The coroner cast an uneasy
glance in his direction; then he motioned Durbin aside and recalled
Loretta.
And now I began to be sorry for the girl. It is hard to have one's
weaknesses exposed, especially if one is more foolish than wicked.
But there was no way of letting this girl off without sacrificing
certain necessary points, and the coroner went relentlessly to work.
"How long have you been in this house?"
"Three weeks. Ever since Mrs. Jeffrey's wedding day, sir."
"Were you there when she first came as a bride from the Moore house?"
"I was, sir."
"And saw her then for the first time?"
"Yes, sir."
"How did she look and act that first day?"
"I thought her the gayest bride I had ever seen,, then I thought
her the saddest, and then I did not know what to think. She was so
merry one minute and so frightened the next, so full of talk when
she came running up the steps and so struck with silence the minute
she got into the parlor, that I set her down as a queer one till
some one whispered in my ear that she was suffering from a dreadful
shock; that ill-luck had attended her marriage and much more about
what had happened from time to time at the Moore house."
"And you believed what was told you?"
"Believed?"
"Believed it well enough to keep a watch on your young mistress to
see if she were happy or not?"
"Oh, sir!"
"It was but natural," the coroner suavely observed.
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