The Phantom of the Temple

II

Early the next morning the heavy hot air still hung over the city of Lan-fang. When Judge Dee came back to his private office from his morning walk he noticed with dismay that his cotton robe, drenched with sweat, was sticking to his broad shoulders. He took the small wooden box from his sleeve and put it on his desk. Then he went to the clothes-box in the corner. After he had changed into a clean summer robe of blue cotton, he pushed the window open and looked outside. His burly lieutenant Ma Joong was crossing the paved courtyard of the tri­bunal compound, carrying a whole roasted pig on his shoulders. He was humming a song. It sounded thin and eerie in the empty yard.

The judge closed the window and sat down behind his desk, littered with papers. Rubbing his face, he reflected that he too ought to feel happy on this special day. His eyes strayed to the small ebony box he had put on the end of the desk. The round disc of green jade that deco­rated its smooth black cover shone with a dull gleam. When taking his morning walk he had seen the box in the shop window of a curio-dealer down town and bought it at once. For the jade disc was carved into the stylized shape of the character for 'long life', which made the box eminently suited for today's occasion. There was no earthly reason why he should be feeling out of sorts. He must take himself in hand. The dreary life in this remote frontier district was making him restive. He ought not to give in to these occasional moods of depres­sion.

With a determined gesture he cleared a space on the desk in front of him by pushing a bulky dossier aside and clapped his hands to summon a clerk. Breakfast would settle the queasy feeling in his stomach. The heat had something to do with it too, probably. He picked up his large fan of crane-feathers. Leaning back in his armchair of carved blackwood, he slowly fanned himself.

The door opened and a frail old man came shuffling inside. He was clad in a long blue gown, a small black skull-cap covered his grey head. He wished the judge a good morning and carefully placed the breakfast tray on the side table. As he began to move the teapot and the small plates with salted fish and vegetables to the desk, Judge Dee said with a smile:

'You should have let the clerk bring my breakfast, Hoong! Why should you trouble to?'

'I was passing by the kitchen anyway, sir. I saw there that Ma Joong has found at the meat shop the largest roasted pig I have ever seen!’

'Yes, that'll be the main dish tonight. Here, give me that teapot, I can help myself! Sit down, Hoong!’

But the old man shook his head. He quickly poured the judge a cup of hot tea and placed the bowl of fragrant steaming rice in front of him. Only then did he sit down on the low stool in front of the desk. He had covertly observed Judge Dee's drawn face. Having been a retainer of the Dee family ever since Judge Dee's boyhood, he knew his master's every mood. Taking up his chopsticks, the judge said:

1 didn't sleep too well last night, Hoong. This hearty breakfast will set me up again.'

'It's a trying climate here in Lan-fang,' Sergeant Hoong remarked in his dry, precise voice. 'A cold, wet winter, then this hot, clammy summer, with sudden cold blasts coming in from the desert plain across the border. You must keep fit, sir. One easily catches a nasty cold here.' He sipped his tea, carefully holding up his long frayed moustache with his left hand. After he had set his cup down he resumed, 'Yesterday evening I saw a light burn­ing here long past midnight, sir. I hope that no impor­tant case has cropped up?'

The judge shook his head.

'No, there was nothing special. Nothing much has happened here, Hoong, after I restored law and order, half a year ago. A few cases of manslaughter down town, a theft or two, that's about all! Our work consists mainly of the ordinary administrative routine. Registration of births, marriages and deaths, the settling of minor dis­putes, tax-collecting... . Very peaceful. Too peaceful, I nearly said!’ He laughed, but the old man noticed that it was rather a forced laugh. 'Sorry, Hoong,' the judge resumed quickly. 'I am getting a bit stale, that's all. I'll get over that soon enough. What is much more serious: I am worried about my wives. Life is very dreary for them, out here. They hardly have any interesting lady-friends in this small provincial town, and there is little amuse­ment. No good theatrical performances, no places for pleasant outings... . And the Tartar influence is still so strong that even our Chinese seasonal feasts are ob­served here with little circumstance. That is why I am glad of this little celebration for my First Lady tonight.' He shook his head and ate for a while in silence. After he had put down his chopsticks he leaned back in his chair.

'You asked about last night, Hoong. Well, while rum­maging in the archives of this tribunal, I found the dossier dealing with that notorious unsolved case of theft that occurred here. The theft of the Imperial Treasurer's gold.'

'Why take an interest in that case, sir? It dates from last year. From before you assumed office here in Lan-fang!'

'Exactly. It happened on the second day of the eighth month of the year of the Snake, to be precise. But un­solved cases always interest me, Hoong. Whether old or new!’

The old man nodded slowly.

'I remember reading in the Imperial Gazette about that theft, when we were still in Poo-yang. It created quite a stir in official circles. The Treasurer passed through here on his way to the Khan of the Tartars across the frontier. His orders were to purchase a team of the best Tartar horses from the Khan, for the Imperial stables. He was carrying fifty heavy gold bars.'

'Yes, Hoong. The gold was stolen during the night, and replaced by lead. The thief was never found and—'

There was a knock on the door. Ma Joong came in and said with a broad grin, 'I bought the most magnificent roasted pig, sir!'

