One
after another the ordinary poisons were eliminated, until it began
to look hopeless.
So far Kennedy had been only an interested spectator, but as the
different tests failed, he had become more and more keenly alive.
At last it seemed as if he could wait no longer.
"Might I try one or two reactions with that sample?" he asked of
the physician who handed him the test tube in silence.
For a moment or two Craig thoughtfully regarded it, while with one
hand he fingered the bottles of ether, alcohol, distilled water,
and the many reagents standing before him. He picked up one and
poured a little liquid into the test tube. Then, removing the
precipitate that was formed, he tried to dissolve it in water. Not
succeeding, he tried the ether and then the alcohol. Both were
successful.
"What is it?" we asked as he held the tube up critically to the light.
"I can't be sure yet," he answered slowly. "I thought at first that
it was some alkaloid. I'll have to make further tests before I can
be positive just what it is. If I may retain this sample I think
that with other clues that I have discovered I may be able to tell
you something definite soon."
The coroner's physician willingly assented, and Craig quickly
dispatched the tube, carefully sealed, to his laboratory.
Pages:
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242