Handle it carefully."
He picked up the breast-bone daintily--for it was covered with wet
mud--and handed it to me with the remark: "That is the most definite
piece of evidence we have."
"You mean," I said, "that the union of the two parts into a single mass
fixes this as the skeleton of an elderly man?"
"Yes, that is the obvious suggestion, which is confirmed by the deposit
of bone in the rib-cartilages. You can tell the inspector, Davis, that I
have checked this lot of bones and that they are all here."
"Would you mind writing it down, sir?" said the constable. "Inspector
Badger said I was to have everything in writing."
The surgeon took out his pocket-book, and, while he was selecting a
suitable piece of paper, he asked: "Did you form any opinion as to the
height of the deceased?"
"Yes, I thought he would be about five feet eight" (here I caught the
sergeant's eyes fixed on me with a knowing leer).
"I made it five eight and a half," said the police-surgeon; "but we
shall know better when we have seen the lower leg-bones.
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