Yet though he had often seen him, Viner did not know his name;
the police-inspector, however, evidently knew it well enough.
"What is it, Dr. Cortelyon?" he asked as he pushed himself to the front.
"Is the man dead?"
Dr. Cortelyon drew himself up from his stooping position to his full
height--a striking figure in his dress jacket and immaculate linen. He
glanced round at the expectant faces.
"The man's been murdered!" he said in calm, professional accents. "He's
been stabbed clean through the heart. Dead? Yes, for several minutes."
"Who found him here?" demanded the inspector.
"I found him," answered Viner. He gave a hurried account of the whole
circumstances as he knew them, the police watching him keenly. "I should
know the man again if I saw him," he concluded. "I saw his face clearly
enough as he passed me."
The inspector bent down and hastily felt the dead man's pockets.
"Nothing at all here," he said as he straightened himself. "No watch or
chain or purse or anything. Looks like robbery as well as murder. Does
anybody know him?"
"I know who this gentlemen is, sir," answered the policeman to whom Viner
had first gone.
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