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Speaker 1: A jury of her peers. When Martha Hale opened the

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storm door and got a cut of the north wind,

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she ran back for her big woolen scarf. As she

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hurriedly wound that round her head, her eye made a

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scandalized sweep of her kitchen. It was no ordinary thing

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that called her away. It was probably farther from ordinary

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than anything that had ever happened in Dixon County. But

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what her eye took in was that her kitchen was

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in no shape for leaving her bread already for mixing,

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half the flower sifted and half unsifted. She hated to

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see things half done, but she had been at that

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when the team from town stopped to get mister Hale,

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and then the sheriff came running in to say his

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wife wished missus Hale would come too, adding with a

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grin that he guessed she was getting scared and wanted

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another woman along. So she had dropped everything right where

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it was. Martha now came her husband's impatient voice, don't

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keep folks waiting out here in the cold. She again

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opened the storm door, and this time joined the three

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men and the one woman waiting for her in the

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big two seated buggy. After she had the robes tucked

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around her, she took another look at the woman who

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sat beside her on the back seat. She had met

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Missus Peters the year before at the county fair, and

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the thing she remembered about her was that she didn't

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seem like a sheriff's wife. She was small and thin

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and didn't have a strong voice. Missus Gorman, sheriff's wife

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before Gorman went out and Peters came in, had a

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voice that somehow seemed to be backing up the law

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with every word. But if Missus Peters didn't look like

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a sheriff's wife, Peters made up for it in looking

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like a sheriff. He was too, a dot, the kind

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of man who could get himself elected sheriff, a heavy

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man with a big voice, who was particularly genial with

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the law abiding, as if to make it plain that

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he knew the difference between criminals and non criminals. And

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right there it came into Missus Hale's mind with a stab,

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that this man who was so pleasant and lively with

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all of them, was going to the rights now as

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a sheriff. The country's not very pleasant this time of year.

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Missus Peters at last ventured as if she felt they

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ought to be talking as well as the men. Missus

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Hale scarcely finished her reply, for they had gone up

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a little hill and could see the right place now,

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and seeing it did not make her feel like talking.

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It looked very lonesome this cold March morning. It had

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always been a lonesome looking place. It was down in

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a hollow, and the poplar trees around it were lonesome

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looking trees. The men were looking at it and talking

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about what had happened. The County Attorney was bending to

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one side of the buggy and kept looking steadily at

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the place as they drew up to it. I'm glad

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you came with me, missus Peters, said nervously, as the

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two women were about to follow the men in through

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the kitchen door. Even after she had her foot on

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the doorstep her hand on the knob, Martha Hale had

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a moment of feeling she could not cross that threshold,

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and the reason it seemed she couldn't cross it now

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was simply because she hadn't crossed it before. Time and

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time again, it had been in her mind. I ought

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to go over and see Minnie Foster. She still thought

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of her as Minnie Foster, though for twenty years she

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had been Missus Wright, and then there was always something

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to do, and Minnie Foster would go from her mind.

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But now she could come. The men went over to

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the stove. The women stood close together by the door.

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Young Henderson, the county attorney, turned around and said, come

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up to the fire, ladies. Missus Peters took a step forward,

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then stopped. I'm not cold, she said, and so the

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two women stood by the door at first, not even

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so much as looking around the kitchen. The men talked

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for a minute about what a good thing it was

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the sheriff had sent his deputy out that morning to

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make a fire for them. And then Sheriff Peters stepped

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back from the stove, unbuttoned his outer coat, and leaned

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his hands on the kitchen table in a way that

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seemed to mark the beginning of official business. Now, mister Hale,

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he said, in a sort of semi official voice, before

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we move things about, you tell mister Henderson just what

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it was you saw when you came here yesterday morning.

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The county attorney was looking around the kitchen. By the way,

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he said, has anything been moved. He turned to the sheriff.

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Are things just as you left them yesterday? Peters looked

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from cupboard to sink, from that to a small worn

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rocker a little to one side of the kitchen table.

