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228 mother's illness the actual type of bacteria which would produce blood-poisoning?"

"I did. I had had them for two or three days. That was why, when my mother died and the specialists were still quarreling about why she had not responded to the treatment, I began to wonder if my incubator had been tampered with. But you will scarcely credit that, of course. What I am telling you must amount to a practical confession in your eyes."

"You are telling me this of your own free will, and I am accepting your statement in good faith," Odell replied slowly. "If you were guilty, why should you tell me so much and halt at an actual confession? You kept the incubator here in this room?"

"Yes. It had only to be kept at thirty-eight degrees centigrade—body temperature, you know—and I found the bacteria a fascinating study. They were a protection, too, from boredom; neither of the girls would venture into the room for fear something would escape and bite them. You would think I had an embryo menagerie here!"

"Did anyone else in the household evince the slightest interest in your experiments?"

"Lord, no! The servants didn't know anything about them; they merely had instructions not to touch the incubator. Gene never comes in here, and Dad would not even let me show them to him; said I was a fool to monkey with such things, and that there were enough nuisances in the world without bothering with trouble-makers which were so small you couldn't see them. As for Aunt Effie, I insisted upon talking to her about them just to tease her; but it distressed her so that I quit finally. I believe she thinks