A gentleman pushed his way forward.
"Allow me, I am Doctor Blake," he said, and he knelt down beside the
still form.
"He is dead," he declared solemnly, as he placed his hand on the body.
The crowd fell back still further, with murmurs of horror. There was a
silence, broken at last by Jasper Vermont.
"Dear, dear!" he exclaimed in tones in which, had it not been for the
absurdity of the idea, one might have fancied there was almost a spark
of satisfaction. "How very, very sad. I wouldn't have had this happen
for anything!"