The Chinese Maze Murders

Eleventh Chapter

Ma Joong thought it unnecessary to disguise himself. He only changed the black cap that marked him as an officer of the tribunal for a pointed bonnet such as is worn by people of the working class. Tao Gan replaced his cap by a collapsible one of black, thin gauze.

Before leaving, the two held a brief consultation in the quarters of the guards.

"It is easy enough", Ma Joong remarked, "to make myself conspicuous and give Woo to understand that I am stationed there to watch that he does not leave his quarters. But we don't know how that bastard will react. What if he goes out and tries to shake me off on the way?"

Tao Gan shook his head.

"He won't do that", he replied. "The point is that Woo does not know what your instructions are. He won't dare to go out and risk your arresting him on the spot, for that would be construed by the tribunal as a suspicious move. No, my only worry is that Woo won't try to elude you at all and decides to stay at home as ordered. But if he slips out, you can be sure that I'll pick him up!"

Then they left the tribunal. Ma Joong walked ahead and Tao Gan followed him at some distance.

Sergeant Hoong had explained to Ma Joong the location. He found the Eternal Spring wine shop without difficulty.

Its interior looked most inviting. The light of two coloured paper lanterns shone on the red labels of the wine jars. The proprietor was measuring a pint of wine. Two loafers were leaning on the counter in front, leisurely picking pieces of salted fish from a platter.

Ma Joong saw that opposite the shop stood a middle-class dwelling house. He went to stand on the raised porch with his back against the black-lacquered door.

On the second floor of the wine shop several candles had been lighted. Ma Joong saw a shadow move across the paper of the lattice windows. Apparently Woo was hard at work.

Ma Joong bent forward and looked up and down the dark street. There was no sign of Tao Gan. He folded his arms and prepared himself for a long wait.

When the two happy drinkers had finished their pint of wine, the door behind Ma Joong suddenly swung open. An elderly gentleman was shown out by the gatekeeper. As he saw Ma Joong he asked:

"Did you wish to see me?"

"Not me!" said Ma Joong curtly. He turned round and' leaned against the doorpost.

"Now listen!", the gentleman said angrily, "this happens to be my house. Since you admit that you have no business here, I would thank you for walking on!"

"This street", Ma Joong growled, "is public property. No one can prohibit me from standing here!"

"You make yourself scarce quickly, my man!", the gentleman called out, "or I shall call the nightwatch!"

"If you don't like me to stand here, you bastard", Ma Joong shouted, "you just try and push me!"

The two loafers had turned round to follow the altercation. Leaning their backs against the counter they contentedly folded their arms to watch the fight.

A window on the second floor was pushed open. Woo looked out and shouted encouragingly to no one in particular: "Hit him over his head!"

"Shall I call the other servants, Master?" the gatekeeper asked.

"Call all the bastards together!", Ma Joong barked, "I am ready for them!"

The gentleman seeing his bellicose attitude thought better of it.

"I won't have fisticuffs in front of my door", he snapped. "Let that yokel stand there till his bones rot!"

Then he walked away, muttering angrily.

The gate keeper slammed the door shut. Ma Joong heard a crossbar being pushed in its position.

Woo, disappointed, closed his window.

Ma Joong sauntered over to the wine shop. The two loafers hurriedly made room for him along the counter.

Ma Joong gave them a baleful look and said sourly:

"I hope that you two don't belong to that pleasant household over there."

"No, we are from the next street", replied one. "That fellow who lives opposite is a schoolmaster, and always grumpy."

"We don't come here to recite our lessons", the other loafer added, "but for a snack and a drink at this hospitable counter!"

Ma Joong guffawed. He put a handful of coppers on the counter and called out to the proprietor:

"One pint of the best!"

The proprietor came forward hurriedly. He filled the cups to the brim and placed a new platter with dried fish and salted vegetables in front of them. He asked cheerfully:

"Where might you be coming from, stranger?"

Ma Joong drained his cup in one gulp and waited till the proprietor had refilled it. Then he said:

"I am the coachman of Mr. Wang, the big tea dealer from the capital. We arrived here this afternoon with three carts of tea cakes to be sold over the border. The master gave me three good silver pieces and told me to go and amuse myself. I meant to find myself a handsome wench. But I must have come to the wrong quarter!"

"Yes, in that case you are surely a long way from your destination", the proprietor answered. "The barbarian beauties from over the border are located in the Northern Row, nearly an hour's walk from here. The Chinese ladies live in the Southern Row, beyond the lotus lake in the southeastern corner of the city." Then he added ingratiatingly: "But the women here won't seem any good to a refined gentleman from the capital like you. Now yours must be a very lively profession. Why don't you come in and tell us a few of your adventures on the road?"

