A commotion on the landing announced the arrival of a stout, florid individual, who turned out to be the Coroner, and a quiet, middle-aged man in plain clothes, whom I inferred, from the respect with which he was treated, to be no other than the "gen'l'man" from headquarters. After looking at the corpse for some moments, the Coroner turned to us and demanded: "Who is this man?" The little Irishman stepped forward. "We don't none of us know, sor." "How came he here then?" "The Lord only knows!" "What do you mean?" "Well, sor, it's this way. This apartment is being re-fixed, and five men were working here till six o'clock yistidy evening, and when they left they locks the door, and it has a Yale lock; and they brought me the key and I locks it away at once; and this morning at seven they come while I was still half asleep, having slept bad on account of the heat, and I gets up and opens the safe myself and takes out the key and gives it to this gintleman," pointing to the foreman; "and he come up here, and a few minutes afterwards I hear a great hue and cry and the workmen and elevaytor-boy come ashrieking that a body's murthered upstairs. How the fellow got in here, unless the Divil brought him, I can't think; and now here's the doctor that says he's been dead twenty-four hours!" At my mention the Coroner turned towards me with a slight bow. "You are a doctor?" "Yes, I am Dr. Charles Fortescue, of Madison Avenue. My office is exactly opposite; I was summoned this morning to see the corpse; I find that the man has been dead at least twenty-four hours. I have not yet made an examination of the body, as I did not wish to disturb it till you"--with a bow which included his companion--"had seen it; but I am inclined to think he died of alcoholism or apoplexy." "Let me make you acquainted with Mr. Merritt, Dr. Fortescue," said the Coroner, waving his hand in the direction of the gentleman referred to. I was surprised to learn that this insignificant-looking person was really the famous detective. "Now, gentlemen," said Mr. Merritt, "I must request you all to leave the room while Dr. Fortescue and I take a look round." As soon as we were alone, the detective knelt down and proceeded to examine the body with astonishing quickness and dexterity. Nothing escaped him; even the darns in the socks appeared worthy of his interest. When he had finished, he beckoned me to approach, and together we turned the body over. As I had discovered no sign of violence, I was about to tell him that, unless the autopsy disclosed poison, the man had certainly died from natural causes, when Mr. Merritt pointed to a small drop of blood at the side of his shirt front immediately above the heart, which had escaped my observation. In the middle of this tiny spot a puncture was visible.