The room was the typical bedroom of the typical boarding-house, furnished, insofar as it could be said to be furnished at all, with a severe simplicity. It contained two beds, a pine chest of drawers, a strip of faded carpet, and a wash basin. But there was that on the floor which set this room apart from a thousand rooms of the same kind.
Flat on his back, with his hands tightly clenched and one leg twisted oddly under him and with his teeth gleaming through his grey beard in a horrible grin, Captain John Gunner stared up at the ceiling with eyes that saw nothing.
Until a moment before, he had had the little room all to himself. But now two people were standing just inside the door, looking down at him. One was a large policeman, who twisted his helmet nervously in his hands. The other was a tall, gaunt old woman in a rusty black dress, who gazed with pale eyes at the dead man. Her face was quite expressionless.
The woman was Mrs. Pickett, owner of the Excelsior Boarding-House. The
policeman's name was Grogan. He was a genial giant, a terror to the riotous
element of the waterfront, but obviously ill at ease in the presence of
death. He drew in his breath, wiped his forehead, and whispered: "Look
at his eyes, ma'am!"
Mrs. Pickett had not spoken a word since she had brought the policeman
into the room, and she did not do so now. Constable Grogan looked at her
quickly. He was afraid of Mother Pickett, as was everybody else along the
waterfront. Her silence, her pale eyes, and the quiet decisiveness of her
personality cowed even the tough old salts who patronized the Excelsior.
She was a formidable influence in that little community of sailormen.
"That's just how I found him," said Mrs. Pickett. She did not
speak loudly, but her voice made the policeman start.
He wiped his forehead again. "It might have been apoplexy," he
hazarded.
Mrs. Pickett said nothing. There was a sound of footsteps outside, and
a young man entered, carrying a black bag.
"Good morning, Mrs. Pickett. I was told that--Good Lord!" The
young doctor dropped to his knees beside the body and raised one of the
arms. After a moment he lowered it gently to the floor, and shook his head
in grim resignation.
"He's been dead for hours," he announced. "When did you find him?"
"Twenty minutes back," replied the old woman. "I guess he
died last night. He never would be called in the morning. Said he liked
to sleep on. Well, he's got his wish."
"What did he die of, sir?" asked the policeman.
"It's impossible to say without an examination," the doctor answered.
"It looks like a stroke, but I'm pretty sure it isn't. It might be
a coronary attack, but I happen to know his blood pressure was normal,
and his heart sound. He called in to see me only a week ago, and I examined
him thoroughly. But sometimes you can be deceived. The inquest will tell
us." He eyed the body almost resentfully. "I can't understand
it. The man had no right to drop dead like this. He was a tough old sailor
who ought to have been good for another twenty years. If you want my honest
opinion--though I can't possibly be certain until after the inquest--I
should say he had been poisoned."
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