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.