e made an error in
fixing the time of the quarrel. He suggested to her repeatedly that it
was 4.30, and not 4 o'clock when she had heard the voices.

But Dorcas was unshaken. Quite an hour, or even more, had elapsed
between the time when she had heard the voices and 5 o'clock, when she
had taken tea to her mistress.

The inquest was held on Friday at the Stylites Arms in the village.
Poirot and I sat together, not being required to give evidence.

The preliminaries were gone through. The jury viewed the body, and John
Cavendish gave evidence of identification.

Further questioned, he described his awakening in the early hours of the
morning, and the circumstances of his mother's death.

The medical evidence was next taken. There was a breathless hush, and
every eye was fixed on the famous London specialist, who was known to be
one of the greatest authorities of the day on the subject of toxicology.

In a few brief words, he summed up the result of the post-mortem. Shorn
of its medical phraseology and technicalities, it amounted to the fact
that Mrs. Inglethorp had met her death as the result of strychnine
poisoning. Judging from the quantity recovered, she must have taken
not less than three-quarters of a grain of strychnine, but probably one
grain or slightly over.

"Is it possible that she could have swallowed the poison by accident?"
asked the Coroner.

"I should consider it very unlikely. Strychnine is not used for domestic
purposes, as some poisons are, and there are restrictions placed on its
sale."

"Does anything in your examination lead you to determine how the poison
was administered?"

"No."

"You arrived at Styles before Dr. Wilkins, I believe?"

"That is so. The motor met me just outside the lodge gates, and I
hurried there as fast as I could."

"Will you relate to us exactly what happened next?"

"I entered Mrs. Inglethorp's room. She was at that moment in a
typical tetanic convulsion. She turned towards me, and gasped out:
'Alfred--Alfred----'"

"Could the strychnine have been administered in Mrs. Inglethorp's
after-dinner coffee which was taken to her by her husband?"

"Possibly, but strychnine is a fairly rapid drug in its action. The
symptoms appear from one to two hours after it has been swallowed. It
is retarded under certain conditions, none of which, however, appear
to have been present in this case. I presume Mrs. Inglethorp took the
coffee after dinner about eight o'clock, wh