The beggar chortled with glee, hugged Thaddeus and kissed the goat between its ears. Athelstan glimpsed a furry movement down near the porch, lithe and quick.
‘Oh, and go tell Ranulf,’ he said, I think I know where his ferret is hiding!’
CONCLUSION
The Abrin seed is not a figment of the writer’s imagination. It contains a very toxic protein which causes nausea and very serious, and rapid, damage to vital organs. The seeds have a very hard coating and only become poisonous when they are chewed. This property was used in the past for trial by ordeal, particularly in Venice. The suspected persons were given paternoster peas to swallow: those whom the authorities wanted to escape were secretly warned not to chew them!
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