The inquest on the exhumed body of Sir Garth Fratten was held at Scotland Yard, as any unnecessary movement was considered undesirable in view of the stage of decomposition that had been reached. For a similar reason it was arranged to hold the first stage of the inquest at once, without waiting for the collection of further evidence. After the inspection of the body by the jury, evidence as to identity, cause of death, and other preliminaries, an adjournment could be obtained and the body decently re-buried. As can be imagined, the news of the prospective inquest was received with intense interest, and even excitement, by the press and public. The applications for the few available seats ran into hundreds, and for every curious spectator who found a place in the body of the court, twenty were turned away. When the Coroner, Mr. Mendel Queriton, took his seat at eleven o’clock on Wednesday 6th November, the room was packed to suffocation—so much so, indeed, that the jury, filing back from their unpleasant duty, demanded and obtained a wholesale opening of windows. After the preliminary formalities, the first witness to be called was Sir Horace Spavage. Sir Horace identified the body and gave evidence as to the cause of death. He explained the nature of the disease, using very much the same terms and similes as he had done to Poole, but the detective noticed that the distinguished physician did not now display the same confidence and impatience as he had done on the first occasion. “Knows he’s skating on thin ice,” thought Poole. Having listened to what Sir Horace had to say, the Coroner caused to be handed to him a narrow sheet of paper, on which were visible both printed and written words. “That, Sir Horace, is the certificate of death signed by you immediately after Sir Garth Fratten’s death?” “It is.” “In it you certify that death was due to natural causes arising from the rupture of a thorasic aneurism?” “I do.” “You still hold that view?” “Certainly. I know of no facts which would cause me to alter my opinion.” “That death was due to natural causes?” Sir Horace inclined his head. “Did you examine the body?” “Naturally. I exposed the chest and percussed it, and finding it dull, knew that the aneurism had burst and that the chest was full of blood. It was exactly as I had expected—I may say that it was inevitable.” “You found no signs of violence?” “Certainly not.” “Did you examine his back?” “I did not. Why should I?” “You knew there had been an accident.” “The gentleman who had been with Sir Garth, Mr.—er—Hessel, certainly told me that there had been some slight _contretemps_—that someone had stumbled into Sir Garth and upset him; I should not have described it as an accident.” “Do you mean by that that it was intentional?” “Certainly not. I mean that it was too slight to be described as an accident. Still, I will accept the word, if you like.” The Coroner bowed.