midday
Leopold Hirsch had hanged himself to one of the beams in his own back shop . His assistant found him there -- dead -- later in the day . As -- by previous arrangement -- the whole village was likely to be at Elsa Kapus ' wedding , there would not have been much use in keeping the shop open . So the assistant had been given a holiday , but he came to the shop toward midday , when the whole village was full of the terrible news and half the population out in the street gossiping and commenting on it -- marvelling why his employer had not yet been seen outside his doors . The discovery -- which the assistant at once communicated to the police -- solved the riddle of Erös Béla 's death . With a sigh of relief the police officers adjourned from the mayor 's parlour , where they had been holding their preliminary inquiries , to the castle , where it was their duty to report the occurrence to my lord the Count . At the castle of course everyone was greatly surprised : the noble Countess raised her aristocratic eyebrows and declared her abhorrence of hearing of these horrors .