The Emperor's Pearl

XVII

For one terrible moment Judge Dee thought he had wan­tonly evoked the dead. Then the white hand rose. He saw with immense relief a black sleeve. The hand pointed at the door that now was standing ajar, letting in the light from the lamp in the corridor outside. It revealed a large man, who stood there leaning against the doorpost.

A soft but firm voice spoke up close by the judge:

'You can't hide from me. Come nearer!'

The voice startled Kou and Kwang from their horrified contemplation of the hand on the table. Dr Pien let go of Hoong and turned round. All three looked in speechless astonishment at the tall woman, clad in a long-sleeved black robe, who had appeared in the light circle and now was standing next to Judge Dee. While they were staring at her pale, strangely beautiful face, the judge leaned forward, quickly took the wooden hand on the table, and put it away in his sleeve. Then he rose, seized the candelabra and raised it high above his head.

They saw the huge man, who was cowering, close to the wall now, in the corner by the cabinet. His thick shoulders were hunched forward, his arms half raised, his fists clenched, as if trying to defend himself against some unseen force. His eyes were fixed on the woman's face.

Her white hand beckoned him. He righted himself and came towards her, step by step, with the jerky movements of an automaton.

The door was pushed wide open. The headman appeared, a number of constables crowded the corridor. The headman made to step inside, but the judge halted him with a peremp­tory gesture.

The large man kept on moving towards the woman, gaz­ing at her face with his sunk, dull eyes as if in a trance.

'I didn't do it!' Pien shouted again. He was about to sink to the floor. Sergeant Hoong quickly supported him by his arms.

Kou and Kwang had risen too. Kou addressed the woman in black in a faltering voice:

'You must . . . How did you . . .?'

She did not heed him. Her eyes, aglow with a strange fire, were riveted on the giant, who was now standing stock-still in front of her, his long arms pressed to his sides. Then she spoke in an even voice:

'You had plotted your scheme very well, tonight. You were waiting for me in the next street, with two horses, as we had agreed. We left the city by the south gate. You had promised to take me by a short cut to the Mandrake Grove. There I myself must gather the magic herb that would cure my sterility, and give me and my husband the long-desired son.'

She took a deep breath, then went on in the same, nearly impersonal voice:

'When we had come to the grove, you said that the herb grew inside, near the temple of the White Goddess. I was afraid crossing that dark forest, and still more afraid when you had stuck the torch between the bricks of the crumbling wall, and I saw that large marble statue. But it was you I ought to have been afraid of, Yang! Not her!'

The curio-dealer's lips moved, but she went on inexor­ably:

'First you brazenly spoke about your love, you said I was the most beautiful woman that ever was, you said we would go away together, nothing else mattered, only our love. When I told you aghast what I thought of you and your evil scheme, you fell on your knees, imploring me to reconsider. You wanted to kiss my feet, but I quickly stepped back, told you what you were, a treacherous lecher. Then you suddenly changed into a horrible monster.'

His towering shape seemed to shrink; he made to turn away, but he could not detach his gaze from those burning eyes. Leaning forward she said harshly:

'I accuse you here, before my dear husband, of having raped me there. You tied me naked to the marble altar, you said you would kill me slowly, cutting my veins one by one, and sprinkling my blood over the statue of the goddess. You said I would be given up as lost, no one would ever know what had happened to me. "Pray! Pray to the goddess!" you sneered. Then you left to gather more twigs for the dying torch.

'Lying there helpless on my back at the feet of the goddess, I saw above me the red ruby on her hand, glitter­ing in the flickering light. Its red rays seemed to warm my naked body, strapped to the cold marble slab. I prayed to her, a woman herself, to help a violated woman, about to be tortured to death. I thought I felt the rope round my right wrist slacken. I tore at it in a desperate effort, and the knot slipped. I could free my hand, and I untied the other ropes. Righting myself I looked up at her in humble grati­tude. In the uncertain light of the smoking torch I thought I saw her lips curve in a reassuring smile.

'Then I sprang down, wrapped my undergarment around me and slipped outside through a gap in the wall, behind the statue. I plunged into the thick undergrowth. As I struggled ahead I heard you shout for me. I went on in a blind terror, not heeding the thorns that tore my hands. Then . . .'

Suddenly she broke off. Turning half round, she gave her husband a bewildered look. In a barely audible voice she added:

'No, I don't know what happened thereafter. But I have come back now, here to my own house. I . . .'

THE WHITE GODDESS

She swayed on her feet. Mr Kou hurriedly came round the table and took her arm. Looking at the judge, he stam­mered:

'I don't understand this at all! She didn't go out tonight, how could she have . . .'

'Your wife was speaking about what happened four years ago, Mr Kou,' Judge Dee said gravely.