Necklace and Calabash

His two saddle-bags had been put ready in a corner of the dressing-room. Opening the first to get out a clean robe, he sud­denly checked himself. His assistant Ma Joong, who always packed his bags for him, was a neat man; but these clothes were folded carelessly. He quickly opened the second bag. His night-robes, felt shoes and spare caps were all there, but this bag had also been tampered with. He quickly looked under his cap on the rack. Nothing was missing from the brocade folder, but a corner of his new identity paper was wet.

'Inquisitive fellow, Mr Lang Liu,' he muttered. 'Or just careful perhaps.' He put on a crisp, clean under-robe of white cotton and on top of that a long-sleeved, dark-grey gown. His felt shoes were very comfortable on his tired feet. Leaving his wet clothes and dirty boots there for the servants to take care of, he covered him­self with a high square cap of black gauze, took his sword and calabash and walked back to the hall.

The clerk brought him to a small but clean room upstairs, and lit the candles on the table. He promised the judge his dinner would come soon. Judge Dee opened the window. The rain had ceased; a brilliant moon was shedding its silvery light on the glistening wet roofs of Rivertown. He noticed that the backyard of the inn had a neglected look. In the centre was a patch of scrawny trees and tangled shrubs; behind it a low store-house was built against the back wall. The gate to the narrow, dark alley behind the inn stood ajar. On the right of the yard were the stables, which reminded him that the next day he would have to tell the groom to get his horse from the blacksmith. The con­fused noise of shouted orders and the clatter of plates coming from the left wing proved that the kitchen was located there. In that corner of the yard was a roughly made chicken-run, perhaps a profitable hobby of one of the cooks. A knock on the door made him turn round.

With pleasant surprise he saw a slender girl come inside, clad in a long blue gown. It was fastened round her shapely waist by a red sash, the tasselled ends of which trailed down to the floor. While she was putting the dinner tray on the table he addressed her kindly:

'I saw you on the quay, miss. You shouldn't have come, for it was a terrible sight.'

She gave him a shy look from her large, shining eyes.

'Mr Wei took me, sir. The captain said two relatives were needed to officially identify the victim.'

'Yes, I see you aren't just a maidservant.'

'I am a distant cousin of Mr Wei, sir. Six months ago, after my parents had died, Uncle Wei took me on as help in the household. And since today the maids are all in a dither about what happened to our cashier ...'

She poured him a cup of tea, holding up the long sleeve of her right hand with her left in a natural, graceful gesture. Now that he could see her properly in the light of the candles, he noticed that it wasn't only her beauty that made her so attractive. There was a subtle charm about her, difficult to define. Sitting down at the table, he remarked casually:

'There's a fine, old-fashioned bath downstairs. I met one of my fellow guests there, a Mr Lang. Has he been staying here long?'

'Only two weeks, sir. But he is a regular visitor. Stands to reason, for he has his own silk shop here, downtown. A very wealthy man, he always travels with at least eight clerks and assistants. They have our best wing, downstairs.' She arranged the plates and bowls on the table and the judge took up his chop­sticks.

'I heard Mr Wei say on the quay that the unfortunate cashier had stolen twenty silver pieces from him.'

She sniffed.

'Perhaps those silver pieces existed only in my uncle's imagina­tion, sir! He was hoping to get that sum restituted by the authori­ties! Tai Min was no thief, sir. He was a simple, pleasant boy. Why should the robbers have maltreated him so horribly, sir? Tai never had much money on him.'

'Out of spite, I fear. Evidently they expected him to carry a large sum, as a cashier. Did you know him well?'

'Oh yes, we often went out on the river together, to fish. He was born and bred here, knew every nook and cranny of the riverbank!’

'Were you er ... very friendly with him?'

She laughed softly, and shook her head.

Tai Min only liked my company because I am rather good at handling a boat. If it hadn't been for that, he'd hardly have known I existed, for he was completely wrapped up in ...' She broke off suddenly and bit her lip. Then she shrugged and went on, 'Well, since poor Tai is dead, there's no harm in telling you. The cashier was head over ears in love with my aunt, you see.'

'Your aunt? She must have been much older than he!'

'She was, about ten years, I think. But there never was anything between them, sir. He just adored her from a distance! And she didn't care for him, for she eloped with another man, as you may have heard.'

'Do you have any idea who that man was?'

She vigorously shook her small head.

'My aunt managed that affair very cleverly; I never even dreamt that she could be unfaithful to my uncle. When he told us that she had left him for another man I could hardly believe my ears. She had always seemed such a quiet, kind woman ... much better than my Uncle Wei!’ She gave him a quick, appraising look and added with a faint smile, 'You are a very nice man to talk to, sir! Perhaps it's because you are a doctor.'