The big man scratched his head and looked sheepish. "Well, you see, sir, policeman Wasp's a sharp one, he is, and like as not he'd have thought we'd killed the gent. We all three thought as we'd wait till we could see some other gentleman like yourself." There was a smile at this, and Wasp grew redder than he was. "A trifle too much zeal on the part of policeman Wasp," said the coroner drily, "but you should have given notice. You carried the body home between you, I suppose?" "Yes. There was Arnold, myself, and Wake--then there was the boy," added the witness with hesitation. "Boy?" questioned the coroner sharply, "what boy?" Jacobs scratched his head again. "I dunno, sir. A boy joined us on the edge of the common near Wargrove, and, boy-like, when he saw we'd a corpse he follered. When we dropped the body at the door of Misery Castle"--the name of Mrs. Merry's abode provoked a smile--"the boy said as he'd knock. He knocked five times." "Why five times?" questioned a juryman, while Eva started. "I can't say, sir. But knock five times he did, and then ran away." "What kind of a boy was he?" "Just an ordinary boy, sir," grunted the witness, save that he seemed sharp. "He'd a white face and a lot of red hair----" "Lor!" cried Mrs. Merry, interrupting the proceedings, "it's Butsey." "Do you know the boy?" asked the coroner. "Come and give your evidence, Mrs. Merry." The old woman, much excited, kissed the book. "Know the boy?" she said in her doleful voice. "Lord bless you, Mr. Shakerley, that being your name, sir, I don't know the boy from a partridge. But on Friday morning he came to me, and told me as Cain--my boy, gentlemen, and a wicked boy at that--would come and see me Saturday. As Cain was in the house, gentlemen, leastways as I'd sent him for a glove for the wooden hand of the corp, the boy--Butsey, he said his name was--told a lie, which don't astonish me, seeing what boys are. I think he was a London boy, being sharp and ragged. But he just told the lie, and before I could clout his head for falsehoods, he skipped away." "Have you seen him since?" "No, I ain't," said Mrs. Merry, "and when I do I'll clout him, I will." "Does your son know him?" "That he don't. For I asked Cain why he told the boy to speak such a falsehood seeing there was no need. But Cain said he'd told no one to say as he was coming, and that he intended to see me Friday and not Saturday, as that lying boy spoke." Here Inspector Garrit rose, and begged that Miss Strode might be called, as she could tell something, bearing on the boy. Eva looked somewhat astonished, as she had not seen Butsey. However, she was sworn and duly gave her evidence. "My father came home from South Africa over a week ago in the _Dunoon Castle_. He wrote to me from Southampton saying he would be down. He then went to London and stopped there a week. He did not write from London, but sent two telegrams." "Two telegrams," said the coroner. "One on Wednesday----"