'It was said that he had some mysterious troubles in London, at which he
used to hint. Some people said that he really was in a scrape, but others
that there was no such thing, and that when he talked so he was only
jesting. There was no suspicion during the inquest that your uncle Silas
was involved, except those questions of Mr. Manwaring's.'
'What were they?' I asked.
'I really forget; but they greatly offended your uncle, and there was a
little scene in the room. Mr. Manwaring seemed to think that some one had
somehow got into the room. Through the door it could not be, nor down the
chimney, for they found an iron bar across the flue, near the top in the
masonry. The window looked into a court-yard no bigger than a ball-room.
They went down and examined it, but, though the ground beneath was moist,
they could not discover the slightest trace of a footprint. So far as they
could make out, Mr. Charke had hermetically sealed himself into his room,
and then cut his throat with his own razor.'
'Yes,' said I, 'for it was all secured--that is, the window and the
door--upon the inside, and no sign of any attempt to get in.
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