'I saw you bring it in, Ma Joong. We have only one guest tonight, a lady-friend of my wives, and she is a vegetarian. So there'll be plenty of roasted pig left for all of you. Sit down. I was talking with the sergeant about the theft of the Treasurer's gold last year.'

His tall lieutenant sat down heavily on the second stool.

'An Imperial Treasurer is supposed to know how to guard the government gold entrusted to him,' he re­marked indifferently. 'That's what he's paid for! Yes, I remember the case. Wasn't the fellow summarily dis­missed from the service?'

'He was,' Judge Dee replied. 'The thief was not found and the gold never recovered. Yet the case was investi­gated with painstaking care.' He laid his hand on the dossier in front of him and went on: 'This is a very instructive record, Ma Joong, well worth a close study. The magistrate first interrogated the captain and the soldiers of the Treasurer's escort. He reasoned that, since such large transports of gold are a closely guarded official secret, and since only the Treasurer himself was supposed to know the purpose of his mission, the thief must have been an insider. Another fact also pointed in that direc­tion. The Treasurer's luggage consisted of three leather boxes, of exactly the same size, shape and colour, the lids of all three being secured by identical padlocks. The only distinguishing mark was that one side of the box con­taining the gold was slightly cracked. Now, only that box was opened. The two other boxes, which contained the Treasurer's clothes and other personal effects, were not tampered with at all. That's why the magistrate be­gan by suspecting the Treasurer's suite.'

'On the other hand,' Sergeant Hoong observed, 'the thief replaced the gold by lead. Evidently because he hoped that the Treasurer would discover the loss only when he opened the box much later, after his arrival in barbarian territory. This clearly points to an outsider. All insiders know the official rule that a carrier of govern­ment gold has to verify it is intact every night before he goes to bed, and every morning as soon as he has got up.'

Judge Dee nodded.

'Quite true. However, my predecessor considered the lead as a clever touch, added by the thief to suggest that the theft had been committed by an outsider.'

Ma Joong had risen and walked over to the window. Having searched the empty courtyard with his eyes, he said with a frown:

'I wonder what that lazy headman is doing! He should be taking his constables through their morning drill!' Seeing Judge Dee's annoyed look, he went on quickly, 'Sorry, sir! But now that Chiao Tai and Tao Gan have left for the capital to discuss the reduction of our garri­son, I have to watch the constables and guards all by myself.' He sat down again and asked, eager to show his interest, 'Didn't the thief leave any clues?'

'None,' the judge replied curtly. 'The guest room occu­pied by the Treasurer in our tribunal here has only one door and one window, as you know. The door was guarded all night long by four soldiers, sitting in the corridor out­side. The thief gained entrance by the window. He tore one of the paper panes, pushed his hand through, and somehow or other picked the lock that secured the cross­bar.'

Sergeant Hoong had pulled the thick dossier over to him and was leafing through it. He looked up and said, shaking his head, 'Yes, the magistrate took all the measures indicated. When it had been established that the Treasurer's suite was beyond suspicion, he had all the professional thieves in the city rounded up, and also all the receivers of stolen goods. Moreover, he—'

'He made one mistake, Hoong,' Judge Dee interrupted. 'Namely that he limited his investigation to this district of Lan-fang.'

'Why shouldn't he?' Ma Joong asked. 'The theft was committed right here, wasn't it?'

The judge sat up straight.

'It was indeed. But it must have been prepared else­where, before the Treasurer arrived here in Lan-fang. Therefore I would have begun by instituting thorough inquiries in Tong-kang, our neighbouring district, over on the other side of the mountains. The Treasurer stayed there overnight as well. Someone must have learned somehow or other that he was carrying a small fortune, and that it was kept in the box marked by the cracked leather. That precious information travelled ahead of the Treasurer to Lan-fang. Call our senior scribe, Ma Joong!’

Sergeant Hoong looked doubtful. Tugging at his thin goatee, he said, 'By the same reasoning, sir, the thief might have learned the secret in any place along the road from the capital. Or even before the Treasurer left, in the capital itself!’

'No, Hoong, there's definite proof that it must have been in Tong-kang that the secret leaked out. The Trea­surer says in his official statement recorded here that the side of the gold-box got cracked just before he reached Tong-kang. Presumably because of the excessive weight of the gold.'

Ma Joong brought a lean, elderly man in. The scribe bowed and wished the judge a good morning. Then he waited respectfully for the judge to address him.

'I am gathering data on the theft of the Treasurer's gold,' Judge Dee told him. 'I want you to make a trip to Tong-kang, his last halting-place before he reached Lan-fang. You'll report to the local tribunal, and try to find there someone who remembers the Treasurer's visit. I Want to know whether the Treasurer received any visitors on the night he stayed there, whether a local woman companion was provided for him, whether he received any messages; in short, everything.' He selected an official blank from among the papers on his desk and jotted down a few lines of introduction addressed to his col­league in Tong-kang. When he had stamped the docu­ment with the large red seal of the tribunal, he handed it to the scribe. 'You'll leave at once. While the grooms are preparing your horse, read this dossier. Try to be back here the day after tomorrow.'

