"Does Your Honour intend to hear the case of Candidate Ding this afternoon?", the sergeant inquired.

The night before Judge Dee had vouchsafed no further explanation of the discovery he had made in Candidate Ding's poem, and the sergeant was curious to know.

Judge Dee did not answer for a while. Then he rose and said:

"To tell you the truth, Sergeant, I have not yet made up my mind. Let us see when we have come back from our expedition to the country house. Please go out and see whether my palanquin is ready, and have Majoong called!"

Sergeant Hoong knew that it was no use insisting. He went out and had Judge Dee's private palanquin made ready, with six bearers.

The judge ascended his palanquin. Ma Joong and Sergeant Hoong mounted their horses.

They left the city by the east gate and moved along the narrow road through the rice fields.

When they were approaching elevated terrain, Ma Joong asked a peasant about the way. It appeared that they should take the first road to the right.

This side road proved to be very neglected. It was so overgrown with wild weeds and shrubs that only a footpath in the middle remained.

The bearers put the palanquin down. Judge Dee descended.

"We had better proceed on foot, Your Honour!", Ma Joong observed. "The palanquin cannot pass through here."

So speaking, he fastened the reins of his horse to a tree. Sergeant Hoong followed his example.

They went on in single file, the judge in front.

After many turns they came unexpectedly upon a large gate house. The double doors had once been covered with gold and red lacquer but now there was nothing left but the cracked boards. One panel hung loose.

"Anyone can walk in here!", said the judge in amazement.

"Yet there is no safer place in Lan-fang!", Sergeant Hoong remarked. "Even the most audacious robber would not dare to cross this threshold. This is haunted ground!"

The judge pushed the creaking door open and entered what had once been a beautiful park.

Now it was a wilderness. The roots of towering cedar trees had broken through the flagstones and thick undergrowth obstructed the way. Deep silence reigned. Even the birds did not sing.

The path seemed to disappear into a cluster of shrubs. Ma Joong parted the thick foliage to let the judge pass through. They saw a dilapidated mansion surrounded by a broad elevated terrace.

It was a one-storied, quite extensive building that must once have been an impressive sight. Now the roof had caved in at several places, and wind and rain had played havoc with the carved woodwork of doors and pillars.

Ma Joong went up the crumbling steps of the terrace and looked around. There was no one about.

"Visitors have arrived!" he shouted in a stentorian voice.

The echo was the only answer.

They entered the main hall.

Here the plaster hung down in strips from the walls. A few pieces of broken, bare furniture stood in a corner.

Ma Joong shouted again. But there was stilll no answer. Judge Dee lowered himself carefully into an old chair. He said:

"You two had better have a look round. You will probably find the old couple working in the garden behind the house."

Judge Dee folded his arms. Again he marvelled at the uncanny stillness that hung over this place.

Suddenly he heard the sounds of running feet.

Ma Joong and Sergeant Hoong came rushing into the hall.

"Your Honour!", Ma Joong panted, "we have found the dead bodies of that old couple!"

"Well", Judge Dee said testily, "dead people can do no harm. Let us go and have a look!"

They led the judge through a dim corridor. It gave on to a fairly large garden surrounded by old pine trees. In the middle stood an octagonal pavilion.

Ma Joong pointed silently to a flowering magnolia tree in a corner.

Judge Dee went down the stairs of the terrace and walked through the tall grass. On a bamboo couch, right under the magnolia tree he saw the remains of two people.

The bodies must have been lying there for several months. The bones were sticking up through the ragged, decaying robes. Strands of grey hair were attached to the bare skulls. They lay side by side, their arms crossed on their breast.

Judge Dee bent over and scrutinized the bodies intently.

"It seems to me", he said, "that the two old people died a natural death. I think that when one of them had succumbed to weakness and old age, the other just lay down there too and died.

I shall have the constables carry these bodies to the tribunal for an autopsy. But I don't expect any exciting discoveries."

Ma Joong shook his head disconsolately.

"If there is any information to be obtained here", he remarked, "we must get it all by ourselves!"

Judge Dee walked over to the pavilion.

The intricate lattice work of the window openings proved that formerly it had been a very elegant place. Now there was left nothing but the bare walls, and one large table.

"Here", Judge Dee said, "the old Governor used to paint and read his books. I wonder where that gate in the back fence leads to."

They left the pavilion and strolled over to the wooden gate. Ma Joong pushed it open. They found themselves in a paved yard.

In front, a large stone gate loomed against the green foliage. The curved roof was decked.with blue-glazed tiles. On left and right there rose a wall of thick shrubbery and closely planted trees. Judge Dee looked up at the inscribed stone slab inserted in the plaster over the gate.

He turned round and said to his companions:

"This is apparently the entrance to the Governor's famous maze. Look at that stanza written there:

The sergeant and Ma Joong looked up intently. The inscription was written in very cursive style.

"I can't identify a single letter!", Sergeant Hoong exclaimed.

Judge Dee did not seem to have heard him. He stood there gazing enraptured at the inscription.

"That is the most magnificent calligraphy I have ever seen!", he sighed. "Unfortunately the signature is so covered with moss that I can hardly read it. Yes, that is it. 'The Hermit clad in Crane Feathers'. What a curious name!"

The judge thought for a moment. Then he continued:

"I cannot remember ever having heard of a person of that name. But whoever he be, that man is a superb calligrapher! Seeing such writing, my friends, one understands why the ancients praised great calligraphy by comparing it to 'the tension of a crouching panther, and the wild force of dragons sporting among rain and thunder'."

Judge Dee passed through the archway, still shaking his head in admiration.

"Give me handwriting that a man can read!", Ma Joong whispered to the sergeant.

In front rose a row of age-cold cedar trees. The space between their heavy trunks was filled with large boulders and thorny shrubs. The tree tops met on high, screening out the sunlight.

The air was foul with the smell of decaying leaves.

On the right, two gnarled pine trees on either side of the path formed a natural gateway. At the foot of one stood a stone tablet with the inscription "Entrance". Beyond it a dim, damp tunnel went straight on for a while, then disappeared in a curve.

As he was looking into this green tunnel Judge Dee suddenly felt an uncanny fear.

Slowly he turned. On the left he saw the opening of another tunnel. A number of large boulders were piled up among the cedar trees. One stone was marked "Exit".

Ma Joong and Sergeant Hoong stood behind the judge. They did not say a word. They too felt the weird, threatening atmosphere of this place.