embraces every conceivable action or event or
possibility. We may fail to fathom a mystery, and we know that a
thousand things happen every day and night that seem beyond the power
of our wits to explain; but that is only to say our wits are limited.
I hold, however, that very few things happen which do not yield an
explanation, sooner or later, if approached by those best trained to
examine them without predisposition or prejudice. And I earnestly hope
that this tragic business will give up its secret."

"May you prove the correctness of your opinions, Mr. Hardcastle,"
answered Sir Walter. "Would you like to see the Grey Room now?"

"I should; though I tell you frankly it is not in the Grey Room that I
shall find what I seek. It does not particularly interest me, and for
this reason. I do not associate Captain May's death in any way with the
earlier tragedy--that of the hospital nurse, Mrs. Forrester. It is a
coincidence, in my opinion, and probably, if physiology were a more
perfect science than, in my experience of post-mortem examinations, it
has proved to be, the reason for the lady's death would have appeared.
And, for that matter, the reason for Captain May's death also. To say
there was no reason is, of course, absurd. Nothing ever yet happened, or
could happen, without a reason. The springs of action were arrested and
the machine instantly ran down. But a man is not a clock, which can be
stopped and reveal no sign of the thing that stopped it. Life is a far
more complex matter than a watch-spring, and if we knew more we might
not be faced with so many worthless post-mortem reports. But Sir Howard
Fellowes is not often beaten. I repeat, however, I do not associate the
two deaths in the Grey Room or connect them as the result of one and the
same cause. I do not state this as a fact beyond dispute, but that, for
the present, is my assumption. The gap in time seems too considerable.
I suspect other causes, and shall have to make researches into the dead
man's past life. I should wish also to examine all his property. He
has been in foreign countries, and may have brought back something
concerning the nature of which he was ignorant. He may possess enemies,
of whom neither you nor Mrs. May have heard anything. Your knowledge of
him, recollect, extends over only a short time--eight or ten months, I
suppose. I shall visit his ship and his cabin in H. M. S. Indomitable
also, and learn all that his fellow officers can t