Found Dead by Fred M. White

It was only natural that, before many hours had passed, the amazing tragedy at Mortmains was the only theme of discussion for many miles around. Long before mid-day, the road leading to the old house was thronged with those anxious to see the scene and to gather all there was connected with the story. Representatives of at least two Press agencies were on the spot as if by magic, and the six o'clock edition of most of the evening papers contained columns on the subject of what was destined to be known far and wide ere long as the Mortmains mystery. It was a quiet time, with nothing more sensational than cricket and racing to fill the daily Press, so that news editors fell upon the happenings in Devonshire with avidity. The story was widely discussed in London and the great towns within a few hours of the preliminary details being flashed over the wires. And in the interim the curious would have to wait, for the simple reason that something like eight and forty hours must elapse between the discovery of the body and the preliminary investigations into the cause of the unfortunate man's death.

It was a full four and twenty hours later before Inspector Gore re-appeared at Mortmains, arriving on this occasion in Dr. Deacon's car. He had nothing very much to say, except that the inquest was fixed to take place in the library at Mortmains on the following morning.