Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-01

ne taken poison, l declared.
Poison? You believe he's been poi
soned?'
1T may have been willful murder, or
he may have taken IL voluntarily" | an
swered. Blu It is most evident that the
symptoms are those Of poisoning"
Amber gave vent to a low grunt. hall
of satisfaction, half Of suspicion. l knew
that grunt we'll. When on the verge OF
any great discovery he always emitted that
cultural sound.
Wed better inform the police" l re-
marked. That's all we can do. The poor
fellow is dead"
Dead! Yes. We know that. But we must
find out who killed him"
We'll" l said, Il think at present, Am
bier, we've quite sufficient on our hands
without attempting to solve any further
problems. The poor man may have been
In despair and have taken poison willfully."
In despair" echoed the old man.
No fear. Lanky was happy enough. e
wasn't the sort of fellow to hurry hisself
out O. the world. He liked life too Jolly
well. Besides e 'ad a tidy bit o. money
In the Sayin's bank. e was we'll orr once.
Wer' Lanky. Excuse me for interruptin'."
We'll, IL he didn't commit suicide" /
remarked, then according to all appear
ances, poison was administered to him will
fully"
That appears to be the most feasible
theory" Amber said. Here we have still
a further mystery"
or course the post-mortem appearances
OF poisoning, except in a few instances,
are not very Characteristic. As every med
ical man is aware, poison IL administered
with a criminal intent, is generally in
such a dose as to take immediate effect
although this is by no means necessary,
as there are numerous substances which
accumulate in the system. and when given
in small and repeated quantities ultimately
prove fatal-notably, anthony. The dag
nosis of the effects of irritant poisons is
not so difficult as Il is in the case OF mar
cotic or other neurotics, where the symp-
are very similar to those produced
by apoplexy, epilepsy, tetanus, commissions,
or other forms of disease of the brain.
Besides one of the most difficult facts we
have to contend With in such cases is that
poison may be found in the body and yet
a question may arise as to its having been
the cause OF death.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Poor Mrs. Courtenay.
Amber appeared to be much concerned
regarding the poor mans death. When we
had first met beside his vegetable barrow
in the London road he certainly seemed a
hardworking, respectable fellow, with a
voice rendered hoarse and rough by con-
stantly shouting his wares. But by the
whispered words that had passed 1 knew
Amber was in his confidence. The ma
ture Of this l had several times tried TO
His unexpected death appeared to have
upset all Ambler's plans. He grunted and
took a tour round the poorly furnished
chamber.
Look here" he said, hating in front of
me. There's been foul play here. We
must lose no time in calling the police
not that they are likely to discover the
Why do you say that?"
Because the poor fellow has been the
victim of a secret assassin"
Then you suspect a motive?"
81 believe that there is a motive why his
lips should be olosed-e strange and re-
mote one" Then turning to the old man
who bad been the dead mans friend, he
do you know any one by the name
of slade?"
"Slade?" repeated the croaking old fell
low. "Slade? No, sir. don't r~ecollect
any one o. that name. Is 1t a man or a
woman"
Either"
mo, sir"
do you know II Lanky Lane ever had
visitors here-I mean visitors not OF his
own class?"
II never card o. none. Lucky wasn't
the sort O. chap to trouble about callers.
He used to spend is nights in the Three
Nuns .wiv us; but ed sit ours over two O.
gin. e saved is money. e did"
but look here" exclaimed Amber, seri-
ously. Are you quite certain that you've
never seen him with any stranger at
nights?"
"Never to my knowledge"
We'll" my companion said, you'd bet
ter go and call the police"
When the old fellow had shufied away
down the rickety stairs Amber turning
to me, said abruptly:
THAT fellow is lying; he knows somo-
thing about this affair"
l had taken up the empty dram bottle and
smelt 1t. The spirit 1t had contained was
.rum-which had evidently been drunk from
the bottle, as there was no glass near. A
slight quantity remained, and this placed
aside for analysis IL necessary.
81 can't see what this poor fellow has
to do with the inquiry upon which we are
engaged, Amber" l remarked. Il do wish
you'd be more explicit. Mystery seems to
heap upon mystery"
Yes. You're right" he said rehec-
lively. "~Slowly-very slowly, l am work
ing out the problem, Ralph. 1t has been
a long and dificult matter, but by degrees
! seem 10 be working toward a conclusion.
This" and he pointed to the man lying
dead, lis another OF London's many mys-
teries, but it carries us one step further"
Il can't for the life of me see what con-
nection the death of this poor street
hawker has with the strange events Of the
immediate past"
Remain patient. Let us watch the
clustering inquiries Of the police" he
laughed. They'll make a great fuss. but
will find out nothing. The author OF this
crime is far too wary"
but this man Slade ?" I said. "Of late
your inquiries have always been Of him.
What is his connection with the AFFAIR.""
"Ah, that we have yet to discover. He
may have no connection for aught l know.
1t is mere supposition, based upon a logical
conclusion
What motive had you In meeting this
man here tonight" l inquired. hoping to
gather some tangible clue to the reason OF
his erratic movements.
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