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It's just the same. Somebody should have been left here yesterday,

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said the county attorney. Oh, yesterday, returned the sheriff, with

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a little gesture, as of yesterday having been more than

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he could bear to think of when I had to

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send Frank to Moore Center for that man who went crazy.

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Let me tell you I had my hands full yesterday.

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I I knew you could get back from Omaha by today, George.

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And as long as I went over everything here myself, well,

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mister Hale, said the county attorney, in a way of

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letting what was past and gone. Go, tell just what

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happened when you came here yesterday morning. Missus Hale, still

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leaning against the door, had that sinking feeling of the

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mother whose child is about to speak a piece. Louis

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often wandered along and got things mixed up in a story.

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She hoped he would tell it straight and plain, and

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not say unnecessary things that would just make things harder

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for Minnie Foster. He didn't begin at once, and she

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noticed that he looked queer, as if standing in that

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kitchen and having to tell what he had seen there

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yesterday morning made him almost sick. Yes, mister Hale, the

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county attorney reminded, Harry and I had started to town

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with a load of potatoes. Missus Hale's husband began. Harry

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was Missus Hale's oldest boy. He wasn't with them now

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for the very good reason that the those potatoes never

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got to town yesterday, and he was taking them this morning,

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so he hadn't been home when the sheriff stopped to

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say he wanted mister Hale to come over to the

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right place and tell the county attorney his story there

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where he could point it all out with all Missus

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Hale's other emotions came the fear now that maybe Harry

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wasn't dressed warm enough. They hadn't any of them realized

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how that north wind did bite we come along this road.

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Hale was going on with a motion of his hand

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to the road over which they had just come. And

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as we got inside of the house, I says to Harry,

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I'm going to see if I can't get John Wright

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to take a telephone, you see, he explained to Henderson.

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Unless I can get somebody to go in with me,

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they won't come out this Branch road except for a

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price I can't pay. I'd spoke to write about it

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once before, but he put me off, saying folks talk

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too much anyway, and all he asked was peace and quiet.

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Guess you know about how much he talked himself. But

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I thought maybe if I went to the house and

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talked about it before his wife and said, all the

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women folks liked the telephones, and in this lonesome stretch

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of road, it would be a good thing. Well, I

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said to Harry that that was what I was going

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to say, though I said at the same time that

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I didn't know is what his wife wanted. Made much

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difference to John now there he was saying things he

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didn't need to say. Missus Hale tried to catch her

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husband's eye, but fortunately the county attorney interrupted with let's

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talk about that a little later, mister Hale. I do

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want to talk about that, but I'm anxious now to

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get along to just what happened when you got here.

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When he began this time, it was very deliberately and carefully.

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I didn't see or hear anything. I knocked at the door,

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and it was all quiet inside. I knew they must

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be up. It was past eight o'clock, so I knocked

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again louder, and I thought I heard somebody say come in.

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I wasn't sure. I'm not sure yet, but I opened

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the door this door, looking a hand toward the door

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by which the two women stood, and there in that rocker,

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pointing to it, sat missus right. Everyone in the kitchen

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looked at that rocker. It came into Missus Hale's mind

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that that rocker didn't look in the least like Minnie Foster,

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the mini Foster of twenty years before. It was a

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dingy red with wooden rungs up the back, and the

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middle rung was gone, and the chair sagged to one side.

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How did she look? The county attorney was inquiring, Well,

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said Hale, she looked queer. How do you mean queer?

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As he asked it, he took out a notebook and pencil.

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Missus Hale did not like the side of that pencil.

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She kept her eye fixed on her husband, as if

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to keep him from saying unnecessary things that would go

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into that notebook and make trouble. Hale did speak guardedly,

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as if the pencil had affected him too, well, as

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if she didn't know what she was going to do

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next and kind of done up. How did she seem

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to feel about your coming? Why? I don't think she

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minded one way or other. She didn't pay much attention.

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I said, ho, do missus right? It's cold, ain't it?

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And she said is it? And went on pleatin at

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her apron Well. I was surprised she didn't ask me

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to come up to the stove or to sit down,

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but just sat there, not even looking at me. And

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so I said, I want to see John, and then

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she laughed. I guess you would call it a laugh.

