“The coroner is nettled because this case has baffled him, so he set his wits to work,” continued Hayden. “He pulled out some of the short hair from the man’s head with tweezers and steeped the hair in diluted nitric acid.”
“With what result?” Burnham almost jerked out the question.
“By tests with hydrochloric acid, Penfield found that the hair had been dyed with nitrate of silver,” answered Hayden. “And I found the same result upon microscopic examination of a few hairs.”
“Well, what if you did find nitrate of silver?” Burnham demanded roughly. “How does that advance the inquiry?”
“It established the fact that the man had dyed his hair,” explained the physician. “The inference being he did so for purposes of disguise.”
Palmer, who had been an attentive listener to all that was said, laughed heartily. “Oh, come, Hayden,” he exclaimed. “That’s a broad statement. I know a number of men, respectable citizens of Washington, who dye their hair for no other reason than to look younger.”
“Your friends have not been found dead under mysterious circumstances,” said Hayden dryly. “In the case in point we must consider the ulterior motive; therefore this unidentified dead man can be said to have dyed his hair from a motive of disguise until it is proven otherwise.”
“I’ll admit it’s a nice point,” conceded Palmer, twisting about in his chair. “Could you tell from the examination, the original color of the man’s hair?”
“Oh, bother!” broke in Burnham. “Who cares about the color of his hair—how did his dead body get in my house?”
“Walked there,” answered Maynard, a twinkle in his eyes belying his serious expression. “The man couldn’t have been dead when he entered your house.”