entirely.
Judge Dee looked at the walls covered with bookshelves as high as a man can reach. He said to Tao Gan:
“Examine those walls for a secret panel. Inspect the windows and those openings there!”
As Tao Gan took off his outer robe preparatory to climbing on the bookshelves, the judge ordered the coroner to inspect the body.
The coroner felt the shoulders and arms. Then he tried to lift the head. The body had grown stiff. He had to turn it over backwards in the armchair in order to expose the dead man’s face.
The unseeing eyes of the old general stared at the ceiling. He had a lean, wrinkled face, frozen in an expression of surprise. From his scraggy throat there emerged an inch of a thin blade, not thicker than half a finger. It had a curious hilt made of plain wood, not much thicker than the blade and only half an inch long.
Judge Dee folded his arms and looked down on the body. After a while he said to the coroner:
“Pull that knife out!”
The coroner had difficulty in getting a hold on the diminutive hilt. When he had it between his thumb and forefinger, however, it came out easily. It had not penetrated deeper than about a quarter of an inch.
As the coroner carefully wrapped up the short weapon in a sheet of oil paper he observed:
“The blood has thickened and the body is entirely stiff. Death must have ensued late last night.”
The judge nodded. He mused:
“When the victim had barred the door he took off his ceremonial robe and cap that are hanging there next to the door, and changed into his house dress. Then he sat down behind the desk, rubbed ink and moistened his brush. The murderer must have struck shortly after, for the general had written only two lines when he was interrupted.
“The curious fact is that there cannot have been more than a few moments between his seeing the murderer and the dagger being stuck in his throat. He did not even lay down his brush.”
“Your Honour,” Tao Gan interrupted, “there is one fact which is still more curious. I cannot see how the murderer entered this room, let alone how he left it!”
Judge Dee raised his eyebrows.
“The only way by which a person can enter this room,” Tao Gan continued, “is by that door. I have examined the walls, the small windows above the bookshelves and the grated openings. Finally I examined the door itself for a secret panel. But there are no hidden entrances of any description!”
Tugging at his moustache Judge Dee asked Candidate Ding:
“Could the murderer not have slipped in shortly before or after your father entered here?”
Candidate Ding who had been standing with a glazed stare by the door now took a hold of himself and replied:
“Impossible, Your Honour! When my father came here he unlocked the door. He stood for a moment in the entrance while I knelt. Our steward stood behind me. Then I rose and my father closed the door. No one could have entered then or before. My father keeps that door always locked and he has the only key.”
Sergeant Hoong bent over to the judge and whispered in his ear:
“We shall have to hear that steward, Your Honour. Yet even if we assume that the murderer somehow or other slipped in here unobserved, I cannot see how he went out again. This door was found barred on the inside!”
Judge Dee nodded. To Candidate Ding he said:
“You assume that this murder was committed by Woo. Can you point out anything that proves that he was in this room?”
Ding slowly looked round. He sadly shook his head and said:
“That Woo is a clever man, Your Honour, he would not leave any traces. But I am convinced that a further investigation will bring to light clear proof of his guilt!”
“We shall have the body removed to the main hall,” Judge Dee said. “You will now go there, Candidate Ding, and see that everything is ready for the autopsy!”
Ninth Chapter
JUDGE DEE PONDERS ALONE IN A DEAD MAN’S ROOM; THE AUTOPSY BRINGS TO LIGHT THE CAUSE OF DEATH
As soon as Candidate
Judge Dee looked at the walls covered with bookshelves as high as a man can reach. He said to Tao Gan:
“Examine those walls for a secret panel. Inspect the windows and those openings there!”
As Tao Gan took off his outer robe preparatory to climbing on the bookshelves, the judge ordered the coroner to inspect the body.
The coroner felt the shoulders and arms. Then he tried to lift the head. The body had grown stiff. He had to turn it over backwards in the armchair in order to expose the dead man’s face.
The unseeing eyes of the old general stared at the ceiling. He had a lean, wrinkled face, frozen in an expression of surprise. From his scraggy throat there emerged an inch of a thin blade, not thicker than half a finger. It had a curious hilt made of plain wood, not much thicker than the blade and only half an inch long.
Judge Dee folded his arms and looked down on the body. After a while he said to the coroner:
“Pull that knife out!”
The coroner had difficulty in getting a hold on the diminutive hilt. When he had it between his thumb and forefinger, however, it came out easily. It had not penetrated deeper than about a quarter of an inch.
As the coroner carefully wrapped up the short weapon in a sheet of oil paper he observed:
“The blood has thickened and the body is entirely stiff. Death must have ensued late last night.”
The judge nodded. He mused:
“When the victim had barred the door he took off his ceremonial robe and cap that are hanging there next to the door, and changed into his house dress. Then he sat down behind the desk, rubbed ink and moistened his brush. The murderer must have struck shortly after, for the general had written only two lines when he was interrupted.
“The curious fact is that there cannot have been more than a few moments between his seeing the murderer and the dagger being stuck in his throat. He did not even lay down his brush.”
“Your Honour,” Tao Gan interrupted, “there is one fact which is still more curious. I cannot see how the murderer entered this room, let alone how he left it!”
Judge Dee raised his eyebrows.
“The only way by which a person can enter this room,” Tao Gan continued, “is by that door. I have examined the walls, the small windows above the bookshelves and the grated openings. Finally I examined the door itself for a secret panel. But there are no hidden entrances of any description!”
Tugging at his moustache Judge Dee asked Candidate Ding:
“Could the murderer not have slipped in shortly before or after your father entered here?”
Candidate Ding who had been standing with a glazed stare by the door now took a hold of himself and replied:
“Impossible, Your Honour! When my father came here he unlocked the door. He stood for a moment in the entrance while I knelt. Our steward stood behind me. Then I rose and my father closed the door. No one could have entered then or before. My father keeps that door always locked and he has the only key.”
Sergeant Hoong bent over to the judge and whispered in his ear:
“We shall have to hear that steward, Your Honour. Yet even if we assume that the murderer somehow or other slipped in here unobserved, I cannot see how he went out again. This door was found barred on the inside!”
Judge Dee nodded. To Candidate Ding he said:
“You assume that this murder was committed by Woo. Can you point out anything that proves that he was in this room?”
Ding slowly looked round. He sadly shook his head and said:
“That Woo is a clever man, Your Honour, he would not leave any traces. But I am convinced that a further investigation will bring to light clear proof of his guilt!”
“We shall have the body removed to the main hall,” Judge Dee said. “You will now go there, Candidate Ding, and see that everything is ready for the autopsy!”
Ninth Chapter
JUDGE DEE PONDERS ALONE IN A DEAD MAN’S ROOM; THE AUTOPSY BRINGS TO LIGHT THE CAUSE OF DEATH
As soon as Candidate
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