“At present there was but little to tell. The shrieks of the chambermaid, who had gone into the Hon. Robert’s room with his shaving water at eight o’clock, had attracted some of the waiters. Soon the manager and his secretary came up, and immediately sent for the police.
“It seemed at first sight as if the young man had been the victim of a homicidal maniac, so brutal had been the way in which he had been assassinated. The head and body were battered and bruised by some heavy stick or poker, almost past human shape, as if the murderer had wished to wreak some awful vengeance upon the body of his victim. In fact, it would be impossible to recount the gruesome aspect of that room and of the murdered man’s body such as the police and the medical officer took note of that day.
“It was supposed that the murder had been committed the evening before, as the victim was dressed in his evening clothes, and all the lights in the room had been left fully turned on. Robbery, also, must have had a large share in the miscreant’s motives, for the drawers and cupboards, the portmanteau and dressing-bag had been ransacked as if in search of valuables. On the floor there lay a pocketbook torn in half and only containing a few letters addressed to the Hon. Robert de Genneville.
“The Earl of Brockelsby, next-of-kin to the deceased, was also telegraphed for. He drove over from Brockelsby Castle, which is about seven miles from Birmingham. He was terribly affected by the awfulness of the tragedy, and offered a liberal reward to stimulate the activity of the police in search of the miscreant.
“The inquest was fixed for the 17th, three days later, and the public was left wondering where the solution lay of the terrible and gruesome murder at the Castle Hotel.”
XXXII
A High-Bred Gentleman
“The central figure in the coroner’s court that day was undoubtedly the Earl of Brockelsby in deep black, which contrasted strongly with his florid complexion and fair hair. Sir Marmaduke Ingersoll, his solicitor, was with him, and he had already performed the painful duty of identifying the deceased as his brother. This had been an exceedingly painful duty owing to the terribly mutilated state of the body and face; but the clothes and various trinkets he wore, including a signet ring, had fortunately not tempted the brutal assassin, and it was through them chiefly that Lord Brockelsby was able to swear to the identity of his brother.
“The various employees at the hotel gave evidence as to the discovery of the body, and the medical officer gave his opinion as to the immediate cause of death. Deceased had evidently been struck at the back of the head with a poker or heavy stick, the murderer then venting his blind fury upon the body by battering in the face and bruising it in a way that certainly suggested the work of a maniac.
“Then the Earl of Brockelsby was called, and was requested by the coroner to state when he had last seen his brother alive.
“ ‘The morning before his death,’ replied his lordship, ‘he came up to Birmingham by an early train, and I drove up from Brockelsby to see him. I got to the hotel at eleven o’clock and stayed with him for about an hour.’
“ ‘And that is the last you saw of the deceased?’
“ ‘That is the last I saw of him,’ replied Lord Brockelsby.
“He seemed to hesitate for a moment or two as if in thought whether he should speak or not, and then to suddenly make up his mind to speak, for he added: ‘I stayed in town the whole of that day, and only drove back to Brockelsby late in the evening. I had some business to transact, and put up at the Grand, as I usually do, and dined with some friends.’
“ ‘Would you tell us at what time you returned to Brockelsby Castle?’
“ ‘I think it must have been about eleven o’clock. It is a seven-mile drive from here.’
“ ‘I believe,’ said the coroner after a slight pause, during which the attention of all the spectators was riveted upon the handsome figure of the young man as he stood in the witness-box, the very personification of a high-bred gentleman, ‘I believe that I am right in stating that there was an unfortunate legal dispute between your lordship and your brother?’
“ ‘That is so.’
“The coroner stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment or two, then he added:
“ ‘In the event of the deceased’s claim to the joint title and revenues of De Genneville being held good in the courts of law, there would be a great importance, would there not, attached to his marriage, which was to have taken place on the 15th?’
“ ‘In that event, there certainly would be.’
“ ‘Is the jury to understand, then, that you and the deceased parted on amicable terms after your interview with him in the morning?’
“The Earl of Brockelsby hesitated again for a minute or two, while the crowd and the jury hung breathless on his lips.
“ ‘There was no enmity between us,’ he replied at last.
“ ‘From which we may gather that there may have been—shall I say—a slight disagreement at that interview?’
“ ‘My brother had unfortunately been misled by the misrepresentations or perhaps the too optimistic views of his lawyer. He had been dragged into litigation on the strength of an old family document which he had never seen, which, moreover, is antiquated, and, owing to certain wording in it, invalid. I thought that it would be kinder and more considerate if I were to let my brother judge of the document for himself. I knew that when he had seen it he would be convinced of the absolutely futile basis of his claim, and that it would be a terrible disappointment to him. That
