"Secret!" exclaimed Dr. Mirandolet. "Aye--secret is the word. Secret--yes! And--sure!" "Is there anything else you can tell us?" asked the Coroner. "Only this," replied the witness, after a pause. "It may be material. As I bent over this man as he lay there on the pavement I detected a certain curious aromatic odour about his clothes. It was strong at first; it gradually wore off. But I directed the attention of the policeman and Mr. Gardiner to it; it was still hanging about him, very faintly, when we got him to the hospital: I drew attention to it there." "It evidently struck you--that curious odour?" said the Coroner. "Yes," answered Dr. Mirandolet. "It did. It reminded me of the East--I have lived in the East--India, Burmah, China. It seemed to me that this man had got hold of some Eastern scent, and possibly spilt some on his clothes. The matter is worth noting. Because--I have heard--I cannot say I have known--of men being poisoned in inhalation." The Coroner made no remark--it was very evident from his manner that he considered Dr. Mirandolet's evidence somewhat mystifying. And Dr. Mirandolet stepped down--and in response to the official invitation Dr. John Sperling-Lawson walked into the vacated witness-box. "One of the greatest authorities on poisons living," whispered Lauriston to Purdie, while Dr. Sperling-Lawson was taking the oath and answering the formal questions. "He's principal pathologist at that hospital they're talking about, and he constantly figures in cases of this sort. He's employed by the Home Office too--it was he who gave such important evidence in that Barnsbury murder case not so long since--don't you remember it?" Purdie did remember, and he looked at the famous expert with great interest. There was, however, nothing at all remarkable about Dr. Sperling-Lawson's appearance--he was a quiet, self-possessed, plain-faced gentleman who might have been a barrister or a banker for all that any one could tell to the contrary. He gave his evidence in a matter-of-fact tone--strongly in contrast to Dr. Mirandolet's somewhat excited answers--but Purdie noticed that the people in court listened eagerly for every word. He happened to be at the hospital, said Dr. Sperling-Lawson, when the man Parslett was brought in, and he saw him die. He fully agreed with Dr. Mirandolet that it was impossible to do anything to save the man's life when he was brought to the hospital, and he was quite prepared to say that the impossibility had existed from the moment in which Gardiner had seen Parslett collapse. In other words, when Parslett did collapse, death was on him. "And--the cause of death?" asked the Coroner. "Heart failure," replied the witness. "Resulting from--what?" continued the Coroner. Dr. Sperling-Lawson hesitated a moment--amidst a deep silence.