"We have to
deal in this case with a poison which is apparently among the
most subtle known. A particle of matter so minute as to be hardly
distinguishable by the naked eye, on the point of a needle or a
lancet, a prick of the skin scarcely felt under any circumstances
and which would pass quite unheeded if the attention were
otherwise engaged, and not all the power in the world--unless one
was fully prepared--could save the life of the person in whose
skin the puncture had been made."
Craig paused a moment, but no one showed any evidence of being
more than ordinarily impressed.
"This poison, I find, acts on the so-called endplates of the
muscles and nerves. It produces complete paralysis, but not loss
of consciousness, sensation, circulation, or respiration until
the end approaches. It seems to be one of the most powerful
sedatives I have ever heard of. When introduced in even a minute
quantity it produces death finally by asphyxiation--by paralysing
the muscles of respiration. This asphyxia is what so puzzled the
coroner.
"I will now inject a little of the blood serum of the victims
into a white mouse."
He took a mouse from the box I had seen, and with a needle
injected the serum. The mouse did not even wince, so lightly did
he touch it, but as we watched, its life seemed gently to ebb
away, without pain and without struggle.
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