"You know all four of them?" the judge interrupted.
"Yes, Your Honor," the cashier said. Then, scratching his head, he added: "That is to say, I know three of them. The fourth came here for the first time. It was a youngster, dressed in the black jacket and trousers of the Tartars."
"What did he pay for?" Judge Dee asked.
"The entire group paid two coppers for the pool, and I gave them their black tallies."
As the judge raised his eyebrows, the proprietor hastily took two pieces of black wood, each attached to a string, from the rack on the wall.
"This is the kind of tally we use, Your Honor," he explained. "A black tally means the pool, a red one a private bath. Each guest gives one half of his tally to the attendant in the anteroom who puts their clothes away, the other half, marked with the same number, they keep with them. When they leave the bath they give that half to the attendant, and he hands them their clothes."
"Is that the only control you have?" the judge asked sourly.
"Well, Your Honor," the proprietor replied apologetically, "we only aim at preventing people slipping in without paying, or walking off with other people's clothes."
Judge Dee had to admit to himself that one could really not expect more. He asked the cashier:
"Did you see all four of those youngsters leave?"
"I really couldn't say, Your Honor," the cashier answered. "After the discovery of the murder there was such a crowd that I . . ."
Sergeant Hoong and Ma Joong came in. They reported that they had found no more clues in the bath room. Judge Dee asked Ma Joong:
"When you were checking out the bathers together with Chiao Tai, did you see among them a young fellow dressed like a Tartar?"
"No, Your Honor," Ma Joong replied. "We took the name and address of every one of them, and I would certainly have noticed a fellow in Tartar dress, because you don't see them often here."
Turning to the cashier the judge said:
"Go outside and see whether you can find any one of those four youngsters among the crowd in the street."
While the man was gone Judge Dee sat silently, tapping the table with the wooden tally.
The cashier came back with a grown-up boy, who stood awkwardly before the judge.
"Who is that Tartar friend of yours?" the judge asked.
The youngster shot him an anxious look.
"I really don't know, sir!" he stammered. "I noticed the fellow day before yesterday, he was loitering near the entrance here, but he didn't go inside. Tonight he was there again. When we went in, he followed behind us."
"Describe him," Judge Dee ordered.
The youngster looked uneasy. After some hesitation, he said:
"He was rather small, and thin, I would say. He had a black Tartar scarf wrapped around his head and over his mouth, so that I could not see whether he had a mustache, but I saw a lock of hair coming out from under the scarf. My friends wanted to talk to him, but the fellow gave us such a mean look that we thought better of it. Those Tartars always carry long knives, and ..."
"Didn't you get a better look at him when he was in the bath?" the judge asked.
"He must have taken a private room," the youngster said. "We didn't see him in the pool."
Judge Dee shot him a quick look.
"That's all!" he said curtly. As the young man scurried away, the judge ordered the cashier: "Count your tallies."
While the cashier hurriedly started to sort out the tallies, Judge Dee looked on, slowly caressing his side whiskers.
At last the cashier said:
"That's strange, Your Honor. A black one, No. 36, is missing."
Judge Dee rose abruptly. Turning to Sergeant Hoong and Ma Joong he said:
"We can go back to the tribunal now, we have done all we can at this end. We know at least how the murderer went in and out of the bath room unobserved, and we have a general idea of what he looks like. Let's go!"
Eleventh Chapter
The next day, during the morning session, Judge Dee had Kuo conduct the autopsy on the dead boxer's body. The session was attended by all the notables of Pei-chow, and every citizen who could find a place in the court hall.
When he had completed the autopsy, Kuo reported: "The deceased died of a virulent poison, identified as the powdered root of the Snake Tree that grows in the south. Samples of the tea in the teapot, and of the tea left in the broken cup, were fed to a sick dog. The former proved harmless, but the dog died soon after he had lapped up a little of the latter." Judge Dee asked:
"How was the poison introduced into the teacup?" "I presume," Kuo answered, "that the dried jasmine flower had been previously filled with the powder, and then surreptitiously dropped into the cup."
"On what do you base that assumption?" the judge asked.
"The powder," the coroner explained, "has a faint but very distinctive smell, that would be all the more noticeable when it mixed with the hot tea. But if put inside a jasmine flower, the latter's fragrance would effectively conceal the smell of the poison. When I heated the rest of the tea without the flower, the smell was unmistakable, and I could thereby identify the poison."
Judge Dee nodded and ordered the hunchback to affix his thumb mark to his report. Rapping his gavel on the bench he said:
"The late Master Lan Tao-kuei was poisoned by a person as yet unknown. He was a distinguished boxer, several times in succession the champion of the northern provinces. At the same time he was a man of noble character. Our Empire, and more especially this district of Pei-chow which he honored with his presence, mourn the passing away of a great man.
"This tribunal shall do its utmost to apprehend the criminal, so that Master Lan's soul may rest in peace."
Again rapping his gavel, the judge continued:
"I now come to the case Yeh versus Pan." He gave a sign to the headman, who led Pan Feng in front of the bench. Then he said:
"The scribe shall now read out two statements concerning the movements of Pan Feng."
The senior scribe rose and first read out the statement of the two soldiers, then the report of the constables regarding their investigation in Five Rams Village.
Judge Dee announced:
"This testimony proves that Pan Feng told the truth about his movements on the fifteenth and the sixteenth. Moreover, this court opines that if he had actually murdered his wife, he would certainly not have absented himself from the city for two days without concealing the dead body of his wife, at least temporarily. Therefore this court finds the evidence brought forward till now insufficient for entertaining the case against Pan Feng. The plaintiff shall state whether he is in a position to adduce more evidence against the accused, or whether he wishes to withdraw his charge."
"This person," Yeh Pin said hurriedly, "wishes to withdraw his accusation. He humbly apologizes for his rash act, which was inspired only by the deep grief over his sister's horrible death. In this case he speaks also on behalf of his brother, Yeh Tai."
"It shall be so recorded," Judge Dee said. Leaning forward and looking at the persons in front of the bench he asked: "Why has Yeh Tai not appeared before this tribunal today?"
"Your Honor," Yeh Pin said, "I can't understand what happened to my brother. He went out yesterday after the noon meal and he hasn't come back since."
"Does your brother often pass the night outside?" Judge Dee asked.
"Never, Your Honor!" Yeh Pin replied with a worried look. "Often he comes back home late, but he always sleeps in the house."