ribs
have just come in with this lot, but the twelfth dorsal vertebra to
which they belong was attached to the lower half. Imagine the trouble
he must have taken to do that, and without cutting or hacking the bones
about, either. It is extraordinary. This is rather interesting, by
the way. Handle it carefully."

He picked up the breast-bone daintily--for it was covered with wet
mud--and handed it to me with the remark:

"That is the most definite piece of evidence we have."

"You mean," I said, "that the union of the two parts into a single mass
fixes this as the skeleton of an elderly man?"

"Yes, that is the obvious suggestion, which is confirmed by the deposit
of bone in the rib-cartilages. You can tell the inspector, Davis, that
I have checked this lot of bones and that they are all here."

"Would you mind writing it down, sir?" said the constable. "Inspector
Badger said I was to have everything in writing."

The surgeon took out his pocket-book, and, while he was selecting a
suitable piece of paper, he asked: "Did you form any opinion as to the
height of the deceased?"

"Yes, I thought he would be about five feet eight" (here I caught the
sergeant's eyes, fixed on me with a knowing leer).

"I made it five eight and a half," said the police surgeon; "but we
shall know better when we have seen the lower leg-bones. Where was
this lot found, Davis?"

"In the pond just off the road in Lord's Bushes, sir, and the inspector
has gone off now to----"

"Never mind where he's gone," interrupted the sergeant. "You just
answer questions and attend to your business."

The sergeant's reproof conveyed a hint to me on which I was not slow to
act. Friendly as my professional colleague was, it was clear that the
police were disposed to treat me as an interloper who was to be kept
out of the "know" as far as possible. Accordingly I thanked my
colleague and the sergeant for their courtesy, and bidding them adieu
until we should meet at the inquest, took my departure and walked away
quickly until I found an inconspicuous position from which I could keep
the door of the mortuary in view. A few moments later I saw Constable
Davis emerge and stride away up the road.

I watched his rapidly diminishing figure until he had gone as far as I
considered desirable, and then I set forth in his wake. The road led
straight away from the village, and in less than half a mile entered
the outskirts of the forest. Here I qui