Buttherewerepositivelynoothermarksofviolenceabouthim，certainlynonethatwouldaccountforhisdeath；andwhentheycametotheautopsytherewasn’tatraceofpoisonofanykind。
OfcoursethepolicewantedtoknowallaboutthepeopleatNumber20，andhereagain，soIhaveheardfromprivatesources，oneortwootherverycuriouspointscameout。ItappearsthattheoccupantsofthehousewereaMr。andMrs。CharlesHerbert；
hewassaidtobealandedproprietor，thoughitstruckmostpeoplethatPaulStreetwasnotexactlytheplacetolookforcountrygentry。AsforMrs。Herbert，nobodyseemedtoknowwhoorwhatshewas，and，betweenourselves，Ifancythediversafterherhistoryfoundthemselvesinratherstrangewaters。Ofcoursetheybothdeniedknowinganythingaboutthedeceased，andindefaultofanyevidenceagainstthemtheyweredischarged。
Butsomeveryoddthingscameoutaboutthem。Thoughitwasbetweenfiveandsixinthemorningwhenthedeadmanwasremoved，alargecrowdhadcollected，andseveraloftheneighboursrantoseewhatwasgoingon。Theywereprettyfreewiththeircomments，byallaccounts，andfromtheseitappearedthatNumber20wasinverybadodourinPaulStreet。Thedetectivestriedtotracedowntheserumourstosomesolidfoundationoffact，butcouldnotgetholdofanything。PeopleshooktheirheadsandraisedtheireyebrowsandthoughttheHerbertsrather’queer，’’wouldrathernotbeseengoingintotheirhouse，’andsoon，buttherewasnothingtangible。Theauthoritiesweremorallycertainthemanmethisdeathinsomewayoranotherinthehouseandwasthrownoutbythekitchendoor，buttheycouldn’tproveit，andtheabsenceofanyindicationsofviolenceorpoisoningleftthemhelpless。Anoddcase，wasn’tit？Butcuriouslyenough，there’ssomethingmorethatIhaven’ttoldyou。Ihappenedtoknowoneofthedoctorswhowasconsultedastothecauseofdeath，andsometimeaftertheinquestImethim，andaskedhimaboutit。’Doyoureallymeantotellme，’Isaid，’thatyouwerebaffledbythecase，thatyouactuallydon’tknowwhatthemandiedof？’’Pardonme，’
hereplied，’Iknowperfectlywellwhatcauseddeath。Blankdiedoffright，ofsheer，awfulterror；Ineversawfeaturessohideouslycontortedintheentirecourseofmypractice，andI