Dr. Elliott seemed to be bursting with importance.
“Tell Inspector Baddeley at once—please,” he cried. “Sir Charles, will you please arrange for Baddeley——”
“I have already done so, Doctor,” rejoined our host.
We waited, expectant. What had the doctor to tell us that we didn’t know?
Baddeley entered—Roper following.
“Well, Doctor, what’s the excitement? There’s something very interesting outside. The more I see of this case—the more it——”
“Sir Charles—Inspector—I have carefully examined the body of this poor young fellow”—he paused dramatically—it was his moment—“and I find that he died not from a stab as we all presumed and supposed, but from asphyxiation!
“Gentlemen, he was strangled by something tied tightly round his throat! Look at the peculiar color of his face—look at his tongue!”
CHAPTER III
MR. BATHURST AND THE BED-CLOTHES
“What!” snapped Baddeley. “Strangled? Strangled with what?”