Judge Dee sighed. He wondered whether at this stage a more experienced magistrate would perhaps have taken a chance, and arrested Dr. Tsao and Yee Pen and questioned them with legal severities. But he thought he lacked sufficient proof for proceeding to such extreme measures. He could hardly arrest a man because he picked up a staff in a mulberry bush, and because lie didn't show much interest in the fate. of his daughter. As regards Yee Pen, lie thought lie had acted right. House arrest was a mild measure, sufficiently justified by his foisting on him the hoax about the arms smuggle. At the same time this deprived Po Kai of his second henchman, directly after he had lost Kim Sang. The judge hoped that this would hamper Po Kai in tire execution of his plans, perhaps force film to put off his great coup, and thus give the tribunal a little more time for further investigations.

The judge reflected that events had been moving so fast that he had had no opportunity as yet for visiting the commander of the fort at the river mouth. Or should the commander come to see him first? The relations between civil and military Officials were always rather delicate. If the latter were of equal rank, the civic officials as a rule took precedence over them. But the commander of the fort was probably a captain over thousand, and those were usually haughty fellows. Yet it was most important that he ascertain the commander's views on the gold smuggle. The fellow was doubtless an expert on Korean affairs; perhaps he could explain why people would want to smuggle gold to a country where it fetched, sans taxes, about the same price as in China. It was a pity lie had not consulted Tang about local protocol; the poor old fellow had been a stickler for formality,; he would have known. The judge dozed off.

He was awakened by loud voices in the courtyard Outside. He rose quickly and straightened his robes. He noticed to his dismay that he had slept longer than he had planned, dusk was already falling.

A large group of clerks, constables and guards were standing together in the center of the courtyard, Over their heads the judge saw the tall figures of Ma Joong and Chiao Tai.

When the men respectfully macle way for the magistrate, he saw four peasants lowering to the ground from their bamboo carrying poles the limp form of a very large tiger, measuring nearly ten feet in length.

"Brother Chaio got him!" Ma Joong shouted at the judge. "The peasants took us to the trail he uses in the woodland at the foot of the mountain slope. We put there a lamb as bait, and hid in the undergrowth, in a place Where we were upwind. We waited and waited, it was only in the afternoon that we spotted the brute.He came for the lamb, but didn't attack i t; he must have sensed danger.He lay there crouching in the grass for more than half an hour. Holy heaven what a wait that was! The lamb bleating all the time, and Brother Chiao creeping nearer and nearer his arrow ready on his crossbow I thought, `It the tiger jumps now, he'll Jump right on Brother Chiao's head!' I tried to creep up behind him with the two guards, our tridents ready. Suddenly the brute leapt; I saw only a streak in the air. But Brother Chiao got him, right in his flank, behind the right foreleg. Holy heaven, the arrow went in till three quarters of the shaft!"

Chiao Tai smiled happily. Pointing at the white patch that covered the huge right paw of the tiger, he remarked, "This must. have been the saine tiger we saw the other night on the opposite bank of the creek. I think I was a bit hasty in my conclusions, then! Though it beats me how the beast got there."

"We shouldn't worry about supernatural phenomena as long as we have our hands full with perfectly natural ones!" Judge Dee said. "Congratulations on your catch!"

"We'll now skin it," Ma Joong said, "Then we'll divide the meat among the peasants. they feed it to their children to make them strong. When we, have prepared the skin, magistrate, we'll present it to you, for the armchair in your library, as a slight mark of our respect."

The judge thanked him., then he took Sergeant Hoong to the main gate. Groups of excited people were coming in, eager to see the dead tiger and the man who killed it.

"I overslept," Judge Dee said to Hoong. "It's about time for dinner. Let's go together to that restaurant where our two braves met Po Kai for the first time, and dine for a change. At the same time we might see what they say about Po Kai there. We can walk; the fresh night air may help to clear the cobwebs from my brain!" They strolled through the busy streets in a southerly direction and found the restaurant without difficulty. Upstairs the owner came hurriedly to meet them, his round face creased in an oily smile. He detained them long enough to give the other guests an opportunity to see what a distinguished visitor lie had, then led them deferentially to a luxuriously appointed separate room, and asked what his humble kitchen might offer them. "A few quail eggs, stuffed shrimps, sliced roast pork, salted fish, smoked ham, shredded cold chicken to begin with, then-"

"Bring us," judge Dee cut him short. "two bowls of noodles, a platter of salted vegetables and a large pot of hot tea. That's all."

"But allow me to offer your excellency at least a small cup of Rose Dew liqueur!" exclaimed the crestfallen manager. "Just to whet the appetite!"

"My appetite is excellent, thank you," said the judge. When the manager had passed on the modest order to the waiter, judge Dee resumed. "Did Po Kai frequent this restaurant?"

"Ha!" the manager exclaimed. "I knew at once that he was a mean criminal! Always when he came in I noticed that furtive look of his, the way he put his hand in his sleeve as if he were ready to produce a dagger from it. When 1 heard this morning that there were placards up for his arrest, ï said, "I could have told that to his excellency long aga."

"A pity you didn't do that then," the judge remarked dryly. lie recognized in the manager that distressing type of witness, a man with no eyes and a fertile imagination. He said, "Send your headwaiter in."

The headwaiter proved to be a shrewd-looking fellow.

"I must say, sir," he began, "that I would never have thought that Mr. Po Kai was a criminal! And in my job one learns to assess the guests. He certainly seemed an educated gentleman, and that lie remained, no matter how much lie drank. He was always kind to the waiters, but never so as to invite familiarity. And I once overheard the head of the Classical School near the Temple of Confucius remarking on the excellent quality of his poetry."

"Did he eat or drink here often with other people?" Judge Dee asked.

"No, sir, during the ten days or so that he came here regularly he ate either alone, or with his friend Kim Sang. They were fond of making jokes together, those two gentlemen. And Mr. Po Kai's arched eyebrows gave his face such a funny expression! Sometimes, though, I noticed that his eyes weren't funny at all; they didn't belong to the eyebrows, so to speak. Then I asked myself whether lie wasn't perhaps wearing some kind of disguise. But then he started laughing again, and I knew that I had been wrong."

The judge thanked him and quickly finished his noodles. He paid his bill despite the energetic protests of the manager, gave the waiters a generous tip and left.

In the street he said to Sergeant Hoong, "That waiter is an observant fellow. I greatly fear that Po Kai indeed wears a disguise. Remember that when lie met Miss Tsao and didn't have to act his part, he struck her as `having an air of authority.' He must be our main opponent, the master criminal behind all this! And we can give up now all hope that our men can discover him, for he doesn't even need to hide. He just sheds his disguise, and no one recognizes him. What a pity that I never met him!"