“Will you sit down?” asked the judge. Hicks signified by another movement of the head that he would not. “This is a very dreadful business!” began the judge softly.
“Ain't it?” agreed Hicks. “What you got to say to me?” he added petulantly.
“Have you started to drag the bayou?” asked the judge. Hicks nodded. “That was your idea?” suggested the judge.
“No, it wa'n't,” objected Hicks quickly. “But I said she had been actin' like she was plumb distracted ever since Charley Norton got shot—”
“How?” inquired the judge, arching his eyebrows. Hicks was plainly disturbed by the question.
“Sort of out of her head. Mr. Ware seen it, too—”
“He spoke of it?”
“Yes, sir; him and me discussed it together.”
The judge regarded Hicks long and intently and in, silence. His magnificent mind was at work. If Betty had been distraught he had not observed any sign of it the previous day. If Ware were better informed as to her true mental state why had he chosen this time to go to Memphis?
“I suppose Mr. Ware asked you to keep an eye on Miss Malroy while he was away from home?” said the judge. Hicks, suspicious of the drift of his questioning, made no answer. “I suppose you told the house servants to keep her under observation?” continued the judge.