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The Green Bag

part of February. They became somewhat friendly and Cream took him to his rooms and showed him some samples of pills and patent medicines. Opening a cash box Cream took out a wide-mouthed bottle containing strychnine and boasted of his ability to poison without detection. McCullough very naively testified, " I lost confidence in him (sic) through a conversation about an American who had come over with plenty of money. Cream said he ought to have had that man's money and I asked him, 'How is that?' and he said, 'I could give that man a pill and put him to sleep and his money would have been mine.' I said, 'You would not kill a man for $2,000, would you?' and he regretted he had not done so."

Through the photographer Armstead, Cream procured an introduction to Sergeant Mclntyre of Scotland Yard to whom in the middle of May he complained of being shadowed and asked whether it was because of any belief as to his connection with the Donworth, Marsh, and Shrivell cases. (This "shadowing " seems to have been a delusion pure and simple on Cream's part, as he was in no way suspected.) Mclntyre, after communicating with his superiors, arranged for a meeting at the Pheasant public-house. They talked the poisoning cases over. " Doctor," said Mclntyre, " you appear to be pretty well posted in these matters." " Yes," answered Cream, "I have followed them closely in the medical journal. Being a medical man I take an interest in affairs of this kind." Mclntyre then asked him for a general statement as to where he had stayed since his arrival in England and Cream promised to have it prepared on the following morning. loiter, Mclntyre was furnished with a partial statement and on the 26th the two met in the Lambeth Place Road. " I am going away to-day," said Cream, " at three o'clock. Will I be arrested if I do? " Mclntyre told him that he could not say, but that if he would accompany him to Scotland Yard, inquiries would be made. They proceeded together for a short distance, when Cream stopped and said, " I am suspicious of you and I believe you are play ing me double." He declined to go further and threatened to consult a solicitor. So far removed was the criminal from any suspicion, that the police thought at first that he was being made the victim of a blackmailing at tempt similar to that which had been practised on Drs. Broadbent and Harper. It was only his subsequent behavior which caused him to become a marked man. The many letters charging the use of strychnine, how ever, did have the effect of causing the police to suspect that the true cause of Matilda Clover's death was not alcoholism as assigned. Dr. Stevenson, lecturer on medical jurisprudence at Guy's Hospital and one of the analysers employed by the government, in the early part of May performed an autopsy on the exhumed body and discovered upon quantitative analysis, out of nearly two pounds of material, one-sixteenth of a grain of strychnine.

Toward the end of May, Inspector Tunbridge, to whom the case had been entrusted in consequence of Cream's complaint that he was being watched, called on the latter. Cream showed him a medicine case in which was contained a bottle labelled, " one-six teenth grain strychnine." It was nearly full of pills. Tunbridge asked, " What are those pills composed of? " and Cream answered, "One-sixteenth of a grain of strychnine and sugar coating only." " At that rate," the in spector said, " this bottle contains quite a large quantity of strychnine and it would be highly dangerous that they should fall into the hands of the public in any quantity." Cream, who claimed to be the agent of a wholesale drug house, answered that it was not intended to sell them to the public directly but only