The last window, that of the sitting room, was open. There was no one there.

"Did Your Honor look on the upper deck?" Chiao Tai asked.

The judge shook his head. He quickly went to the companion-way and ascended the steep ladder. Probably Almond Blossom had gone up there for a breath of fresh air. But one glance sufficed to show that the upper deck was completely deserted. He went down again and remained standing in the companionway, pensively stroking his beard. Anemone had already looked in the cabins on starboard. The dancer had disappeared.

"Go and have a look in all the other cabins," he ordered his three lieutenants, "and also in the bathroom!"

He walked back to the portside deck and went to stand by the railing, next to the gangway. Folding his arms in his wide sleeves, he looked out over the dark water. There was not a breath of air stirring; it was hot and oppressive. The feast in the dining room was still in full swing; he could hear the murmur of voices and a few bars of music.

He looked down over the railing at the reflection of the colored lamps. Suddenly he stiffened. Just under the surface of the water below a pale face was looking up at him with still, wide eyes.

One glance sufficed. He had found the dancer.

The judge was about to step down the gangway when Ma Joong appeared round the corner. Judge Dee silently pointed at his find.

Ma Joong cursed. He quickly went down the gangway till he stood up to his knees in the water. He lifted the dead body in his arms and brought it on deck. The judge led him to the main cabin; there the body was laid on the couch.

"The poor wench is heavier than I thought!" Ma Joong remarked while wringing out his sleeves. "I suppose something heavy was put in her jacket."

Judge Dee had not heard him. He stood there looking down at the dead face. The still eyes stared up at him. She was wearing her dance costume of white silk, but over it she had put on a jacket of green brocade. The clinging wet robe revealed her beautiful body in a manner that was nearly obscene. Judge Dee shivered. A few moments before she had been whirling round in her enchanting dance. And this was the sudden end.

He roused himself from these morbid thoughts. Stooping over the body, he examined the dark-blue bruise on the right temple. Then he tried to close the eyes, but the lids would not move and the dead woman's stare remained fixed on him. He took his handkerchief from his sleeve and spread it over the still face.

Sergeant Hoong and Chiao Tai entered the cabin. Turning to them, the judge said:

"This is the courtesan Almond Blossom. She was murdered, practically under my eyes. Ma Joong, you stand guard outside on deck and let nobody pass. I don't want to be disturbed. Don't say anything about this matter."

Judge Dee raised the limp right arm and felt in the sleeve. With some difficulty he extricated from it a round incense burner of bronze. The ashes had turned into gray mud. He handed the burner to Hoong and went to the wall table. In between the two candlesticks he saw three small depressions in the red brocade of the tablecloth. He beckoned Hoong and let him place the incense burner on the table. The three legs fitted exactly into the depressions. Judge Dee sat down on the tabouret in front of the dressing table.

"Simple and effective!" he said bitterly to Hoong and Chiao Tai. "She was lured to this cabin; the murderer knocked her unconscious from behind. He put the heavy bronze incense burner in her sleeve, carried her outside and let her down into the water. Thus there was no splash, and she would sink straight to the bottom of the lake. But in his hurry he didn't notice that the sleeve of her jacket caught on a nail in the gangway. She still was drowned, because the weighted sleeve kept her face several inches under water." He rubbed his hand over his face in a tired gesture. Then he ordered: "See what she has in her other sleeve, Hoong!"

The sergeant turned the sleeve inside out. It contained only a wet package of Almond Blossom's small red visiting cards, and a folded sheet of paper, which he handed to the judge.

Judge Dee carefully unfolded it.

"That is a chess problem!" Hoong and Chiao Tai exclaimed at the same time.

The judge nodded. He remembered the last words of the courtesan. "Give me your handkerchief, Sergeant!" he said. He wrapped the wet sheet of paper in it, and put it in his sleeve. He rose and went out.

"You stay here and guard the cabin!" he ordered Chiao Tai. "Hoong and Ma Joong shall go back with me to the dining room. I shall there institute a preliminary investigation."

While they were walking forward Ma Joong remarked:

"At any rate we shan't need to look far, Your Honor! The murderer must be on board this ship!"

Judge Dee made no comment. He entered the dining room through the crystal curtain, followed by his two assistants.

The dinner was nearing its end and the guests were eating the traditional last bowl of rice. An animated conversation was going on. When Han saw the judge he exclaimed:

"Good! We were just planning to go up on the roof and enjoy the moon!"

Judge Dee did not answer. He rapped the table sharply with his knuckles and called out: "Silence, please!"

All looked at him in astonishment.

"In the first place," Judge Dee said in a clear voice, "I wish, as your guest, to thank all of you sincerely for this lavish entertainment. Unfortunately, this pleasant gathering must now be broken up. You will understand that if from now on I speak to you as your magistrate and not as your guest, I do so because it is my duty to the State and to the people of this district, including yourselves." Turning to Han he added: "I must request you to leave this table, sir!"

Han rose with a dazed look. Anemone carried his chair over to Liu Fei-po's table. He sat down, rubbing his eyes.

Judge Dee shifted to the middle of the table. Ma Joong and Sergeant Hoong came to stand by his side. Then the judge said, speaking slowly:

"I, the magistrate, open the temporary tribunal convened to investigate the willful murder of the courtesan called Almond Blossom."

The judge quickly surveyed his audience. Most of them did not seem to take in the full meaning of his words but looked at him in blank astonishment. Judge Dee ordered Sergeant Hoong to fetch the master of the boat, and a set of writing implements.

Han Yung-han now took a hold of himself. He had a whispered consultation with Liu Fei-po. When the latter nodded Han rose and said:

"Your Honor, this is a most arbitrary proceeding. We, the leading citizens of Han-yuan, wish to-"

"The witness Han Yuan-han," Judge Dee interrupted him coldly, "will resume his seat and be silent until he is ordered to speak!" Han sank back in his chair with a flushed face. Sergeant Hoong brought a man with a pock-marked face before the table. The judge ordered the master of the boat to kneel and draw a plan of the ship. As the master set to work with trembling hands, Judge Dee looked the company over with a bleak stare. The sudden transition from a happy drinking party to a criminal investigation had sobered them completely and left them in a miserable state. When the master had his sketch ready he laid it respectfully on the table. Judge Dee pushed the sheet over to Hoong and ordered him to add the position of the tables and write in the names of the guests. The sergeant beckoned to a waiter, who whispered the name of each guest as Hoong pointed at him. Then the judge addressed the company in a firm voice:

"After the courtesan Almond Blossom had finished her dance and left this room there was considerable confusion. All of you were moving about. I shall now ask each of you to describe exactly what you were doing at that particular time."