ming in your present position."

Kennedy's lip curled, and without answer he left the room to fetch the
wine, grimly chuckling at the effect which the mixture would produce on
Mr Norton's fastidious taste. When he reached his rooms, he stumbled
against the table in his hurry, and upset a little glass dish which held
his pencils, one of which rolled away under the fender. In lifting the
fender to pick it up, a piece of paper caught his eye, which the
bedmaker in cleaning the room had swept out of sight in the morning. He
looked at it, and saw in legible characters, "Laudanum, Poison." It was
the label which had been loosely tied on Bruce's phial, and which had
slipped off as he hurried it into his pocket.

He read it, and as the horrid truth flashed across his mind, stood for a
moment stupefied and dumb. His plan was instantly formed. Instead of
returning to the conclave of Seniors he ran straight off to the
chemist's, which was close by Saint Werner's.

"Do you know anything of this label?" he said, thrusting it into the
chemist's hands.

"Yes," said the man, after looking at it for a moment; "it is the label
of a bottle of laudanum which I sold yesterday morning to Mr Bruce of
Saint Werner's."

Without a word, Kennedy snatched it from him, and rushed back to the
Seniority, who were already beginning to wonder at his long absence. He
threw down the piece of paper before. Mr Norton, who handed it to the
Master.

"I found that, sir, on the floor of my room."

"And you know nothing of it?"

"Yes. It belongs to a bottle purchased yesterday by Bruce."

Amazement and horror seemed to struggle in the minds of the old
clergymen and lecturers as they sat at the table.

"We must send instantly for this young man," said Mr Norton; and in ten
minutes Bruce entered, pale indeed, but in a faultless costume, with a
bow of easy grace, and a smile of polite recognition towards such of the
board as he personally knew. He was totally unaware of what had been
going on during Kennedy's cross-examination.

"Mr Bruce," said Mr Norton, to whom they all seemed gladly to resign
the task of discovering the truth, "do you know anything of the cause of
Lord De Vayne's sudden attack of illness last night?"

"I, sir? Certainly not."

"He sat next to you, did he not?"

"He did, I believe. Yes. I can't be quite sure--but I think he did."

"You know he did as well as I do," said Kennedy.

"Mr Kennedy, let me request you