ught at an
osteological dealer's, for these usually have perforations to admit the
macerating fluid to the marrow cavities. Dealers' bones, too, are very
seldom all from the same body; and the small bones of the hand are
drilled with holes to enable them to be strung on catgut.

"They were not dissecting-room bones, as there was no trace of red lead
in the openings for the nutrient arteries.

"What the appearances did suggest was that these were parts of a body
which had decayed in a very dry atmosphere (in which no adipocere would
be formed), and which had been pulled or broken apart. Also that the
ligaments which held the body--or rather skeleton--together were
brittle and friable as suggested by the detached hand, which had
probably broken off accidentally. But the only kind of body that
completely answered this description is an Egyptian mummy. A mummy, it
is true, has been more or less preserved; but on exposure to the air of
such a climate as ours it perishes rapidly, the ligaments being the
last of the soft parts to disappear.

"The hypothesis that these bones were parts of a mummy naturally
suggested Mr. Jellicoe. If he had murdered John Bellingham and
concealed his body in the mummy-case, he would have a spare mummy on
his hands, and that mummy would have been exposed to the air and to
somewhat rough handling.

"A very interesting circumstance connected with these remains was that
the ring finger was missing. Now, fingers have on sundry occasions
been detached from dead hands for the sake of the rings on them. But
in such cases the object has been to secure a valuable ring uninjured.
If this hand was the hand of John Bellingham, there was no such object.
The purpose was to prevent identification; and that purpose would have
been more easily, and much more completely, achieved by sacrificing the
ring, by filing through it or breaking it off the finger. The
appearances, therefore, did not quite agree with the apparent purpose.

"Then, could there be any other purpose with which they agreed better?
Yes, there could.

"If it had happened that John Bellingham were known to have worn a ring
on that finger, and especially if that ring fitted tightly, the removal
of the finger would serve a very useful purpose. It would create an
impression that the finger had been removed on account of a ring, to
prevent identification; which impression would, in turn, produce a
suspicion that the hand was that of John