The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-01-04


 He recommended his restless prom enade, and Odell was silent for a mos ment or, two.z .z@ At last he remarked thoughtfu1ly:
 "It is a pity that there was no autopsy. I suppose it is too late now, Doctor McCutcheon 2
 NO. The autopsy must take place now, although I doubt that it will disclose anything of value toward re- vea1ing the truth. There are some pofsons, you know, which can be in- troduced in just such a manner as by the prick of a needle that leave abso- effect is quick and sure; but they are rare and beyond the reach of a lay man" He paused beside the desk. ''I presume 1t would be unprofessionaI reason to suspect that Mrs. Lorne's death was not the result of heer ac- ctdent other than the fact that the needle was substituted ?''
 T will tell you this, doctor, under the seal of professional secrecy. You have heard of the tragic accident which befen Mrs. Lorne's eldest son only last week when while shaving he severed his Jugular vein and died be- fore help could reach him? I have good reason, amounting almost to proof, that his was not the hand which held the razor," Odell replied very grave1y.
 Great heavens, this is frightfuI!" The specialist sank into his chair. "I read of young MT. Chalmers death, of course, but looked upon 1t unquestion- ably ns an accident.
 "I had noted his highly nervous condition at the time when I wa. call ed in conu1tation on hi mother case, and the newspaper account of the man enough. It is a horrible thing to be- Heve because taken in connection with the probable poisoning of his mother 1t points to the work"
 He heS;tafp6 m fba 6pfoafiuo fin lshed the sentence for him HOf some one in the inside, some member of the household? Exactly, doctor"
 "Rut there is no clue, you say, to the identity of that some one? Has not Mir. Lorne any suspicion, any l theory to advance?"
 MT. Lorne was one of the intended ] victims hinself.'
 'In the meantime, while the neces- 1 sary formaiities for the autopsy are
 being arranged. wonder if you could /! give ma something to work on?' , 'c sr0rl2 be only too happy, to,
 sergeant. This is going to be rather a blew to rcy colleagues and myself : >srie.: fa<s t-:t<:e reaches the public. 1 But Pm not thinking of that now;
 to be honest I feel a certain amount i of professional curiosity. I'm anxious | to know what poison was used and
 how we were all so cleverly hoodwink-
 ed" Doctor McCutcheon's keen eyes
 narrowed behind their tortoise-rim-
 med glasses. 'tI'N be glad to have you call upon me for any help that I
 may be able to give you"
 A discreet knock sounded upon the door ,and at the specialists impatient
 bark of admission, a whtte-clad at tendant put her head inside. Doctor. will you sec"
 Nobody this afternoon. Not at
 home until 6t' He interrupted her shortly, and as the head withdrew he
 turned to the detective. What in | formation can I give you, sergeant p i "You spoke just now of certain pei
 sons which might have been used and 1 which would leave no trace in the sys-
 tenn, doctor. Will you tell me about
 them and where they might be ob- 1 tained by some one not Q member of l the medical profession?"
 i There are comparatively few l The specialist broke off abruptly. 1 | tell you, there's something wrong with
 that poisoned needle theory. I have
 made about as profound a study of | tcXicology as any one iii the country, i and l do not know of any poison so | introduced and leaving no trace which would produce that effect of a slowly i progressing septicemia. There are
 some which would cause instant death | and others which would merely para l lyze. I naturally do not care to give | lyze. I naturally do not care to give | an opinion before the autopsy, eSpe- cially in view of the mistake which you have convinced me that my col leagues and have made; but I don
 mind advancing a theory for your
 consideration.
 Il What if that needle had not been
 poisoned in the sense you mean
 What if it had merely been dipped in the serum from some other case
 of blood poisoning? That is the one to face, you know, and which has brought about meticulous care in ster-
 ihzation. The result would have been exactly what was seen in Mrs. Lorne's case at first.''
 ,l "Yes; but she did not respond tc , any of the forms of treatment which
 were tried" OdelI saw his carefully built-up theory falling to pieces. ''Yor
 arep ostive. doctor, that there is nc l, poison?'
 , The specialist waved the question , aside impatient1y.
 .''I said at first sergeant. Let us l suppose, then, that Mrs. Lorne real ly uffering from infection; let us sup 2 CT or his confederate is right at hand a trusted member of the household , As I remember. Doctor Adams wa l not called in until thet hird day ana
 by that time the infection had spread = well up into the lower arm. One O. 2 his first steps would be to make an in 7 cision near the original puncture fo g drainage. What if after this was ac 8 cOnpl1Shed ana the nrSt CrealInen l had been finished but before the pa l tient had begun to respond to it, tn ] dressing had been removed and tn t incision reinfected? What if thi r were repeated until death ensued
 Mrs. Lorne would have died from sep :! ticemia, true; but she would hay v been murdered as surely as if she hal 8 been stabbed through the heart. f ,"By George, believe you have hi r 1t, doctor,' Odeu exclaimed. f In the street once more, Odell turn s ed his footsteps in the direction of tn = Meade house. The specialists theor e was ingenious; but had it been '' wholly disinterested one? If it cou1 : be proven it would. of course. ex 5. culpate himself and his colleague
 from all censure in the matter of thei d diagnosis: but there seemed on tn I, face of it to be insuperab1e dif1cul $ ties in the path of such a hypothe it sis One or the other of the tw .- nurses must have been constantly 0 -- guard and Miss Meade has scarcel 't left her sisters bedside. Not even sin > would have been permitted to chang ,- the dressings; that could only hay