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I thought of Harry and the team outside. So I said,

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a little sharp, can I see John? No? Says she

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kind of dull. Light. Ain't he home? Says I. Then

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she looked at me, Yes, says she, he's home. Then

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why can't I see him? I asked her, out of

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patience with her now, because he's dead, says she? Just

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as quiet and dull and fell to pleatin' her apron dead,

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says I, like you do when you can't take in

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what you've heard. She just nodded her head, not getting

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a bit excited, but rocking back and forth. Why where

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is he says, I Not know knowing what to say,

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she just pointed upstairs like this, pointing to the room above.

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I got up with the idea of going up there myself.

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By this time I didn't know what to do. I

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walked from there to hear. Then I says, why what

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did he die of? He died of a rope round

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his neck, says she, and just went on pleating at

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her apron. Hale stopped speaking and stood staring at the rocker,

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as if he were still seeing the woman who had

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sat there the morning before. Nobody spoke. It was as

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if everyone were seeing the woman who had sat there

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the morning before. And what did you do? Then? The

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county attorney at last broke the silence. I went out

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and called Harry. I thought I might need help. I

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got Harry in and we went upstairs. His voice fell

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almost to a whisper. There he was lying over the

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I think I'd rather have you go into that upstairs,

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the county attorney interrupted, Where you can point it all out,

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Just go on now with the rest of the story. Well,

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my first thought was to get that rope off. It

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looked he stopped his face twitching. But Harry, he went

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up to him, and he said, no, he's dead, all right,

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and we'd better not touch anything. So we went downstairs.

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She was still sitting that same way. Has anybody been notified?

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I asked, No, says she, unconcerned. Who did this, missus Wright,

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said Harry. He said it business like, and she stopped

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pleatin' at her apron. I don't know, she says. You

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don't know, says Harry. Weren't you sleepin' in the bed

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with him, yes, says she. But I was on the inside.

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Somebody slipped a rope round his neck and strangled him,

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and you didn't wake up, says Harry. I didn't wake up,

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she said after him. We may have looked as if

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we didn't see how that could be. For after a minute,

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she said, I sleep sound. Harry was going to ask

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her more questions, but I said, maybe that weren't our business.

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Maybe we ought to let her tell her story first

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to the corner or the sheriff. So Harry went fast

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as he could over to high road the River's place,

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where there's a telephone. And what did she do when

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she knew you had gone for the coroner? The attorney

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got his pensil in his hand, already for writing. She

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moved from that chair to this one over here. Hale

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pointed to a small chair in the corner and just

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sat there with her hands held together and looking down.

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I got a feeling that I ought to make some conversation,

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so I said I had come in to see if

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John wanted to put in a telephone. And at that

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she started to laugh. And then she stopped and looked

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at me, scared at the sound of a moving pencil.

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The man who was telling the story looked up. I

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don't know, maybe it wasn't scared, he hastened. I wouldn't

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like to say it was. Soon Harry got back, and

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then doctor Lloyd came and you, mister Peters, And so

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I guess that's all I know that you don't. He

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00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,600
said that last with relief, and moved a little, as

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00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:47,039
if relaxing. Everyone moved a little. The county attorney walked

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00:12:47,039 --> 00:12:49,759
toward the stair door. I guess we'll go upstairs first,

242
00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:52,720
then out to the barn and around there. He paused

243
00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:55,279
and looked around the kitchen. You're convinced there was nothing

244
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,399
important here, he asked the sheriff. Nothing that would point

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00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,399
to any motive. The sheriff looked around as if to

246
00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:05,000
re convince himself. Nothing here but kitchen things, he said,

247
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,080
with a little laugh, for the insignificance of kitchen things.

248
00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,600
The county attorney was looking at the cupboard, a peculiar,

249
00:13:11,919 --> 00:13:15,960
ungainly structure, half closet and half covered, the upper part

250
00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,240
of it being built in the wall, and the lower

251
00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:21,320
part just the old fashioned kitchen cupboard, as if its

252
00:13:21,399 --> 00:13:24,519
queerness attracted him. He got a chair and opened the

253
00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,360
upper part and looked in. After a moment he drew

254
00:13:27,399 --> 00:13:31,039
his hand away. Sticky, here's a nice mess, he said, resentfully.

