"Amuse yourself!" the girl replied calmly, and entered the hut. Mao Loo went red with rage, but he made no attempt to follow her. He cursed and said:
"I saved that slut's life! And what do I get? Nothing but a sour face! She got a good beating with a bit of rope, but a fat lot it helped!"
"A woman needs miles of rope across her behind before you get her sensible," Ma Joong remarked philosophically. Mao Loo rose and walked over to the foot of a large tree. He kicked a heap of leaves together and lay down. Ma Joong and Chiao Tai found a place among the dry leaves on the other side of the enclosure. Soon they were sound asleep.
Chiao Tai was awakened by someone blowing on his face. Ma Joong whispered close to his ear:
"I have been out reconnoitering, brother. Two large junks are moored in the main creek, all ready to sail tomorrow morning. There are no watchmen. We could tap our friend Mao Loo on his head, and put him and the girl on one of those junks. But you and I couldn't possibly get that heavy junk out of the creek onto the river. Quite apart from the fact that one has to know the fairway."
"Let's hide in the hold!" Chiao Tai whispered. "Tomorrow, after the bastards have got the junk out on the river, we come out and take them by surprise."
"Splendid!" Ma Joong said contentedly. "Either we get them, or they get us. That's the kind of simple proposition I like. Well, as a rule they don't start before dawn; we still have time for a good nap."
Soon they were snoring.
An hour before dawn Ma Joong got up. He shook Mao Loo by his shoulder. When he sat up, Ma Joong hit him unconscious with a hard blow on his temple. He bound Mao Loo's hands and feet tightly with the thin rope he carried round his waist, and gagged him with a strip of cloth he tore from his jacket. Then he woke up Chiao Tai, and together they went into the hut.
Chiao Tai took out his tinderbox and made light while Ma Joong woke up the girl.
"Me and my mate are from the tribunal in Han-yuan, Mrs. Djang," he said. "We have orders to take you back to the city."
Moon Fairy looked them up and down suspiciously in the faint light. She said curtly:
"You can tell me many things! If you as much as touch me I'll shout!"
Ma Joong sighed and took out Judge Dee's letter, which he had concealed in the fold of the rag round his hair. She read it through, nodded, and asked quickly:
"How do we get away from here?"
After Ma Joong had explained their plan, she remarked:
"The guards bring the morning rice shortly after dawn. They'll raise the alarm when they find us gone."
"I have been busy one hour during the night laying a false trail through the forest, in the opposite direction," Ma Joong replied. "You can trust us to know our job, dearie!"
"Keep a civil tongue in your mouth!" the girl snapped.
"A spirited wench!" Ma Joong said with a grin to Chiao Tai. They went outside. Ma Joong loaded Mao Loo on his shoulders. He was an expert in woodcraft; he led Chiao Tai and the girl unerringly through the dark forest to the creek. The black hulls of two large junks loomed up before them.
When they had gone aboard the one in front, Ma Joong went straight to the trap door aft and let Mao Loo slide down the steep ladder. Then he jumped down after him, and Chiao Tai and Moon Fairy followed. They were in a small kitchen. Forward the hold was filled to the ceiling with piles of large wooden boxes, with thick straw ropes wound round them.
"Climb up there, Chiao Tai," Ma Joong said, "and try to shove the upper boxes of the second row aside a bit. That'll be a good place to hide. I'll be back presently."
He grabbed the toolbox that was lying in a corner and climbed up the ladder. While the girl inspected the kitchen, Chiao Tai hoisted himself up on top of the pile of boxes, and crawled into the narrow space between them and the ceiling. As he set to work moving the upper boxes he muttered:
"They are uncommonly heavy; the fellows must have stuffed them with stones!"
When he had made sufficient room for the four of them, he heard Ma Joong come back.
"I have drilled a couple of holes in the other junk," he said contentedly. "By the time they notice that their hold is flooded, they won't find those holes so easily!" He helped Chiao Tai to hoist Mao Loo on top of the boxes. He had regained his senses and was wildly rolling his eyes. "Don't suffocate, please!" Chiao Tai said. "Remember that our magistrate wants to question you before you die!"
When they had deposited Mao Loo between two boxes, Ma Joong crawled over to the first row and stretched out his hands.
