Pathway to Japanese Literature

Author: Unno Jūza

Mysterious Pigeon

The siblings Takashi and Midori kept carrier pigeons.

Originally these were pigeons Father kept, but after Father went away on important business to a distant place, the two siblings had been caring for them.

There were ten pigeons in total.
They were kept in a pigeon coop constructed with half wire mesh and half wooden planks.
The pigeon coop stood on the hill behind the house.
The pigeons had grown deeply attached to the siblings.

The usually peaceful flock of pigeons had somehow grown oddly restless lately. When the siblings paid attention, it was indeed strange. Normally, the pigeons would spend the entire day cooing contentedly around the coop in harmony, but lately, they would suddenly burst into frantic flapping and all take to the sky in a noisy commotion. In the end, they would settle their wings on the roof of the house and, appearing restless, go back and forth here and there, peering restlessly down below. Why had the pigeons become so restless?

That evening as well, the pigeons began wildly fluttering into the sky in a great commotion.
Takashi and Midori hurried to the pigeon coop.
Then, there was one pigeon remaining on top of the pigeon coop.

“Oh, there’s a strange pigeon here!”

“This isn’t one of our pigeons. Where could it be from?”

That was an unfamiliar pigeon.

An ordinary carrier pigeon would be slate-gray all over with a gold-green band around its neck, but the pigeon now remaining on the coop had a navy-blue body with two thick gold stripes running along the tips of its wings—the more one looked, the more peculiar it appeared. Moreover, this pigeon had an odd habit of dragging both legs as it walked, as if it had artificial limbs attached.

“I’ll get a better look.”

And so, Takashi approached the pigeon coop.

And then, as he reached out toward the blue pigeon, his fingertips unexpectedly went numb with a prickling sensation, as if he had touched an electric current.

“Ah—”

And Takashi pulled his hand back in surprise.
At that moment, the pigeon quivered its wings, suddenly spun around, and with an ominous flap, swiftly soared into the sky.
But the speed of its flight was no different from a fighter plane ascending vertically from the ground into the open sky.
Stunned by its sheer intensity, both Takashi and Midori stood dumbfounded, watching the mysterious pigeon’s path.

At that very moment, high above this village, a large airplane flew through the sky, towing three gliders behind it.
That was the newly created, incredible three-hundred-passenger flying train.
The mysterious pigeon fearlessly closed in on the flying train, drawing steadily closer.
The three test pilots of the flying train were astonished.

“Oh—that pigeon isn’t fleeing at all!”
“Poor thing, it’s going to get flung off any second now.”
As they were saying this, the mysterious pigeon collided with its wing like a bullet.

“Oh no, this is bad!”

Instantly, the wing split cleanly in two from that point, and the flying train, emitting black smoke and tangling together like a dragonfly, crashed to the ground.
It crashed in the mountains five kilometers ahead.

However, no one realized this incident had been caused by the mysterious pigeon.

Electric Pigeon

“Hey, Big Brother.”
“A pigeon from someone’s house wanted to play with ours, so it came down, right?”

“Hmm...”

Takashi gave a half-hearted reply.
I mean, does a pigeon that makes your fingertips go numb when you try to catch it even exist?

Just then.
It was when the flying train began to crash.

However, since this was happening high up in the distant sky, the siblings did not notice until they later heard about it from the villagers.

Midori opened the pigeon coop.
Then, the pigeon that had been perched on the roof of the house returned to the pigeon coop joyfully.

But at that moment, the siblings noticed something unexpected and widened their eyes in surprise.

It was no wonder the siblings were shocked.
There were supposed to be ten pigeons, but only nine remained.
Now, where had that one pigeon gone?
While frantically searching around the house, the siblings found the cold corpse of a pigeon in the bamboo grove behind it.

“Poor thing. Why did you die?”

“This is definitely that Electric Pigeon’s doing.”

“Huh? Electric Pigeon? What’s an Electric Pigeon?”

There, Takashi explained to Midori how when he tried to touch the blue pigeon earlier, his fingers had tingled with a prickling numbness.
So we named it Electric Pigeon this and Electric Pigeon that—but could the Electric Pigeon really have killed our pigeons?
Truly, the pigeon was dead without a single injury.

“Alright, I’ll devise a plan and catch that pigeon.”

The following evening, as Takashi and Midori kept watch, sure enough, the Electric Pigeon descended from the sky.
The nine pigeons from their coop caused a great commotion and fled toward the roof.
However, atop the pigeon coop, one pigeon still remained perched motionless.

The Electric Pigeon fluttered down lightly and approached the motionless pigeon while dragging its feet.

And then, something unexpected happened.
With a click, the Electric Pigeon’s leg got caught in the trap Takashi had set.
However, the Electric Pigeon exerted tremendous force and ascended straight into the sky.
With a long red paper tape attached to its leg as a marker, they chased after the Electric Pigeon but regrettably lost sight of it.

Undeterred, the next day, Takashi devised another plan and lay in wait.

That evening, as expected, the Electric Pigeon descended.
And then, just like yesterday, it descended onto the pigeon coop and had barely waddled two or three steps when—*click*—the Electric Pigeon’s leg was caught.
But it still managed to escape.
At that moment, on the pigeon’s leg—besides the long red paper tape—a small glass bottle hung upside down.
From the mouth of the bottle came a very unpleasant smell.

As soon as the Electric Pigeon flew out, Takashi took his beloved dog Maru—a dog with an excellent sense of smell—and together they chased after it.
The Electric Pigeon flew toward the mountains at the village border in the same way as yesterday.
Dragging a long red paper tape behind it, it flew swiftly onward and soon disappeared from view.
However, Takashi showed no signs of panic as he followed closely behind Maru, who was running ahead and sniffing intently, steadily pressing deeper into the mountains.

Maru, who had been running ahead, arrived at a cave entrance large enough for human passage. He sniffed persistently at the grass around the cave mouth before abruptly freezing.
Takashi,
“Hmm, it went into this cave.”
He glared at the cave opening and unintentionally spoke aloud.

The Person in the Cave

What no one knew was that the flying train's crash had been caused by the Electric Pigeon.
Unaware of this fact, Takashi—convinced that the Electric Pigeon that had descended into the pigeon coop must have killed their precious carrier pigeons—had tracked it all the way to the mouth of this deep mountain cave with his beloved dog Maru.
Maru was sniffing intently and staring into the cave.

“Maru, I’m counting on you.”

Thanks to Takashi’s clever scheme and Maru’s tracking skills, they had determined that the Electric Pigeon had entered this cave, so now the next step was to go inside and skillfully capture it.

Takashi believed that a pigeon that had entered the cave could be easily caught.
And so, valiantly, Takashi led Maru and pressed steadily into the pitch-black cave.
The flashlight he had brought as a precaution cast an intensely powerful beam into the depths of the sinister cave.
However, no matter how deep into the cave the crucial Electric Pigeon had gone, its figure remained entirely out of sight.

