The Chinese Bell Murders

Twenty-fourth Chapter:

That afternoon a large crowd of spectators had assembled in the- court-hall. The news of the night's commotion in the Temple of Transcendental Wisdom and of the arrest of the wealthy Cantonese merchant had spread already through the town, and the citizens of Poo-yang were eager to know what this was all about.

Judge Dee ascended the dais and called the roll. Then he out a form for the warden of the jail. Soon Lin Fan was brought in between two constables. An oil plaster had been pasted over the wound on his forehead.

He did not kneel. He looked sourly at the judge and opened his mouth to say something. The headman immediately hit him on the head with his club and two constables pressed him roughly down on his knees.

'State your name and profession!' ordered Judge Dee.

'I demand to know ------' Lin Fan began.

The headman hit him in the face with the handle of his whip.

'Speak respectfully, and answer His Excellency's questions, you dogshead!' he barked at him.

The plaster had become loose, and the wound on Lin Fan's forehead started to bleed profusely. Chafing with rage he brought out:

'This person is caned Lin Fan, a merchant from the city of Canton. I demand to know why I was arrested!'

The headman lifted his whip, but Judge Dee shook his head. He said coldly:

'We'll come to that presently. First tell me whether you have seen this object before.'

While speaking the judge pushed the golden locket, found under the bell, over the edge of "the bench. It clattered down on the stone floor, in front of Lin Fan.

He gave it a casual look, then suddenly took it up eagerly and examined it in the palm of his hand. He clutched it to his breast.

'This belongs to ----' he burst out. But he quickly caught himself up. 'It belongs to me!' he said firmly. 'Who gave it to you?'

'It's the privilege of this court to formulate questions,' the judge replied. He gave a sign to the headman who quickly snatched the locket from Lin Fan's hands and replaced it on the bench. Lin Fan rose, his face livid with fury. He screamed:

'Give it back to me!'

'Kneel down, Lin Fan!' Judge Dee barked. 'I shall now answer your first question.' As Lin Fan slowly knelt again, the judge continued: 'You asked why you were arrested. I, the magistrate, tell you that you are guilty of infringement of the State monopoly. You smuggled salt.'

Lin Fan seemed to regain his composure.

'That's a lie!' he said coldly.

'The wretch is guilty of contempt of court!' Judge Dee shouted. 'Give him ten lashes with the heavy whip!'

Two constables tore Lin Fan's robe down and threw him with his face on the floor. The whip swished through the air.

Lin Fan was wholly unaccustomed to corporal punishment. His screams rose to heaven as the whip tore into his flesh. When the headman dragged him up his face was grey and his breathing came in gasps.

When he had stopped groaning Judge Dee said:

'I have a reliable witness, Lin Fan, who will testify to your smuggling. It won't be easy to extract the testimony from him, but a few lashes with the heavy whip will doubtless make him talk!'

Lin Fan looked up at the judge with bloodshot eyes. He still seemed half dazed. Sergeant Hoong shot a questioning look at Ma Joong and Chiao Tai. They shook their heads. They didn't have the faintest idea about whom the judge was talking. Tao Gan looked dumbfounded.

Judge Dee gave a sign to the headman. He left the hall, followed by two constables.

Deep silence reigned. The eyes of all the spectators were glued on the side door through which the headman had disappeared.

When he came back, he was carrying a roll of black oilpaper. The two constables walked behind him, staggering under heavy rolls of reed mats. An astonished murmur rose from the crowd.

The headman spread the oil-paper out on the floor in front of the bench. The constables unrolled the mats on top of it. As the judge nodded, the three men took their whips and started beating the mats with all their might.

The judge watched them calmly, slowly stroking his long beard.

At last he raised his hand. The three men stopped and wiped the sweat from their brows.

'These mats,' Judge Dee announced, 'were taken up from the floor in a secret storehouse at the back of Lin Fan's mansion. We shall now see what testimony they present to this court!'

The headman rolled the mats up again. Then he took up the oil-paper at one end, motioning the two constables to lift the other side. When they had shaken the sheet to and fro for some time, a small quantity of grey powder had gathered in its centre. The headman scooped up a bit on the point of his sword and presented it to the judge.

