Mr. Gascoyne looked terribly worried. He had evidently not imagined that the matter was likely to become so serious and complicated.
The next witness was Gorby, the butler. He deposed to having fetched the wine from the cellar. No one had access to the wine-cellar but himself. He kept the keys. He had been in the family for forty years.
In reply to the coroner, he said that he himself placed the wine on the sideboard, and that it was his duty to pour out his lordship’s first glass before withdrawing.
No one drank claret after dinner but his lordship. Mr. Rank usually drank one glass of port, sometimes he drank nothing, but certainly never more than one glass.
“And on this particular evening?”
“Mr. Rank took port, sir.”
The coroner leaned forward and put the next question impressively.
“Was it possible for the arsenic to have been put into the decanter between your placing it on the sideboard and the arrival of the company for dinner?”
“I don’t think so, sir. I was late with some of the wine, and did not leave the dining-room at all till the company arrived.”
“It was possible, however, for anyone to reach the wine while you were out of the room?” persisted the coroner.