"Nonsense," growled the Coroner. "Famous men like those you mention
would not murder even for the sake of obtaining this mummy."
"I never said that they would," retorted Braddock, "but you wanted to
hear who would like to have the mummy; and I have told you."
The Coroner waived the question.
"Was there any jewelry on the mummy likely to attract a thief?" he
asked.
"How the devil should I know?" fumed the Professor. "I never unpacked
the mummy; I never even saw it. Any jewelry buried with Inca Caxas would
be bound up in the bandages. So far as I know those bandages were never
unwound."
"You can throw no light on the subject?"
"No, I can't. Bolton went to get the mummy and brought it home. I
understood that he would personally bring his precious charge to my
house; but he didn't. Why, I don't know."
When the Professor stepped down, still fuming at what he considered
were the unnecessary questions of the Coroner, the young doctor who had
examined the corpse was called. Robinson deposed that deceased had been
strangled by means of a red window cord, and that, from the condition of
the body, he would judge death had taken place some twelve hours more
or less before the opening of the packing case by Braddock. That was at
three o'clock on Thursday afternoon, so in witness's opinion the crime
was committed between two and three on the previous morning.
"But I can't be absolutely certain as to the precise hour," added
witness; "at any rate poor Bolton was strangled after midnight and
before three o'clock."
"That is a wide margin," grumbled the Coroner, jealous of his
brother-practitioner. "Were there any, other wounds on the body?"
"No. You can see for yourself, if you have inspected the corpse."
The Coroner, thus reproved, glared, and Widow Anne appeared after
Robinson retired. She stated, with many sobs, that her son had no
enemies and was a good, kind young man. She also related her dream,
but this was flouted by the Coroner, who did not believe in the occult.
However, the narration of her premonition was listened to with deep
interest by those in the court. Widow Anne concluded her evidence by
asking how she was to live now that her boy Sid was dead. The Coroner
professed himself unable to answer this question, and dismissed her.
Samuel Quass, the landlord of the Sailor's Rest, was next called. He
proved to be a big, burly, red-haired, red-whiskered man, who looked
like a sailor. And indeed a few questions elicited the information that
he was a retired sea-captain. He gave his evidence gruffly but honestly,
and although he kept so shady a public-house, seemed straightforward
enough. He told much the same tale as had appeared in the newspapers.
In the hotel on that night there was only himself, his wife and two
children, and the staff of servants. Bolton retired to bed saying that
he might start early for Gartley, and paid one pound to get the case
taken across to river and placed on a lorry. As Bolton had vanished next
morning, Quass obeyed instructions, with the result which everyone knew.
He also stated that he did not know the case contained a mummy.