Judge Dee touched it with his moistened finger. He tasted it and nodded contentedly.

'Lin Fan,' he said, 'you thought you had obliterated all traces of your smuggling. But you did not realise that however carefully you had the mats swept, a very small quantity of the salt had penetrated into the fibre. It isn't much, but it is enough to prove that you are guilty!'

Loud cheers rose from the crowd.

'Silence!' shouted the judge. He continued to Lin Fan:

'Moreover, there is a second charge pending against you, Lin Fan! Last night you assaulted me and my lieutenants while we were engaged in an investigation of the Temple of Transcendental Wisdom. Confess your crime!'

'Last night,' Lin Fan replied sullenly, 'I was in my mansion nursing a wound received while stumbling in the dark courtyard. I have no idea what Your Honour is talking about!'

'Bring the witness Sheng Pa before me!' shouted the judge at the headman.

Sheng Pa advanced gingerly to the dais, pushed by the constables.

When Lin Fan saw Sheng Pa clad in the black damask jacket, he quickly averted his face.

'Do you know this man?' Judge Dee asked Sheng Pa.

The fat man slowly looked Lin Fan up and down, tugging at his greasy beard. Then he announced ponderously:

'This, Your Honour, is indeed the mean dogshead who attacked me last night in front of the temple.'

'That's a he!' Lin Fan shouted angrily. 'It was that scoundrel who assaulted me!'

'This witness,' Judge Dee said calmly, 'had hidden himself in the first courtyard of the temple. He saw how you spied there on me and my lieutenants. And when we were standing under the bronze bell, he saw clearly how you took up the iron spear and wrenched the stone barrel away.'

Judge Dee gave a sign to the headman to lead Sheng Pa away. Then he leaned back in his chair and continued in a conversational tone:

'You see now, Lin Fan, that you can't deny having assaulted me. When I have punished you for that crime, I shall have you forwarded to the Provincial Court, to answer the charge of infringement on the State monopoly!'

When he heard these last words, an evil gleam came into Lin Fan's eyes. He remained silent for a while, licking his bleeding lips. He heaved a deep sigh. Then he began in a low voice:

'Your Honour, I now realise that there is no use in denying my guilt. That I assaulted Your Honour was a foolish and mischievous prank, for which I here offer my sincere apologies. The fact is, however, that during the last days I had felt very annoyed at the vexatious measures the tribunal had been taking against me. When last night I heard voices in the temple compound and went to investigate, I saw Your Honour and his assistants standing under the bell. I gave way to a wicked impulse to teach Your Honour a lesson, and wrenched the stone barrel away. Then I rushed back to summon my steward and the servants to liberate Your Honour. I planned to apologise then to you, and explain that I had thought you and your lieutenants were marauders. But when I reached the iron connecting door I found to my consternation that it had slammed shut. In great fear that Your Honour would suffocate under the bell, I ran to the front gate of the temple meaning to go back to my house through the street. But on the front steps I was knocked down by that wretched footpad. When I had regained consciousness I ran home as quickly as I could. I ordered my steward to go at once and set Your Honour free. I myself stayed behind for a few moments to put a salve on my head-wound. When Your Honour suddenly appeared in my bedroom in a… slightly unusual attire,

I thought you were another intruder trying to intimidate me. This is the complete truth.

'I repeat that I deeply regret my childish prank that so easily could have turned into a fearful tragedy, and I shall gladly undergo the punishment prescribed by the law.'

'Well,' Judge Dee said indifferently, 'I am glad that you confessed at last. You'll now listen to the scribe as he reads out your statement.'

The senior scribe read out aloud Lin Fan's confession. Judge Dee seemed to have lost interest in the proceedings. He leaned back in his chair, idly caressing his side-whiskers.

When the scribe had finished, the judge asked the formal question:

'Do you agree that this is your true confession?'

'I agree!' Lin Fan answered in a firm voice. The headman presented the document to him, and Lin Fan impressed his thumb-mark on it.

Suddenly Judge Dee leaned forward.

