"No. I tried several times to get him on the telephone, but without
success," replied Kent; his disappointment at not receiving an
answer to his question showed in his manner. "I went to Penfield's
house last night, but he had been called away on a case and,
although I waited until nearly ten o'clock, he had not returned when
I left. Have you had word from him?"

"Not - not directly." She had been nervously twisting her
handkerchief about in her fingers; suddenly she turned and looked
full at Kent, her eyes burning feverishly. "I would give all I
possess, my hope of future happiness even, if I could prove that
Jimmie died from angina pectoris."

Kent looked at her in mingled sympathy and doubt. - What did her
words imply - further tragedy?

"Jimmie might not have died from angina pectoris," he said, "and
still not have been poisoned -"

"You mean -"

"Suicide."

Slowly Helen took in his meaning, but she volunteered no remark,
and Kent after a pause, added, "While I have not seen Coroner
Penfield I did hear last night what killed Jimmie." Helen
straightened up, one hand pressed to her heart. "It was a lethal
dose of amyl nitrite."

"Amyl nitrite," she repeated. "Yes, I have heard that it is given