. Meanwhile the body was left
on the bier beside the table and covered with a horse-blanket. A great
crowd of people, among them many women, and even little children,
flocked into the building in a very short time, thronged about the
bier, the black table, and Panna, who was leaning against it, carrying
on a low, eager hum of conversation till it seemed as though countless
swarms of bumble-bees were buzzing through the air.

About eight o'clock two carriages drove up, from which descended five
dusty gentlemen, dressed in the fashion of the city, and a servant.
These were the examining magistrate, the prosecuting attorney, the
district physician, a lawyer, and a clerk of the court, then the
beadle, who carried a box containing the dissecting instruments. In
the absence of the parish-magistrate--it was remembered that Abonyi
held this office--the gentlemen were received by the village notary
(parish clerk) and ushered into the interior of the building, where an
abundant breakfast awaited them. Meanwhile the people were dismissed
from the courtyard, and as the mere request did not induce them to move
fast enough, were urged forward with gentle force, after which the gate
was closed and bolted on the inside. Panna had been obliged to go out
with the others, but she would not leave the spot, where she was joined
by her father, though she entreated him to return home or go to his
work in the field and not meddle with anything.

At nine o'clock the little funeral-bell in the church-steeple began to
toll, and at the same time the post-mortem examination took place, but
did not last long, as it was only necessary to open the cavity of the
skull. The investigation proved that the missile, a lead, cone-shaped
bullet of large calibre, had entered above the left eye, torn its way
through the left-half of the brain in a curve passing from above to the
lower portion within, and lodged in the pons vorolii. Under such
circumstances, death must have been instantaneous.

When all was over, the beadle again opened the gate and admitted the
curious throng. The village notary went to Panna and asked whether she
wished to have the funeral from the town-hall, or from her own house.
She decided in favor of the latter plan, and the notary gave the
necessary orders to the beadle. A coffin had been ordered by the
gardener the day before, and was ready for delivery. Some old women
offered to attend to dressing the body and preparing it