Detective and mystery stories; Stone, Fleming (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
Mr. Hamilton was of the short, stout, bald-headed type, sometimes called
aldermanic. It was plainly to be seen that his was a jocund nature, and
the awe which he felt in this dreadful presence of death, though clearly
shown on his rubicund face, was evidently a rare emotion with him.
He glanced round the room as if expecting to see everything there
materially changed, and though he looked toward the figure of Mr.
Crawford now and then, it was with difficulty, and he averted his
eyes as quickly as possible. He was distinctly nervous, and though
he listened to the remarks of Coroner Monroe and the other jurors, he
seemed impatient to get away.
Mr. Porter, in appearance, was almost the exact reverse of Mr. Hamilton.
He was a middle-aged man with the iron gray hair and piercing dark eyes
that go to make up what is perhaps the handsomest type of Americans. He
was a tall man, strong, lean and sinewy, with a bearing of dignity and
decision. Both these men were well-dressed to the point of affluence,
and, as near neighbor and intimate friends of the dead man, they seemed
to prefer to stand together and a little apart from the rest.
Three more of the jurors seemed to me not especially noticeable in any
way. They looked as one would expect property owners in West Sedgwick to
look. They listened attentively to what Mr. Monroe said, asked few or no
questions, and seemed appalled at the unusual task they had before them.
Only one juror impressed me unpleasantly. That was Mr. Orville, a
youngish man, who seemed rather elated at the position in which he found
himself. He fingered nearly everything on the desk; he peered carefully
into the face of the victim of the crime, and he somewhat ostentatiously
made notes in a small Russia leather memorandum book.
He spoke often to the coroner, saying things which seemed to me
impertinent, such as, “Have you noticed the blotter, Mr. Coroner? Very
often, you know, much may be learned from the blotter on a man's desk.”
As the large blotter in question was by no means fresh, indeed was
thickly covered with ink impressions, and as there was nothing to
indicate that Mr. Crawford had been engaged in writing immediately
before his death, Mr. Orville's suggestion was somewhat irrelevant. And,
too, the jurors were not detectives seeking clues, but were now merely
learning the known facts.
However, Mr. Orville fussed around, even looking into the wastebasket,
and turning up a corner of a large rug as if ferreting for evidence.
The others exhibited no such minute curiosity, and, after a few moments,
they followed the coroner out of the room.
Then the doctor and his assistants came to take the body away, and
I went in search of Coroner Monroe, eager for further information
concerning the case, of which I really, as yet, knew but little.
Parmalee went with me and we found Mr. Monroe in the library, quite
ready to talk with us.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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