examined the lid with a lens, for the finger marks, he said, which one
might expect to find near the screw holes. Then he studied the sides of
the coffin. The two pieces of lead did not appear to interest him very
much, but he asked me to push the smaller piece from the foot of the
coffin. He examined the lining, felt the padding, tried its thickness
with the point of a penknife, and in doing so he slit the lining.

"Sorry," he said. "My old hands are not as steady as they used to be.
Quite a thick padding, and quite a substantial coffin."

He had brought out some of the padding with his knife, and this left part
of the floor of the coffin near the foot visible. This he tapped with the
handle of his penknife to test its thickness.

"Quite an ordinary coffin--plain but good," he went on, looking at the
brass fittings.

"It was my father's wish that it should be so," said Sir Arthur.

"Strange what a lot of trouble some men take about their funerals,
while others never trouble at all," said the professor, looking round
the room again. "I suppose, Sir Arthur, like the rest of us your father
had enemies."

"Not that I know of."

"An old rival, for instance, in your mother's affections."

"There was nothing of the kind. Mr. Thompson, who is still in the
house--you saw him yesterday, Mr. Wigan--will endorse this. He knew my