'Very good, Your Honour.'

The scribe was about to make his bow when Ma Joong asked him, 'Do you know where our headman is?'

'He has gone out to arrest a vagrant, sir. There was a violent quarrel in a winehouse down town last night, and the vagrant killed a professional bully.'

'Well,' Judge Dee said, 'since that is evidently an ordi­nary crime of violence of the underworld, it won't necessitate much paperwork. So, get on your way! Good luck!'

When the senior scribe had left, Ma Joong said sourly, 'So that's what our good headman is doing! Arresting a murderer. And without having taken out a warrant, too! If the fellow doesn't take care of himself, he'll fall ill from working overtime, one of these days!’

'Pity we couldn't keep old Fang as headman,' the sergeant remarked. 'By the way, what is that small box there, Your Honour? I've never seen it on your desk before.'

'A box?' Judge Dee asked, roused from his thoughts. 'Oh that! I bought it at the curio-dealer's, on the corner behind the Temple of Confucius. Saw it there half an hour ago, when I was taking my morning walk. I bought it as a small birthday present for my First Lady. I'll give it to her at our festive dinner tonight.'

He picked the box up and showed it to his lieutenants.

'The character for "long life" on the cover makes it most suitable for a birthday present. The jade disc has been beautifully carved into the shape of the character's antique form.' He pointed over his shoulder. 'Exactly the same style as the character used as decoration in the latticework of the window here.'

He gave the box to Ma Joong, who looked at it appraisingly and remarked, 'Just the right size for keep­ing visiting-cards in.' Then he brought the box closer to his eyes. 'Pity there are a few scratches on the cover. Some fool tried to scribble the word "entrance" here on one side of the disc. And on the opposite side he tried to write something like "below". Let me have it this morn­ing, sir. After the session I'll take it to a cabinet worker I know near the south gate. He'll polish the cover nicely.'

'Yes, that's a good idea. What are you looking at?'

Ma Joong had casually opened the box. Now he was scrutinizing the inside of the cover.

'There's a small scrap of paper stuck on here,' he muttered.

'That'll be the price-tag,' the judge said. 'Peel it off, will you?'

His lieutenant put his thumbnail under a corner of the paper. Suddenly he looked up.

'No, this isn't a price-tag, sir. I see two lines in reversed writing, and in red ink. Good, it comes off. Now we can turn it over. Clumsily written. I can't make out what it says.'

He handed the tiny scrap to the judge, who raised his tufted eyebrows and read aloud:

'I am dying of hunger and thirst, please come and get me out. Jade. The twelfth day of the ninth month, the year of the Snake.'

The judge looked up, annoyed. 'Why paste such a silly thing on the cover of this box?'

JUDGE DEE SHOWS A BIRTHDAY PRESENT

'Perhaps it is no joke, sir!’ Ma Joong said excitedly. 'A girl called Jade, that must be a nice wench! She was kid­napped, of course!'

Sergeant Hoong smiled indulgently. He was well acquainted with Ma Joong's amorous disposition. He said quietly, 'You are always ready to rush to the rescue of damsels in distress, Brother Ma. But this is evidently only a scrap torn from the page of a romantic novel, or a play.'

'Nonsense!’ Ma Joong said peevishly. 'The poor wench wrote it with her own blood, then put it in this box and threw it out of the window of the room she was kept captive in. The writing was still wet, and when the box rolled over after it hit the ground, the scrap got stuck to the cover. It happened nearly a year ago, but that's no reason why we should let the scoundrels who let her starve to death get away with it!’ Turning to the judge, he asked eagerly, 'What do you think, sir?'

Judge Dee had smoothed the scrap out on his desk and was examining it, tugging at his sidewhiskers. He looked up.

'Your reasoning is quite clever, Ma Joong. However, I agree with the sergeant. If this were a genuine message of distress, then ...' He turned his eyes to the door. 'Come in!’

The headman entered and saluted smartly. A pleased grin creased his coarse face, surrounded by a stubbly chinbeard.

'I beg to report that I have just arrested a murderer, Your Honour. A vagabond called Ah-liu. He killed a local bully last night after a quarrel in—'

'Yes, the scribe told me already. Good work, headman! I shall hear the case presently, during the morning session. Were there witnesses?'

'Plenty, sir! The innkeeper, two gamblers, and—' 'Good. See that they are present in court.' After the headman had left, Judge Dee rose. He picked up the ebony box and regarded it pensively, weighing it on the palm of his hand. Then he put it in his sleeve. 'We shall pursue the matter of the queer message in this box a bit farther,' he told his two lieutenants. 'We have an hour or so left before the session begins. No matter what the message is, it has spoilt the auspicious atmo­sphere that must surround a birthday present. So I shall go back to the curio-dealer anyway, to select another present. I shall then ask him when and how he came by that box. You go to the chancery, Sergeant. Verify in the files on missing persons whether in the ninth month of the year of the Snake a woman called Jade was reported as having disappeared. You, Ma Joong, shall accompany me to the curio-shop. It's only a short distance; we'll walk.'