of hearing seems too heavy and materialistic to describe the sensation.
Watson said the hat was Henley's, he also said that Henley played these
instruments; but the pierrots all wore hats that fitted, well-made hats,
and for this reason each of them marked his hat, and the skin at the
finger tips of a banjo player always hardens. The dead man was certainly
not Brother Pythagoras, and so far the deduction is simple."

I made no comment.

"Now it is obvious since these entertainers agreed that it was the body
of their comrade, they are in a conspiracy to deceive. Why? More than one
complicated reason might be found, but let us remain simple. They knew
who the dead man was, and because of what they knew of him concluded that
their comrade was responsible for his death. Have you any fault to find
with that deduction, Wigan?"

"I don't think it follows," I said.

"If they did not know the dead man, if they had nothing to conceal, why
did they allow it to be supposed that the dead man was Henley?" said
Queries. "There would be no object. They were running a risk for nothing.
As it was, their action protected Henley. No one was likely to question
their identification. The dead man would be buried as Henley, and there
would be an end of the matter."

"But the dead man might be identified by his friends," I said.

"Evidently they thought it worth while to run that risk, knowing perhaps
that it was not a very great one. Apparently it was not, for up to now no
one has made anxious inquiries for the dead man."