"At that picnic, August 7th, did you have any talk with her?"
"No. We waved or nodded I suppose, when I arrived. Those picnics are quite informal. The fact that I had no talk with her was accidental; I was engaged with the other guests, and she was spending her time with the Wayne children."
"All her time?"
"Why, yes, until about 3:30 anyhow."
"Did anything noteworthy happen then?"
"I don't know if I can judge what's noteworthy, Mr. Hunter."
Mann's attention sharpened at the hint of hostility. Was this State's witness by any chance intending to pull the rug out from under Hunter?
"I'll rephrase my question. At 3:30, did anything happen important enough so that you now remember it and wish to tell it under oath?"
"It's not a question of my wishing to tell it, Mr. Hunter. I do not. If I may use an old-fashioned and unpopular word, it's a matter of duty. At 3:30 Callista went alone into a wild garden back of the lawn."