“You were the one man that was armed. May I ask how you happened to have a pistol in the pocket of dinner clothes?”
“I was held up, once,” Marten replied straightforwardly. “Several years ago. I’ve carried a pistol ever since.”
The coroner nodded. “Did your party stay together in searching the gardens, or did they scatter out?” he asked.
“We scattered out. We couldn’t have hoped to find any one if we had stayed together. We called back and forth, however.”
“You kept track of one another all the time?”
“I can’t say that. The gardens and grounds are large and full of shrubbery.”
“The search lasted—how long?”
“Only a few minutes.”
The coroner dismissed him at this point, calling on Mr. Van Hope. The latter told of his long acquaintance with Nealman, and verified in every detail the story that his friend had told.