Part 9 (2/2)
”Is it not customary for papers read before your societies to become the property of the society, and are they not sent by the society to the journal in question?”
”Yes, I believe so.”
”Was not your paper sent to the journal as usual, and was it not rejected by the journal?”
”I do not know that it was.”
”Well, has your paper been published anywhere?”
”No.”
”You said that you were present when Miss Sloane died. Now how did that happen. Were you sent for?”
”No. I had seen the patient with Dr. Fisher during the day, and she seemed to be improving, so much so that Dr. Fisher decided that we need not see her until the next morning. Later I thought this a little unsafe, and so I called during the evening.”
”Oh! Dr. Fisher thought she was well enough, but you did not. Was that why you called at night?”
The witness bit his lip with anger at having made this slip.
”I live near, and I thought it would do no harm to call.”
”Now when you called, you have stated that you were with her for half an hour before she died. Did she die a half hour after you entered her room?”
”In about half an hour.”
”How soon after you saw her, did you suspect that she had been poisoned?”
”Immediately.”
”Oh! Immediately! Then of course you made some effort to save her life, did you not? You used some antidotes?”
”It was difficult. At first of course there was merely a suspicion in my mind. I tried to have her drink some strong coffee, but deglut.i.tion was almost impossible. This is another evidence of the poison.”
”Now, Doctor, be careful. You say that impaired deglut.i.tion was due to poisoning. But do you not know that deglut.i.tion is most difficult in cases of diphtheria?”
”The patient swallowed very well in the afternoon.”
”But if she had grown worse, if the false membrane had increased, would she not have had greater difficulty in swallowing?”
”Yes, but----”
”Never mind the buts. Now, then, when you found that she was too ill to swallow, what else did you do?”
”I injected atropine, and sent for Dr. Fisher.”
”Oh! Then you did send for Dr. Fisher?”
”Yes.”
<script>