oroner intervened and said that Mr Inspector had done his best to
unravel a very difficult case. That he had not succeeded was the fault
of the case and not of Mr Inspector, and for his part, he thought that
the thanks of the Beorminster citizens were due to the efforts of so
zealous and intelligent an officer as Tinkler. This sapient speech
reduced the recalcitrant Jobson to silence, but he still held to his
opinion that the over-confident Tinkler had bungled the matter, and in
this view he was silently but heartily supported by shrewd Dr Graham,
who privately considered that Mr Inspector Tinkler was little better
than an ass. However, he did not give vent to this offensive opinion.

The summing-up of the coroner called for little remark. He was a worthy
country doctor, with as much brains as would cover a sixpence, and the
case was beyond him in every way. His remarks to the jury--equally
stupid, with the exception of Jobson--were to the effect that it was
evidently impossible to find out who had killed Jentham, that the man
was a quarrelsome vagabond who probably had many enemies; that no doubt
while crossing the common in a drunken humour he had met with someone as
bad as himself, and had come to high words with him; and that the
unknown man, being armed, had no doubt shot the deceased in a fit of
rage. 'He robbed the body, I daresay, gentlemen,' concluded the coroner,
'and then threw it into the ditch to conceal the evidence of his crime.
As we don't know the man, and are never likely to know him, I can only
suggest that you should find a verdict in accordance with the evidence
supplied to you by the zeal of Inspector Tinkler. Man has done all he
can to find out this Cain, but his efforts have been vain, so we must
leave the punishment of the murderer to God; and as Holy Scripture says
that "murder will out," I have no doubt that some day the criminal will
be brought to justice.'

After this wise speech it was not surprising that the jury brought in a
verdict, 'That the deceased Jentham met with a violent death at the
hands of some person or persons unknown,' that being the kind of verdict
which juries without brains--as in the present instance--generally give.
Having thus settled the matter to their own bovine satisfaction, the
jury went away after having been thanked for their zeal by the coroner.
That gentleman was great on zeal.

'Hum! Hum! Hum!' said Dr Graham to himself, 'there's too much zeal
altogether. I