late the lethal agent, whose identity he must infer from 
the case history supplied by the attending physician, plus 
such evidence as can be assembled to show that the vic- 
tim had eaten the lethal fungi. 
I'rom the murderer's point of view, the deadly amanita 
suffers from one shortcoming: an occasional victim, after 
days or weeks or even months of shattering illness, slowly 
recovers and returns to circulation. True, he is only a 
frail replica of his former self, but he is alive and has 
foiled the murderer’s coup. On the other hand, if the 
murderer also hates his victim, and if success attends his 
undertaking, his worst instincts and hopes will have been 
more than satisfied by the slow progress and horrible 
suffering that attend the victim’s downward course into 
the grave. The symptoms of poisoning by the deadly 
amanitas are distinctive, dramatic, and terrifying. 
To begin with, the lethal amanitas taste good—on this 
the abundant testimony of victims shows no dissenting 
voice. Nothing arouses suspicion as the greedy diner 
consumes his fateful dish; nor does he suspect anything 
for many hours thereafter. Indeed, the distinctive mark 
of this poison, its véritable signature as Dr. Dujarric de 
la Riviére has aptly called it, is the period of absolute 
quiescence that follows the ingestion of the mushrooms, 
a period that never lasts less than six hours, and usually 
ten or twelve, sometimes twenty or even forty or more. 
The victim goes about his affairs blissfully unaware that 
the fingers of death are entwining him. Perhaps he speaks 
with relish of the mushrooms he has eaten, and may ask 
for another helping of the same kind at the next meal. 
If they have been served to him intentionally, his mur- 
derer, standing by, eyes him with wicked and dissembled 
solicitude, alert for the inevitable moment. Of asudden 
the victim is gripped by appalling abdominal distress, 
followed by vomiting and diarrhoea foetida. Neither 
[ 102 | 
