DETECTIVE ASTROLOGERS 57 



the thief. The spirits having been invoked, a small 

 box, containing an assortment of numbered bamboo 

 slips, was produced. One was drawn from the box 

 at random and the number referred to a book of 

 questions and answers. For example, " Is the 

 thief twenty U from here ? " " Yes." " Is he ten 

 li ? " " Yes," and so on, narrowing down the 

 inquiry. On a previous visit the doctor's money 

 and clothes had been stolen during his absence, the 

 thieves gaining admittance by cutting a hole in the 

 mud wall of his room, a very favourite method. 

 Indeed, during our stay, poor old Count Fosco, 

 as we called the caretaker, was attacked in this 

 manner. He was a thorough-paced old rascal with 

 a perpetual grievance, who did a little mild stealing 

 on his own when he thought there was no chance 

 of detection. The penalty for stealing over fifty 

 taels' worth of goods is death, occasionally enforced, 

 and he took good care to keep well within the 

 limit. Unfortunately for him, he was very deaf, 

 and the thieves quietly removed his clothes, bed- 

 ding, a bag of flour which he kept under his pillow, 

 and everything else they could find. Meanwhile, 

 the old gentleman slept peacefully on and never 

 discovered his loss till the morning, when the hulla- 

 baloo he raised brought every one rushing out to 

 see what was the matter. On the doctor's loss 

 being made known, an old man who lived over 

 the mountains near by, known as Shan-langyie, i.e. 

 the old mountain wolf-man, was called in. He 

 was a kind of clairvoyant, and his performance 

 merits description. 



He and his assistant having made their prepara- 

 tions, every one repaired to the temple. Paper 



