azed intently upon the face of the dead man. There was a
half quizzical light in the detective's eyes as he spoke, apparently
to no one.

"I've often thought," he said, "in a case like this, how much simpler
things would be if the murdered man could talk."

"H-m!" rejoined the practical Leverage. "If he could, he wouldn't be
dead."

"Perhaps you're right. And following that to a logical conclusion, if
he were not dead _we_ wouldn't be particularly interested in what he
had to say."

"All of which ain't got a heap to do with the fact that your work is cut
out for you, Carroll. You're dead sure about that ticket dope, ain't you?
I ain't used to traveling in drawing-rooms myself."

"It's straight enough, Leverage. The railroad company won't allow a
single passenger to occupy a drawing-room--that is, they demand two
tickets. If you, for instance, were traveling alone, and desired a
drawing-room, you'd be compelled to have two tickets for yourself. That
being so, it is plain that Warren there didn't intend making this trip to
New York alone. If he had, he would have had the two tickets along with
the drawing-room check. I am certain that two tickets were bought,
because the railroad men won't sell a drawing-room with a single ticket.
It is obvious, then, that he bought two tickets and gave the other one to
the person who was to make the trip with him."

"The woman, of course!"

"What woman?"

"The woman in the fur coat--the one who got into the taxicab."

"Perhaps; but she came in on the accommodation train after the New York
train was due to leave. The fast train was late."

"So was the accommodation. They are due to make connection."

"That's true. If we can find that ticket--"

"We'll have found the woman, and when we find her the case will end."

"Probably--"

The door opened, and Sergeant O'Leary entered.

"The coroner, sorr--him an' a reporter from each av the mornin' papers."

"Show the coroner in first," ordered Carroll. "Let the newspapermen
wait."

"Yis, sorr. They seem a bit impatient, sorr. They say they're holdin' up
the city edition for the news, sorr."

"Very good. Tell them Chief Leverage says the story is worth
waiting for."

The coroner--a short, thick-set man--entered and heard the story from
Leverage's lips. He made a cursory examination and nodded to Carroll.

"Inquest in the morning, Mr. Carroll. Meanwhile, I reckon you want to let
them newspapermen in."

The two reporters en