"
"Yes, indeed. The fact is that I was struck by--"
The Professor broke off speaking suddenly with a start; and darted a
quick alarmed glance at the face of Signor Fortini, who did not fail
to remark it, and to be much puzzled by the Professor's manner.
The latter, while he had been speaking, had stooped to examine the
minute trace of the wound closely, and had put his finger on the
spot; and it was on doing so that he had interrupted himself, and
shown renewed symptoms of surprise and dismay. What this closer
examination had shown him was the fact that an infinitesimally small
portion of white wax had been very neatly and carefully introduced
into the orifice of the wound, in such a manner as to prevent all
effusion of blood, and almost to escape the observation of the naked
eye.
"Why, one would say you were a novice at this sort of thing,
Tomosarchi, you seem so much affected by it," said the lawyer; "what
is it that moves you so? Why, you are as pale, man, as if you were
bringing to light a crime of your own instead of somebody else's."
"Ah! not that exactly. No, but it is a very singular thing. One
would say that this death must have been caused by some one who had
some little knowledge of anatomy, or, at least, had been put up to
the trick by some one else who possessed such knowledge," said the
Professor, recovering himself with an effort.
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