REIGN OF THE STAR-DEATH THE Coroner cleared his throat, and spoke briefly to the jury. “Now, gentlemen, you are acquainted with the—ah—the external circumstances of the tragedy. You have seen photographs of the burned house in Great Neck and of the—ah—gruesome remains. You have heard medical testimony to the effect that these remains constitute the charred bones of two men. It would appear, therefore, that they were burned to death. But—”
The pause that the Coroner had meant to be impressive was rendered rather ridiculous by his obviously painful excitement and by the nervous twitching of his upraised hand. He was a small, sandy-haired man, with light-blue eyes that blinked quickly at irregular intervals. It was clear to everybody in the room that his official duties weighed upon him heavily.
—“But,” he continued shrilly, “in an event so strange, so inexplicable as this, we must look beneath first causes. Our task, gentlemen, is to determine not only the manner of death, but also the reason for the death of these two men. In other words,”—here the Coroner, by lowering his voice and almost whispering his next words, managed to get a really fine dramatic effect—“has murder been done? . . . Or,” he added, relaxing and smiling feebly, “was the whole thing just an accident?”
. . .
