Chapter 370

On the beach were several transports like ours. I saw men milling around passing in and out of the light.

“We lost this bet, brother,” one of the men on my transport laughed. “They beat us.”

Our transport came to rest next to another and settled down the with a slight crunch on the ground. Men were everywhere. The noisy engine cut off and men approached us talking happily to their friends. Looking to the side, the other transport that had been traveling behind us also came to rest on the beach. I could see the lump that was Fuji laying very still.

Men approached and one leapt onto the other transport to examine my friend.

“You bound a freed slave? Cousins, what were you thinking!?” the man’s voice asked angry and incredulous.

Rose and I rushed toward the voice and Fuji. She lay listlessly on the transport as the man pulled off her bindings. The man undoing the ropes cursed our rescuers severely for their incompetence. His hands on Fuji were gentle as he