"That reminds me," said Paul, "won't you take something? I have some first-rate Beaune locked up in the cupboard which I only bring out to my special friends." "Well, thanks, I don't mind. But let me offer you one of my cigarettes," said Roux. "Mine are a very special brand which I get from Prazmouski in Moscow. They send me about twelve boxes every month, and they are so delicious I always run short before the month is out." "For my part," said Paul, "I am so accustomed to smoking Caporals that I have lost the taste for any other brand. Still, if I may--thanks. Yes, these certainly smell delicious," he added as he tapped the end of one on the table. The two men sat quietly musing in their armchairs as they drank their wine and puffed away in silence. Paul inhaled his smoke, ejecting it in two white whirls through his nostrils as he reflected on what his friend had been telling him. "I wonder," he said, as a sudden thought occurred to him, "what made the two doctors stop you in such a hurry? Did they think he was not dead?" "That is the extraordinary part of the tale. Riche happened to open a drawer at the request of one of the young ladies in the house, and found an envelope sealed up and addressed by Delapine to her. On opening it he found a curious message to the effect that if he were found dead, his body was not to be buried or opened by anyone as he was suspicious of foul play, and it was quite possible that he might not be really dead." "When did he find this envelope?" "While I was getting my instruments ready for examination." Paul blew a cloud of smoke out of his nose and whistled. "'Pon my soul, this is a most mysterious affair. I have known many mysterious things in my life, but I have never come across anything so strange as this. And of course you felt it your duty to suspend operations?" "Naturally I decided to await events." "But tell me, doctor, what proofs have they that he is not dead?" "Well, there have been no signs of post-mortem rigidity. If there had been any we must have noticed it, as one or the other of us has been at his side the whole time." "How long has he been in that state?" "Over forty-eight hours, and what is equally curious the body shows no signs of discoloration." "Not even in the dependent parts?" "Nowhere; not a sign. We have turned him over several times and his skin is quite white and clean." Paul began to hum a tune. "Well, that is certainly most extraordinary. If he had been really dead both these signs must have appeared before now." "That is true enough, but I confess I am rather in a difficulty what to do. The Parquet expects a detailed report of my medical investigation which must be handed in at once, as the law of France demands the burial of the deceased within three days."