“It is a beautiful design,” said McLane at last. “And unique in having the flowers on the cup fit into the filigree work.” He picked it up and turned the stopper and sniffed at its contents, then replaced the stopper and removed the silver cup from the glass bottom. “You are sure your flask was not out of your possession while on the train before you lent it to Tilghman?”
“Absolutely positive.”
“Then, conceding that Tilghman was drinking out of your flask when poisoned, the powder must have been slipped into this silver cup—”
“But how without Tilghman’s knowledge?” demanded Barclay.
“I don’t know,” admitted McLane. “But I hope to find out,” he shot a glance at his companion, but Barclay again sat half in shadow and he could not see his expression distinctly. “Has it occurred to you to ask the jewelers in town about the flask?”
“It has; but their information was almost nil,” responded Barclay. “They declared the flask was probably manufactured abroad, the workmanship pointed to that, but it bears no silversmith’s name or mark. They also said that while the design was unusual, there might have been a number of duplicates made from the original.”
“That is not very helpful,” mused McLane. “Where did you buy your flask?”
“At a little Mexican town, Tia Juana, about twenty-five miles over the border from Coronado, Cal. Tia Juana, or ‘Aunt Jane,’ as it is known over the border, is a great gambling town, where cutthroats, thugs, and criminals of every class fleeing from justice, take refuge. In a saloon there I saw this flask lying on the counter and bought it from the proprietor. He told me that it had been left by a Japanese in payment of a debt, and when Ito drew the design of the flask on the tablecloth in the diner on the train, I jumped to the conclusion that he was the Jap who had sold it to the saloon proprietor, and taking the reputation of the town into consideration, I imagined he might even then have been fleeing from justice.”
“That is not conclusive reasoning,” smiled McLane. “You were in ‘Aunt Jane’ as a tourist”—he paused slightly. “It is equally possible the Jap was also a tourist and ran short of funds.”
“That is true,” Barclay glanced at the clock on the surgeon’s desk. “And it is over four years since I purchased the flask.”