"Corroboration?"
"Yes. We'd better join the ends of this thing, grumbled H.M., fitting his fingers together. "There are two sides to it, you know. We haven't been idle either in gatherin' evidence. While you two have been out enjoyin' yourselves, and having a rare old time, I've done a lot of soft-shoe work. Remember, we've had the whole crew of witnesses here for several hours. Dr. and Mrs. A. have been thoroughly hauled over the coals. So has Bowers. So has Serpos’
"What do you think of Serpos, by the way?"
"Ho ho ho," said H.M. After that sudden rather ghostlike burst of mirth, he peered at me sourly. "We'll come to Serpos. In good time. Stop interruptin' me, curse you! I want to tell you what happened here last night.. I mean the night Hogenauer came to get his bromide… by the testimony of Dr. and Mrs. A.
"Here's what happened. It's confirmed by the maid-servant, wench by the name o' Jenny Dawson: local gal, and so far as I can see, pretty trustworthy. Hogenauer arrived here about nine-thirty, driven by Bowers in Hogenauer's hired car. He was admitted by the maid. Now, Antrim's evening consultin'-room hours are seven to nine. It was past closing-time, but Hogenauer thought the doctor would see him. The doctor did. Antrim stuck his head out of this room, and told Hogenauer to come in.
"Next we have Antrim's testimony," pursued H.M., a long sniff rumbling in his nose. "He says Hogenauer asked to be given a 'going-over,' to see whether he was in shape to stand a mental or physical strain-evidently in preparation for the little clairvoyant experiment that was to take place the next night. Burn me, we oughta have realized this feller Hogenauer is thorough about even his lunacies! Antrim says he hadn't an idea what sort of `physical or mental strain' Hogenauer meant. He says the feller was organically sound, but that his nerves were shot to blazes. He thought Hogenauer had better have a mild nerve sedative: in fact, he says, Hogenauer himself suggested bromide. Hogenauer could 'a' got it at any chemist's, of course, without botherin' a doctor; but this happened to be convenient.
"Well, just at that moment Mrs. Dr. Antrim opened the door of this room. She wouldn't have barged in, naturally; but it was long after hours and she thought there wasn't anybody in here except her husband. Whereupon Antrim said, `While you're here, light o' my life,' or words to that effect, `you might put up a quarter of an ounce of sodium bromide.' Now, the average dose of bromide is 5 to 30 grains. There's 60 grains to a dram, and 8 drams to an ounce. A teaspoon, roughly speakin' holds something less than a dram. So that, puttin' up this quantity of a quarter of an ounce with instructions to take half a teaspoonful at a time, Antrim had given Hogenauer enough bromide for four stiff doses.
"`In any case,' Antrim said, `you might put up a quarter of an ounce of sodium bromide.' This is confirmed by Antrim himself, by Mrs. Antrim, and by the maid-who happened to be passing in the hall when the door was open.
"Happened to be passing," I said. "That's, fortunate."
H. M. peered at me over his spectacles. "Son, I'm afraid you got a nasty suspicious mind," he said querulously. "Sure she was out in the hall. But it seems that our friend Bowers, who'd been given permission to wait in the hall, was trying to click with the maid. And she wasn't havin' any. So she hung about near this door so she could knock on it and make an excuse to go in in case the enemy made a sudden flank-attack. Hey?