Her Royal Lover: A Novel — page 91: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

HER ROYAL LOVER, 83 having had the time to know where he was or how to utter a single cry!” “If these incontestable marks of strangulation have at first escaped my observation,” said the phy- sician, interrupting the tragic-comical exclamation of the commissary, “it was because my attention having been first concentrated on the breaking of the back, had prevented me from thinking of re- moving the cravat of the victim.” In fact, the corpse was still clothed the same as the commissary had found it on his arrival. No more uncertainty ; Kassar had been strangled! That dull noise that Mineleko had heard, was that of his body dragged with difficulty toward the win- dow from whence the corpse had been thrown into the garden. The man whom the ambassador had seen leap out was then, incontestably, the murderer of his faithful servant. “There is not an instant to lose to inform the justice of peace,” said the commissary, “and also to take this report to court in order to entreat as quickly as possible the presence of the investigating magis- trate. For my part, while waiting for those gentle- men, Iam going to proceed with a provisional in- quiry. Bring me the witnesses.” One of the first things to do, and what must be done moreover, is to search if it is yet possible to find and follow some traces of footsteps in the gar- den. But the storm during the night had inundated the garden and thus effaced all impressions. Im- mense pools of water were extended on all sides, as much upon the turf as upon the gravel, thus it was materially impossible to know whether the criminal had escaped or whether he must be sought for among the household. Eomicbooks.com