As this was something she could not help knowing, she uttered the necessary words glibly, though in a way that showed she resented his impertinence in asking her what he already knew.
"Where do you live? And what do you do for a living?" rapidly followed.
She replied that she was a scrub-woman and cleaned people's houses, and having said this, she assumed a very dogged air, which I thought strange enough to raise a question in the minds of those who watched her. But no one else seemed to regard it as anything but the embarrassment of ignorance.
"How long have you known the Van Burnam family?" the Coroner went on.
"Two years, sir, come next Christmas."
"Have you often done work for them?"
"I clean the house twice a year, fall and spring."
"Why were you at this house two days ago?"
"To scrub the kitchen floors, sir, and put the pantries in order."
"Had you received notice to do so?"