"Come up here!" he said to Moon Fairy. "I'll help you."
But the girl didn't respond; she was thinking, biting her lips. Suddenly she asked:
"How many men does the crew of such a junk consist of?"
"Six or seven," Ma Joong replied impatiently. "Get a move on!"
"I'll stay where I am!" the girl announced. Wrinkling her nose, she added: "I am not dreaming of crawling on those dirty boxes!"
Ma Joong cursed roundly.
"If you don't-" he began.
Suddenly heavy footsteps resounded up on deck; orders were shouted. Moon Fairy pushed open the hatch in the stern and looked outside. She stepped up to the pile of boxes and whispered:
"About forty armed men are boarding the junk behind us!"
"Come up here at once, I tell you!" Ma Joong hissed.
She laughed mockingly. She took off her jacket. With bare torso she started to wash the pans.
"Magnificent figure!" Ma Joong whispered to Chiao Tai. "But what in the name of Heaven does that bit of skirt think she's doing?"
Heavy ropes thudded down on the deck; the junk started to move. The sailors who poled it along began to sing a monotonous song.
Suddenly the ladder creaked. A hefty fellow remained standing halfway down, and stared openmouthed at the half-naked woman. She gave him a saucy look, then asked casually:
"Are you coming to help me?"
"I… I must inspect the cargo," the man brought out. His eyes were glued to the girl's round bosom.
"Well," Moon Fairy said with a sniff, "if you prefer the company of those dirty boxes, just suit yourself! I can manage very well alone!"
"Not on your life!" the man exclaimed. He quickly went down and up to the girl. "Aren't you a looker!" he said with a broad grin.
"I don't think you are so bad either," Moon Fairy said. She let him fondle her a moment, then pushed him away and said: "Pleasure comes after work! Get me a bucket of water!"
"Where are you, Liu?" a hoarse voice called down through the trap door.
"Busy inspecting the cargo!" the man shouted back. "I'll come up by and by! You look whether the sail is ready!"
"For how many fellows must I cook rice?" the girl asked. "Do we have soldiers on board?"
"No, those are on the junk behind us," the man called Liu replied as he handed her the bucket. "You just cook something nice for me, dearie; I am the mate and the boss here, you see! The helmsman and the four sailors can eat what's left over!"
A clatter of arms sounded on deck.
"Didn't you say we have no soldiers on board?" Moon Fairy asked.
"Those are the guards of our last outpost," Liu replied. "They come to search the ship before she goes out on the river."
"I like soldiers!" the girl said. "Get them down here!"
The man quickly climbed up the ladder again. He pushed his head through the trap door and called out:
"I have just searched the entire hold, men! It's hot as Hell down here!" There was some altercation; then he came down with a satisfied leer. "I got rid of those!" he said. "I have been a soldier too, dear; I'll do my best!" He put his arm round her waist and started fumbling with the cord of her trousers.
"Not here!" Moon Fairy said. "I am a decent woman. You go and look on top of those boxes there; maybe there's a little cozy corner up there for us!"
Liu hurriedly went to the pile of boxes, and hoisted himself up. Ma Joong grabbed him by his throat, pulled him on top and tightened his grip ti
ll the man was unconscious. Then he jumped down into the kitchen. Moon Fairy quickly closed the hatch and put on her jacket again.
"That was a pretty piece of work, my wench!" Ma Joong whispered excitedly. Then he ducked behind the ladder. Two heavy boots came down through the trap door. "What in Hell are you at, Liu!" an angry voice asked.
Ma Joong jerked the man's legs backward. He tumbled down; his head hit the floor with a dull crash. He didn't move. Chiao Tai stuck out his hands from above, and together they got the unconscious man up on the boxes.
"Truss him up and come down here, brother Chiao!" Ma Joong whispered. "I'll climb on deck through the hatch. Be ready to receive the other bastards that I'll send down to you here!"
He climbed through the hatch, pulled himself up along tie outside of the hull by the anchor rope, and stepped noiselessly on deck. When he had made certain that no one had seen him, he sauntered up to the helmsman, who was holding the heavy rudder beam with both hands, and remarked:
"It became too hot for me down in the hold!" He saw they were in the middle of the river now. The second junk was behind them. He stretched himself out on his back on the deck.
