"You naturally did not suppose that were she really guilty, she would proclaim it quite so readily as that?"
Miss Cornelia stared. "I never," she said, simply, "thought of such a thing as her being guilty."
"But you asked her, did you not, for some explanation of her words?"
"I asked her," faltered Miss Cornelia, "what she meant by saying such a dreadful thing. And she said—she said"——
"Yes," said Mr. Fenton, encouragingly. "Take your time and tell us the exact truth. What did she say?"
"She seemed to be rather dazed—She said that she had wished so much for it to happen that when it did, it seemed almost like an answer to her wishes—as if she were accountable for it."
"And you accepted her explanation?" said Mr. Fenton. "It seemed to you plausible?"
"I knew what she meant—yes. But I could see that she was over-wrought and excited, or she wouldn't have thought of it."
"Did she seem distressed over Halleck's death?"
Miss Cornelia hesitated. "N—not at first," she said. "She couldn't seem to realize it."