Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-30
CHAPTER X.
which PuEHIea the Doctors,

room OF the Star and Garter hotel at Kew
Bridge there was a crowded attendance. BY
this time the public excitement had risen to
fever heat. 1t had by some un~accountable
means leaked out that at the post-mortem
we had been puzzled; therefore the mystery
was much Increased, and the papers tina
morning without exception gave prominence
to the startling AFFAIR.
The coroner, seated at the table at the
head OF the room, took the usual formal evi.
dence Of Identification, writing down the
dispositions upon separate sheets Of blue
foolscap.
Samuel Short was the first witness Of i'm
portsnce, and those in the room listened
breathlessly to the story OF how his alarm
clock had awakened him at 2 o'clock; how
he had risen as usual and gone to his mas
ter's room. only to discover him dead.
You noticed no sign OF a struggle? ?" In
quired the coroner, looking sharply up at
the witness.
None, sir. My master was lying on his
side and except for the stain Of blood which
attracted my attention It looked as though
he had died In his sleep"
And what did you do?'
II raised the ALARM answered Short; and
then he went on to describe how he
switched on the electric light, rushed down
stairs, seized the knife hanging in the hall,
opened one Of the back doors and rushed
outside.
And why did you do that. pray?" asked
the coroner, looking at him hxedly.
"I thought that someone might be Turk
ing in the garden" the man responded, a
trifie lamely.
The solicitor of Mrs. Courtenay's family,
to whom she had sent asking him to be
present on her behalf, rose at this juncture
and. addressing the coroner. said:
II should like to put a question to the
witness, sir. l represent the deceased's
family"
A you wish" replied the coroner. but
do you consider such a course wise at this
stage of the inquiry? There must be an
adjournment"
He understood the coroner's objection,
and. acquiescing, quickly sat down.
Nurse Kate and the cook were called.
and afterwards Ethelwynn, who. dressed
in black and wearing a veil, looked pale
and fragile as she drew of her glove in
order to take the oath.
AS she stood there our eyes met for an
instant; then she turned towards her ques-
toner, bracing herself for the ordeal.
when did you last see the deceased
alive?" asked the coroner, after the usual
formal inquiry as to her name and con-
nection with the family.
"At 10 o'clock in the evening. DR.. Boyd
visited him, and found him much better.
After the doctor had gone l went upstairs
and found the nurse with him, giving him
his medicine. He was still sitting before
the fire."
Was he in his usual spirits?"
Quite"
What was the character Of your CONVEX
sation with him? / understand that Mrs.
Courtenay, your sister, was out at the
time. Did he remark upon her absence?"
Eyes. He said 1t was a wet night, and
he hoped she would not take cold, for she
was often so careless Of herself"
The coroner bent TO his paper and wrote
down her reply.
And you did not see him alive again."
mo"
You entered the room after he was
dead. l presume?"
mo. IL hadn't the courage she fall
tered. They told me he was dead-that
he had been stabbed to the heart"
Again the coroner bent to his writing.
What, l wondered, would those present
think IL l produced the little piece Of
stained chenille which / kept wrapped in
tissue paper and hidden in my fuseebox?
To them 1t, of course, seemed quite nat
ural that a delicate woman should hesitate
to view a murdered man. But II they
knew o. my discovery they would detect
she was an admirable a~ctress-that her
horror OF the dead was feigned, and tha
she was not telling the truth. /. who knew
her countenance SO well. saw even through
her veil how agitated she was, and with
what desperate resolve she was concealing
the awful anxiety consuming her.
"one witness has told us that the de-
ceased was very afraid OF burglars OBJ
served the coroner. Had he ever spoken
to you on the subject?"
'Often. At his country house some years
ago a burglary was committed and one OF
the burglars fired at him but missed him.
| think that unnerved him, for he always
kept a loaded revolver in a drawer OF a
beside his bed. In addition to this
he had electrical contrIvances attached to
the windows. so as to ring an alarm"
But 1t appears they did not ring" said
the coroner. quickly.
They were out OF order, the servants
tell me. The bells had been silent for a
or So"
at seems probable, then. that the muir
ierer knew of that" remarked DR.. Dip
Yoek. again writing with his scratchy quill.
to the solicitor, he asked. Have
you any questions to put to the witness?"
None" was the response.
And then the woman whom l had loved
70 fervently and we'll, turned and reseated
herself. She glanced across at me. Did
he read my thoughts?
Her glance was a glance OF triumph.
Medical evidence was next taken, Sir
Bernard Eyton being the first witness. He
gave his opinion in his habitual sharp,
Inappy voice, terse and to the point.
In technical language he explained the
disease from which his patient had been
and then proceeded to describe
he result Of the post-mortem, how the
wound inside was eight times larger than
he exterior i~ncision.
"Tha seems very remarkable" ex-
.laimed the coroner, himself q surgeon
4 no mean repute. laying Town his pen
nd regarding the physician with interest
uddenly aroused. Have you ever seen a
imilsr wound In your experience, Sir
3ernard2"
''Neveri" was the reply. MY friends,
Boyd and DR.. Farmer, were with me,
nd we are agreed that IL is utterly i'm
'ossible that the cardiac injuries / have
could have been caused by the
eternal wound"
Then how we're they eaused?" asked