Dunn was the fiend who had pushed his zeal too far. And now he laughed at me!
"Dr. Lambert," observed Dr. Casey, "who treated the other gentleman, assured me that his patient asked him to put him out of his misery rather than push his treatment further."
That was Pybus. I could easily believe it. Death was preferable to Dunn's emetics.
"Now, where is the bottle which contained the cause of all the mischief?"
The fatal bottle had been brought into my snuggery for safety. It was handed to Dunn. He sniffed at it.
"Hum!" He sniffed again. "Hum!" He seemed surprised. "Rather--rather an odd smell for laudanum. Smell that!"
He handed it to Goldsmith.
"Very"--sniff!--"odd"--sniff!--"indeed"--sniff. "You are sure it is the bottle?"
There was not the slightest doubt about its being the bottle. It was passed to Casey. He had a smell.
"This isn't laudanum," he declared.