Evening star., 1922-06-24

touS Tor him as she had been and then
at the same time be plotting against
llm. l gave 1t up. determining to let
Kennedy unravel it in his own way.
Craig evidently had the same thought
in his mind, however, for he continued:
Was 1t woman who killed the chef?
NO. Tor the third specimen Of blood,
that of the white person. was the blood
OF man: not Of a woman"
Pitts had been following closely.
his unnatural eyes now cleaning.
You said he was wounded, you re-
member" he Interrupted. as II cast
ing about in his mind to recall some
one who bore a recent wound. per
haps 1t was not a bad wound. but 1t
was a wound. nevertheless. and some
one must have seen 1t, must know
about it. 1t is not three days"
Kennedy shook his head. 1t was
a point that had bothered him a great
deal.
"As to the wounds" he added in
a measured tone. although this oc-
CURED scarcely three days ago, there
is no person even remotely suspected
OF the crime who can be said to bear
on his hand or face others than old
scars of wounds"
He paused. Then he shot out in
quick staccato. Did you ever hear
of DIR. Carrers most recent discovery
of accelerating the healing OF
wounds. SO that those which under
ordinary circumstances might take
ten days to heal might be healed m
twenty-four hours?"
theory. IF the factors that bring
about the multiplication of cells and
the growth of tissues were discov-
cred. DR.. Carrel said to himself, 1t
would perhaps become possible to
pair of the body. Aseptic wounds
could probably be made to cicatrise
more rapidly. II the rate Of repara-
tion Of tissue were hastened only ten
times, a skin wound would heal IN
less than twenty-four hours and a
fracture of the leg in four or hve
days.
For Ave years DR.. Carol has been
studying the subject. applying vari-
Gus extracts to wounded tissues. All
of them increased the growth OF con-
nective tissue, but the degree Of ac-
cases it was as high as forty times
the normal. DR.. Carrers dream OF
ten times the normal was exceeded
by himself"
Astounded as we were by this reve-
lation. Kennedy did not seem to con-
slider it as important as one that ne
was now Fastening to show us. He
took a few cubic centimeters OF somo
culture which he had been preparing,
placed II In a tube and poured In
eight or ten drops Of sulphuric acid.
He shook 1t.
Of the food that / found was being
or had been prepared for Mr.. Pitts.
1t was in the ice box"
Then he took another tube. This"
he remarked. "is one-to. .one-thou-
sand solution Of sodium nitrite."
three or four cubic centimetors of 1t
into the first tube SO that 1t ran
down the side in a manner
such as to form a sharp line Of con-
tact between the heavier culture with
the acid and the lighter nitrite solu-
tion.
You see." he said, "the reaction is
very clear-cut IL you do 1t this way.
The ordinary method in the labora--
tory and tho textbooks is crude and
what is it!' asked Pitts eagerly.
strength and noting the pink color
that appeared at the junction of the
two liquids. contrasting sharply with
the portions above and below.
THE ring or contact test for indol."
Kennedy replied. with vid evident salts tss
nitrites are mixed the color reaction
is unsatisfactory. The natural yell
low tint masks that pink tint. or
causes 1t to disappear. II
tho tube is shaken. But this is SIM
pie. clear, delicate unacceptable.
Mr.. Pitts"
"Indol?" repeated Pitts.
'Tndol?" repeated Pitts.
"1s," explained Kennedy, "a chemi-
cal compound-one of the toxins Sc
crcted by intestinal bacteria and re-
Of senility. 1t used to be thought
that large doses of indol might be
consumed with little or no effect on
normal man, but now we know that
headache. insomnia, confusion. trr1-
liability. decreased activity OF the
from it. Comparatively small doses
over long time produce changes In
organs that lead to serious results.
"It is." went on Kennedy. as the
full horror Of the thing sank into
our minds. "the indol- and phenol-
desirable citizens Of the body. while
the lactic-acid-producin germs
check the production of indol and
phenol. In my tests here today, I
injected four one-hundredths of a
grain or indol into a guinea pig.
ing of the aorta. The liver, kidneys
and supra-renals were affected, and
there was a hardening Of the brain.
In short. there were all the symptoms
Of old age"
We sat aghast: Indol! What black
food?
1T Is present" continued Craig.
"in much larger quantities than all
the Metchnikoff germs could neu-
tralize. What the chef was ordered
to put into the food to benefit you.
and a deadly poison was added by
what anOthpr@
Minna Pitts had been clutching
for support at the arms Of her chair
as Kennedy proceeded. She now
threw herself at the feet Of Emery
PITTS.
Forgive me-" she sobbed. II can
stand 1t no longer. I had tried to
keep this thing about Thornton from
you. 1 have tried to make you happy
and well-oh-tried SO hard. so faith
past which thought was buried
would not stay buried. I have
bought Thornton off again and again.
with money-my money-only to find
him threatening again. But about
this other thing. this poison. am as
innocent, and believe Thornton is
as-'
Craig laid a gentle hand on her
lips. She rose wildly and faced him
In passionate appeal.
"Who-who is this Thornton?" de-
manded Emery Pitts.
Quickly. delicately. sparing her as
much as he could. Craig hurried over
our experiences. = e..
He is in the next ROOM" Craig
went on. then facing Pitts. added:
with you alive. Emery Pitts, this
blackmail Of your wife might have
gone on. although there was always
the danger that you might hear Of
it-and do as I see you have already
done-forgive. and plan to right the
unfortunate mistake. But with you
dead, this Thornton. or rather some