The Chinese Maze Murders by Robert van Gulik Read Free Book Online Page B

myself, but people say that it is quite an imposing mansion, surrounded by a high wall.”
    Judge Dee rose and started pacing the floor.
    After a while he said impatiently:
    “The overthrow of Chien Mow resolves itself into a purely military problem and I for one find but small interest in such problems. They resemble too much a game of chess, the opponent and all his resources are known right from the beginning, there are no unknown factors. I am greatly intrigued, on the other hand, by two most interesting problems, namely the ambiguous last will of old Governor Yoo, and the murder of General Ding that is announced in advance. I would like to concentrate on these two matters which I find of absorbing interest. Instead I must first dispose of this miserable local tyrant! What an annoying situation!”

    The judge tugged angrily at his beard. Then he rose and said:
    “Well, I suppose that it can’t be helped. I shall now have my noon meal. Thereafter I shall open the first session of this tribunal.”
    Judge Dee left his office. His four lieutenants walked over to the empty guard house, where the steward of the judge had prepared a simple meal for them.
    As they were entering Chiao Tai gave a sign to Ma Joong. The two remained standing together for a moment in the corridor outside.
    Chiao Tai whispered to Ma Joong:
    “I fear that His Excellency underrates the problem we are up against. You and I have military experience, we know that we have not got a chance. Chien Mow has one hundred well-trained men, the only fighters we have are, except for our judge himself, just you and me. The nearest military post is three days on horseback from here. Should not we warn our judge not to act too rashly?”
    Ma Joong twisted his short moustache.
    “Our judge,” he replied in a low voice, “has all the data we have. I take it that he has evolved a scheme to deal with the situation.”
    “The most clever scheme,” Chiao Tai observed, “is of no avail against such superior strength. It does not matter for us, but what about our judge’s wives and his children? Chien will have no mercy on them. I think it is our duty to propose to the judge that we first pretend to submit to Chien and thereafter work out some plan for attacking him. We could have a regiment of our army here in two weeks.”
    Ma Joong shook his head.
    “Unbidden advice is never welcome,” he said. “Let us wait awhile and see what happens. I for one know of no better death than to fall in a really good fight.”

    “All right,” Chiao Tai said, “if it comes to an open conflict I shall take care of at least four of those ruffians. Let us now join the others. Don’t say a word about this, it is no use alarming the sergeant and Tao Gan.”
    Ma Joong nodded.
    They entered the guard house and fell to their meal with gusto.
    When they had eaten their rice Tao Gan wiped his chin and said:
    “I have served more than six years under our judge and I thought I had come to understand him fairly well. But now it baffles me how he can be so preoccupied with an old lawsuit and a murder that will probably never take place, at a time when we are confronted with so difficult and urgent a problem as the overthrow of Chien Mow. You, Sergeant, have known His Excellency all your life. What do you say?”
    Sergeant Hoong was busy swallowing the last of his soup, lifting his moustache with his left hand. He quietly put the bowl down. Then he said with a smile:
    “In all these years I have learned but one thing about understanding our judge. That is, to give up trying to!”
    All laughed. They rose and went back to the judge’s private office.
    As Sergeant Hoong was assisting Judge Dee in changing into his ceremonial robes he said curtly:
    “Since I lack all the court personnel, today the four of you must take their places.”
    So speaking Judge Dee pulled aside the screen that separated his office from the court hall, and ascended the dais.
    When he was seated behind the bench