e. In fact, the very
first impression I had was that it might have been due to a cyanide--or
at least some gas like cyanogen."

Kennedy said nothing, and the coroner proceeded. "And the body looked
cyanotic, too, you recall. But the autopsy revealed nothing further. I
have even examined the food, as far as I can, but I can't find anything
wrong with it."

There was a noise at the door, outside in the hall, and Dr. Leslie
opened it.

"Dr. Haynes," he introduced, a moment later.

Haynes was a large man, good-looking, even striking, with a
self-assertive manner. We shook hands, and taking our cue from Craig,
waited for him to speak.

"It's very strange what could have carried Delaney off so suddenly,"
ventured Haynes a moment later. "I've been trying to figure it out
myself. But I must admit that so far it has completely stumped me."

He was pacing up and down the room and I watched him more or less
suspiciously. Somehow I could not get the idea out of my head that he
had been listening to us outside. Now and then, I fancied, he shot a
glance at us, as if he were watching us.

"They tell me at the burial company that you were there today," put in
Dr. Leslie, his eyes fixed on Haynes' face.

Haynes met his gaze squarely, without flinching. "Yes. I got thinking
over what the papers said about the 'purple death,' and I thought
perhaps I might have overlooked something. But there wasn't--"

The telephone rang. Haynes seized the receiver before any of the rest of
us could get to it. "That must be for me," he said with a brusque
apology. "Why--yes, I am here. Dr. Leslie and Professor Kennedy are up
here. No--we haven't discovered anything new. Yes--I shall keep the
appointment. Good-by."

The conversation had been short, but, to me at least, it seemed that he
had contrived to convey a warning without seeming to do so.

CHAPTER XIV

THE SECRET AGENTS

Dr. Leslie looked at Haynes searchingly. "Who was it?" he asked. "Madame
Dupres?"

Haynes did not hesitate. "Yes," he nodded. "I had an appointment with
her and told her that if I was late it would probably be that I had
stopped here."

The answer came so readily that I must confess that I was suspicious of
it.

"Did Madame Dupres know the Baroness Von Dorf?" asked Craig quickly.

"Yes, indeed," returned Haynes, then stopped suddenly.

"But they didn't travel in the same circle, did they?" asked Dr. Leslie,
with the air of the cross-examiner who wish