"
"I see," Penfield nodded. "The point is cleverly taken."
Kent silently agreed with the coroner. The next instant Stone was
excused, and after a slight pause the deputy coroner, Dr. Mayo,
left his table and his notes and occupied the witness chair, after
first being sworn. The preliminaries did not consume much time,
and Penfield's manner was brisk as he addressed his assistant.
"Did you make a post-mortem examination of Turnbull?" he asked.
"I did, sir, in the presence of the morgue master and Dr. McLane."
Dr. Mayo displayed an anatomical chart, drawing his pencil down it
as he talked. "We found from the condition of the heart that the
deceased had suffered from angina pectoris" - he paused and spoke
more slowly - "in examining the gastric contents we found the
presence of aconitine."
"Aconitine?" questioned Penfield, and the reporters, scenting the
sensational, leaned forward eagerly so as not to miss the deputy
coroner's answer.
"Aconitine, an active poison," he explained. "It is the alkaloid
of aconite, and generally fatal in its results.
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