The doctor looked pleased.

"Those who call me a pioneer in the field of independent thought are probably right!" he said with satisfaction. He poured the judge a cup of tea from the large teapot on the desk.

"Do you have any idea," Judge Dee asked, "what could have happened to your daughter?"

Dr. Tsao looked annoyed. He carefully arranged his beard over his breast, then answered with some asperity, "That girl, your honor, has been doing nothing, but causing me bother! And I shouldn't be bothered; it affects seriously the serenity of mind I need for my work. I taught her myself to read and write, and what happened? She is always reading the wrang books. History she reads, I ask you, sir, history! Nothing but the sad records of former people who hadn't yet learned to think clearly. A waste of time!"

"Well," Judge Dee said cautiously, "often one can learn a lot from other people's errors."

"Pah!" Dr. Tsao said.

"May I ask," the judge said politely, "why you married her to Mr. Koo Meng-pin? I heard that you consider Buddhism as senseless idolatry-and to a certain degree I share that view. But 1\1r. Koo is a fervent Buddhist."

"Ha!" Dr. Tsao exclaimed, "that was all arranged behind my back, by the women of the two families. All women, sir, are fools!" Judge Dee thought that a rather sweeping statement, but decided to let it pass. He asked, "Did your daughter know Fan Choong?"

The doctor threw up his arms.

"How could I possibly know that, your honor! Perhaps she has seen him once or twice, for instance last month when that insolent yokel came here to speak to me about a boundary stone. Imagine sir, me, a philosopher, and… a boundary stone!"

"I suppose both have their uses," Judge Dee remarked dryly. When Dr. Tsao shot him a suspicious look, he went on quickly, "I see that the wall over there is covered with shelves, but that they are practically empty. What happened to all your books? You must have had an extensive collection."

"I had indeed," Dr. Tsao replied indifferently, "but the more I read the less I find. I read, yes, but only to let myself be diverted by men's folly. Every time I was through with an author, I sent his works to my cousin Tsao Fen, in the capital. My cousin, I regret to say, sir, sadly lacks originality. He is incapable of independent thought!"

The judge vaguely remembered now having met that Tsao Fen, at a dinner given by his friend Hou, the secretary of the Metropolitan Court. Tsao Fen was a charming old bibliophile, completely absorbed in his own studies. Judge Dee was going to stroke his beard but stayed his hand, annoyed, when he noticed that Dr. Tsao was already majestically caressing his own. Knitting his eyebrows, the doctor began.

"I shall now try to give you an outline, couched in simple language, and very brief, of course, of my philosophy. To begin with, I consider that the universe-"

Judge Dee quickly rose.

"I deeply regret," he said firmly, "that pressing affairs require my presence in the city. I hope soon to have an opportunity for continuing this conversation."

Dr. Tsao accompanied him downstairs. As the judge took leave of him he said, "During the noon session I'll hear some persons connected with your daughter's disappearance. You might be interested to attend."

"What about my work, sir?" Dr. Tsao asked reproachfully. "I really can't be bothered with attending sessions and so forth; it mars the serenity of my mind. Besides, Koo married her, didn't he? Her affairs are now his responsibilities. That is one of the cornerstones of my system, sir: let every man confine himself to what according to the heavenly command-"

"Good-by," Judge Dee said and jumped into the saddle.

He was riding down the hillock, followed by Hoong and Sooniang, when suddenly a good-looking youngster stepped out among the pine trees, and bowed deeply. The judge halted his horse. The boy asked eagerly, "Is there any news about my sister, sir?"

As Judge Dee gravely shook his head, the boy bit his lips. Then he blurted out, "It was all my fault! Please find her, sir! She was so good at riding and hunting; we were always together in the field. She was far too sensible to be a girl, she ought to have been a boy." He swallowed, then went on. "We two liked it here upcountry, but father is always talking about the city. But when he had lost his money-" He cast an anxious glance back at the house and added quickly, "But I shouldn't be bothering you, sir. Father'll be angry!"

"You aren't bothering me at all!" Judge Dee said quickly. He liked the bay's pleasant, open face. "It must be lonely for you now your sister is married."

The boy's face fell.

"Not more lonely than for her, sir. She told me she had no particular liking for that fellow Koo, but since she had to marry someone sometime anyway, and since father insisted so much, why not Mr. Koo? That's how she was, sir, a bit casual, but always so gay! But when she came back here the other day, she was not looking happy, and she wouldn't talk with me at all about her new life. What could have happened to her, sir?"

"I am doing all I can to find her," the judge said. Taking from his sleeve the handkerchief he had found in the hut on the farm, he asked, "Does this belong to your sister?"

"I really don't know, sir," the boy said with a smile. "All that women's stuff looks alike to me."

"Tell me," Judge Dee said, "did Fan Choong come here often?" "He came only once to the house," the youngster replied, "when he had to see father about something. But sometimes I meet him in the field. I like him, he is very strong, and a good archer. The other day he showed me how to make a real crossbow! I like him much better than that other man from the tribunal, that old fellow Tang, who is often on Fan's farm. He looks at you in such a queer way!"

"Well," the judge said, "I'll inform your father as soon as there is news about your sister. Good-by."

When he came back to the tribunal judge Dee ordered Sergeant Hoong to take the peasant girl to the guardhouse and look after her till the session would be opened.

Ma Joong and Chiao T'ai were waiting for him in his private office.

"We found in the barn that mat with the blood-stained clothes, and the sickle," Ma Joong reported. "The woman's clothes tally with Koo's description. I sent a constable to the White Cloud Temple; he'll tell them to send someone down here for identifying the dead baldpate we found. The coroner is now examining the bodies. That clodhopper Pei we put in our jail."

Judge Dee nodded. "Has Tang reported for duty?" he asked. "We sent a clerk to tell him about Fan," Chiao Tai replied. "He'll presently turn up here, I think. Did you find out much from that fat doctor, magistrate?"

The judge was pleasantly surprised. This was the first time that one of these two remarkable fellows had asked a question. They seemed to be getting interested in the work.

"Not much," he answered. "Only that Dr. Tsao is a pompous fool, and a liar to boot. It's quite possible that his daughter knew Fan Choong before her marriage and her brother thinks she had not been happy with Koo. Still the whole affair doesn't make sense to me. Perhaps the hearing of Pei and his daughter will bring to light some new facts.

"I'll now draw up a circular letter to all civil and military authorities of this province, asking for the arrest of that fellow Woo." "They'll catch him when he tries to sell those two horses," Ma Joong remarked. "The horse dealers are very well organized; they keep in close contact with each other and with the authorities. They also have a system for branding horses with special marks. To sell a stolen horse is no easy job for one who is new to it. At least that's what I have always heard!" he added virtuously.

Judge Dee smiled. He took up his brush and quickly wrote out the circular letter. He called a clerk and ordered him to have it copied out and despatched at once.