I arrived only a few minutes after Miss Lydia, who, finding the house in a state of confusion, with policemen about, had been informed at once of what had occurred. The sudden announcement had brought on a fit of hysterics, and she was being attended by the servants in the dining-room.
The chief superintendent of the police of that district was Inspector Melville, and I found him waiting for me, together with the doctor who had been called. Accompanied by a constable, the three of us went to the observatory, and the medical man proceeded to make a minute examination of the deceased gentleman. The first opinion he had expressed was fully confirmed.
The colonel had met his death by a bullet wound in the throat. The bullet had passed through the left carotid artery, death must have ensued w
