that, too, must be part of
his preconcerted plan.

"If you will pardon us," he excused, "Mr. Jameson and I have some
friends over at Stillson Hall whom we have promised to run in to see. I
think this would be a good opportunity. We'll rejoin you--in the alcove
where we were last night, if possible."

No one objected. In fact I think Lockwood was rather glad to have a
chance to talk to Inez, for Kennedy had monopolized a great deal of her
attention.

We left them at the elevator, but instead of leaving the Inn Kennedy
edged his way around into the shadow of a doorway where we could watch.
Fortunately the Senorita managed to get the same settee in the corner
which we had occupied the night before.

A moment later I caught a glimpse of a familiar face at the long window
opening on the veranda. Senora de Moche and her son had drawn up
chairs, just outside.

They had not seen us and, as far as we knew, had no reason to suspect
that we were about. As we watched the two groups, I could not fail to
note that the change in Don Luis was really marked. There was none of
the wildness in his conversation, as there had been. Once he even met
the keen eye of the Senora, but it did not seem to have the effect it
had had on the previous occasion.

"What was it you had the Senorita drop into his coffee?" I asked Craig
under my breath.

"You saw that?" he smiled. "It was pilocarpine, jaborandi, a plant found
largely in Brazil, one of the antidotes for stramonium poisoning. It
doesn't work with everyone. But it seems to have done so with Mendoza.
Besides, the caffeine in the coffee probably aided the pilocarpine. Did
you notice how it contracted his pupils almost back to normal again?"

Kennedy did not take his eyes off the two groups as he talked. "I've got
at the case from a brand-new angle, I think," he added. "Unless I am
mistaken, when the criminal sees Don Luis getting better, it will mean
another attempt to substitute more cigarettes doped with that drug."

Satisfied so far with the play he was staging, Kennedy moved over to the
hotel desk, and after a quiet conference with the head clerk, found out
that the room next to the suite of the Mendozas was empty. The clerk
gave him several keys and with a last look at the Senora and her son, to
see whether they were getting restive, I followed Craig into the
elevator and we rode up to the eighth floor again.

The halls were deserted now and we entered the room next to the Men