Robert Gulik - The Chinese Bell Murders

'We'll come to that presently. First tell me whether you have seen this object before.'

While speaking the judge pushed the golden locket, found under the bell, over the edge of "the bench. It clattered down on the stone floor, in front of Lin Fan.

He gave it a casual look, then suddenly took it up eagerly and examined it in the palm of his hand. He clutched it to his breast.

'This belongs to ----' he burst out. But he quickly caught himself up. 'It belongs to me!' he said firmly. 'Who gave it to you?'

'It's the privilege of this court to formulate questions,' the judge replied. He gave a sign to the headman who quickly snatched the locket from Lin Fan's hands and replaced it on the bench. Lin Fan rose, his face livid with fury. He screamed:

'Give it back to me!'

'Kneel down, Lin Fan!' Judge Dee barked. 'I shall now answer your first question.' As Lin Fan slowly knelt again, the judge continued: 'You asked why you were arrested. I, the magistrate, tell you that you are guilty of infringement of the State monopoly. You smuggled salt.'

Lin Fan seemed to regain his composure.

'That's a lie!' he said coldly.

'The wretch is guilty of contempt of court!' Judge Dee shouted. 'Give him ten lashes with the heavy whip!'

Two constables tore Lin Fan's robe down and threw him with his face on the floor. The whip swished through the air.

Lin Fan was wholly unaccustomed to corporal punishment. His screams rose to heaven as the whip tore into his flesh. When the headman dragged him up his face was grey and his breathing came in gasps.

When he had stopped groaning Judge Dee said:

'I have a reliable witness, Lin Fan, who will testify to your smuggling. It won't be easy to extract the testimony from him, but a few lashes with the heavy whip will doubtless make him talk!'

Lin Fan looked up at the judge with bloodshot eyes. He still seemed half dazed. Sergeant Hoong shot a questioning look at Ma Joong and Chiao Tai. They shook their heads. They didn't have the faintest idea about whom the judge was talking. Tao Gan looked dumbfounded.

Judge Dee gave a sign to the headman. He left the hall, followed by two constables.

Deep silence reigned. The eyes of all the spectators were glued on the side door through which the headman had disappeared.

When he came back, he was carrying a roll of black oilpaper. The two constables walked behind him, staggering under heavy rolls of reed mats. An astonished murmur rose from the crowd.

The headman spread the oil-paper out on the floor in front of the bench. The constables unrolled the mats on top of it. As the judge nodded, the three men took their whips and started beating the mats with all their might.

The judge watched them calmly, slowly stroking his long beard.

At last he raised his hand. The three men stopped and wiped the sweat from their brows.

'These mats,' Judge Dee announced, 'were taken up from the floor in a secret storehouse at the back of Lin Fan's mansion. We shall now see what testimony they present to this court!'

The headman rolled the mats up again. Then he took up the oil-paper at one end, motioning the two constables to lift the other side. When they had shaken the sheet to and fro for some time, a small quantity of grey powder had gathered in its centre. The headman scooped up a bit on the point of his sword and presented it to the judge.

Judge Dee touched it with his moistened finger. He tasted it and nodded contentedly.

'Lin Fan,' he said, 'you thought you had obliterated all traces of your smuggling. But you did not realise that however carefully you had the mats swept, a very small quantity of the salt had penetrated into the fibre. It isn't much, but it is enough to prove that you are guilty!'

Loud cheers rose from the crowd.

'Silence!' shouted the judge. He continued to Lin Fan:

'Moreover, there is a second charge pending against you, Lin Fan! Last night you assaulted me and my lieutenants while we were engaged in an investigation of the Temple of Transcendental Wisdom. Confess your crime!'

'Last night,' Lin Fan replied sullenly, 'I was in my mansion nursing a wound received while stumbling in the dark courtyard. I have no idea what Your Honour is talking about!'

'Bring the witness Sheng Pa before me!' shouted the judge at the headman.

Sheng Pa advanced gingerly to the dais, pushed by the constables.

When Lin Fan saw Sheng Pa clad in the black damask jacket, he quickly averted his face.

'Do you know this man?' Judge Dee asked Sheng Pa.

The fat man slowly looked Lin Fan up and down, tugging at his greasy beard. Then he announced ponderously:

'This, Your Honour, is indeed the mean dogshead who attacked me last night in front of the temple.'

'That's a he!' Lin Fan shouted angrily. 'It was that scoundrel who assaulted me!'

'This witness,' Judge Dee said calmly, 'had hidden himself in the first courtyard of the temple. He saw how you spied there on me and my lieutenants. And when we were standing under the bronze bell, he saw clearly how you took up the iron spear and wrenched the stone barrel away.'

Judge Dee gave a sign to the headman to lead Sheng Pa away. Then he leaned back in his chair and continued in a conversational tone:

'You see now, Lin Fan, that you can't deny having assaulted me. When I have punished you for that crime, I shall have you forwarded to the Provincial Court, to answer the charge of infringement on the State monopoly!'

When he heard these last words, an evil gleam came into Lin Fan's eyes. He remained silent for a while, licking his bleeding lips. He heaved a deep sigh. Then he began in a low voice:

'Your Honour, I now realise that there is no use in denying my guilt. That I assaulted Your Honour was a foolish and mischievous prank, for which I here offer my sincere apologies. The fact is, however, that during the last days I had felt very annoyed at the vexatious measures the tribunal had been taking against me. When last night I heard voices in the temple compound and went to investigate, I saw Your Honour and his assistants standing under the bell. I gave way to a wicked impulse to teach Your Honour a lesson, and wrenched the stone barrel away. Then I rushed back to summon my steward and the servants to liberate Your Honour. I planned to apologise then to you, and explain that I had thought you and your lieutenants were marauders. But when I reached the iron connecting door I found to my consternation that it had slammed shut. In great fear that Your Honour would suffocate under the bell, I ran to the front gate of the temple meaning to go back to my house through the street. But on the front steps I was knocked down by that wretched footpad. When I had regained consciousness I ran home as quickly as I could. I ordered my steward to go at once and set Your Honour free. I myself stayed behind for a few moments to put a salve on my head-wound. When Your Honour suddenly appeared in my bedroom in a… slightly unusual attire,

I thought you were another intruder trying to intimidate me. This is the complete truth.

'I repeat that I deeply regret my childish prank that so easily could have turned into a fearful tragedy, and I shall gladly undergo the punishment prescribed by the law.'

'Well,' Judge Dee said indifferently, 'I am glad that you confessed at last. You'll now listen to the scribe as he reads out your statement.'

The senior scribe read out aloud Lin Fan's confession. Judge Dee seemed to have lost interest in the proceedings. He leaned back in his chair, idly caressing his side-whiskers.

When the scribe had finished, the judge asked the formal question:

'Do you agree that this is your true confession?'

'I agree!' Lin Fan answered in a firm voice. The headman presented the document to him, and Lin Fan impressed his thumb-mark on it.