They had cleared nearly half the beds when, yesterday afternoon, one of the men working in the deepest part came upon some bones, the appearance of which excited his suspicion.

Thereupon he called his mates, and they carefully picked away the plants piecemeal, a process that soon laid bare an unmistakable human hand lying on the mud amongst the roots.

Fortunately they had the wisdom not to disturb the remains, but at once sent off a message to the police.

Very soon, an inspector and a sergeant, accompanied by the divisional surgeon, arrived on the scene, and were able to view the remains lying as they had been found.

And now another very strange fact came to light; for it was seen that the hand--a left one--lying on the mud was minus its third finger.