Necklace and Calabash

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Note that in Chinese the surname — here printed in capitals — precedes the personal name.

Judge DEE  Magistrate of the district of Poo-yang, who is staying two days in Rivertown while returning to his post

The Third Princess  the Emperor's favourite daughter, who resides in the Water Palace, east of Rivertown

Hydrangea  Chief Lady-in-waiting

LEI Mang  Chief Eunuch of the Water Palace

WEN Tung  Superintendent of the Water Palace

Colonel KANG  Commander of the Imperial Guard

Captain SIEW  his assistant

WEI Cheng  host of the Kingfisher Inn

TAI Min  cashier of that inn

Fern  Wei Cheng's niece

LANG Liu  a wealthy silk merchant

Master Gourd  a Taoist monk

When Judge Dee had ridden for another hour through the hushed, dripping forest he halted his horse and cast a worried look at the dense foliage overhead. He could see only a small patch of the leaden sky. The drizzle might change into a summer shower any time; his black cap and black-bordered brown travelling-robe were wet already, and moisture glistened on his long beard and side­whiskers. When he had left the village at noon he had been told that if he took a right turn at each fork in the road through the forest he would arrive in Rivertown in ample time for the even­ing rice. He must have taken a wrong turn somewhere, for he estimated he had been riding for about four hours now, seeing nothing but the tall trees and the thick undergrowth, and meet­ing no one. The birds had stopped singing in the black branches, and the odour of wet, rotting leaves seemed to cling to his very clothes. Wiping his beard and whiskers with the tip of his neck­cloth, he reflected dismally that it would be awkward if he were really lost, for dusk was falling and the forest spread for miles on end along the south bank of the river.

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