As he spoke he pushed the coppers back to Ma Joong and said:

"That first round was on the house!"

The two loafers, looking forward to a gratis drinking bout were immediately full enthusiasm.

"A hefty fellow like you", one said to Ma Joong, "certainly has knocked out many a dangerous robber in his day!"

Ma Joong let himself be persuaded. They entered the shop and sat down at the square table. Ma Joong chose the seat facing the stairs.

The proprietor joined them and soon the cups were passing round with amazing swiftness.

When Ma Joong had told some hair-raising stories he saw Woo coming down the stairs.

He stopped halfway and shot Ma Joong a penetrating look.

"Won't you join us, Master Woo?", the proprietor called out. "This gentleman tells the most remarkable stories!"

"I am busy just now", Woo replied, "but I shall come down later in the evening. See that there is something left for me!"

So speaking he went up again.

"That is my lodger, a jovial fellow", the proprietor remarked. "You will enjoy talking with him. Don't leave before he comes down!"

And he poured out another round.

In the mean time Tao Gan had been busy.

As soon as he had seen Ma Joong take up his position opposite the wine shop, Tao Gan had entered a dark alley. He quickly took off his robe, and put it on again inside out.

Now this robe was specially made. Its outside was good brown silk and looked very dignified. But the lining consisted of rough hemp-cloth with dirty spots and several clumsy patches. Tao Gan gave a pat on his cap; it flattened out and became a bonnet as is often worn by beggars.

In this disreputable attire he entered the narrow space that divided the row of houses in Woo's street from the backwalls of those in the next.

Between the walls it was very dark, the ground was covered with refuse. Tao Gan had to pick his way carefully. He halted when he thought that he would be at the back of the wine shop. Tao Gan stood on his toes and found that he could just reach the top of the wall. He pulled himself up and looked over the wall.

The back of the shop itself was dark. On the floor above, however, all windows were lighted. The backyard was full of empty winejars neatly stacked in double rows. There was no doubt that this was the rear of Woo's house.

Tao Gan let himself down again. He rummaged about till he had found a broken wine jar. He rolled it to the foot of the wall. Standing on top of it he could place his elbows on the wall. He laid his chin on his arms and leisurely surveyed the situation.

A narrow balcony ran all along the rear of Woo's atelier. The painter had placed there a row of potted plants. Below there was the plastered backwall of the wine shop. A narrow door stood ajar. Next to it Tao Gan saw a small outhouse that he took to be the kitchen. He reflected that it would be easy for Woo to leave his room by climbing down from the balcony.

He waited patiently.

After about half an hour one of Woo's windows was slowly pushed open. Woo looked out.

Tao Gan did not move. He knew that he was invisible against the darkness behind him.

Woo stepped over the window sill. He walked as surefooted as a cat along the narrow balcony till he was above the outhouse. Then he climbed over the balustrade and let himself down on the sloping roof. For a moment he crouched on the tiles, apparently looking for an empty space among the winejars below. Then he jumped down neatly between two stacks and quickly made for the narrow passage that separated the wine shop from the house next door.

Tao Gan left his observation post. He ran out of the alley as fast as he could. He nearly broke a leg when he stumbled over an old wooden box. When he turned the corner of the alley he collided with Woo.

Tao Gan uttered a low-class oath. But Woo hurried on without looking back, making for the main street.

Tao Gan followed him at some distance.

There was a large crowd about in the street and Tao Gan needed not be careful to keep in the shadows. Woo was easy to follow because of his outlandish turban that bobbed over the black caps of the crowd.

Woo kept walking on in southerly direction. Suddenly he turned into a side street.

Here there were fewer people about. Without stopping in his brisk walk, Tao Gan pulled up the button in the middle of his cap till it had become the pointed bonnet of a commoner. He took from his sleeve a bamboo tube of about one foot long. This was one of Tao Gan's many clever devices. It was a trick tube that contained six others of decreasing size. He pulled it out and it became a bamboo staff. Tao Gan changed his gait into the more sedate walk of an elderly householder.

He walked on till he was quite near Woo.

The painter turned into another alley and Tao Gan walked on behind him. They were now in a quiet area, Tao Gan reflected that they could not be far from the eastern city wall. Woo seemed to be quite familiar with this neighbourhood. He entered a narrow side street that seemed completely deserted.

Tao Gan looked round the corner before he followed Woo. He saw that it was a blind street that ended in the archway of a small Buddhist temple. It had apparently been abandoned for the wooden gate had been demolished and no light showed within. There was no one about.

