I cannot say which, and
whichever I eat may be the fatal one."
The rajah made a signal to him to obey his orders, but Charlie
interposed.
"There is something in what he says, your highness. Whether the man is
innocent or guilty, he would shrink equally from eating any of them.
It is really possible that he may know nothing of it. The poison may
have been introduced into the materials beforehand. If the man is
taken to a dungeon, I think I could suggest a plan by which we could
test him.
"I believe him to be guilty," he said, when the prisoner had been
removed.
"Then why not let him be beheaded at once?" the rajah asked.
"I would rather let ten guilty men escape," Charlie replied, "than run
the risk of putting one innocent one to death. I propose, sir, that
you order the eight dishes of food, which have been prepared for my
dinner, to be carefully weighed. Let these be all placed in the cell
of the prisoner, and there let him be left. In the course of two or
three days he will, if guilty, endeavour to assuage his hunger by
eating little bits of food, from every dish except that which he knows
to be poisoned, but will take such a small portion from each that he
will think it will not be detected.
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