The unfortunate young man was found lying near the table.
His head had been horribly mutilated by an expanding revolver
bullet, but no weapon of any sort was to be found in the room.
On the table lay two bank-notes for ten pounds each and seventeen
pounds ten in silver and gold, the money arranged in little piles
of varying amount. There were some figures also upon a sheet of
paper with the names of some club friends opposite to them,
from which it was conjectured that before his death he was
endeavouring to make out his losses or winnings at cards.
A minute examination of the circumstances served only to make
the case more complex. In the first place, no reason could be
given why the young man should have fastened the door upon the
inside. There was the possibility that the murderer had done
this and had afterwards escaped by the window. The drop was at
least twenty feet, however, and a bed of crocuses in full bloom
lay beneath. Neither the flowers nor the earth showed any sign
of having been disturbed, nor were there any marks upon the
narrow strip of grass which separated the house from the road.
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