The body lay upon the floor near the desk, but about two feet behind it. The position was such that any one coming into the building by the front door would have been unable to see it. Save for the crimson spot upon the shirt and the faint cross upon the forehead, there were no signs of violence. But the position in which the body lay was rather odd. The man lay flat upon his back, the staring eyes fixed upon the ceiling. But both arms were outstretched as far as they could reach. It was this that puzzled me. I knew it was impossible that the man could have fallen in the position in which he was. Some one must have arranged the body after the crime—but why? Behind the desk was the chair in which the scientist must have sat while at work. Near it, on the left, was another chair, back of the typewriting stand. And on the other side of the desk, very close to it, was a third chair. The surface of the desk was covered with papers and pamphlets. A small heap of manuscript was piled in an orderly manner in the very center. But of any weapon there was not a sign. I was just starting to comment upon this when I observed that Ranville was carefully studying the position of the chairs. In a moment he went around the desk, studying the place where a chair stood. Then he turned to us. “I have an idea I can reconstruct the murder. See the three chairs? There is no trouble about the two on your side of the desk; one was where Warren sat when at work, the other was for his secretary. But this chair on my side of the desk tells us a good deal.” I cast an inquiring gaze at the chair, a tall antique piece of furniture, while Ranville continued: “In a room as large as this you will not as a rule find a chair pulled up to a desk, across from which a man is working. But if some one comes in, the natural thing is to bring a chair near the desk, to be as close to the man you are talking to as you can. Now there are other chairs in the room across the desk from where Warren sat; but they are all rather far away. All but that one, and I am pretty sure the murderer sat there.” When he mentioned it, I noticed for the first time that there were a number of other chairs across from us. Some were near the wall, and one in front of the safe; but the chair he was speaking of stood but two feet from the desk. Seeing we did not speak, he went on: “What happened, I think, was this. The murderer sat in this chair talking to Warren. I have an idea it was some one he knew. Though I do not know his habits, yet I doubt if Warren would spend much time while at work with any one he did not know. The papers said he was rushing his book. Maybe there were some words passed, maybe not. But then, suddenly, Warren was killed.” “Why suddenly?” came Carter's dry question.