ystery.

"Well, gentlemen," exclaimed Dr. Diplock, turning at last to the
twelve local tradesmen who formed the jury, "you have heard the
evidence in this curious case, and your duty is to decide in what
manner the deceased came by his death, whether by accidental means, or
by foul play. I think in the circumstances you will have very little
difficulty in deciding. The case is a mysterious one--a very
mysterious one. The deceased was a gentleman of means who was
suffering from a malignant disease, and that disease must have proved
fatal within a short time. Now this fact appears to have been well
known to himself, to the members of his household, and probably to
most of his friends. Nevertheless, he was found dead in circumstances
which point most strongly to wilful murder. If he was actually
murdered, the assassin, whoever he was, had some very strong incentive
in killing him at once, because he might well have waited another few
months for the fatal termination of the disease. That fact, however,
is not for you to consider, gentlemen. You are here for the sole
purpose of deciding whether or not this case is one of murder. If, in
your opinion it is, then it becomes your duty to return a verdict to
that effect and leave it to the police to discover the assassin. To
comment at length on the many mysterious circumstances surrounding the
tragedy is, I think, needless. The depositions I have just read are
sufficiently full and explanatory, especially the evidence of Sir
Bernard Eyton and of Doctor Boyd, both of whom, besides being
well-known in the profession, were personal friends of the deceased.
In considering your verdict I would further beg of you not to heed any
theories you may have read in the newspapers, but adjudge the matter
from a fair and impartial standpoint, and give your verdict as you
honestly believe the truth to be."

The dead silence which had prevailed during the Coroner's address was
at once broken by the uneasy moving of the crowd. I glanced across at
Ethelwynn, and saw her sitting immovable, breathless, statuesque.

She watched the foreman of the jury whispering to two or three of his
colleagues in the immediate vicinity. The twelve tradesmen consulted
together in an undertone, while the reporters at the table conversed
audibly. They, too, were disappointed at being unable to obtain any
sensational "copy."

"If you wish to retire in order to consider your verdict, gentlemen,
you are quite at lib