room slowly. "I could cite
innumerable cases. Everyone understands that a blow may be fatal because
of shock to the solar plexus. In such a case no post-mortem trace might
be found and the blow could even be a light one.

"For instance, in a fight a blow might be struck and the recipient fall
dead. If the medical examiner should find nothing on holding the autopsy
which would have caused sudden death, he can testify that a shock to the
solar plexus will cause death and that the post-mortem examination will
give no evidence to support or disprove the statement. The absolute
absence, however, of any reason or of injury to the other organs will
add weight to his testimony, evidence of the blow being present."

"And you think this was such a case?" asked Kennedy, with just a trace
of a challenge in his tone.

"Certainly," replied the Coroner. "Certainly. We know that a blow was
struck--in all probability hard enough to affect the solar plexus."

It was evident, in his mind at least, that young Ferris was guilty and
Kennedy rose to go, refraining from antagonizing him by further
questions.

We next visited the county court house, which was not far from the
doctor's office. There, the sheriff, a young man, met us and seemed
willing to talk over the evidence which so far had been unearthed in the
case.

In his office was a trunk, a cheap brown affair, in which the body of
the unfortunate steward, Benson, had been found.

"Quite likely the trunk had been carried to the spot in a car and thrown
off," the sheriff explained. "A couple of boys happened to find it. They
told of their find and one of the constables opened the trunk, then
called us up here. In the trunk was the body of a man, crouched, the
head forced back between the knees."

"I'd like to see Benson's body," remarked Kennedy.

"Very well, I'll go with you," returned the sheriff. "It's at the
undertaker's--our only local morgue."

As we walked slowly up the street, the sheriff went on, just to show
that country as well as city detectives knew a thing or two. "There are
just two things in which this differs from the ordinary barrel or trunk
murder you read about."

"What are they?" encouraged Craig.

"Well, we know the victim. There wasn't any difficulty about identifying
him. We know it wasn't really a Black Hand crime, although everything
seems to have been done to make it look like one, and the body was left
in the most lonely part of the country.