The Coroner--an elderly doctor with a short temper; caused by the

unrealized ambition of a country practitioner--opened the proceedings by

a snappy speech, in which he set forth the details of the crime in the

same bold fashion in which they had been published by the newspapers.

A plan of the Sailor's Rest was then placed before the jury, and the

Coroner drew the attention of the twelve good and lawful men to the fact

that the bedroom occupied by deceased was on the ground floor, with a

window looking out on to the river, merely a stone-throw away.

"So you will see, gentlemen," said the Coroner, "that the difficulty of

the assassin in leaving the hotel with his plunder was not so great as

has been imagined. He had merely to open the window in the quiet hours

of the night, when no one was about, and pass the mummy through to his

accomplice, who probably waited without. It is also probable that a boat

was waiting by the bank of the river, and the mummy having been placed

in this, the assassin and his friend could row away into the unknown

without the slightest chance of discovery."

Inspector Date--a tall, thin, upright man with an iron jaw and a severe

expression--drew the Coroner's attention to the fact that there was no

evidence to show that the assassin had an accomplice.

"What you have stated, sir, may have occurred," rasped Date in a

military voice, "but we cannot prove the truth of your assumption, since

the evidence at our disposal is merely circumstantial."

"I never suggested that it was anything else," snapped the Coroner. "You

waste time in traversing my statements. Say what you have to say, Mr.

Inspector, and produce your witnesses--if you have any."

"There are no witnesses who can swear to the identity of the murderer,"

said Inspector Date coldly, and determined not to be ruffled by the

apparent antagonism of the Coroner. "The criminal has vanished, and no

one can guess his name or occupation, or even the reason which led him

to slay the deceased."

Coroner: "The reason is plain. He wanted the mummy."

Inspector: "Why should he want the mummy?"

Coroner: "That is what we wish to find out."

Inspector: "Exactly, sir. We wish to learn the reason why the murderer

strangled the deceased."

Coroner: "We know that reason. What we wish to know is why the murderer

stole the mummy. And I would point out to you, Mr. Inspector, that, as

yet, we do not even know the sex of the assassin. It might be a woman

who murdered the deceased."

Professor Braddock, who was seated near the door of the coffee-room,

being even more irascible than usual, rose to contradict.

"There isn't a scrap of evidence to show that the murderer was a woman."




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