The Chinese Lake Murders by Gulik Robert van

Author:Gulik, Robert van [Gulik, Robert van]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General
ISBN: 0747401748
Google: tChtYi5TLwYC
Publisher: Time Warner Paperbacks
Published: 1979-01-15T05:00:00+00:00

A VILLAGE HEADMAN REPORTS TO THE JUDGE

dice from the peasant’s hand. Waving them up and down in his hand, he shouted excitedly:

“May all the curses of Heaven and Earth descend upon this poor man if these dice are loaded!” He handed them to the judge with a deep bow. Judge Dee let the dice roll along the palm of his hand, then scrutinized them carefully. He gave the accused a sharp look. He was a scraggy man of about fifty. His hair, streaked with gray, hung over a long, deeply lined face disfigured by a bleeding wound on the forehead. He had a mole the size of a piece of copper cash on his left cheek, from which sprouted three hairs several inches long. Judge Dee said coldly to the peasant:

“These dice aren’t loaded; neither have they been tampered with in any other way!” He threw them at the headman. He caught them and started to study them together with the others, muttering in astonishment. The judge addressed the crowd in a stern voice: “Let this be a lesson to you! If you are oppressed by robbers or treated unjustly by your landlords, you can always come to the tribunal and I’ll carefully consider your plaints. But don’t ever again have the nerve to take the law into your own hands, or you’ll be severely punished. Go back to your work now, and don’t squander your time and money on gambling!”

The headman knelt and knocked his forehead on the ground to express his gratitude for this leniency.

Judge Dee ordered Ma Joong to let the wounded man sit behind him on his horse; then the cavalcade moved on again.

In the next village they halted to let the man wash himself at the well and clean his clothes. Judge Dee had the headman called and asked him whether he knew about a country house in that neighborhood, built on a slight elevation. The man replied that there was none that he knew of. He asked what it looked like, and who the owner was; there might be such a house farther along the road. Judge Dee said that it didn’t matter.

The wounded man bowed deeply before the judge and wanted to take his leave. But Judge Dee, noting his limp and the deadly pallor of his face, said curtly:

“You go with us to the boundary post my man; you need a doctor. I don’t hold with professional gamblers, but I can’t leave you here as you are.”

Late in the afternoon they arrived at the boundary village. Judge Dee ordered Ma Joong to take the wounded man to the local physician. He himself rode on with Chiao Tai to inspect the military guard post on the bridgehead.

The corporal in charge ordered his twelve soldiers to line up. The judge saw that their iron helmets and mail jackets were well polished; the men looked neat and efficient. While the judge was inspecting the armory, the corporal said there was a brisk traffic on the

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