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Page 77
"What do you mean, Jameson?" The district attorney had been taken
completely off his feet by the unexpected developments. His eyes
were rather dazed, his expression baffled. "What do you mean?"
"Why he was out at Tarrytown that night, all right, don't you
see--but--but he was the second man, the man who watched!"
Mackay still seemed unable to comprehend.
"There were two men," I went on, excitedly; covering my own
chagrin in my impatience at the little district attorney. "The
one your deputy struggled with was short, rather than tall, and
very strong. That's Werner! Can't you see it? Haven't you noticed
how stockily and powerfully the director is built?"
"Werner must really have had some clue," murmured Mackay, dazed.
It left me wondering whether the stimulation of the dope might
not have heightened Werner's imagination and urged him on in
following something that our more sluggish minds had never even
dreamed.
Meanwhile I saw that the doctor had arrived and that Kennedy had
helped carry Werner to a dressing room where first aid could be
given more conveniently. Now Kennedy hurried back into the
studio, glancing quickly this way and that, as though to catch
signs of confusion or guilt upon the faces of those about us.
I colored. Instead of making explanations to Mackay, explanations
which could have waited, I might have used what faculties of
observation I possessed to aid Kennedy while he was giving first
consideration to the life of a man. As it was, I didn't know what
had become of any of the various people upon our list of possible
suspects. As far as I was concerned, any or every sign and clue
to the attack upon Werner might have been removed or destroyed.
A sudden hush caused all of us to turn toward the door leading to
the dressing rooms. It was the physician. He raised a hand for
attention. His voice was low, but it carried to every corner of
the studio:
"Mr. Werner is dead," he announced.
XXI
MERLE SHIRLEY OVERACTS
Appalled, I wondered who it was who had, to cover up one crime,
committed another? Who had struck down an innocent man to save a
guilty neck?
Kennedy hurried to the side of the physician and I followed.
"What symptoms did you observe?" asked Kennedy, quickly, seeking
confirmation of his own first impressions.
"His mouth seemed dry and I should say he suffered from a quick
prostration. There seemed to be a complete loss of power to
swallow or speak. The pupils were dilated as though from
paralysis of the eyes. Both pharynx and larynx were affected.
There was respiration paralysis. It seemed also as though the
cranial nerves were partially paralyzed. It was typically a
condition due to some toxic substance which paralyzed and
depressed certain areas of the body."
Kennedy nodded. "That fits in with a theory I have."
I thought quickly, then inquired; "Could it be the snake venom
again?"
"No," Kennedy replied, shaking his head; "there's a difference in
the symptoms and there is no mark on any exposed part of the
body, as near as I could see in a superficial examination."
He turned to the physician. "Could you give me blood smears and
some of the stomach contents, at once? Twice, now, some one has
been stricken down before the very eyes of the actors. This thing
has gone too far to trifle with or delay a moment."
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