you were just about to do when I stopped

you."

Hugh stared. Poirot turned to Colonel

Frobisher.

"Colonel Frobisher, you lived for many

years in India. Did you never come across

cases where persons were deliberately

driven mad by the administration of

drugs ?"

Colonel Frobisher's face lit up. He said:

"Never came across a case myself, but

I've heard of them often enough. Datura

poisoning. It ends by driving a person

insane."

"Exactly. Well, the active principle of

the datura is very closely allied to, if it is not

actually, the alkaloid atropine — which is

285

also obtained from belladonna or deadly

nightshade. Belladonna preparations are

fairly common and atropine sulphate itself

is prescribed freely for eye treatments.

By duplicating a prescription and getting

it made up in different places a large

quantity of the poison could be obtained

without arousing suspicion. The alkaloid

could be extracted from it and then

introduced into, say --a soothing shaving

cream. Applied externally it would cause a

rash, this would soon lead to abrasions in

shaving and thus the drug would be continually

entering the system. It would

produce certain symptoms --dryness of

the mouth and throat, difficulty in swallowing, hallucinations, double vision --all the symptoms, in fact, which Mr. Chandler

has experienced.

He turned to the young man.

"And to remove the last doubt from

your mind, I will tell you that that is not a

supposition but a fact. Your shaving cream

was heavily impregnated with atropine sulphate. I took a sample and had it tested.59

White, shaking, Hugh asked:

^WhodiditP^/hyr9

Hercule Poirot said:

286

"That is what I have been studying

ever since I arrived here. I have been

looking for a motive for murder. Diana

Maberly gained financially by your death,

but I did not consider her seriously — "

Hugh Chandler flashed out:

"I should hope not!"

"I envisaged another possible motive.

The eternal triangle; two men and a

woman. Colonel Frobisher had been in

love with your mother. Admiral Chandler

married her.33

Admiral Chandler cried out:

"George ? George! I won't believe it."

Hugh said in an incredulous voice:

"Do you mean that hatred could go on

— to a son ?"

Hercule Poirot said:

"Under certain circumstances, yes."

Frobisher cried out:

"It's a damned lie! Don't believe him,

Charles."

Chandler shrank away from him. He

muttered to himself:

"The datura.... India — yes, I see....

And we'd never suspect poison—not

with madness in the family already...."

"Mais oui /" Hercule Poirot's voice rose

287

high and shrill. c<Madness in the family. A

madman — bent on revenge — cunning —

as madmen are, concealing his madness

for years." He whirled round on Frobisher.

"Mon Dieu, you must have known,

you must have suspected, that Hugh was

your son? Why did you never tell him

so?"

Frobisher stammered, gulped.

cc! didn't know. I couldn't be sure. . . .

You see, Caroline came to me once — she

was frightened of something—in great

trouble. I don't know, I never have