"It is a wonder the fiend incarnate did not seek my life also, thus removing from her path the two who were plotting to oust her from her position and reinstate the real heiress!"
But even as he spoke he remembered last night's accident when he had been aroused by the clink of breaking glass and found Roma in hysterics by his bedside.
He told Doctor Jay the whole story, adding:
"I could not imagine how the bottle came there. It was certainly not on the stand when I retired to bed, and when I read the label this morning, it ran: 'Poison—arsenic.'"
"I should like to see the bottle."
"Come with me," returned Mr. Clarke, leading the way to his room.
Fortunately the chambermaid had not disturbed anything yet, so the fragments of the bottle and glass were found upon the table.
"It is a fearfully strong solution of arsenic, and I fancy she intended to pour it into your sedative, so that in case you drank it you would be silenced forever," affirmed the doctor.
They could only stare aghast at each other, feeling that Providence had surely preserved their lives last night.
"She was nervous in the dark, jostling the bottle against the glass, breaking both, and thus defeating her murderous game! The toothache was probably a clever feint to explain her presence in your room," continued the old doctor, who had a wonderful insight into men and motives, and seemed to read Roma like an open book.