( 1 ) In 1977, a dead writer of detective stories saved the life of a nineteen-month-old baby in a most unusual way. The writer was Agatha Christie, a gentle married lady and one of the most successful writers of detective stories in the world. In June 1977, a baby girl became seriously ill in Qatar near Saudi Arabia . Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness, so she was sent to Hammersmith Hospital in London. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover that they, too, were puzzled by the very unusual signs of illness. While they were having a discussion about the baby’s illness, a nurse asked to speak to them. “Excuse me,” said the nurse Marsha Maitland, “but I think the baby is suffering from thallium (铊) poisoning.” “What makes you think that?” Doctor Brown asked. “Thallium poisoning is very rare.” “A few days ago, I was reading a novel called A Pale Horse by Agatha Christie,” Nurse Maitland explained. “In the book, somebody was thallium poisoned, and all the signs were exactly the baby’s.” “You are careful and you maybe right,” another doctor said. “We will carry out some tests and find out whether it’s thallium or not.” Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium. Once they knew the cause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soon was recovered and was sent back to Qatar . Later on it was proved that the poison might have come from an insecticide (杀虫剂) used in Qatar.