WAS ORME REALLY POISONED ? 79 



food, but we managed to give him a fair amount in 

 various ways, and now he is taking to hard food again 

 and going on as nicely as possible. You can imagine 

 how the suspicion as to poison would occur to anyone 

 in such a case, but it would seem that whatever was 

 given him if anything was can only have blistered 

 and inflamed his tongue and mouth without getting 

 down his throat. 



41 No, nothing has been done in the way of analysis 

 to find traces of poison. As you say, the saliva running 

 from his mouth might have shown it, had we thought 

 of such a thing in time, but nobody dreamed of poison 

 at the first. 



" Now that one can breathe again, as it were, I can 

 see several reasons for doubting the poison suspicion. 

 Had he been really dosed, would there not have been 

 a strong inclination to lay against him in some quarter 

 or other before the news was made public ? But there 

 was nothing of the kind. 



" Except the state of his tongue and mouth, and the 

 running from it, I can hardly say that there were any 

 other symptoms of poisoning ; and I know that Mr 

 Williams, the veterinary surgeon, though like me he 

 was suspicious of the case, would not stake his reputation 

 that poison had been administered. 



" Antidotes ! No, that is all nonsense. No antidotes 

 of any kind were given to the horse." 



" It must have been a terribly anxious time for you, 

 Mr Porter ? " This suggestion I made because I could 

 not but be struck by the really careworn appearance 

 which manifested itself on the kindly countenance of 

 the Master of Kingsclere. 



" Anxious ! " said he, as if pausing to find a stronger 