The helmsman gave him a startled look, then whistled. Three sturdy sailors came running aft.
"Who the devil are you?" the first asked.
Ma Joong folded his hands under his head. He yawned prodigiously and said:
"I am the guard, supposed to watch the cargo. I just finished checking the boxes with old Liu."
"The mate never tells us a thing!" the sailor muttered with disgust. "Thinks the world of himself, he does! I'll just go and ask how much sail he wants put on." He went toward the trap door. Ma Joong scrambled up and followed him together with the two others.
When the man stood over the trap door, Ma Joong suddenly gave him a kick that sent him tumbling down the ladder. He turned round quick as lightning and gave the sailor that came for him a blow under his jaw that made him stagger backward against the railing. Ma Joong followed up with a thrust in his heart region that sent him over the railing into the river. The third sailor lunged out at Ma Joong with a long knife. Ma Joong ducked; the knife passed over his back as he butted his head into his attacker's midriff. The man fell gasping over Ma Joong's back. Ma Joong righted himself and heaved the knife wielder over the railing.
"All good fish fodder!" he called out to the helmsman. "Just keep to your steering job, my friend, else you'll join them!" He peered at the second junk, which had now fallen far behind. It had developed a heavy list to starboard; a crowd of people was running in confusion over the tilting deck. "Those men will never keep their shirts dry!" he remarked cheerfully. Then he went to adjust the large reed sail.
Chiao Tai stuck his head through the trap door.
"You sent me only one," he said. "Where are the others?"
Ma Joong pointed down to the water; he was intent on getting the sail right. Chiao Tai came on deck and said: "Mrs. Djang is making our noon rice."
There was a strong breeze; the junk made good speed. Chiao Tai searched the two distant banks. He asked the helmsman:
"When'll we arrive at a military post?"
"In a couple of hours," the man replied with a sullen face.
"Where were you bound for, bastard?" Chiao Tai asked again.
"For Liu-chiang, four hours downstream. There friends of ours are going to do a bit of fighting."
"You are lucky, fellow!" Chiao Tai remarked. "You won't have to join the fray!"
As they were sitting in the shadow of the sail eating their noon rice, Ma Joong related to Mrs. Djang the adventures of her husband. When he had finished her eyes were full of tears. "The poor, poor boy!" she said softly.
Ma Joong exchanged a quick glance with Chiao Tai. He whispered:
"Do you get what such a spanking wench sees in that mealy-mouthed weakling?"
But Chiao Tai didn't hear him; he was looking intently ahead. He exclaimed:
"Do you see those banners? That'll be the military post, brother!"
Ma Joong jumped up and shouted an order at the helmsman. Then he went to shorten the sail. Half an hour later the junk was lying alongside the quay.
Ma Joong handed Judge Dee's letter to the corporal in charge of the post. He reported that he was bringing in four robbers of Three Oaks Island, and one of their junks. "I don't know what she is carrying," he added, "but it's plenty heavy!" They went to have a look at the cargo together with four soldiers. Just as the corporal, the soldiers had their helmets strapped on tightly, they wore iron shoulder and arm plates over their mail coats, and next to their swords they carried on their belts heavy battle-axes.
"Why do you fellows drag along all that ironware?" Ma Joong inquired, astonished.
The corporal gave him a worried look. He replied curtly:
"There are rumors about skirmishes with armed bands downriver. These four men are all I have left here; the rest have gone with my captain to Liu-chiang."
In the meantime the soldiers had broken open one of the boxes. It was packed with iron helmets, leather jackets, swords, crossbows, arrows and other military goods. The helmets were marked in front with a small white lotus flower, and there was a bag with hundreds of small silver models of the same emblem. Chiao Tai put a handful of those in his sleeve. He said to the corporal:
"This junk was bound for Liu-chiang, and also a second one with forty armed robbers on board. But that one foundered upstream."
"That's good news!" the corporal exclaimed. "Else my captain would have been in trouble in Liu-chiang; he has only thirty men with him down there. Well, what can I do for you? Across the river there is the military post that guards the southern tip of your district, Han-yuan."
