, bowed and commenced playing a tune with the instrument she'd brought in. It was a flute made of bamboo, with a high-pitched, pure sound Hartford found quite pleasant. He frowned, though, after a moment. Takeko took the pipe from her lips. "You do not enjoy my playing?" she asked.

"What is that made of?" Hartford demanded. "Just bamboo, isn't it?"

"Hai, take," Takeko agreed. "It is my name. Take—bamboo. This is only a shakuha-chi, for very simple music."

Hartford smiled and bowed toward Togo-san, the white-bearded carpenter. "Sir," he said, "if we may have your advice, I believe Takeko-chan has helped us find our weapon."

X

The meeting broke up to adjourn to Togo-san's workshop. There was bamboo there in plenty, and young men eager to help the ex-lieutenant of Axenites in testing his device. As the week wore on, young Kansans appeared from other villages, called by blabrigars and messengers on camelopard-back to join the army 

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