The House of Mammon by Fred M. White

At the inquest on John Sairson, Mascani told how the money-lender had come by his death. From the very first it was plain to all concerned that Maldini was incapable of tendering evidence. There was history of insanity in his career, and after the commission of the crime he had been in a condition bordering on frenzy. It was equally obvious that he would not be in a fit state to stand his trial.

Maldini had always been eccentric--prompt to do anything for friends, but hating enemies with peculiar malignity. "I have known the man all my lifetime," said Mascani before the coroner of the inquiry, whose court was overcrowded on the occasion of the inquiry. "He was an Italian patriot in the old days, a fanatic, utterly reckless of his methods. He invented, long ago, a plan whereby liquid air could be employed as a missile, and a tube specially adapted for its use. There is no flash, no explosion, and, as a general rule, no sound; only a frightful concussion that destroys life if the missile touch a vital spot. Madame Givanni's husband knew the secret--hence the trouble in which his daughter unwittingly found herself. The weapon with which the crime was committed is in the hands of experts, who will, if necessary, report on its working. It is very simple when it comes to be explained.