He picked up the breast-bone daintily—­for it was covered with wet mud—­and handed it to me with the remark:  “That is the most definite piece of evidence we have.”

“You mean,” I said, “that the union of the two parts into a single mass fixes this as the skeleton of an elderly man?”

“Yes, that is the obvious suggestion, which is confirmed by the deposit of bone in the rib-cartilages.  You can tell the inspector, Davis, that I have checked this lot of bones and that they are all here.”

“Would you mind writing it down, sir?” said the constable.  “Inspector Badger said I was to have everything in writing.”

The surgeon took out his pocket-book, and, while he was selecting a suitable piece of paper, he asked:  “Did you form any opinion as to the height of the deceased?”

“Yes, I thought he would be about five feet eight” (here I caught the sergeant’s eyes fixed on me with a knowing leer).

“I made it five eight and a half,” said the police-surgeon; “but we shall know better when we have seen the lower leg-bones.  Where was this lot found, Davis?”

“In the pond just off the road in Lord’s Bushes, sir, and the inspector has gone off now to—­”

“Never mind where he’s gone,” interrupted the sergeant.  “You just answer questions and attend to your business.”

The sergeant’s reproof conveyed a hint to me on which I was not slow to act.  Friendly as my professional colleague was, it was clear that the police were disposed to treat me as an interloper who was to be kept out of the “know” as far as possible.  Accordingly I thanked my colleague and the sergeant for their courtesy, and bidding them adieu until we should meet at the inquest, took my departure and walked away quickly until I found an inconspicuous position from which I could keep the door of the mortuary in view.  A few moments later I saw Constable Davis emerge and stride away up the road.

I watched his rapidly diminishing figure until he had gone as far as I considered desirable, and then I set forth in his wake.  The road led straight away from the village, and in less than half a mile entered the outskirts of the forest.  Here I quickened my pace to close up somewhat, and it was well that I did so, for suddenly he diverged from the road into a green lane, where for a while I lost sight of him.  Still hurrying forward, I again caught sight of him just as he turned off into a narrow path that entered a beech wood with a thickish undergrowth of holly, along which I followed him for several minutes, gradually decreasing the distance between us, until suddenly there fell on my ear a rhythmical, metallic sound like the clank of a pump.  Soon after I caught the sound of men’s voices, and then the constable struck off the path into the wood.

I now advanced more cautiously, endeavouring to locate the search party by the sound of the pump, and when I had done this I made a little detour so that I might approach from the opposite direction to that from which the constable had appeared.