"Did you hear anything after the slamming of the front door?"
"Oi did not, fer Oi wint down to the barn directly afterwards."
"How long did you remain down at the barn?"
"Till Miss Margaret came scr'amin' from the house. She cries, 'Mary, oh Mary! Me father! Me father!' an' staggers around loike she was goin' to fall, an' Oi run up to her an' hild her up, poor dear." And the servant girl shot a sympathetic glance in Margaret's direction.
"Ahem! Now—er—you remained in the barn until you heard her cry out.
Did you hear or see anything from the barn while you were down there?"
"Well, to tell the truth, sur, Oi didn't notice anythin' at the toime, bein' that interested in me pet chickens, sur. Ye see, Pat Callahan gave me three foine Leghorns, an'—"
"Never mind the Leghorns. If you saw or heard anything, what was it?"
"'Twas something Oi was afther hearin', sur. Oi think somebody ran past the barn, aisy loike."
"You didn't see anybody?"
"No, sur. As Oi said before, thim Leghorns that Pat Callahan gave me—"