The Haunted Monastery by Robert van Gulik

Author:Robert van Gulik
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9789085241522
Publisher: For the Benefit of Mr. Kite
Published: 1960-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Twelve

As soon as Mr Kang had closed the door, Judge Dee stepped up to the one opposite. It was not locked. But when he had pushed it open, he saw that nobody was there. A spluttering candle stood on the bamboo table. It had nearly burned out. Except for a made-up bed and two chairs there was no other furniture. There were no boxes or bundles, and not a single garment hung on the wooden clothes rack. If it had not been for the burning candle one would not have thought that anyone was staying there.

The judge pulled the drawer out, but it contained nothing but dust. He went down on his knees and looked under the bed. There was nothing but a small mouse that scurried away.

He got up, dusted his knees and went out, making for Tao Gan’s room. It was well past midnight. He supposed that his gaunt assistant would have grown tired of keeping the actors company.

He found Tao Gan sitting alone in his chilly, bare room, hunched over a brazier that contained only two or three glowing coals. Tao Gan hated spending more than absolutely necessary. His long, gloomy face lit up when he saw the judge enter. Rising he asked quickly: “What happened, Your Honour? I looked everywhere but…”

“Give me a cup of hot tea!” Judge Dee said curtly. “Do you happen to have anything to eat here?”

While Judge Dee sat down heavily at the small table, Tao Gan quickly rummaged through his travelling box and found two dried oil-cakes. He handed them to the judge saying dubiously: “I am sorry I have nothing else to…”

The judge took a quick bite.

“They are excellent!” he said contentedly. “No vegetarian nonsense about these, they have the nice flavour of pork fat!”

After he had munched the cakes and drunk three cups of tea, he yawned and remarked: “The only thing I want now is a good long sleep! But although some of our problems are solved, there are still a few things that need our urgent attention. Including an attempted murder!” He told Tao Gan what had happened, and gave him an outline of his talks with Miss Ting and with the pseudo Miss Ou-yang. “So you see,” he concluded, “that the case of the pious maid, White Rose, is practically finished. Tomorrow morning, before we leave here, I shall have a talk with her and Mrs Pao. There remains the problem of who hit me on the head and why!”

Tao Gan sat deep in thought, winding and unwinding on his forefinger the three long hairs that sprouted from his left cheek. At last he said:

“Miss Ting told you that Mo Mo-te is familiar with the monastery. Could he perhaps be really a vagrant Taoist monk? Those fellows roam all over the Empire, visiting famous Taoist sites and engaging in all kinds of mischief on the side. Since they don’t shave their heads like the Buddhists, they can easily act the part of laymen. Mo Mo-te may have visited this monastery before.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.