[ 535 ] Poirot came to the point at once, with a business-like briskness.

[ 536 ] "I sent for you, Annie, because I thought you might be able to tell me something about the letters Mrs. Inglethorp wrote last night. How many were there? And can you tell me any of the names and addresses?"

[ 537 ] Annie considered.

[ 538 ] "There were four letters, sir. One was to Miss Howard, and one was to Mr. Wells, the lawyer, and the other two I don't think I remember, sir-oh, yes, one was to Ross's, the caterers in Tadminster. The other one, I don't remember."

[ 539 ] "Think," urged Poirot.

[ 540 ] Annie racked her brains in vain.

[ 541 ] "I'm sorry, sir, but it's clean gone. I don't think I can have noticed it."

[ 542 ] "It does not matter," said Poirot, not betraying any sign of disappointment. "Now I want to ask you about something else. There is a saucepan in Mrs. Inglethorp's room with some coco in it. Did she have that every night?"

[ 543 ] "Yes, sir, it was put in her room every evening, and she warmed it up in the night-whenever she fancied it."

[ 544 ] "What was it? Plain coco?"

[ 545 ] "Yes, sir, made with milk, with a teaspoonful of sugar, and two teaspoonfuls of rum in it."

[ 546 ] "Who took it to her room?"

[ 547 ] "I did, sir."

"Always?"

"Yes, sir."

"At what time?"

[ 548 ] "When I went to draw the curtains, as a rule, sir."

[ 549 ] "Did you bring it straight up from the kitchen then?"

[ 550 ] "No, sir, you see there's not much room on the gas stove, so Cook used to make it early, before putting the vegetables on for supper. Then I used to bring it up, and put it on the table by the swing door, and take it into her room later."

[ 551 ] "The swing door is in the left wing, is it not?"

"Yes, sir."

[ 552 ] "And the table, is it on this side of the door, or on the farther-servants' side?"

[ 553 ] "It's this side, sir."

[ 554 ] "What time did you bring it up last night?"

[ 555 ] "About quarter-past seven, I should say, sir."

[ 556 ] "And when did you take it into Mrs. Inglethorp's room?"

[ 557 ] "When I went to shut up, sir. About eight o'clock. Mrs. Inglethorp came up to bed before I'd finished."

[ 558 ] "Then, between 7.15 and 8 o'clock, the coco was standing on the table in the left wing?"

[ 559 ] "Yes, sir." Annie had been growing redder and redder in the face, and now she blurted out unexpectedly:

"And if there *WAS salt in it, sir, it wasn't me. I never took the salt near it."

[ 560 ] "What makes you think there was salt in it?" asked Poirot.

[ 561 ] "Seeing it on the tray, sir."

[ 562 ] "You saw some salt on the tray?"

[ 563 ] "Yes. Coarse kitchen salt, it looked. I never noticed it when I took the tray up, but when I came to take it into the mistress's room I saw it at once, and I suppose I ought to have taken it down again, and asked Cook to make some fresh. But I was in a hurry, because Dorcas was out, and I thought maybe the coco itself was all right, and the salt had only gone on the tray. So I dusted it off with my apron, and took it in."

[ 564 ] I had the utmost difficulty in controlling my excitement. Unknown to herself, Annie had provided us with an important piece of evidence. How she would have gaped if she had realized that her "coarse kitchen salt" was strychnine, one of the most deadly poisons known to mankind. I marvelled at Poirot's calm. His self-control was astonishing. I awaited his next question with impatience, but it disappointed me.

[ 565 ] "When you went into Mrs. Inglethorp's room, was the door leading into Miss Cynthia's room bolted?"