Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1933-08-31

ing room door was closed and all wers
seated.
II regret very much. Mr.. Rankin, I"
ne began. that what has occurred
here tonight makes 1t necessary to
summon the aid of the authorities.
Briefly, these are the facts An initia-
ton was held in this house tonight, to
admit new men into membership In
this fraternity. And just as the final
rites were being administered, one Of
the candidates. a young third-year stu
dent In the architectural school, named
Stuart Jordan, was killed"
"Killed" Rankin pursed his lips
igravely. that's very tragic. II was
an accident, of courseT
But Mr.. Warwick negatived the de-
itective's superstition. "We can't say
now 1t happened, but 1t was scarcely
iunintentional Young Jordan was
:Doisoned."
"Poisonedf" Rankin repeated: the
unexpected statement startled him.
Howl"
by subtle. quickly acting drug"
Doctor Thompson explained, ''that pro-
duces q sort Of muscular paralysis.
Death follows, from obstructed respi-
ration"
Have you any idea, Doctor, Of the
nature Of the poison7" the detective
asked
Il can only guess; the autopsy will
have to decide that accurately. But
am led to suspect q vegetable aka
i1oid-that is, the poisonous Juice Of
some plant II might be aconite or
nicotine or perhaps gelsemin. :"
"Gelsemin7" Rankin queried curl
'susly.
"Yes. the Juice Of the gelsemium
plant. It causes most Of the symp-
toms observed in Jordan-the muscu-
lar disturbance. prostration. dilation
lof the eyes and quickened respiration.
lOr again. for the same reasons, It
could be CONNIE"
'How would you say the poison was
faken7"
1T Is difficult to determine that un-
ell the autopsy" Doctor Thompson re-
piled. 1T might have been swallowed !;
but In my superficial examination,
found no indication Of that Perhaps
Il was injected with a hypodermic
needle, under the skin"
"Could It possibly be self-admin-
asteredf" Rankin put the suggestion
tentatively.
Evidently It had never occurred to
the doctor. but he considered 1t care
fully.
Yes. know Of nothing to contra
dict that idea," he admitted slowly !:
In fact. I'd rather that were the
case. But 1t seems most unlikely,
doesn't itf After all. a fraternity
initiation is a singular place to COM
init suicide"
The detectives tone held the per.
plexity his words expressed. "But no
more 80. surely. than as the scene of
Q murder. And II someone else in
Jected the poison during the ceremony,
the boy would have felt the stab of
che needle and made some disturb
ance." He paused. "You were called
IN. Doctor. at nine-thirtyr
ITO be exact. at nine-thirty-five ;
that was shortly after Jordan col
lapsed In the initiation room. and a
fruitless effort to revive him made.
j arrived fifteen minutes later. hut II
was then too late to help him. Given
large enough quantity Of poison. Il
must have taken effect a few minutes
after entering his system"
$50 that It probably did so at nine
twenty-five or thereabouts," Rankin
commented. "I'n have to send for
Doctor Sackett, the coroner's physi.
clan. He'll want to see the body be.
fore it's moved in any case. and the
sooner he gets here to do 1t, the more
he'll learn"
Summoning one Of the policemen
from the hall. ne instructed him 10
communicate with the city official
also to arrange for the dlspatching OF
a photographers from headquarters
That done. he turned to Mr.. Warwick
"And now. sir. the quickest way for
me to proceed with my investigation
is to hear exactly what took place
In the initiation room. Preferably
from someone who was both presen,
and had an active part In the ritual
III want the facts clear"
The supervisor went to the door and
said:
''Tn have the president of the fra,
ternity in. He probably directed the
ceremony and should know more about
Jordan than anyone in the house"
Ted Stanton had not removed hi.
black robe when he entered the liv
ing room. Nor was the pallor gone
from his features He was, Rankin
saw, about twenty-three, physically
and mentally well matured with light
hair, an aquiline nose and a handsome
fuli-lipped mouth.
Mr.. Warwick presented him to tbs
detective and offered him chair.
you know what we expect Of yor
here. Mr.. Stanton" he stated soberly
~The police must have thorough I'M
Outstanding Of the events eliminating