I watched his elaborate and thorough preparations, wishing I
could be of assistance, but knowing the limitations of my own
chemical and bacteriological knowledge. I grasped, however, that
he was concentrating his study upon the spots he had cut from the
portieres, in particular the stain where the point of the needle
had been, and upon the incrustations on the inner surface of the
tube. He made solutions of both of these and for some little time
experimented with chemical reactions. Then he had recourse to
several weighty technical books. Though bursting with curiosity,
I dared not question him, nor distract him in any way.
Finally he turned to a cage where he kept on hand, always, a few
of those useful martyrs to science, guinea pigs. Taking one of
the little animals and segregating him from the others, he
prepared to inoculate him with a tiny bit of the solution made
from the stain on the piece cut from the portiere.
At that I knew it would be a long and tiresome analysis. It
seemed a waste of time to wait idly for Kennedy to reach his
conclusions, so I cast about in my mind for some sort of inquiry
of my own which I could conduct meanwhile, perhaps collecting
additional facts about those we were watching at the studio.
Somehow I could not wholly lose my suspicions of the director,
Werner; especially now as I marshaled the evidence against him.
First of all he was the only person absolutely in control of the
movements of Stella Lamar.
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