the days of my life

第73部分 (第1/7頁)

On　Friday；　the　15th；　I　was　going　into　Bungay　when　at　the　level　crossing　on　the　Bungay　road　I　was　hailed　by　two　plate…layers；　who　are　named　respectively　George　Arterton　and　Harry　Alger。　These　men　informed　me　that　the　dog　had　been　killed　by　a　train；　and　took　me　on　a　trolly　down　to　a　certain　open…work　bridge　which　crosses　the　water　between　Ditchingham　and　Bungay；　where　they　showed　me　evidence　of　its　death。　This　is　the　sum　of　their　evidence：

It　appears　that　about　7　o’clock　upon　the　Monday　morning；　very　shortly　after　the　first　train　had　passed；　in　the　course　of　his　duties　Harry　Alger　was　on　the　bridge；　where　he　found　a　dog’s　collar　torn　off　and　broken　by　the　engine　（since　produced　and　positively　identified　as　that　worn　by　Bob）；　coagulated　blood；　and　bits　of　flesh；　of　which　remnants　he　cleaned　the　rails。　On　search　also　I　personally　found　portions　of　black　hair　from　the　coat　of　a　dog。　On　the　Monday　afternoon　and　subsequently　his　mate　saw　the　body　of　the　dog　floating　in　the　water　beneath　the　bridge；　whence　it　drifted　down　to　the　weir；　it　having　risen　with　the　natural　expansion　of　gases；　such　as；　in　this　hot　weather；　might　be　expected　to　occur　within　about　forty　hours　of　death。　It　would　seem　that　the　animal　must　have　been　killed　by　an　excursion　train　that　left　Ditchingham　at　10。25　on　Saturday　night；　returning　empty　from　Harlestone　a　little　after　11。　This　was　the　last　train　which　ran　that　night。　No　trains　run　on　Sunday；　and　it　is　practically　certain　that　it　cannot　have　been　killed　on　the　Monday　morning；　for　then　the　blood　would　have　been　still　fluid。　Further；　if　it　was　living；　the　dog　would　almost　certainly　have　e　home　during　Sunday；　and　its　body　would　not　have　risen　so　quickly　from　the　bottom　of　the　river；　or　presented　the　appearance　it　did　on　Thursday　morning。　From　t