Detective Bob Bridger — page 185: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

178 DETECTIVE BOB BRIDGER. A moment later, with an air of authority, the coroner strode to his desk, and seated himself behind it. “We will now proceed to business,” he said. “One moment,” interposed the attorney. “I beg, sir, that you will not place undue stress on what these detective officers have to say to you. My clients, I understand. are the custodians of a vast estate in England, and it is their belief that a scheme has been set on foot by conspirators and also claimants to wrest valuable properties from them. The large interests at stake would warrant these operators to employ detectives to traduce the character of my clients, and you yourself well understand, sir, that by all report a detective’s cunning is only outstripped by the cupidity of the fraternity. I beg of you, sir, to demand proof, and that you will not cause our sheriff to imprison these gentlemen on foreign evidence such as these gentlemen will endeavor to offer.” “Proofs we want and must have,” returned the coroner. “And you can rest assured that my action will not bea hasty one. The jury are here waiting to receive evidence, and we will proceed to take evidence, beginning with that of the section-boss, who found the body. Peter Horton ?” “ Here, sir!” and the man stepped forward. The coroner administered the usual oath, and said: ‘Horton, go on, and tell us what you know about this body.” “T wor goin’ up the mountain yesterday mornin’ wid the boys on the hand-truck to work on the thrack, whin in the cut above I found the body. The man was lying to the right of the thrack wid his head against the bank, and doubled up loike as if he had fallen from the thrain.” “The express train had just passed west, had it not?” asked the attorney. “Yis, sor.’ “Well, what did you do with the body % ?” asked the coroner. “We put it on the truck, brought it to the depot, and delivered it into yer honor’s hands, sor.” “One word,” quoth the attorney. “Did you see any weapon, club or anything lying near ?” ‘None, sor.” “Not even a bloody stone, or anything that might have been used in striking the body ¢” “No, sir. There wor no blood. The back part of the neck and the right side of the head wor much bruised, but, there wor no blood.” comicbooks.co