“That’s strange… Where could it have hidden itself away?”

Takashi stopped while petting Maru’s head.

Just then.
Maru growled low.
Takashi’s sharp ears caught the faint, muffled sound of someone’s voice drifting from deeper within the cave.
“Oh! There’s someone human in this cave!”

Takashi, puzzled, quietly approached deeper into the cave while holding Maru by the scruff when suddenly—

“So, you’re determined not to talk, are you?”

Then, a shouting voice rang out.

When Takashi, startled, peered deeper inside, there—unusually illuminated by electric lights—five or six rough-looking men sat in a circular formation.
And at its center lay a bound man.

The pitiable one was the bound man.
Not only could he not move a muscle, but he was also being subjected to terrible treatment by a group of rough men.

From Takashi’s vantage point, the bound man had his back turned, so he couldn’t make out who it was. If Takashi had seen the man’s face, how astonished he would have been! At that moment, the bound man—surely lifting his face—

“No matter how much you ask, it’s useless.”
“I said I won’t talk, so I won’t—even if you kill me!”

he shouted.

Upon hearing that voice, Takashi realized with a start.
He recognized that voice.

“It’s Father!”

Takashi’s Father was supposed to have gone far away on official business, so why was he bound in this cave?
Takashi was startled, and Maru, also surprised, barked “woof-woof!”
This was bad!

“Who’s there?”

The suspicious men stood up all at once and headed toward where Takashi was hiding.
Takashi was in danger.
Maru was barking with all his might.

Realizing this was the end, Takashi used the moment to scribble a note on a scrap of paper, attached it to the leg of the carrier pigeon he carried at his waist, and swiftly released it.
The carrier pigeon flew out through the pitch-black cave to the outside.
But what flew out next was the terrifying Electric Pigeon!

The Pair of Pigeons

Leaving behind the terrifying struggle in the cave, Carrier Pigeon No. 1—carrying Takashi’s letter—swiftly flew out into the open.

Clattering its iron beak, the terrifying Electric Pigeon pursued close behind.

Having previously suffered a terrible ordeal at the hands of the Electric Pigeon, Carrier Pigeon No. 1 deliberately wove through woods and groves, abruptly swooping downward as it fled for its life with all its might.

However, unable to escape the terrifying Electric Pigeon’s beak, its wings were injured, feathers fell out, and one eye was pierced through.
Even so, Carrier Pigeon No. 1 endured and finally managed to reach its own pigeon coop.

The first to discover it was Midori, Takashi’s younger sister who had been left behind.

“Oh dear, the pigeon’s in such a state…”

Midori ran up to the pigeon coop, gently lowered No. 1—who lay collapsed atop it with wings still spread—and cradled it to her chest.

At that moment, a suspicious clattering voice echoed from above.

When Carrier Pigeon No. 1 heard this, it moaned weakly in its agony, as if warning Midori of the danger and urging her to be cautious.
If Midori hadn’t immediately run toward the house, it’s impossible to tell what terrible injuries she might have suffered from the Electric Pigeon.

“Midori-chan.”

“What are you making such a fuss about?”

Uncle Ryōta in military uniform showed his face.

From the bloodstained leg of the pigeon was removed a scrap of paper bearing Takashi’s hastily scribbled note.

“This is terrible!” Uncle Ryōta’s face paled as he said, “Midori-chan’s Father has been captured by a suspicious gang. I need to report this to the military police right away.”

Uncle Ryōta, a military police sergeant, had grown worried because Midori’s Father—who had taken on an important official assignment and departed on a journey—still had not returned no matter how much time passed. He had just now come to inquire about this situation. Because someone promptly delivered the scrap of paper retrieved from the injured Carrier Pigeon No. 1 to the military police, soon a squad of uniformed military police arrived at Midori’s house by truck.

Now, what was about to begin?

According to the military police's account, they had known that foreign spies using a formidable Electric Pigeon had infiltrated and were busily plotting some sinister scheme, but they had been stymied because they couldn't determine where the spy group was located.
But now, thanks to Takashi-boy, they had discovered the cave's secret and were overjoyed.

“Now, let’s subdue the Electric Pigeon!”

“Now, let’s exterminate the Electric Pigeon!” declared the military police with force.

“If we can just exterminate the Electric Pigeon, the spy group will weaken like fish out of water.”

Midori pleaded for them to save Father and Big Brother Takashi quickly rather than focus on that.

Now that they were finally heading to the suspicious cave, the military police looked troubled.
How were they to get to that cave?

Just then, the beloved dog Maru returned, dragging his leg.

“Oh, Maru…”
“Where’s Big Brother?”

Midori immediately ran out into the garden to look, but Takashi’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
It appeared only Maru had managed to escape from the cave.

With Maru serving as an excellent guide, the military police officers set out in high spirits.

However, by the time they entered the mountains, daylight had completely faded.
Moreover, since Maru had gone somewhere, the military police officers became at a loss as to what to do.

That was the moment.
No sooner had a metallic clattering cry echoed from above than a gleaming object came darting through.
The terrifying Electric Pigeon appeared.

Escape Tunnel

Due to the fearsome spy group, what could Takashi-boy and Father—captured in the mountain cave—be doing now?

Hearing Midori’s request, Uncle Ryōta led a squad of uniformed military police, with Takashi’s beloved dog Maru as their guide, and ventured into those mountains.
But then midway through, Maru’s figure vanished, and just as they were struggling to find the path to the spy group’s cave, a dazzling Electric Pigeon came flying in.

“Get down!”

Uncle Ryōta shouted.

“It’s dangerous to keep such a terrifying Electric Pigeon alive.”
“Sergeant, let me be the one to shoot it down!”

A military policeman drew his pistol.

"Now, wait!"

Uncle Ryōta hurriedly stopped it,
“Rather than that, tracking where the Electric Pigeon is headed matters more. Now, you two over there—chase that Electric Pigeon immediately!”

That was Uncle Ryōta’s way.
Without panic or fuss, he made the two follow its trail.

At that moment, from a different direction, the sound of a dog barking woof-woof could be heard.
It was Maru.
Maru was barking.
Uncle Ryōta lurched up,

“Alright, those remaining—follow me this way!”

They finally realized that the spy group’s cave was nearby.

Uncle Ryōta boldly took the lead of the military police and plowed through the grass as he ran.

At that very moment, the moon emerged from the mountains ahead.

“There’s a cave here in a place like this! Now, charge inside!”

No sooner had he spoken than Uncle Ryōta, flashlight in hand, darted into the cave.
Everyone also followed suit.

Then, from a different direction, gunshots popped.

“Ah! Military police!”

Stumbling out, the spy group was startled a second time when they saw Uncle Ryōta and his men there.

