Almost immediately the pale, bluish flame turned to bluish white,
and white fumes were formed. In the ignition tube a sort of
metallic deposit appeared.
Quickly Craig made one test after another.
As he did so, I sniffed. There was an unmistakable odor of garlic
in the air which made me think of what I had already noticed in
Elaine's room.
"What is it?" I asked, mystified.
"Arseniuretted hydrogen," he answered, still engaged in verifying
his tests. "This is the Marsh test for arsenic."
I gazed from Kennedy to the apparatus, then to Rusty and a picture
of Elaine, pale and listless, flashed before me.
"Arsenic!" I repeated in horror.
. . . . . . . .
I had scarcely recovered from the surprise of Kennedy's startling
revelation when the telephone rang again. Kennedy seized the
receiver, thinking evidently that the message might be from or
about Elaine.
But from the look on his face and from his manner, I could gather
that, although it was not from Elaine herself, it was about
something that interested him greatly. As he talked, he took his
little notebook and hastily jotted down something in it. Still, I
could not make out what the conversation was about.
"Good!" I heard him say finally. "I shall keep the appointment--
absolutely."
His face wore a peculiar puzzled look as he hung up the receiver.
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