Part 30 (1/2)
”Mine. I always carry one.”
”Always?”
”Yes.”
”Then--have you one with you now?”
”Yes.”
”When you asked the sailor Burns to let you see the axe, what did you give as a reason?”
”The truth--curiosity.”
”Then, having seen the axe, where did you go?”
”Below.”
”Please explain the incident of the two articles Mr. Goldstein showed to the jury yesterday, the s.h.i.+rt and waistcoat.”
”That was very simple. Mr. Turner had been very ill. We took turns in caring for him. I spilled a bowl of broth over the garments that were shown, and rubbed them out in the bathroom. They were hung in the cabin used by Mr. Vail to dry, and I forgot them when we were packing.”
The attorney for the defense cross-examined her:
”What color were the stains you speak of?”
”Darkish--red-brown.”
”What sort of broth did you spill?”
”That's childish, isn't it? I don't recall.”
”You recall its color.”
”It was beef broth.”
”Mrs. Johns, on the night you visited the forward house and viewed the axe, did you visit it again?”
”The axe, or the forward house?”
”The house.”
She made one of her long pauses. Finally:--
”Yes.”
”When?”
”Between three and four o'clock.”
”Who went with you?”