“You spies!”
“Now you’re like rats in a trap!”
“Now, won’t you surrender?!”

As the military police pounced, even the formidable spies were swiftly restrained amid their panicked commotion.

“Ah—Uncle Ryōta—”

Then, a voice called out from the depths of the cave.

“Oh—that voice…”

When Uncle Ryōta rushed over and checked, it was indeed Takashi. Pitifully, he had been bound tightly with thick rope and thrown into a cell-like space. When someone tried to take the rope, Takashi shook his head and turned toward the back, “Father should be here. Hurry and save him…” “Banzai!” A loud cheer erupted. They had managed to rescue both Takashi—the boy they’d been worried about—and his father, Engineer Akiyama, who served the nation, and what’s more, they had captured a great number of the spy group’s villains. It was a grand success.

“That’s strange—”

Uncle Ryōta tilted his head.

“What’s strange?”

“But I saw the Electric Pigeon fly into this cave! Now when I search like this, it’s nowhere to be found!”

“That’s odd. This… it seems there’s another escape route after all.”

The Leader escaped.

“Uncle! The Leader who was tormenting Father—he’s gone!” cried Takashi.

“The Leader…?!”
Uncle Ryōta’s head snapped up. “Right—that settles it. There must be an escape route! Search!”

At that instant, Maru pricked up his ears and bounded onto a nearby boulder before vanishing behind it.
A volley of barks soon echoed through the cave.

“There—the escape hole!”

When everyone also tried leaping over the rock, there was indeed an escape path continuing downward.
When they hurried over to check, there was something glinting—the Electric Pigeon.
It was being chased by Maru.

Moreover, right beside it, the Leader was shouldering a black box and fleeing.

“Hey—stop!”

And Uncle Ryōta and his group desperately gave chase, but the exit of the escape path lay beneath a cliff.
The Spy Group Leader climbed up using the rope ladder prepared there and then pulled it up behind him, so even the stalwart military police officers could not scale the cliff.

“Darn it! So close,”
“We were just one step away from catching him!”

The military police officers were deeply frustrated.
Takashi was also disappointed, but since it was a place that couldn’t be climbed without a ladder, there was nothing to be done.
And so, the Electric Pigeon and the Spy Group Leader shouldering a black box escaped to parts unknown.

After that, the Electric Pigeon was nowhere to be seen.

Takashi’s pigeons once again began to play happily around the coop, just as they had before.

Takashi’s Father, now at ease, once again departed on his important official journey.

Before long, the day of the Guardian Deity Shrine’s autumn festival arrived.
Various stalls and toy shops had appeared, creating a tremendous bustle.
Takashi invited Midori to go pay their respects at the shrine.

Lined up before the shrine building, the two vigorously shook a thick-rope bell and prayed for Father’s safe return.
When they finished praying, Takashi turned to Midori.

“Hey, let’s go see the sideshows.”

“Big Brother, that looks fun!”

What Midori pointed at was a small hut standing among the numerous sideshow stalls, its dyed red and blue flags labeled “Pigeon Troupe.”

“Step right up!”
“Acrobatics by pigeons smarter than humans!”
“The world’s smartest pigeon!”
“Young master, young miss, step right up, quickly now…”

A man wearing black glasses was calling out to customers.

Upon hearing about pigeons, the two pigeon-loving siblings could not resist wanting to see them.
The two hurriedly entered.

When they entered and looked inside，the hut was completely empty．
There were only a few spectators．

He thought it was strange…

But just then，a pigeon handler in Indian-style attire appeared on stage，holding a gleaming golden birdcage．

“Now，fix your eyes here and take a look．”
“This is the world’s smartest pigeon．”

The pigeon handler tapped the cage with a long whip as he presented it before the two. Inside was a pigeon with pale blue wings bearing two golden stripes along their length, staring fixedly in their direction.

(Ah! It looks just like the Electric Pigeon!)

Takashi’s eyes widened.

“Now, this pigeon will guess the young lady’s age—even her name.”
“Young lady, please step up here.”

“Don’t do it, Midori!”

And Takashi stopped it.
However, the pigeon handler pretended not to notice and pulled Midori up onto the stage, placing her on an odd pedestal.

Magician

The Guardian Deity's festival had reached the moment when the mikoshi returned, leaving the villagers wholly engrossed in that direction as a raucous uproar swirled around them.

This was inside a sideshow hut where few spectators had entered, featuring the world’s smartest pigeon that closely resembled the Electric Pigeon.
Midori was led up onto the stage by the pigeon handler in Indian-style attire, so her brother Takashi felt an inexplicable uneasiness.

“Now then, Mr. Pigeon.
How old is the young lady?”

The pigeon handler brought his ear close to the pigeon.

Then, the pigeon used its beak to peck lightly inside the pigeon handler’s ear.

“Ah-ha, I see.”

Putting on a knowing expression, the pigeon handler turned toward the spectators and said,

“Mr. Pigeon says this young lady is ten years old. Did we get it right, young lady?”

Midori was truly surprised her own age had been guessed correctly. The spectators clapped their hands and praised the pigeon.

“Now, next is the young lady’s name. Mr. Pigeon, this one’s quite difficult—can you guess it?”

The pigeon handler once again brought his ear close to the pigeon.

Then, the pigeon used its beak to peck lightly inside the pigeon handler’s ear once more.

“Ah, I see. The color of the third flag from the right hanging there—that would be…”

The pigeon handler looked around at the flags hung around the stage.
The third from the right was the Brazilian flag.

“Ah, this is the Brazilian flag, isn’t it?
The color of this flag is blue, isn’t it?
Then perhaps Miss Aoko?”

Then, the spectators burst into laughter in unison. It was because Aoko was such an unusual name.

“Aoko? That’s odd,” said the pigeon handler. “Please explain more clearly.” He brought his ear back to the pigeon before continuing theatrically, “What’s this? You say it’s not blue but green?” His face lit up with exaggerated realization. “Ah! Miss Midori! What a charming name you have indeed.”

“It guessed right!” Midori exclaimed.

She couldn’t help but admire how clever this pigeon was. The spectators clapped once more in approval.

In the spectator seats, only her brother Takashi glared at the pigeon handler with an angry expression.

“Now, now—while we’re at it—let me show you another splendid magic trick using this pigeon!”

Having said that, the Indian man signaled toward the back.
Then, from the back, they carried in a beautiful box large enough to fit a child’s body.
There were two of those boxes.
They arranged those on the stage.
Now, what was about to happen next?

The pigeon handler first placed the pigeon with golden stripes into one of the boxes, cage and all.

Then, this time taking Midori’s hand,

“Now then, young lady,” he said, “please step into this box here.”
“There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

When Midori entered the box, the pigeon handler suddenly beamed and said,

"First, I'll close the box lid."

