Nigel spent a couple of hours in his office, writing up cameo portraits of the leading characters in the case. His chief expressed himself as being not displeased with the stories, and Nigel, at twenty to eleven, went underground to Sloane Square, and thence to Gardener's flat. The lawyer, a young and preter-naturally solemn one, was already there. They discussed a glass of sherry and Nigel attempted to enliven the occasion with a few facetiæ, which did not go down particularly well. The lawyer, whose unsuitably Congrevian name was Mr. Reckless, eyed him owlishly, and Gardener was too nervous and upset to be amused. They finished their sherry, and sought a taxi.

The inquest proved, on the whole, a disappointment to the crowds of people who attended it. Very little information as regards police activity came out. Alleyn gave a concise account of the actual scene in the theatre, and was treated with marked respect by the coroner. Nigel watched his friend, and experienced something of the sensation that visited him as a small boy, when the chief god of Pop walked on to a dais and grasped the hand of Royalty. Alleyn described the revolver, and the cartridges—.455.

"Did you notice anything remarkable about either the weapon or the cartridges?" asked the coroner.

"They were the regulation.455, used in that type of Smith and Wesson. There were no fingerprints."

"A glove had been used?"

"Probably."

"What about the dummy cartridges?"

Alleyn described them, and said he had found traces of sand from the faulty cartridge in the prompt corner, and in both drawers.

"What do you deduce from that?"

"That the property master gave the dummies to the stage manager, who put them as usual in the top drawer."

"You suggest that someone afterwards moved them to the second drawer, replacing them with genuine cartridges?"

"Yes, sir."

"Is there anything else you noted as regards the cartridges?"

"I saw whitish stains on them."

"Have you any explanation for this?"

"I believe them to be caused by a certain cosmetic used as a hand make-up by actresses."

"Not by actors?"

"I imagine not. There was none in the actors' dressing-rooms."

"You found bottles of this cosmetic in the actresses' dressing-rooms?"

"I did."

"Are the contents of these bottles all alike?

"Not precisely."

"Could you distinguish from which, if any, of these bottles, the stains on the revolver had come?"

"An analysis shows that it came from the star dressing-room. A bottle of cosmetic had been spilt there, earlier in the evening."

"The star dressing-room is used—by whom?"

"By Miss Stephanie Vaughan and her dresser. Miss Vaughan received visits from other members of the company during the evening. I myself called on Miss Vaughan, before the first act. The cosmetic was not spilt then. I met, in this room, the deceased, who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol."

"Will you describe to the jury your investigations, immediately after the tragedy?"

Alleyn did so, at some length.