"I can't stay long," he said. "I've got to get down to the office and put the finishing touches on that story;" but nevertheless he took the cigar I proffered him and sank into the chair opposite my own. I knew Godfrey, so I waited patiently until the cigar was going nicely, then-- "Well?" I asked. "It's like old times, isn't it, Lester?" and he smiled across at me. "How many conferences have we had in this room? How many of your cigars have I made away with?" "Not half enough recently," I said. "You haven't been here for months." "I'm sure to drift back, sooner or later, because you seem to have a knack of getting in on the interesting cases. And I want to say this, Lester, that of all I ever had, not one has promised better than this one does. If it only keeps up--but one mustn't expect too much!" "You've been working on it, of course?" "I haven't been idle, and just now I'm feeling rather pleased with myself. The coroner's physician finished his post-mortem half an hour or so ago." "Well?" I said again. "The stomach was absolutely normal. It showed no trace of poison of any kind." He stretched himself, lay back in his chair, sent a smoke-ring circling toward the ceiling, and watched it, smiling absently. "Rather a facer for our friend Goldberger," he added, after a minute. "What's the matter with Goldberger? He seemed rather peeved with you this afternoon." "No wonder. He's Grady's man, and we're after Grady. Grady isn't fit to head the detective bureau--he got the job through his pull with Tammany--he's stupid, and I suspect he's crooked. The _Record_ says he has got to go." "So, of course, he _will_ go," I commented, smiling. "He certainly will," assented Godfrey seriously, "and that before long. But meanwhile it's a little difficult for me, because his people don't know which way to jump. Once he's out, everything will be serene again." I wasn't interested in Grady, so I came back to the case in hand. "Look here, Godfrey," I said, "if it wasn't poison, what was it?" "But it _was_ poison." "Inserted at the hand?" He nodded. "Goldberger says there's no poison known which could be used that way and which would act so quickly." "Goldberger is right in that," agreed Godfrey; "but there's a poison unknown that will--because it did." "It wasn't a snake bite?" "Oh, no; snake poison wouldn't kill a man that quickly--not even a fer-de-lance. That fellow practically dropped where he was struck." "Then what was it?" Godfrey was sitting erect again. He was not smiling now. His face was very stern.