With a clunk, he closed both box lids,

"Now, it's certain that the world's smartest pigeon has entered this box here, and the lovely young lady has entered that box there."
"But when I focus my energy, something strange will happen."

With a spirited shout, he focused his energy and placed his hands on the lid of the box Midori had entered.

The Disappeared Sister

The pigeon handler grinned slyly and opened the lid of the box Midori had entered.

"Ah!"

A cry of surprise burst from Takashi's mouth. When he lifted the lid of the box that had unquestionably contained Midori moments before, her figure had vanished completely. In her place sat a pigeon streaked with golden markings.

"My, my, this is quite mysterious."

The pigeon handler continued to laugh with an eerie grin,

“The young lady has transformed into a pigeon.”
“Now then, what has the pigeon transformed into?”

When he took off the lid of the other box, lo and behold—the box was empty!

Where on earth had Midori gone?
“Uncle, change Midori back right away!”

With that, Takashi leaped onto the stage and shouted.

“You there! Why disrupt our performance?”
“But you’re hiding Midori and—”
“Persisting with this interference, I see.”

At this, the pigeon handler hurriedly had the stage curtain closed and concealed Takashi from view of the spectators. Then he abruptly threw open the cage door. Instantly the pigeon charged at Takashi with ferocious momentum. It was identical to the Electric Pigeon.

“Ah!”

By the time he realized it was too late, Takashi had been pounced on by the pigeon and lost consciousness.

Midori and Takashi had truly suffered a horrible ordeal.
What was called the world's smartest pigeon was none other than that terrifying Electric Pigeon.
The one who had disguised himself as the pigeon handler was the detestable Spy Group Leader.

Takashi came to his senses for the first time thanks to a piercingly cold wind.

That place was not inside the lively, decorated sideshow booth but rather a dim storage-like area.

With a start, he tried to sit up, only to realize—
His hands were pulled behind his back, and his chest and stomach were tightly bound with thick rope.
Takashi gritted his teeth and tried to free his hands from the rope, but it was no use.

Where on earth was this place?

What had become of Midori-chan?
As expected, she must have been captured by those villains.
Poor thing.

When Takashi thought of Midori, how could he remain still like this?
Yet the ropes binding him were tightly knotted, showing no sign of loosening.

Frustrated tears fell in fat drops as footsteps echoed outside, drawing closer.
What manner of person was approaching?

Then, at a window open high above, a face appeared.
That was the face of a boy.
It was a face he had never seen before, its large mouth hanging open with drool streaming down.

Pon-chan, that boy, was one of the villains, so he certainly wasn’t going to help Takashi.

Takashi, having thought of something, told Pon-chan: “I’ll give you the pigeon-calling flute I always carry at my waist—take it.”
Then, Pon-chan, overjoyed, slid down smoothly from a hole in the roof along a pillar, took the flute attached to Takashi’s waist, and went back outside.

Hoo, hoo, hoo.

Outside, the flute was being played vigorously.
Pon-chan was enjoying blowing it.

Then, about an hour later, the sudden sound of many pigeons flapping their wings could be heard outside the window.
Takashi smiled.

Haguro and Ashigara

The pigeon handler who used the world's smartest pigeon was a complete lie—this had been none other than the terrifying Spy Group Leader in disguise.
Takashi found himself bound tightly with rope and stuffed into a pit, leaving him powerless to rescue Midori.
After much deliberation, he gave his flute to Pon-chan—one of the villains—who then blew it vigorously with glee: hoo, hoo, hoo.
Soon came the sound of flapping wings at the pit's light window!

After making Pon-chan blow the flute, Takashi had been waiting so desperately for this sound of flapping wings.

“Got them! My family’s pigeons have come!”

Suddenly breaking into a smile, Takashi pressed himself against the base of the light window and blew a piercing whistle.

Then, cooing "coo, coo, coo" and flapping their wings noisily, what came flying into the pit was none other than Takashi’s beloved pair of carrier pigeons—Haguro and Ashigara.

The pigeons perched on Takashi’s shoulder and cried out urgently.
They must have understood their master’s critical situation.

Takashi affectionately rubbed his cheek against the cute pigeons.

However, Takashi, who knew full well he couldn’t stay like that forever, bent down, took the torn piece from the back of his pants into his mouth, and ripped it apart with a sharp tear.
And then, transferring the cloth from his mouth to Haguro’s beak, he blew a sharp whistle—*Pii-pii-pipii!*

That *Pii-pii-pipii* whistle was
“Return home quickly.”
That was the pigeons’ command.
Therefore, Haguro—clutching the torn piece of pants in his beak—boldly leapt back out through the very light window he had just entered moments before and made his way home to Takashi’s house.
Just as Haguro saw Takashi’s beloved dog Maru in front of the house, he dropped the piece of pants he had been carrying in front of him and flew ahead as if guiding Maru.

At the entrance of the pit where Takashi was confined came the clattering of keys. Suddenly, the square lid of the entrance flew open, and in stepped the detestable Spy Group Leader.

“Hey brat, I’ll take you to a nice place—get in here.”

With that, he pointed to the barrel his subordinate had brought.

“No way! What have you done with my sister? Hurry up and let me see Midori!”

“Midori boarded the ship ahead of you. You’ll meet her once we get there.”

“Hmm… So even my sister’s been stuffed into a barrel?”

“No—only rowdy brats like you get stuffed into barrels. Get in now.”

Takashi was powerless and was finally stuffed into the barrel.

Where was it being taken?

The barrel that Takashi had been confined in was carried outside before long.
Where on earth was it being taken?
Inside the pitch-dark barrel, Takashi could not rest easy.

Coo, coo, coo.

Near Takashi’s stomach area, there was something crying.
That was another pigeon—Ashigara.
Just before Takashi was put into the barrel by the villains, he had seized a brief opportunity to hide Ashigara under his coat.

Before long, the barrel was placed onto something hard with a thud.
Then, one after another, other barrels were placed with heavy thuds.

Before long came a metallic clank as the truck loaded with barrels started moving.

"Where are they taking me?"
"What's happening to Midori?"

Jostled inside the barrel, Takashi kept turning these thoughts over in his mind.

When the truck had covered about a kilometer, commotion broke out above him.

“Hmm, that dog might be chasing this truck.”

“Yeah, he’s sniffed out the brat’s presence.”

“What a hassle.”
“Shoot it with a pistol.”

“Wait! What if someone hears the gunshot?”
“Hurl stones at it!”

There came the sound of stones being hurled with heave-ho shouts.

*Bow-wow! Arf-arf!* The fierce barking of a dog chased after the truck.

“Ah! That voice—it’s Maru!”

Loyal dog Maru desperately chased after the truck abducting Takashi.

How did he know that?
The reason was that Haguro the pigeon had guided Maru here while chasing them.

Bow-wow! Arf-arf!

