I glanced at her left hand and saw a slight abrasion of the skin straight across the palm. Then I glanced at my own, and discovered to my dismay that I had received an exactly similar scratch.
“What makes you suspect poisoning!” I demanded quickly. “Do you believe these men have died from the same cause?”
“Undoubtedly,” she answered. But on quickly examining the hands of the dead men I discovered no marks there. “Ah?” she wailed; “you do not know. I am doomed to die, and no power can now save me.”
I did not mention my own symptoms for fear of increasing her alarm, but merely said:
“If you really believe you have been poisoned secretly, I think I can give you something which may be of benefit. We must not, however, lose an instant, but go to the nearest chemist’s.”
“No medicine is of avail against this. I have fallen a victim, as I knew I must, sooner or later. In half an hour I shall be dead,” she added hoarsely, gazing fixedly at the almost imperceptible scratch upon her delicate white flesh. “Ah! why did I come to this house of death when I suspected—nay, when I knew too well—the doom of those who enter here!”
“Come, Lady Judith!” I cried quickly. “Do not linger a moment. I feel sure that your case is not so utterly hopeless as you think. Come at once to a chemist’s.” And taking her forcibly by the arm I led her downstairs and out into the street.
There was no cab in sight, but I knew there was a chemist’s in Theobald’s Road, next door to the public-house where I had had refreshment on that first night of my return to London.
On entering the shop I seated her and quickly obtained a hypodermic syringe. Then, taking from my pocket the old green glass phial wherein the Borgia antidote was still hermetically sealed, I broke it open, half filled the tiny syringe with the dark-brown fluid, and injected it into her left arm. It was, indeed, fortunate that I had kept it in my pocket instead of placing it in the case with the other objects.
“What is that?” she inquired; but, promising to explain all later, I administered to myself an injection of the precious compound.