"
"If you can't think that out for yourself," said Meldon, "I'm not going
to do it for you. A man like you ought to be able to follow a
perfectly simple line of thought like that. If you can't see the plain
and obvious mental process which led to my change of opinion, I don't
see how you can expect to track the obscure workings of the criminal
mind. The criminal, as of course you know, is always more or less
demented, and consequently doesn't reason in the obvious and
straightforward way in which I do. His mentality--"
"I suppose you're changing the conversation again," said the judge.
"I'm trying to; but it doesn't seem to be much use."
"I'll talk to you on any subject you choose to select with pleasure,"
said the judge, "if you'll tell me what it was that led to your change
of mind about my probable action in this matter of your friend's
proposal to marry my niece."
"There's just one fact which I haven't mentioned. You ought to have;
you perfectly well might have guessed it. But as you haven't, I'll
tell it to you. When I first heard of your coming to Ballymoy, I
didn't know that you were Miss King's uncle. I only found that out
yesterday.
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