“Throwing stones isn’t working.
Release the electric pigeon!”

“Alright! The electric pigeon!”

The Spy Group Leader finally released the terrifying electric pigeon in a flash.
Takashi was shocked to hear that.
Yip! Yelp-yelp-yelp!

Before long, Maru’s sorrowful cry could be heard.
Alas, even loyal Maru seemed to have been struck down by the electric pigeon.

Takashi, inside the barrel, gritted his teeth in frustration.
However, when faced with the electric pigeon, Maru could do nothing.

“This will suffice.”
“Ah—that’s broken his spirit.”

And this was the villains’ sigh.

The truck continued driving for four or five hours and then arrived at the port.

The barrel was transferred to the ship's hold there.
It was inside a foreign cargo ship.

That night, for the first time, the rope binding Takashi's hands was slightly loosened, and instead of a meal, five or six apples were thrown into the barrel.
What a cruel thing to do!

The villains once again firmly tightened the barrel lid and left.

With a rumbling machinery sound, the steamship seemed to leave port.

"Where am I being taken?
"And what do they plan to do after abducting me and Midori?"

Takashi kept thinking, “I want to somehow reunite with Midori.”

Suddenly, there was a violent clatter of footsteps as what sounded like many people rushed down to the ship’s hold.

“Hey! Search faster! Search faster!”
“If we don’t hurry up, that Japanese warship watching offshore will sink us!”

“But would the electric pigeon actually fly all the way down here to the ship’s hold?”

“Shut your mouth! This mess happened because you were slacking off!”

Before long, a cannon boomed.

“There! The Japanese warship has fired!”
“It’s a signal to stop the ship!”
“If we don’t find the electric pigeon immediately, we’ll really be shot!”

That voice was unmistakably the voice of that detestable Spy Group Leader.

Apparently, the electric pigeon had escaped.
And it seemed this steamship was being pursued by a Japanese warship.

Takashi realized this and felt his heart race.
If the Japanese warship keeping watch over the nearby sea found this suspicious ship and came to them, he would surely be saved.

However, if the Japanese warship’s shells were to strike this steamship before then, Takashi would sink to the ocean depths along with the barrel.
Boom-boom! Boom-boom! The cannon fire drew ever closer.
What would happen now?
Terrible! Terrible!

The drifting barrel.

The foreign cargo ship abducting Takashi was now being fiercely bombarded by a Japanese warship.

Takashi, along with the carrier pigeon Ashigara, was confined inside a barrel rolling in the ship’s bottom.
If the steamship were to be sunk like this, Takashi would fall into the sea and die.

At that moment, the Spy Group Leader and other villains, who had mistakenly released the invincibly powerful electric pigeon, were frantically searching the ship’s bottom where the barrel had been placed.
Takashi suddenly came up with one clever idea.

Takashi desperately freed his hands from the restraining rope.
When his hands finally came free, he pushed up the barrel lid with both hands using all his strength.
After three or four attempts, even the tightly fitted lid creaked open with a sound, forming a small gap.
The villains were making such a racket that they didn’t notice the noise.

Got it!
Now I’ll trick them here.

As soon as Takashi released the carrier pigeon Ashigara from the gap in the barrel, Ashigara began flapping about wildly.

“Ah! There’s the electric pigeon!”

“Got it! Now, hurry up and catch it!”

The villains, convinced it was the electric pigeon, chased Ashigara in a great uproar.

Because his plan had succeeded, Takashi was overjoyed inside the barrel. By doing this, they couldn't release the terrifying electric pigeon toward the Japanese warship for some time.

"Hey, be careful!"

Then the Spy Group Leader’s shouting voice rang out.

“When capturing the electric pigeon, if you don’t wear rubber gloves, you’ll get a severe electric shock from the current!”

In his haste, the Leader inadvertently let slip an important secret.

The sounds of nets being swished through the air and Ashigara’s powerful wingbeats jumbled together, reaching Takashi’s ears inside the barrel.

“Now, hurry up and catch the electric pigeon! Release it toward the Japanese warship and sink it!”

The villains were now in an even greater uproar.

Before long came a thunderous crash as seawater violently surged into the ship's bottom.
The cannonball fired from the Japanese warship had pierced clean through the hull.

Instantly, the barrel holding Takashi rode the seawater's swell upward before shooting through a stairway gap onto the deck with tremendous hydraulic force.
At that exact moment, the barrel lid struck something and clamped shut again before Takashi could escape.
Then as it rolled about wildly, the barrel plunged into the sea with a resounding splash.

Takashi became dizzy.
When he came to, the barrel wasn't sinking but seemed to be drifting at the mercy of the waves, yet his body lay completely exhausted, and he couldn't stay awake.

Deserted island

How many hours had passed since then, he couldn't remember, but Takashi awoke from sleep.

“Oh? I thought I was being swayed back and forth in the sea, but what on earth has happened here?”

It was truly a strange situation.
Takashi was still confined inside the barrel, yet the barrel neither swayed nor moved, remaining perfectly still.

“This is terrible!”

Takashi strained his ears to listen for any sound outside the barrel, but no sound could be heard.
Then, steeling himself, he pushed the barrel lid with all his strength.

The lid popped open.
Takashi stuck his head out from the barrel.

“Ah—the coast!”

The storm had completely subsided, and the morning sun was shining dazzlingly over the sea.
The surrounding area was a beautiful seaside with jet-black sand stretching as far as the eye could see, but behind it loomed a steep rocky mountain that looked menacing.
“Where is this place?”

Takashi came out from inside the barrel and looked around curiously.
It was a completely unfamiliar place.

Takashi mustered his energy and climbed the back mountain.
He thought that once he climbed up there, he would surely be able to see a village or something.

However, when he climbed the back mountain and looked, he was shocked.
Far from seeing a village, here was a small deserted island (an island with no people) without a single house.

“To think I’ve washed up on a deserted island—this is bad!”

And Takashi muttered to himself.

And still, he kept intently scanning the surface of the sea,

“Ah! Two boats are rowing this way!”

It was indeed a boat.
A crowd of people seemed packed tightly on board.

Takashi waved his hand and called out “Hey!” But wait—no! If this were the bad guys’ boat, that’d be trouble, he thought, stopping himself.

Soon the boat reached the edge of the breaking waves.
From the shadow of the back mountain, Takashi’s eyes lit up as he watched people noisily disembark.

“Ah! There’s Midori!”

But Midori wasn’t alone.

Beside her stood that detestable Spy Group Leader.

The cargo ship had apparently been struck by a cannonball from the Japanese warship and sunk.
The villains must have escaped by boarding a lifeboat.

"Ah... poor sister..."

Midori, unaware that her brother Takashi was watching from above on the mountain, walked dejectedly while being led by hand among the villains.
She remained in the same state as when she had been abducted from the village's sideshow tent.
What exactly did the Group Leader intend to do with this pitiful Midori?
Takashi felt an overwhelming urge to dash over immediately, but believing such action would lead to their recapture together again, he steeled himself.

