"Not if he is wise," said Durham, looking at Alice, who had spoken. "By the way, Miss Berengaria, does he mention his mother?"
"No," replied the old lady, promptly. "Drat you, Durham! why should the boy mention his mother at this point? She has been dead all these months. Poor soul! her end was a sad one. I never heard, though, of what poison she died."
"A Romany poison they call drows," explained Durham, quickly. "The gipsies use it to poison pigs."
"Why do they wish to poison pigs?"
"Because, if they kill a pig in that way, the farmer to whom it belongs, thinking the animal has died a natural death, gives it to the gipsies and they eat it."
"Ugh!" Miss Berengaria shuddered. "I'll look well after my own pigs. So the poor creature killed herself with that drug?"
"I don't know that it is a drug," said Durham. "I can't explain what it is. She hinted that I would know what drows meant before the end of the day, and I did. While I was telling Inspector Groom about her confession, she poisoned herself in my office. I thought she was asleep, but she evidently was watching for her opportunity to make away with herself."
"Ugh!" said Miss Berengaria, again. "I wonder you can bear to sit in that office after such an occurrence."
"How lucky it was that she signed that confession before she died," was the remark made by Alice.
"My dear young lady, she came especially to confess, so as to save her son. She would not have died until she did confess."