hich was destroyed, and made its way
to the base of the brain, which was quite shattered. The external
appearance of the wound, he said, did not support the hypothesis of its
being self-inflicted, inasmuch as there were no signs of the firearm
having been pressed against the eye, or even put very close to it; at
the same time it was not physically impossible that the weapon should
have been discharged by the deceased with his own hand, at some small
distance from the eye. Dr Stock also told us that it was impossible to
say with certainty, from the state of the body, whether any struggle had
taken place at the time of death; that when seen by him, at which time
he understood that it had not been moved since it was found, the body
was lying in a collapsed position such as might very well result from
the shot alone; but that the scratches and bruises upon the wrists and
the lower part of the arms had been very recently inflicted, and were,
in his opinion, marks of violence.

'In connection with this same point, the remarkable evidence given by Mr
Bunner cannot be regarded, I think, as without significance. It may have
come as a surprise to some of you to hear that risks of the character
described by this witness are, in his own country, commonly run by
persons in the position of the deceased. On the other hand, it may have
been within the knowledge of some of you that in the industrial world of
America the discontent of labour often proceeds to lengths of which
we in England happily know nothing. I have interrogated the witness
somewhat fully upon this. At the same time, gentlemen, I am by no means
suggesting that Mr Bunner's personal conjecture as to the cause of death
can fitly be adopted by you. That is emphatically not the case. What his
evidence does is to raise two questions for your consideration. First,
can it be said that the deceased was to any extent in the position of a
threatened man--of a man more exposed to the danger of murderous attack
than an ordinary person? Second, does the recent alteration in his
demeanour, as described by this witness, justify the belief that
his last days were overshadowed by a great anxiety? These points may
legitimately be considered by you in arriving at a conclusion upon the
rest of the evidence.'

Thereupon the coroner, having indicated thus clearly his opinion that Mr
Bunner had hit the right nail on the head, desired the jury to consider
their verdict.

CHAPTER IX: A