the bank that Mr. Skidmore was going to
Lydmouth. We reserved a coach at once, and had it attached to the
Express. The other carriages were filled with ordinary passengers."

"Why didn't I hear of this before?" Merrick asked.

"_I_ don't know. It doesn't seem to me to be of much importance. You
might just as well ask me questions as to the passengers' baggage."

"Everything is of importance," Merrick said sententiously. "In our
profession, there are no such things as trifles. I suppose there will
be no difficulty in getting at the facts of this corpse business. I'll
make inquiries here presently."

So far Merrick professed himself to be satisfied. But there were still
difficulties in the way. The station people had a clear recollection of
the receipt of a coffin on the night of the tragedy, and, late as it
was, the gruesome thing had been fetched away by the people whom it was
consigned to. A plain hearse, drawn by one horse, had been driven into
the station yard, the consignment note had been receipted in the usual
way, and there was an end of the matter. Lydmouth was a big place, with
nearly a quarter of a million of inhabitants, and would necessarily
contain a good many people in the undertaking line. Clearly it was no
business of the railway company to take this thing any further.

Merrick admitted that freely enough. It was nearly dark when he came
back to the station, profoundly dissatisfied with a wasted afternoon.

"No good," he told Catesby. "At the same time there are consolations.
And, after all, I am merely confirming my suspicions. I suppose your
people here are on the telephone. If so, I should like to send a message
to your head office. I want the name of the firm in London who consigned
the coffin here. I suppose the stationmaster could manage this for me."

An hour or so later the information came. Merrick, at the telephone,
wanted a little further assistance. Would the Grand Coast Railway call
up the undertaker's firm whilst he held the line and ask the full
particulars as to the body sent from London to Lydmouth. For half an
hour Merrick stood patiently there till the reply came.

"Are you there? Is that Inspector Merrick? Oh, yes. Well, we have called
up Lincoln & Co., the undertakers. We got on to the manager himself. He
declares that the whole thing is a mistake. They have not sent a corpse
over our trunk system for two months. I read the manager the letter
asking for special facilities, a