"Have us ferried over there quick!" Ma Joong said.
Back in their own territory, Ma Joong requisitioned four horses. The sergeant in charge told them that if they rounded the lake they could be in the city in two or three hours.
Chiao Tai removed the gag from Mao Loo's mouth. He wanted to start cursing but his tongue was swollen and he could only bring out a few hoarse croaks. While Ma Joong tied Mao Loo's feet to the saddle girth he asked Mrs. Djang:
"Can you ride?"
"I'll manage!" she said. "But I am a bit sore. Lend me your jacket!"
She placed his folded jacket on the saddle, then swung herself on the horse.
The cavalcade set out on the way back to the city.
Seventeenth Chapter
AN EYEWITNESS REPORTS ON THE MURDER IN THE TEMPLE; JUDGE DEE FINDS THE SOLUTION OF AN ANCIENT RIDDLE
While Ma Joong and Chiao Tai, together with Mrs. Djang and their prisoner, were riding back to Han-yuan, Judge Dee was presiding over the afternoon session of the tribunal.
It was very hot and the judge felt clammy in his thick brocade dress. He was tired and in an irritable temper, having spent the preceding night and that entire morning with Sergeant Hoong and Tao Gan looking into the antecedents and manner of living of every single member of the personnel, without discovering a clue. None of the constables or clerks spent more money than he could afford; none of them was frequently absent or seemed in any other way suspect. The judge had the murder of Wan I-fan officially announced as suicide. The body had been put in a temporary coffin and placed in a cell of the jail, pending the autopsy.
The session dragged on, with a large number of routine matters. None of them was particularly important, yet if not dealt with at once there would result stagnation in the administration. The judge was assisted only by Sergeant Hoong. He had ordered Tao Gan to go downtown that afternoon and get an impression of the situation in the city.
Judge Dee heaved a sigh of relief when he could close the session. While Hoong was assisting him to change in his private office, Tao Gan came back. He said in a worried tone:
"There's something brewing downtown, Your Honor. I sat around a bit in the teahouses. People are expecting trouble, but nobody knows what it's all about. There are vague rumors about robber bands assembli
ng in our neighbor district Chiang-pei. Some people whisper that armed robbers are planning to cross the river and come here to Han-yuan. When 1 walked back here, die shopkeepers were already putting up their shutters. Their closing shop so early is always a bad sign."
The judge pulled at his mustache. He said slowly to his two helpers:
"It started a few weeks ago. I felt it directly after my arrival here, but now it is taking a more definite shape."
"I noticed that I was being followed," Tao Gan resumed. "That was only to be expected; I know many people downtown, and the fact that I was concerned in the arrest of the monk is, of course, being talked about."
"Did you know the man who followed you?" Judge Dee asked.
"No, Your Honor. It was a powerfully built, tall fellow with a red face and a ring beard."
"Did you have the guards arrest him when you arrived at the gate here?" the judge asked eagerly.
"No, Your Honor," Tao Gan replied sadly. "I couldn't manage that. Another fellow joined him when I was passing through a back street near the Temple, and they were closing in on me. I halted in front of an oil shop, next to a large vat that was standing on the sidewalk. When the big fellow came for me I tripped him up so that he fell against the oil vat, which toppled over. The oil ran all over the street, and four sturdy millers came rushing out of the shop. The ruffian said it was all my fault because I had attacked him, but after one look at the two of us the oil millers decided he was fooling them and fell on him. The last I saw was," Tao Gan concluded contentedly, "that they were breaking a stone jar to pieces on the head of the tall fellow, while the other rascal was running off like a hare."
Judge Dee gave the thin man a searching look. He remembered what Ma Joong had told him about Tao Gan luring the monk to the inn. He reflected that this innocent-looking scarecrow apparently could be a very nasty opponent.
Suddenly the door opened, and Ma Joong and Chiao Tai came in, with Mrs. Djang between them.
"Mao Loo has been put in jail, Your Honor!" Ma Joong announced triumphantly. "This girl is the missing bride!"
"Well done!" Judge Dee said with a broad smile. Motioning the girl to be seated, he addressed her kindly: "You are doubtless eager to go home, madam. In due time you'll deliver testimony in the
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