Takashi faced the night with an empty stomach.
The villains meanwhile had pitched tents along the shoreline and were vigorously maintaining a fire, seemingly cooking some appetizing-looking food.

Takashi slipped out from the back mountain and quietly began descending toward the tents.
Fortunately, he was able to approach the tents without being noticed by anyone.

“Leader, wouldn’t it be better to just kill this hindrance of a girl in one go?”

Someone was saying something terrifying.

“Don’t be stupid!”
“Don’t you still understand?”
“If we take this girl to pressure the father, this time we’ll finally make him tell us what the *Underground Tank*—the Japanese military’s most prized asset—is like and where they’ve hidden it!”

Through the villains' conversation, Takashi learned that Father was engaged in work on the Underground Tank—something of critical importance to the Japanese military.
The Spy Group Leader planned to subject Father to terrible treatment and deal a devastating blow to Japan's armed forces.
Midori deserved pity—but allowing our nation's secrets to be exposed would create far graver consequences.

"How could I inform the Japanese military and Father about this?"

Takashi, thinking he must somehow come up with a good idea, happened to look toward the water’s edge and saw a large barrel that had washed ashore. As he drew near, he heard a clattering sound coming from inside. He wondered what could be inside.

There it was—the Electric Pigeon.

The fact that young Takashi had washed ashore on the deserted island did not yet seem known to the Spy Group Leader and his underlings who later landed there. However, they would likely discover this soon enough—a disastrous turn of events where he would surely be captured and meet a terrible fate.

It had been mentioned earlier that Takashi found a large barrel at the water’s edge. When he approached it and cracked open its lid slightly to peer inside—there lay none other than the familiar Electric Pigeon.

Ah! The Electric Pigeon.
Why was it inside a place like this?

It was the Electric Pigeon with glinting eyes.
It was the Electric Pigeon that would electrocute anyone who touched it.
And this was the very Electric Pigeon that the Spy Group Leader had been searching for aboard the ship.

Surely, at some point when it had wandered into this barrel, by ill fortune the lid must have snapped shut, leaving it trapped inside. The Electric Pigeon appeared to be in distress; it couldn't stand on its legs and merely fluttered its wings feebly, devoid of vitality. Relieved, Takashi gently extracted the Electric Pigeon from the barrel using a stick.

"How strange. Even though it had been such a rampaging pigeon..."

Takashi tilted his head.

Takashi was very pleased to have unexpectedly captured the Electric Pigeon. However, thinking that leaving it as is might result in its being taken back by the spy group at any moment, Takashi placed the pigeon back into the barrel as before, dug a large hole in the sandy beach, and buried it there.

If I leave it like this, there shouldn't be any worry of the spy group finding it.
Now then, I have to save poor Midori.

Waiting for the sun to set, Takashi boldly yet stealthily approached the spy group’s tents.
Inside the tents, the Group Leader and his villains were drinking alcohol, singing in loud voices, and dancing.
Before long, the Group Leader also staggered to his feet, waving his hands and stamping his feet as he began to dance, but the small bag slung over his shoulder swayed about, getting in the way and making it impossible for him to dance properly.

“Hey Group Leader, get a grip! Take off that filthy bag and dance properly! Ha ha ha!”

Someone laughed mockingly. The Group Leader glared,

“Don’t be stupid! Even if it’s filthy, this contains the vital machine that operates the Electric Pigeon! How could I take it off?!”

The machine that controlled the Electric Pigeon! So there had been such a device all along. The Electric Pigeon had been manipulated through this very bag carried by the Spy Group Leader. Through a gap in the tent fabric, Takashi stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

“The Electric Pigeon’s sunk to the bottom of the sea.”
“Even if we’re left with nothing but control machines, what good are they?”
“Ha ha ha!”

“Right, that’s a fair point.”
“In that case, I shouldn’t have kept this bag so carefully.”

With that, the Group Leader removed the black bag from his shoulder and hurled it into a corner of the tent.
Now completely unburdened, he began dancing merrily.

At that moment, from the corner of the tent, a small hand suddenly appeared.
The hand crept slowly and cautiously toward the black bag, seized it firmly, then smoothly dragged it out of the tent.

It was a mysterious small hand.
Whose hand could that have been?

Encounter

“Yes! I’ve got the machine that controls the Electric Pigeon.”
“Alright, just you wait and see.”

Outside the tent, Takashi snatched the black bag and grinned broadly.

“Alright, while the villains are getting drunk here, I must find Midori.”

With his courage bolstered a hundredfold, Takashi ventured to the other tents.

Behind the hill, there was a pitch-dark tent.
Since there seemed to be no guards around, Takashi turned on the flashlight he had. Inside were numerous crates brought from the ship.

“Hey, Midori-chan! Are you there?”

Takashi called out his younger sister’s name in a rapid voice.

At that moment, the stacked crates began to rustle and move.

“Ah! Onii-chan!”
“I’m here!”

The canvas had been rolled up and left there，but from inside it came the sudden voice of beloved younger sister Midori，so Takashi—

“Oh! Midori-chan.
“You waited so patiently for me.”
“I’ll rescue you right now.”

he rushed over.
When he removed the canvas, there beneath it was poor Midori, her hands and feet bound and tied up.
Takashi, seething with anger at the villains’ despicable methods, untied the ropes for her.
And the siblings, for the first time in a long while, took each other by the hand.
Overwhelmed with joy, tears kept welling up one after another, and at first, they couldn’t properly see each other’s faces.

“If we keep dawdling, we’ll be in trouble. Midori-chan, let’s get out of here right now.”

Takashi pulled his younger sister along and escaped outside the tent. He dug the Electric Pigeon out of the sand, wrapped it in a waterproof rubber raincoat, and tucked it under his arm.

“Onii-chan, where are we escaping to?”

“We’ll board the boat and escape this island as quickly as possible. If we head out to sea, we’ll surely come across a ship that will help us.”

When they went out to the dark coast and checked，there were two boats．
Fortunately，there were no guards．
The boats were quite difficult for Takashi to move，but he nevertheless lowered one into the sea with all his might，boarded it，and decided to tow the other behind．

Takashi couldn’t stop worrying that Father，who had invented the “underground tank，” was being targeted by the enemy nation．
So，he desperately rowed out into the dark sea．

“Onii-chan, you don’t need the other boat, right?”
“You should’ve just left it behind, you know?”

“No—if we leave it behind, the villains will ride it and come after us!”

Takashi always remained calm and thought things through carefully.
Before long, he had removed the plug from one of the boats and sunk it into the sea.
With this, the Spy Group Leader and his villains were marooned on the deserted island, unable to go anywhere.
Eventually, they would notice—and what a shock that would be.
But would those villains really stay quietly stranded like that?

