He fully agreed with Dr.
Mirandolet that it was impossible to do anything to save the man's life
when he was brought to the hospital, and he was quite prepared to say that
the impossibility had existed from the moment in which Gardiner had seen
Parslett collapse. In other words, when Parslett did collapse, death was
on him.
"And--the cause of death?" asked the Coroner.
"Heart failure," replied the witness.
"Resulting from--what?" continued the Coroner.
Dr. Sperling-Lawson hesitated a moment--amidst a deep silence.
"I cannot answer that question," he said at last. "I can only offer an
opinion. I believe--in fact, I am sure!--the man was poisoned. I am
convinced he was poisoned. But I am forced to admit that I do not know
what poison was used, and that after a most careful search I have not yet
been able to come across any trace or sign of any poison known to me. All
the same, I am sure he died from the effects of poison, but what it was,
or how administered, frankly, I do not know!"
"You made a post-mortem examination?" asked the Coroner.
"Yes," replied the specialist, "in company with Dr.
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