Little Yokozuna by Wayne Shorey

said Annie. "We'll find her yet."
    They left Kyoto just before dusk, and slept most of the way back to Kashiwa, despite all the jostle and jolts of the trains. When they got back to Kiyoshi-chan's little house it was like coming home, and in a short time his mother had a simple but steaming meal on the table, with bowls of tofu soup and heaped white
rice
.
    Kiyoshi-chan's obaa-san knelt beside Annie, her hands folded in her lap. "You must not have found it," she said, "or you would not still be here."
    "I was still trying to catch it in my net," said Annie. "I'm afraid that even if it was there I would have missed it. I was like a crazy woman."
    The old grandmother chuckled. "You seem to be sane again," she said. "Maybe you are ready to find it now."
    "Maybe," said Annie.
    The
obaa-san
looked at Kiyoshi-chan's father. "There is one more place you must take them," she said.
    He rolled his eyes. "Where is that?"
    "To the shrine of Sumiyoshi-no-Kami," said the old woman.
    "The god of poetry?" said the man.
    "And to its garden," said the obaa-san. "The Garden of a Thousand Worlds."
    "But that is six hours from here, in the mountains," said Kiyoshi-chan's father, with obvious reluctance. "I would have to borrow Sakamoto-san's car. And it is only one garden. Such a trip for one garden."
    "Yes," said the old woman.
    Annie and Knuckleball looked at each other.
    "Here we go again," said Knuckleball.
    "Let's do this one right," said Annie.

CHAPTER 12
The Knock on the Gate

    Â 
    Â 
    Â 
    The top of the moss mound
was
moving; there was no doubt about it. There seemed to be a lump growing there, and chunks of moss and dirt were falling away.
    'Siah was shaking like a leaf. "It's something else scary, isn't it?" he said. He stopped suddenly, and got a wrathful look on his face. "Well, I'm sick of scary things!" he shouted, and grabbing the old priest's cane he squeezed through the hedge of trees and started clambering to the top of the mound. "I'm gonna whack that thing before it even gets out of the ground." In no time he was thumping away at the heaving lump with the sturdy staff.
    "'Siah!" yelled Owen Greatheart, trying to squeeze through after his brother, but getting stuck halfway. Basho the monkey scrambled through easily and swung up the little hill after 'Siah. "Get back here!" cried Owen Greatheart. "-You have no idea—"
    But before he could finish, there was another cry, a shriek of anger and indignation. '"
Siab
!" yelled a voice. "You stop hitting me! You wait till I tell
Mom
!"
    "Libby!" shouted Owen Greatheart in astonishment. "It's
Libby
, 'Siah! Stop it!"
    But the little boy had already stopped thumping with his stick and was hauling away on his sister with all his might. "It's Libby!" he was shouting with delight.
    "Owen, come help me get her out of here. She's
stuck
."
    "I'm
not
stuck," argued Libby. She and 'Siah could rarely speak without arguing, no matter what country they were in. "It's Q.J. I can't get her through."
    By this time Owen Greatheart and the old priest had dashed around the end of the hedge and were on top of the mound themselves, pulling on Q.J.'s arm, which was the only visible part of her. Libby was out completely, and pulling fiercely with the others.
    "Careful," said Owen Greatheart. "We'll pull her arm right out of the socket if we don't watch it."
    "No!" gritted Libby through her teeth. "We
have
to pull. They've got her by the
feet
."
    "
Who's
got her?" asked Owen Greatheart, but wasted no time trying to dig away the top of the soft mound with his fingers. Q.J.'s head popped through, her eyes bulging wide open. She was fully conscious now, though the side of her head was an ugly mass of blood.
    "Something's pulling on my legs!" she wailed. "Pull me!"
    She got another arm through, and waiting hands grabbed it.
    "It's those big goblins," said Libby, planting her feet and straining backward. "There's a whole army of them down there."
    "Kick your legs!" shouted 'Siah. "Kick 'em right in the