On the dark sea, Takashi and Midori’s boat drifted for a long time.

Before long, dawn arrived.
Thinking of the rescue ship, they kept searching their surroundings, but vexingly, neither the shape of a ship nor the shadow of smoke could be seen.
As they wondered what would become of them, the day passed into afternoon, and the two of them simultaneously heard a droning sound.

“Ah! A plane!”

When they shaded their eyes and searched the clear sky—ah, they saw it, they saw it—a single plane was flying high above.

“Oh! It seems to be coming this way.”

While they were wondering whether to call for help or what to do, the plane suddenly descended ahead.
Whose aircraft was it—enemy or ally?

The Operational Electric Pigeon

Takashi rescued his younger sister Midori, who had been captured by the spy group, and fled the deserted island by boat.
Inside the boat were loaded the Electric Pigeon that Takashi had seized from the spy group and a case containing the machinery to operate it.
This was a tremendous feat.
As they rowed the boat out toward the open sea, a single suspicious plane appeared above their heads and swooped down in a swift, menacing arc.
While they were still wondering whether it was friend or foe, the aircraft released its bombs straight down.
Ah, it was the enemy.

“Onii-chan, it’s a bomb! Ah, it’s going to hit us!”
“Ah! Look out!”

Midori's face turned deathly pale as she screamed.
Takashi, determined not to let the bomb hit their boat, rowed the oars with all his strength and tried to escape.

B-boom!
Rumble... whine!

Before the two siblings' eyes, a tremendous spray of water suddenly erupted.
The bomb had exploded.
It didn't score a direct hit.
Instead, a tremendous wave arose, and their boat nearly capsized.
In the sky, the enemy plane prepared to bomb them again.

“Ah! Onii-chan! It’s dropping another bomb!”

Takashi gritted his teeth in frustration.
The aircraft was indeed an ally of the spy group.

This aircraft was precisely the one that the spy group—after realizing the siblings had escaped—had summoned via wireless telegraph.
The siblings’ lives were as perilous as a candle flame before a gust of wind!

Now, what would happen?
They were such brave siblings who had managed to escape this far, and yet...

Takashi could not afford to be shocked or sorrowful now.
He was desperate to devise a way to save his sister’s life.
What should I do?

“Ah! That’s it! I have an idea!”

“What kind of idea?”

“Let’s try using the Electric Pigeon.”

Takashi quickly slung the machinery bag over his shoulder and attempted to adjust the dial.
Then, the Electric Pigeon emerged from its wrapping.

“Hmm, the Electric Pigeon’s moving. It’s on our side now!”

They discovered the Electric Pigeon operated through an electrical system inside the bag. Foreign countries had inventions using such machinery to fly planes without any pilots aboard—all powered by electricity too. This worked on exactly the same principle.

Depending on how you rotate the dial, the Electric Pigeon flies in any direction.
Having understood this, Takashi aimed the Electric Pigeon at the enemy plane and sent it charging forward.

With a loud *pata-pata* flapping of its wings, the Electric Pigeon chased after the aircraft.

“Hang in there, Mr. Electric Pigeon!”

The Electric Pigeon flew at tremendous speed and finally collided with the aircraft.
A burst of red sparks scattered, and in an instant, the aircraft was engulfed in flames and plummeted.

“Ah, how splendid!”
“Hooray!”

“Ah, thank goodness!”
“Mr. Electric Pigeon, hooray!”

In the boat, the siblings raised both hands and shouted.

The aircraft ridden by the villains fell into the sea and was swallowed by the waves, vanishing from sight.

At that moment, before they knew it, a destroyer appeared, churning the waves as it came to rescue the two in their boat.
When Takashi and Midori saw the naval flag fluttering at the destroyer's stern, they clasped hands and cheered with joy.
It was the Japanese naval flag.

A boat was lowered from the destroyer; a sailor rowed it toward the two and helped them up onto the large destroyer.

The Electric Pigeon—of course—was summoned back to Takashi’s side as he operated the machine.

From the Warship to the Mainland

The siblings, rescued by our navy's destroyer, instantly became popular throughout the ship.

Commander Yoshida listened to the siblings' tale of adventure and praised their bravery.
Then he sent a wireless telegraph to the fleet to inquire whether they could now launch an attack on the hated Spy Nation.

Immediately, a reply came from the fleet commander: rather than punishing the Spy Nation, they were ordered to return immediately with the two siblings because their father—the inventor of the "Underground Tank"—was suffering terribly at the hands of vile men.

Takashi and Midori were both worried and overjoyed.
Now they would be going with the naval personnel to rescue their father.
The destroyer turned north and went full speed ahead.

Churning through the rough sea's waves and running for a very long time, the destroyer finally reached the port.

Takashi and Midori bid farewell to the captain and, led by an officer named Lieutenant Oishi, went ashore.

When they went ashore, they found this was not Japan but the Korean Peninsula.
It was a desolate port town in the far north of the Korean Peninsula, near Manchukuo.

“Lieutenant Oishi, where is our father?”

When Takashi asked, the lieutenant’s face clouded over,

“Well... it’s in a terrible spot.”

“When you say ‘terrible spot’—”

When they heard their father was in dire circumstances, Takashi and Midori turned deathly pale.

Lieutenant Oishi opened the safe, took out a single map from inside, and spread it out before Takashi and Midori.

The large map was a detailed diagram of the area near the national border.
In the middle flowed a large river, and in the very center of that river was an island.

Lieutenant Oishi pointed at the island in the middle and,

“It’s this island in the middle, you see.
The place where your father is being held captive—”

“What? He’s been taken captive?!”

“That’s right. He was taken there by the enemy.
The enemy did this terrible thing because they wanted to learn the secret of Father’s invention—the ‘Underground Tank.’”

“Why aren’t you rescuing him?!”

Takashi clenched his fist and shouted.

“Well, come and see for yourself.”

Takashi and Midori, accompanied by Lieutenant Oishi, went out to the trench. From there, using a telescope that protruded like two horns, he carefully let them peer toward the island in the middle.

“Ah, this is a pillbox!”

“Huh? A pillbox.”
“A pillbox... you mean that—”

It was no wonder the siblings were shocked. It was a small fortress reinforced with iron and concrete, with its small holes facing this way so that cannons and machine guns could fire at any time. It was a fortress that wouldn’t fall easily, even under attack.

“It’s not that we can’t go there, but if we do, they’ll kill Father.”
“We’re truly at our wits’ end too.”

Lieutenant Oishi said regretfully.

After all their hardships in coming this far, the siblings’ father remained a captive inside the pillbox—they couldn’t even fire a gun from their position.
Takashi too felt crushed.

Yet how could they abandon their father to be slaughtered like this?
Midori kept weeping.

