The witnesses of the morning were ordered to be brought out.
Sylvester arranged his ink-pad and sheets of paper.
"It seems to me," remarked the coroner, with a smile, "that you and
Mr. Godfrey would better register, too. You were within striking
distance."
"That is right," I agreed, and was the first to register; but
Sylvester, after a glance at my prints, shook his head.
"Your thumb is a left sinus," he said. "You're cleared, Mr. Lester."
Godfrey came forward and registered, too, and after him the three
servants. In each case, a shake of Sylvester's head told the result.
Then Simmonds came from the house, with Silva and Mahbub after him,
and the coroner explained to Silva what was wanted. I fancied that the
yogi's brow contracted a little.
"The registration of the fingers," he said, "of the foot or of the
palm, is with us a religious ceremony, not to be lightly performed. By
some, it is also held that the touch of ink, unless compounded by a
priest of the temple according to a certain formula, is defiling; and,
above all, it is impossible for a believer to permit such relics of
himself to remain in the hands of an infidel.
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