“Have you been there on any former occasion at the same hour?”
A long pause, then another “no” came from his mouth, this time softly and hesitatingly, as if wrung from his conscience.
The constraint which weighed on every one began to lessen, the president turned over his papers, and Elsbeth gazed across at him with big lustreless eyes.
“Where were you when you first saw the glow of the flames?”
“About twenty steps away from the manor-house of Helenenthal.”
“And what did you do then?”
“I was much frightened, and hastened back immediately to my father’s farm.”
“In what manner did you leave the garden?”
“I climbed over the garden fence.”
“So you did NOT open the door which leads from the garden to the yard?”