From then on, Takashi devised various rescue methods.
And finally, he reached an unwavering resolution.

It was the morning three or four days later.
Dressed in Chinese-style clothing, Takashi boarded the boat from upstream.
Takashi was bringing that electric pigeon with its terrifying, terrifying power.
In addition, he borrowed one friendly military dog and loaded it onto the boat.

At last, the desperate adventure began.

Will Takashi be able to successfully rescue his father?

Gleaming Hinomaru

Upon hearing that his father was confined in the enemy pillbox on Nakano Island, Takashi made a resolute decision.
After entrusting his sister Midori to Lieutenant Oishi and others, Takashi disguised himself as a Chinese boy, placed that fearsome electric pigeon with its terrifying power into a rubber bag hung at his waist, took along a military dog, and boarded a boat from upstream.
Fortunately, as a thick morning mist hung over the river, he was able to evade the enemy soldiers’ notice and safely row to Nakano Island.

Now then—how would he rescue Father, Engineer Akiyama from here?

For Takashi, this was naturally a life-risking endeavor from the start. Seeing Father captured by the enemy—how could he possibly stay still? Moreover, how could it possibly be acceptable for Father—the one who invented the "Underground Tank" protecting Japan—to remain captured by the enemy forever? If Japanese soldiers were to attack, Father’s life would be in danger—this was today’s great adventure, one that perhaps only a child could undertake.

“If I can rescue Father safely, I don’t mind dying.”

Upon arriving on the island, Takashi first lifted a basket filled with apples from inside the boat.
Then, bringing along the military dog, he leaped onto the island.

Takashi shouldered the basket of apples and walked toward the pillbox.

“Hey, boy! Wait.”
“Where do you think you’re going?”

From the unexpected shadow of a standing tree, an enemy soldier holding a bayonet jumped out.

“……”

Takashi didn’t speak and pointed to the basket of apples.
Then, pretending to munch noisily, he made a face as if they were so delicious his cheeks might fall off.
The enemy soldier—

“What? You can’t talk?”
“So you’re here to sell apples, huh?”
“Hmm, these apples do look delicious—but I can’t let my guard down with this brat. Where did he come from?”

He swallowed his saliva and widened his eyes.

Takashi, thinking he had to befriend the enemy soldier, took the largest apple and placed it in the soldier’s hand.

The enemy soldier made a surprised face, but when he eventually tried to take money from his pocket, Takashi refused with “No, no!” and gestured urgently for him to eat it quickly.

When the enemy soldier ate the apple, his mood improved.
So, Takashi gestured that he wanted to go sell apples toward the pillbox and asked him to take him there, then gave another apple.

This greedy enemy soldier, thoroughly pleased, led Takashi toward the pillbox.

“Hey, everyone! I’ve come to sell some delicious apples!”

Upon saying that, enemy soldiers came pouring out noisily from inside.

The apples were delicious and very reasonably priced, making them a huge hit.

However, suddenly, Takashi was grabbed by the shoulder from behind by a large hand.

“Hey, brat. You’re putting on this act like you can’t speak, but you’re a suspicious one—you’re a Japanese spy, aren’t you?”

When Takashi turned around, there stood an imposing enemy officer. That was the pillbox’s captain.

Takashi deliberately put on a sad face and apologized, but the captain would not relent.
Then, dragging Takashi along, he hauled him into his private room within the pillbox.
Apples tumbled from the basket and clattered across the floor in every direction.

“Get in here.”
“I’ll search you properly.”

Takashi, thinking this was the end, opened the bag at his waist and took out the Electric Pigeon.
And then, he twisted the device hidden in the apple basket to activate the Electric Pigeon.
The Electric Pigeon began circling frantically above the Leader’s head with tremendous wingbeats.
“Oh! A strange bird flew out!”

The Leader became enraged and drew his sword before slashing at the Electric Pigeon.

“Ah—”

No sooner had a flash—a bolt of lightning—appeared than he collapsed on the spot.
He died from being struck by electricity emitted from the Electric Pigeon.

At the noise, a large number of enemy soldiers emerged from the depths of the pillbox and came at Takashi with pistols and swords.

“Come on! Now that it’s come to this, come at me—all of you!”

Takashi sent the Electric Pigeon swooping toward the oncoming enemy soldiers, taking them down one after another. The momentum was truly ferocious. Even the enemy soldiers were at a loss for how to handle it.

Takashi, judging the right moment, conveyed one crucial command to the military dog. The military dog, as if it had been waiting for this very moment, dashed toward the back of the pillbox. What could that command have been?

The battle between Takashi and the enemy soldiers continued, but they were no match for the Electric Pigeon.
Before long, the dog came back, barking loudly.

“Oh! Did you figure it out?”
“Alright! Let’s go!”
“Come on—take me there!”

Takashi took the Electric Pigeon and dashed out from behind the military dog.

“Woof, woof, woof!”

The military dog was barking incessantly in front of one door.
However, the door had a large lock fastened on it and could not be opened.

That’s right—I’ll leave this to the Electric Pigeon.

Takashi made the Electric Pigeon crash into the lock.
Then, no sooner had crackling sparks flown from the lock than it burned out completely.

Takashi placed his hands on the door and pulled.
The door opened immediately.

“Ah, it’s open!”

With a shout, Takashi jumped inside.
In the dim corner of the room, a thickly bearded Japanese man lay with his hands bound.

“Ah, it’s Father!”

Takashi ran up with tears.

“Oh—you—you’re Takashi!”

Engineer Akiyama unsteadily stood up and pressed his body against Takashi.
Due to the sheer unexpectedness and overwhelming joy, all that remained were tears, and words failed him.

“Come on, Father. Let’s get out of here right away.”

“Ah, Takashi—that’s no good. We’ll just be found by enemy soldiers and killed.”

“Father, it’s okay. Because I have the Electric Pigeon.”

“Huh? The Electric Pigeon…”

“That’s right. As long as we have the Electric Pigeon, no enemy—no matter how formidable—can harm us. Let’s hurry and escape.”

When Takashi exited the pillbox with his father, Engineer Akiyama, Captain Ōishi arrived there at that very moment leading the landing force.
The Captain had stormed into the heart of the island with desperate resolve.
However, since the enemy had been utterly crippled by the Electric Pigeon, they were reportedly able to land without difficulty.

“Takashi, you’ve done a truly splendid job. Congratulations.”
“Let’s all give a banzai cheer!”

When the Hinomaru flag was raised atop the pillbox, at the Captain’s command, the landing force, Takashi, and even Father shouted “Banzai!” with all their might.

Midori, who had been waiting on the opposite shore—how overjoyed she was goes without saying.

The mysterious mechanism that operated the Electric Pigeon was investigated by Engineer Akiyama and fully understood; as it was deemed extremely rare, they say it is still being carefully preserved to this day.