"Bessie is a common name, isn't it?"
"But how do you account for the further fact that these two pieces fit each other exactly?" asked the Attorney—laying the narrow strip by the broader portion.
Bessie became dizzy and confused.
"I can't account for it. I know nothing about it," she said.
The Deemster, who was breathing with difficulty, asked the Attorney what he suggested by the exhibits. The Attorney answered,
"The larger piece, your Honour, is the scarf which the body of the child was found in, while the narrower one was discovered in the prisoner's room, and the suggestion is that, taken together, they form a chain of convincing evidence that she is guilty of the crime with which she is charged."
Gell leapt to his feet. He had recognised the scarf as a present of his own on Bessie's last birthday, and his great faith in the girl was breaking down, yet in a husky voice he said,
"Give her time, your Honour. She may have some explanation."
The Deemster signified assent, and then Gell, stepping closer to the witness-box, said,
"Be calm and think again. Don't answer hastily. Everything depends on your reply. Are you sure the scarf was not yours and that you lost the larger piece of it? Think carefully, I beg, I pray."