coroner a public officer whose chief duty is to determine the causes of any deaths not obviously due to natural causes.
embalming the process of treating a dead body with various chemicals, usually after removing the viscera, to keep it from decaying rapidly.
"on-relief" aid in the form of goods or money given, as by a government agency, to persons unable to support themselves.
belligerently in a hostile or quarrelsome manner.
vagrant one who wanders from place to place without a regular job, supporting oneself by begging.
stir-bugs [slang] prison inmates.
coupe a closed, two-door automobile.
flagged sent (a message) by signaling.
self-abasement a humbling or abasement of oneself.
kerosene lamps lamps that burn kerosene, a thin oil distilled from petroleum or shale oil.
servile humbly yielding or submissive.
tunics short coats worn by soldiers, policemen, and so on.
