deny most emphatically the crime of rape and murder of which I stand accused.'
The sergeant put the paper down. Tapping it with his forefinger he said:
'Wang's plan for escaping the just punishment for his foul crime is obvious. He emphasised his guilt in seducing the girl, but steadfastly denied that he murdered her. He is perfectly aware of the fact that the punishment for seducing an unmarried girl, with her consent to the act so plainly established, is fifty blows with the bamboo, while the punishment for murder is an ignominious death on the execution ground!'
Sergeant Hoong looked expectantly at his master, but Judge Dee made no comment He slowly drank another cup of tea. Then he asked:
'What did Judge Feng say to Wang's statement?'
The sergeant consulted a document roll. After a while he said:
'During that session Judge Feng did not press Candidate Wang further. He immediately started on the routine investigation.'
'A wise procedure!' Judge Dee said approvingly. 'Can you find for me the report on his visit to the scene of the crime, and the findings of the coroner?'
Sergeant Hoong unrolled the document further.
'Yes, Your Honour, it is all set down here in detail. Judge Feng set out for Half Moon Street accompanied by his assistants. In the garret they found the naked body of a strongly-built and well-developed girl of about nineteen stretched out on the couch. Her face was distorted and her hair dishevelled. The mattress was awry and the pillow had fallen on the floor. A long strip of white cloth, one end tied
'Was there no clue to the murderer's identity?' Judge Dee interrupted him.
'None, Your Honour,' Sergeant Hoong answered, 'a most diligent search failed to produce the slightest clue. The only discovery was a package of love poems addressed to Pure Jade which she had kept carefully wrapped-up in a drawer of the toilet table, although of course she could not read them. Those poems were signed by Candidate Wang.
'As to the autopsy, the coroner stated that death had ensued as a result of strangulation. The victim's throat showed two large bruises where the murderer's hands had choked her. He further listed numerous blue and swollen spots on her breast and arms, proving that the girl had fought back as well as she could. Finally, the coroner noted that certain signs proved that the girl had been raped before or during strangulation.'
The sergeant quickly glanced through the remaining part of the roll. Then he continued:
'During the ensuing days Judge Feng verified all the evidence brought forward in a most painstaking way. He sent____________________'
'You can skip the details,' Judge Dee interposed, 'I am convinced that Judge Feng performed that task in a thorough manner. Tell me the main points only. I would like to know, for instance, what Yang Poo had to say about the celebration in that inn.'
'Wang's friend Yang Poo,' the sergeant answered, 'confirmed his story in every detail, except that he did not think that Wang had been very drunk when he left him. Yang Poo used the words 'slightly intoxicated.' I may add that Wang could not identify the place where he allegedly awoke from his drunken sleep. Judge Feng did what he could, he had his constables take Wang to probable sites of ruined mansions all over the city and tried to make Wang identify one of those by mentioning some detail; but all in vain. Wang's body showed some deep scratches and his robe had some recent tears. Wang explained those as resulting from his stumbling among the thorny brushwood.
'Then Judge Feng devoted two days to a most thorough search of Wang's quarters and other likely places, without finding the stolen pair of golden hairpins. Butcher Hsiao made a sketch of them from memory. That drawing is attached to the record here.'
As Judge Dee held out his hand Sergeant Hoong detached a sheet of thin paper from the roll and placed it on the judge's desk.
'Good old handwork,' Judge Dee commented. 'Those buttons in the shape of a pair of flying swallows are delicately moulded.'
'According to Butcher Hsiao,' Sergeant Hoong said, 'these hairpins were an heirloom. His wife had always kept them locked away because they were supposed to bring bad luck to the wearer. A few months ago, however, Pure Jade had insistently begged to be allowed to wear them, and her mother had given them to her because she could not afford to buy any other trinket for her.'
The judge shook his head sadly. 'The poor wench!' he commented. After a while he asked:
'Now what was Judge Feng's final verdict?'
'Day before yesterday,' Sergeant Hoong said, 'Judge Feng recapitulated the evidence gathered. He began by stating that the missing hairpins had not been found. But he did not count this as a point in Wang's favour, since he would have had sufficient time for hiding them in some secure place. He conceded that Wang's defence was well formulated, but stated that it was only to be expected that a well-educated scholar would invent a very plausible story.
'The idea that the crime could be committed by a vagrant burglar he dismissed as most improbable. It is widely known that only poor shopkeepers live in Half Moon Street; and even if a thief would come there looking for loot he would certainly try to break into the butcher's shop or godown, and not choose a small garret under the roof. The testimony of all witnesses and also of Wang himself proved that the secret meetings were known only to the lovers and Tailor Loong.'
Looking up from the document roll Sergeant Hoong said with a faint smile:
'That Tailor Loong, Your Honour, is nearly seventy years and so enfeebled by age that he was immediately ruled out as a possible suspect.'
Judge Dee nodded. Then he asked:
'How did Judge Feng phrase his accusation? If possible I would like to hear it verbatim.'
Sergeant Hoong bent again over the roll. He read:
'When the accused again protested that he was innocent, His Excellency hit his fist on the table and shouted: 'You dogshead, I, your magistrate, know the truth! After you had left the inn you went straight to the house of Pure Jade. The wine had given you the courage you coward needed, and you told her what you must have been planning to do for some time, namely that you had tired of her and wished to break off the relationship. A quarrel took place and in the end Pure Jade made for the door to call her parents. You tried to hold her back. The ensuing struggle roused your basest instincts, you possessed her against her will and then strangled her. Having perpetrated this foul deed you ransacked her clothes chest and made off with the golden hairpins so as to make it appear that the crime had been committed by a burglar. Now confess your guilt!''
Having thus quoted from the record, Sergeant Hoong looked up and continued:
'When Candidate Wang persisted in his innocence, Judge Feng ordered the constables to give him fifty lashes with the heavy whip. After thirty lashes, however, Wang collapsed on the floor of the tribunal. After he had been revived by burning vinegar under his nose, he was so confused that Judge Feng gave up further questioning. That same evening the orders concerning Judge Feng's transfer arrived, so that he could not bring the case to its inevitable conclusion. However, he jotted down a brief note at the end of the record of that last session, stating his opinion.'
Sergeant Hoong unrolled the document to its very end, then brought it over to the judge.
Bringing the scroll nearer to his eyes Judge Dee read out:
'It is my considered opinion that the guilt of Candidate Wang Hsien-djoong has been established beyond all reasonable doubt. I recommend that after he has duly confessed, the death penalty in one of its more severe forms be proposed for this criminal. Signed Feng Yee, Magistrate of Poo-yang.'
Judge Dee slowly rolled the scroll up again. He took up a jade paper-weight and idly toyed with it for some time. Sergeant Hoong remained standing in front of the desk, looking at the judge expectantly.
