The man had been poisoned by a dose of hydrocyanic acid, which, in their opinion, had been taken only a few minutes before his body was discovered by Dr.Bryce.It had probably been a dose which would cause instantaneous death.

There were no traces of the poison in the remains of his dinner, nor in the liquid in his tin bottle, which was old tea.

But of the cause of his sudden death there was no more doubt than of the effects.
Ransford had been in the court from the outset of the proceedings, and when the medical evidence had been given he was called.

Bryce, watching him narrowly, saw that he was suffering from repressed excitement--and that that excitement was as much due to anger as to anything else.

His face was set and stern, and he looked at the Coroner with an expression which portended something not precisely clear at that moment.