'Lin Fan, Lin Fan!' he said in a terrible voice, 'for many years you have eluded the law, but now the law has caught up with you and you shall perish! Just now you have signed your own death warrant.

'You know very well that the punishment for assault is eighty blows with the bamboo, and you hoped you could ensure that it would be soft blows by bribing my constables. Thereafter, when brought before the Provincial Court, you knew that your powerful friends would start action on your behalf, and that you would probably be let off with a heavy fine.

'Now I, the magistrate, tell you that you will never appear, before the Provincial Court! Your head, Lin Fan, will fall on the execution ground, outside the south gate of the city of Poo-yang!'

Lin Fan lifted his head and stared at the judge with unbelieving eyes.

'The Code states,' Judge Dee continued, 'that high treason, parricide and crimes against the State shall be punished with the extreme penalty in one of its more severe forms. Mark those words "crimes against the State," Lin Fan! For elsewhere the Code observes that assaulting an official in the execution of his duty is equivalent to a crime against the State. I don't hesitate to admit that it is doubtful whether the lawmaker intended these two passages to be read in connection with each other. But in this particular case I, the magistrate, choose to interpret the law according to its letter.

'The charge of a crime against the State is the most serious one that can be made, and must be reported by courier directly to the Metropolitan Court. No one shall be able to interfere on your behalf. Justice will take its course, a course which in your case ends in an ignominious death.'

Judge Dee let his gavel descend on the bench.

'Since you, Lin Fan, of your own free will confessed to having assaulted your magistrate, I pronounce you guilty of a crime against the State, and propose for you the extreme penalty!'

Lin Fan rose tottering to his feet. The headman quickly draped his robe again over his bleeding back. For a man condemned to death is treated with courtesy.

Suddenly a soft but very clear voice spoke up by the side of the dais:

'Lin Fan, look at me!'

Judge Dee leaned forward. Mrs Liang was standing there, stiffly erect. The load of the years seemed to have fallen from her, she seemed suddenly much younger.

A long shudder shook Lin Fan's body. He wiped the blood from his face. Then his still eyes grew very wide, his lips started moving but no sound came forth.

Mrs Liang slowly lifted her hand and pointed accusingly at Lin Fan.

'You murdered ----' she began. 'You murdered your ----'

Suddenly her voice trailed off. She bent her head. "Wringing her hands she began again in a faltering voice: 'You murdered your-'-'

She slowly shook her head. She lifted her tear-stained face and gave Lin Fan a long look. Then she started to sway on her feet.

Lin Fan stepped up to her but the headman was too quick for him. He grabbed him and pinned his arms behind his back. As two constables dragged him away, Mrs Liang fell down in a swoon.

Judge Dee let his gavel descend on the bench and declared the session closed.

Ten days after this session of the tribunal in Poo-yang, the Grand Secretary of State happened to entertain three guests at an informal dinner in the main hall of his palace in the Imperial capital.

Late autumn was changing into early winter. The triple doors of the spacious hall were open so that the guests could enjoy the view of the palace garden where a lotus lake glittered in the moonlight. Large bronze braziers heaped with glowing coals stood near the dining-table.

All four were men of over sixty, grown grey in the service of the State.

They were gathered around a table of carved blackwood, loaded with rare delicacies in dishes of the finest porcelain. A dozen servants were attending upon them, supervised by the intendant of the Palace, who saw to it that the cups of solid gold were never empty.

The Secretary had given the place of honour to the President of the Metropolitan Court, a heavy man of imposing mien with long, grey side-whiskers. On his other side he had the Imperial Master of Ceremonies, a thin man with a slight stoop, acquired by being every day in the Imperial Presence. Opposite sat a tall greybeard with piercing eyes. This was the Imperial Censor Kwang, feared all over the Empire because of his uncompromising honesty and his fierce sense of justice.

The dinner was nearing its end, they were lingering over their last cup of wine. The official matters which the Secretary had wanted to discuss with his friends had been disposed of during the dinner, now they engaged in desultory conversation.

The Secretary let his silvery beard glide through his thin fingers and said to the President:

'The scandalous affair in that Buddhist temple in Poo-yang has deeply shocked His Imperial Majesty. Four days in succession His Holiness the Chief Abbot has been pleading the cause of his church before the Throne, but in vain.