Woo walked straight on and climbed the crumbling stone steps leading up to the archway. There he stood still and turned round. Tao Gan hastily drew his head back.

When he looked again, Woo had disappeared into the temple.

Tao Gan waited a while, then emerged in the open and calmly sauntered to the temple. Over the archway he could faintly see three characters of weather-beaten coloured tiles inlaid among the bricks. They read: "Hermitage of the Three Treasures".

Tao Gan went up the steps and entered.

The temple seemed to have been deserted many years ago. All the furniture was gone and the place where the altar had stood was empty. He saw nothing but bare stone walls. Here and there the roof had caved in and he could see stars in the evening sky.

Tao Gan explored its interior, walking on tiptoe. But there was no trace of Woo.

Finally he looked out of the back door. He hastily withdrew behind the doorpost.

There was a small walled-in garden with a fishpond in the middle. On its bank stood an old stone bench. Woo was sitting there alone.

He had cupped his chin in his hands and seemed to find the old pond of absorbing interest.

"This must be a secret trysting place!", Tao Gan said to himself.

He found a window niche where he could sit down and keep an eye on Woo, while at the same time he remained hidden for any newcomers.

Having established himself there Tao Gan folded his arms and closed his eyes, straining his ears for any sound. He did not dare to look at Woo too often for he knew that many people are sensitive to a hidden stare.

He sat there for quite some time. Nothing happened.

Woo occasionally would change his posture. Once or twice he picked up a few pebbles and amused himself by throwing them into the pond. Finally he rose and started pacing up and down the yard, apparently lost in deep thought.

Another half hour passed.

Then suddenly Woo made to leave.

Tao Gan shrank back in his niche, flattening himself against the damp stone wall.

Woo walked back home at a brisk pace, looking neither left nor right.

Returned to his own alley he stood still on the corner and looked out. Evidently he wanted to see whether Ma Joong was out in the street. Then he swiftly walked on and disappeared into the narrow passage between the wine shop and its neighbour.

Tao Gan sighed resignedly and strolled back to the tribunal. In the wine shop all were in high spirits. After Ma Joong's fund of stories had become exhausted, the proprietor had told quite a number of his own. The two loafers were a grateful audience. They vigorously clapped their hands after every story and were fully prepared to keep this up for hours on end.

Finally Woo came downstairs and joined the party. Ma Joong had drunk more rounds of wine than he cared to remember. But he had a tremendous capacity and his head was still clear. He thought that if he could make Woo drunk he might elicit some useful information from him. Thus he hailed Woo boisterously as a fellow-citizen of the capital, and offered him a toast.

That was the beginning of a drinking bout that was talked about in that quarter for many months afterwards.

Woo complained that he was far behind the others. He emptied half a jar of strong white liquor in a rice bowl, and drank it down in one gulp. The wine had as little effect on him as if it had been water.

Then he shared a pint with Ma Joong, and told a long but very amusing story.

Ma Joong began to notice the influence of the wine. He racked his brain and told a rowdy tale. With some difficulty he reached the end of his narration.

Woo shouted his approval. He emptied three cups in rapid succession., Then he pushed his turban back from his forehead, placed his elbows on the table and started to tell a string of queer stories about events in the capital, pausing only to drink some more.

THE DRINKING BOUT IN THE ETERNAL SPRING WINE SHOP

This he did with great relish, emptying his cup always in one draught.

Ma Joong kept him faithful company. He thought vaguely that Woo was a very companiable man. He remembered that he wanted to ask him something but could not think what it was. Ma Joong proposed another round.

The two loafers were the first to pass out. The proprietor had them carried home by some friends of the neighbourhood. Ma Joong concluded that he was getting very drunk. He started to tell a spicy story but somehow or other he got mixed up when he approached the end. Woo emptied another cup and told a ribald joke that made the proprietor howl with mirth. The point of the tale had escaped Ma Joong but he still thought it a remarkably funny one and laughed loudly. He drank another toast to Woo.

Woo's face had turned red and perspiration trickled down his brow. He took off his turban and threw it in a corner.

From that moment on the conversation was very confused. Ma Joong and Woo talked both at the same time. They paused only for clapping their hands and drinking more.

It was past midnight when Woo announced that he wanted to go to bed. He rose with difficulty from his chair and succeeded in reaching the bottom of the stairs, all the time haranguing Ma Joong about their eternal friendship. As the proprietor helped Woo to climb up Ma Joong reflected that the wine shop was a very pleasant and hospitable place. He quietly slid to the floor and immediately started to snore uproariously.