ividual he should have used evasive
tactics at this time. After a brief pause, scrutinizing briefly
the faces in front of him, he resumed his seat.

"Schurman was murdered by being struck at the base of his skull.
The blow fractured one and dislocated another one of the vertebrae
causing asphyxia, which made it easy for the examiner to conclude
that he had been asphyxiated by the rope with which he was hung."
Once more the reporter was conscious of an unwonted hesitancy in
the old scientist's manner. He cast another glance about the
semicircle of strained faces; then went on: "After he was struck
the fatal blow, he was hung to a hook high up on the wall of his
bedroom. Schurman occupied a small apartment on West Fourteenth
Street, one formerly occupied as a theatrical boarding house, when
that was the theatrical district.

"Entrance into his apartment was affected by an expert cracksman,
the New York police say. Schurman had a small safe. The marks on
the safe and the method in which entrance was affected makes the
police believe that they may be able to find the man.

"There was an additional factor. There was a small electric
refrigerator which was open when the body was found. There were
some soiled dishes on the table in the kitchen. It appeared that
an enormous quantity of food had been eaten. On one of the shelves
of the refrigerator there was an apple, a green apple in which
there were teeth marks.

"Someone had evidently bitten into this apple and found it too
green for eating. The maid, who came to the apartment once a day
to clean up, was able to estimate the amount of food that had been
eaten since she had last visited the place. Six eggs were eaten at
this meal.

"This woman found Schurman's body yesterday morning. The condition
of the body showed that it had been dead nearly twenty-four hours.
The condition of the stomach showed that he had not eaten for
about six hours prior to death, and no eggs then. A quick search
by the police placed him in a small restaurant near his apartment,
about two o'clock on the morning he was found. Thus it may be
assumed that the person who murdered Schurman is the person who
consumed that enormous amount of food. The police say they have
one additional bit of evidence they would rather not divulge."

At this point in the recital McGuire jumped up. His features were
alight with a mixture of ferocity and the zeal of the hunter. He
growled:

"The bird who did that le