"Since it was deep in the night there was no one about; I reached the bank of the lake unnoticed. I stood on a large boulder over the water and took off my silk girdle. I was going to strip, for I feared that my robe would keep me afloat and thus prolong my death struggle. Then, looking down in the black water I, miserable coward, became afraid. I remembered the macabre stories told about the foul creatures roaming in the water. I thought I could discern indistinct shapes moving about and malicious eyes staring up at me. Although it was very hot I stood there shivering; my teeth clattered in my mouth. I knew that I couldn't execute my plan.

"My girdle had dropped into the water, so I drew my robe close and ran away from the lake. I don't know where my feet took me. I came to myself only when I saw the gate of the Buddhist Temple looming ahead. Then that man there suddenly stepped out from the shadow and grabbed me by the shoulder. I thought he was a robber and tried to shake myself loose, but he hit me on the head and I lost consciousness. When I came to, I was lying in that horrible cave. The next morning that man immediately asked me my name, where I lived and what crime I had committed. I realized that he intended to blackmail me or my poor father, and refused. He just grinned and said that it was my good fortune that he had brought me to the cave, for the constables would never discover me there. He shaved my head despite my protests, saying that thus I would pass for his acolyte and that I wouldn't be recognized. He ordered me to gather firewood and cook rice gruel, then went away.

"I passed that entire day debating with myself what to do. Now I would decide to flee to some faraway place, then again I thought it would be better to go back home and face my father's wrath. At night the man came back drunk. Again he started questioning me. When I refused to give any information he bound me with rope and beat me mercilessly with a willow wand. Then he let me lie there on the floor, more dead than alive. I passed a terrible night. The next morning the monk took off the ropes, gave me a drink of water, and when I had somewhat recovered ordered me to gather firewood. I decided to flee from that cruel man. As soon as I had collected two bundles, I hurried away to the city. With my shaven head and tattered robe nobody recognized me on the road. I was well-nigh exhausted; my feet and back were sore. But the thought of seeing my father again gave me force, and I reached our street."

Candidate Djang paused to wipe the perspiration from his face. On a sign of the judge the headman gave him a cup of bitter tea. After he had drunk that he resumed:

"Who shall describe my horror when I saw constables of the tribunal in front of our door! That could mean only that I came too late; my father, unable to bear the shame I had brought over his house, had himself put an end to his life. I had to make certain, and slipped inside through the garden door, leaving my bundles of firewood in the street outside. I looked through the window of my bedroom. Then I saw a fearful apparition! The King of the Nether World was staring at me with burning eyes! The ghosts of Hell were persecuting me, the patricide! I lost my head completely. I ran out again into the deserted street and fled to the forest. By dint of much searching through the woods I at last found the cave.

"The man was waiting for me. When he saw me he flew into a violent rage. He stripped me and again beat me cruelly, shouting all the time that I should confess my crime. Finally I fainted, unable to bear the torture any longer.

"What followed then was a terrible nightmare. I got fever and lost all notion of place and time. The man would wake me up only to give me a drink of water, then beat me again. He never took off the ropes. Apart from this physical agony there was always present in my feverish brain the dreadful thought that I had killed the two people I cared for most, my father and my bride…"

His voice trailed off. He swayed on his feet, then sank unconscious to the floor, completely exhausted.

Judge Dee ordered Sergeant Hoong to have him carried to his private office. "Tell the coroner," he added, "to revive this unfortunate youth and dress his wounds. Then give him a sedative and supply him with a decent robe and cap. Report to me as soon as he has recovered. I want to ask him one question before we send him home."

The judge leaned forward and asked the monk coldly:

"What have you to say for yourself?"

Now the monk had, during his checkered career, always managed somehow or other to steer clear of the authorities. He was, therefore, unfamiliar with the severe rules of the tribunal and the drastic methods used to enforce those rules. During the latter part of Candidate Djang's statement he had been muttering angrily, but he had been silenced by vicious kicks from the headman. Now he spoke up in an insolent voice.

"I, the monk, want to protest against-"

Judge Dee gave a sign to the headman. He hit the monk in the face with the heavy handle of his whip, hissing:

"Speak respectfully to His Excellency!"

Livid with rage, the monk rose to attack the headman. But the constables were fully prepared for such an eventuality. They at once fell on him with their clubs.

"Report to me when the man has learned to speak civilly!" Judge Dee told the headman. Then he started to sort out the papers before him.

After some time the sloshing of water on the stone-flagged floor indicated that the constables were reviving the monk by throwing buckets of water over him. Presently the headman announced that he could be questioned.

Judge Dee looked over the bench. The monk's head was bleeding from a number of gashes and his left eye was closed. The other stared up at the judge with a dazed look.

"I have heard," the judge said, "that you told a few gamblers about your dealings with a man called Mao Loo. I now want the truth, and the complete truth. Speak up!"

The monk spat a mouthful of blood on the floor. Then he began with a thick tongue:

"The other day, after the first night watch, I decide to go to the city for a walk. Just as I am coming down the path behind the Buddhist Temple, I see a man digging a hole under a tree. The moon comes out and I see it's Mao Loo. He is in a mighty hurry, using his ax as hoe. I think Brother Mao is up to some dirty trick. But although I am ready for him any time with bare hands or with a knife, I don't like that ax. So I stay where I am.

"Well, he had made his hole; then he throws in his ax, and a wooden box. When he starts shoving the earth in it with his hands, I come out and say: 'Brother Mao, can I help you?' joking-like. He only says: 'You are out late monk!' I say: 'What are you burying there?' He says: 'Nothing but a few old tools. But over there in the temple there's something better!' He shakes his sleeve, and I hear the good money clinking. 'What about a share for a poor man?' I say. He looks me up and down and says: 'This is your lucky night, monk! The people there saw me running away with part of the loot and they came after me, but I gave them the slip in the wood. Now there's only one fellow left in the temple. You go there now quick and grab what you can before they return. I have all I can carry!' And off he goes."

The monk licked his swollen lips. On a sign from the judge the headman gave the monk a cup of bitter tea. He emptied it in one draught, spat, and continued:

"I first started digging just to make sure there's nothing there he forgot to tell me about. But the fellow hadn't lied, for once. I find only a box with old carpenter's tools. So I go to the temple. I ought to have known better! The only thing I find is an old bald-pate snoring in a bare cell, and a coffin in an empty hall! I know that the son of a dog has told me a story just to get rid of me. That's all, Judge. If you want to know more, just catch that bastard Mao Loo and ask him!"