called for my friend. He was on his way to the
extemporized mortuary to make the _post-mortem_ examination of the
murdered man's body. Thorndyke, having notified the coroner that he was
watching the case on behalf of the accused, had been authorized to be
present at the autopsy; but the authorization did not include me, and,
as Dr. Burrows did not issue any invitation, I was not able to be
present. I met them, however, as they were returning, and it seemed to
me that Dr. Burrows appeared a little huffy.

"Your friend," said he, in a rather injured tone, "is really the most
outrageous stickler for forms and ceremonies that I have ever met."

Thorndyke looked at him with an amused twinkle, and chuckled
indulgently.

"Here was a body," Dr. Burrows continued irritably, "found under
circumstances clearly indicative of murder, and bearing a knife-wound
that nearly divided the arch of the aorta; in spite of which, I assure
you that Dr. Thorndyke insisted on weighing the body, and examining
every organ--lungs, liver, stomach, and brain--yes, actually the
brain!--as if there had been no clue whatever to the cause of death.
And then, as a climax, he insisted on sending the contents of the
stomach in a jar, sealed with our respective seals, in charge of a
special messenger, to Professor Copland, for analysis and report. I
thought he was going to demand an examination for the tubercle bacillus,
but he didn't; which," concluded Dr. Burrows, suddenly becoming sourly
facetious, "was an oversight, for, after all, the fellow may have died
of consumption."

Thorndyke chuckled again, and I murmured that the precautions appeared
to have been somewhat excessive.

"Not at all," was the smiling response. "You are losing sight of our
function. We are the expert and impartial umpires, and it is our
business to ascertain, with scientific accuracy, the cause of death. The
_prima facie_ appearances in this case suggest that the deceased was
murdered by Draper, and that is the hypothesis advanced. But that is no
concern of ours. It is not our function to confirm an hypothesis
suggested by outside circumstances, but rather, on the contrary, to make
certain that no other explanation is possible. And that is my invariable
practice. No matter how glaringly obvious the appearances may be, I
refuse to take anything for granted."

Dr. Burrows received this statement with a grunt of dissent, but the
arrival of his dogcart put a stop to further disc