'I may tell you in strict confidence that the Throne will announce tomorrow that the Chief Abbot has been relieved of his duties as a member of the Grand Council. At the same time it will be announced that Buddhist institutions shall no longer be exempt from taxation. This, my friends, signifies that the Buddhist clique shall not meddle any more in national affairs!'

The President nodded and said:

'Sometimes a lucky chance permits a petty official to perform unwittingly a great service to the State. The local magistrate, a certain Dee, acted very rashly indeed in attacking that large and wealthy monastery. With the situation as it was till recently, the entire Buddhist clique would have risen in anger and that magistrate would have perished before he could have closed the case. But it so happened that on that very day the garrison was away, and the angry mob killed the monks. That fellow Dee doesn't realise that this lucky coincidence saved his career, if not his very life!'

'I am glad, President,' the Censor spoke, 'that you mention that magistrate Dee, for that reminds me of something. I still have on my desk the reports of two other cases solved by that same man. One was a rape-murder committed by a vagrant ruffian, quite a simple case that needs no comment. The other concerned a wealthy merchant from Canton. Here I found myself in complete disagreement with his verdict, based on nothing but a legal trick. Since, however, the report has been initialled by you and your colleagues of the Court, I presume there were special circumstances. I would appreciate it if you would kindly enlighten me.'

The President put down his wine cup. He said with a smile:

'That, my friend, is a long story! Many years ago I sat as junior judge in the Provincial Court of Kwantung. At that time the presiding judge was that despicable Fang, who later was beheaded here in the capital for embezzling Government funds. I saw that merchant escape the just punishment for an atrocious crime by paying a heavy bribe. Thereafter he committed other sordid crimes, including a ninefold murder.

'That magistrate of Poo-yang knew that he had to dispose of the case quickly, for he knew the influence those wealthy Cantonese merchants have in Government circles. He did not try, therefore, to formulate a major charge but managed to make the criminal confess to a minor offence, but one that could be construed as a crime against the State. Since we thought it most fitting that a man who during more than twenty years had been cheating the law was finally caught by a legal technicality, we unanimously decided to uphold the magistrate's verdict.'

'Quite,' the Censor said. 'Now I understand. I shall initial the report first thing tomorrow morning.'

The Master of Ceremonies had been listening with interest to this conversation. Now he said:

I am not an expert in judicial affairs, but I understand that this magistrate Dee solved two cases which proved of national importance. One made a breach in the power of the Buddhist clique, the other strengthened the Government's position with those haughty Cantonese merchants. Should that man not be promoted to a higher office in order to give him more scope for exercising his talents?'

The Secretary slowly shook his head.

'That magistrate,' he said, 'is probably barely forty years old, a long official career lies before him. In the ensuing years he'll have ample opportunity to prove his zeal and ability. If promotion comes too late, it embitters; if too soon, it gives rise to exorbitant expectations. In the interest of our civil service both extremes should be avoided.'

'I quite agree,' the President said. 'On the other hand that magistrate might well be granted some token of official approval, just as an encouragement. Perhaps the Master of Ceremonies will favour us with suggesting a suitable gesture.'

The Master of Ceremonies pensively stroked his beard. Then he said:

'Since His Imperial Majesty has graciously consented to take a personal interest in the case of that Buddhist Temple, I shall be glad to petition the Throne tomorrow to grant that magistrate Dee an Imperial Inscription. Not, of course, the August Handwriting itself, but a copy of some suitable text, engraved on an ornamental board.'

'That,' the Secretary exclaimed with approval, 'exactly meets the requirements of the case! How delicate is your judgement in these matters!'

The Master of Ceremonies permitted himself one of his rare smiles.

'Rites and Ceremonies,' he observed, 'keep our complicated government machinery in the correct balance. For many years I have been engaged in weighing against each other praise and blame, censure and recognition, as carefully as a goldsmith weighs his gold. One grain of difference would be sufficient for tipping the beam.'

They rose and left the table.

Led by the Grand Secretary of State they descended the broad stairs for a stroll around the lotus lake.