ch
attention. I said, 'Ho' do, Mrs. Wright? It's cold, ain't it?' And she
said, 'Is it?'--and went on pleatin' at her apron.

"Well, I was surprised. She didn't ask me to come up to the stove, or to
sit down, but just set there, not even lookin' at me. And so I said: 'I
want to see John.'

"And then she--laughed. I guess you would call it a laugh.

"I thought of Harry and the team outside, so I said, a little sharp,
'Can I see John?' 'No,' says she--kind of dull like. 'Ain't he home?'
says I. Then she looked at me. 'Yes,' says she, 'he's home.' 'Then why
can't I see him?' I asked her, out of patience with her now. ''Cause
he's dead,' says she, just as quiet and dull--and fell to pleatin' her
apron. 'Dead?' says I, like you do when you can't take in what you've
heard.

"She just nodded her head, not getting a bit excited, but rockin' back
and forth.

"'Why--where is he?' says I, not knowing _what_ to say.

"She just pointed upstairs--like this"--pointing to the room above.

"I got up, with the idea of going up there myself. By this time
I--didn't know what to do. I walked from there to here; then I says:
'Why, what did he die of?'

"'He died of a rope round his neck,' says she; and just went on pleatin'
at her apron."

* * *

Hale stopped speaking, and stood staring at the rocker, as if he were
still seeing the woman who had sat there the morning before. Nobody
spoke; it was as if every one were seeing the woman who had sat there
the morning before.

"And what did you do then?" the county attorney at last broke the
silence.

"I went out and called Harry. I thought I might--need help. I got Harry
in, and we went upstairs." His voice fell almost to a whisper. "There he
was--lying over the--"

"I think I'd rather have you go into that upstairs," the county attorney
interrupted, "where you can point it all out. Just go on now with the
rest of the story."

"Well, my first thought was to get that rope off. It looked--"

He stopped, his face twitching.

"But Harry, he went up to him, and he said, 'No, he's dead all right,
and we'd better not touch anything.' So we went downstairs.

"She was still sitting that same way. 'Has anybody been notified?' I
asked. 'No,' says she, unconcerned.

"'Who did this, Mrs. Wright?' said Harry. He said it businesslike, and
she stopped pleatin' at her apron. 'I don't know,' she says. 'You don't
_know_?' says Harry. 'Weren't you sleepin' in the bed with him?' 'Yes,'
says