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"
Mr. Bellingham sighed deeply and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
"It is a horrible affair!" he said huskily; "horrible! Would you mind,
Doctor Thorndyke, telling us just how the matter stands in your
opinion--what the probabilities are, for and against?"
Again Thorndyke reflected awhile, and it seemed to me that he was not
very willing to discuss the subject. However, the question had been
asked pointedly, and eventually he answered:
"At the present stage of the investigation it is not very easy to state
the balance of probabilities. The matter is still quite speculative. The
bones which have been found hitherto (for we are dealing with a
skeleton, not with a body) have been exclusively those which are useless
for personal identification; which is, in itself, a rather curious and
striking fact. The general character and dimensions of the bones seem to
suggest a middle-aged man of about your brother's height, and the date
of deposition appears to be in agreement with the date of his
disappearance."
"Is it known, then, when they were deposited?" Mr.


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