"
"Was he writhing at all--making any movement?" enquired the Coroner.
"Not a movement! He was as still as the stones he was lying on!" said the
witness. "I'm dead certain he never moved after he fell. There was nobody
about, just then, and I was just going to ring the bell of the nearest
house when a policeman came round the corner. I shouted to him--he came
up. We examined the man for a minute; then I ran to fetch Dr. Mirandolet,
whose surgery is close by there. I found him in; he came at once, and
immediately ordered the man's removal to the hospital. The policeman got
help, and the man was taken off. Dr. Mirandolet went with him. I returned
home."
No questions of any importance were asked of Mr. Gardiner, and the
Coroner, after a short interchange of whispers with his officer, glanced
at a group of professional-looking men behind the witness-box.
"Call Dr. Mirandolet!" he directed.
Purdie at that moment caught Ayscough's eye. And the detective winked at
him significantly as a strange and curious figure came out from the crowd
and stepped into the witness-box.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
WHAT MANNER OF DEATH?
One of the three companions who stood curiously gazing at the new witness
as he came into full view of the court had seen him before.
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