The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1920-06-20
CHAPTER XVII.
War.

no IL was fnlshed ana we went
back to our hotel-we were
- staying In our county town
for the trial-uncle and | together
In taxi.
He said never word to me.
glanced at him and still there was
some tractor so | thought-Of
that dreadful look in his face. ]
did not dare speak to him. and, Of
truth, I did not know what / should
say, but l did venture once to put
out my hand and lay 1t on his, In
part to give him sympathy and in
part to ask for 1t from him in re-
turn. To my surprise and disap-
pointment he drew his hand away
from beneath mine, as II he re-,
sen. ed my act, and felt chilled
and disappointed.
That night I hardly slept at all.
All the evening and when ] went
to bed my mind was in a { infusion.
OF course, the case, AM nothing
but the case, occupied il. saw
again the court and all its details,
and the arguments of the oppCaing
counsel reiterated Themselves as
they went through my wearied
brain. And then. some time after
midnight, I think that my head
grew clear again and | Ceemed to
follow ali the argument with almost
unnrtural lucidity. And after a
period of that clear thought, / sup
posesthat | became healthily tired
out and l dropped off to sleep, and
by the time that | was called In
the morning | was quite recovered.
We had a small sitting-room In
which we breakfasted and dined,
for we did not care to meet inquis-
tive eyes more than was neces-
sary, and after breakfast, when
uncle had gone out and l was sit
ting there alone, card was
brought up to me. 1t had Sergeant
Crisp's name.
was quite glad to see him. In
these days my life had been very
lonely and he had been the one to
whom 7 could talk more freely than
to any other. think he had note
of regret in his voice as he came
in and said that he had called to
take his leave as he did not sup
pose we were very likely to meet
again.
1--WE have finished our business
together" he said, and in saying 1t
he seemed to me to express some
thing of that triumph which I mad
found so uncomfortable in Uncle
Ralph.
As say, | had been thinking
with III almost morbid lucidity In
the SU1dll uOuTS VI Iudt hoi hihS'
and the look on his wooden little
face and the note in his voice i'm
PEELED me, all in a moment and al
most before | knew what | was say
ing, to flash out:
Il believe you're all quite wrong.
I don't believe Captain Wharf had
anything to do with It,"
my dear lady! My dear LADY,"
was all he could answer, aghast
with establishment.
"No." | repeated, II don't believe
for a minute he did It."
But, may I ask" he said, have
you any reason?"
"Yes," ] said, 81 have. = ! don't
know whether you will call II a
reason. I suppose II is not rea.
son which such a thing or place as
court OF law would hold valid at
all, but do not believe for a single
instant In the theory Of the prose
cution that II Aunt Enid went to
the Summer.house to meet Captain
Wharf she would refuse do not
believe even that she could refuse
to do anything he wanted Of her"
Neither the sergeant nor the
fudge nor the Jury nor any Of the
wise men OF the law had seen, as |
had seen. the way in which Aunt
Enid waited upon the bad. hand
some ewes of that altogether stupid.