"I will help you," said Charles.
"You, sire!"
"Yes. If he has been poisoned, what symptoms shall we find?"
"Red blotches and herborizations in the stomach."
"Come, then," said Charles, "begin."
With a stroke of the scalpel Réné opened the hound's body and with his two hands removed the stomach, while Charles, one knee on the floor, held the light with clenched and trembling hand.
"See, sire," said Réné; "here are evident marks. These are the red spots I spoke of; as to these bloody veins, which seem like the roots of a plant, they are what I meant by herborizations. I find here everything I looked for."
"So the dog was poisoned?"
"Yes, sire."
"With mineral poison?"