255
00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:33,960
The two women had drawn nearer, and now the Sheriff's

256
00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:37,000
wife spoke, Oh her fruit, she said, looking to missus

257
00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,399
Hale for sympathetic understanding. She turned back to the county

258
00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,519
attorney and explained she worried about that when it turned

259
00:13:43,519 --> 00:13:45,879
so cold last night. She said, the fire would go

260
00:13:45,919 --> 00:13:49,159
out and her jars might burst. Missus Peters's husband broke

261
00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:51,960
into a laugh, Well can you beat the women held

262
00:13:52,039 --> 00:13:55,559
for murder and worrying about her preserves. The young attorney

263
00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:57,919
set his lips. I guess before we're through with her,

264
00:13:58,039 --> 00:14:01,399
she may have something more serious preserves to worry about.

265
00:14:01,519 --> 00:14:06,000
Oh well, said missus Hale's husband, with good natured superiority.

266
00:14:06,279 --> 00:14:10,000
Women are used to worrying over trifles. The two women

267
00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,960
moved a little closer. Neither of them spoke. The county

268
00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:16,159
attorneys seemed suddenly to remember his manners and think of

269
00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,360
his future. And yet he said, with the gallantry of

270
00:14:19,399 --> 00:14:22,559
a young politician, for all their worries, what would we

271
00:14:22,639 --> 00:14:26,039
do without the ladies? The women did not speak, did

272
00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:28,960
not unbend. He went to the sink and began washing

273
00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:32,000
his hands. He turned to wipe them on the roller towel,

274
00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:35,960
whirled it for a cleaner place. Dirty towels. Not much

275
00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,720
of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies. He kicked his

276
00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,639
foot against some dirty pans under the sink. There's a

277
00:14:41,679 --> 00:14:43,519
great deal of work to be done on a farm,

278
00:14:43,679 --> 00:14:47,039
said missus Hale, stiffly, to be sure, And yet, with

279
00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:49,399
a little bow to her I know there are some

280
00:14:49,639 --> 00:14:53,600
Dixon County farmhouses that do not have such roller towels.

281
00:14:53,879 --> 00:14:56,679
He gave it a pull to expose its full length again.

282
00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:00,720
Those towels get dirty awful quick. Men's hands aren't always

283
00:15:00,759 --> 00:15:04,279
as clean as they might be. Ah loyal to your sex,

284
00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:07,279
I see, he laughed. He stopped and gave her a

285
00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:10,200
keen look. But you and missus Wright were neighbors. I

286
00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:13,159
suppose you were friends too. Martha Hale shook her head.

287
00:15:13,279 --> 00:15:16,080
I've seen little enough of her of late years. I've

288
00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,360
not been in this house it's more than a year.

289
00:15:18,679 --> 00:15:20,960
And why was that you didn't like her? I liked

290
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,960
her well enough, she replied to a spirit farmers wives

291
00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,879
have their hands full, mister Henderson, and then she looked

292
00:15:26,919 --> 00:15:30,679
around the kitchen. Yes, he encouraged, it never seemed a

293
00:15:30,799 --> 00:15:35,120
very cheerful place, said she, more to herself than to him. No,

294
00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,639
he agreed, I don't think anyone would call it cheerful.

295
00:15:38,799 --> 00:15:42,399
I shouldn't say she had the homemaking instinct. Well, I

296
00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:45,519
don't know as right had either. She muttered, You mean

297
00:15:45,559 --> 00:15:48,279
they didn't get on very well? He was quick to ask. No,

298
00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:51,720
I don't mean anything, she answered with decision. As she

299
00:15:51,799 --> 00:15:54,360
turned a little away from him. She added, but I

300
00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,120
don't think a place would be any the cheerfuller for

301
00:15:57,240 --> 00:15:59,639
John Wright's beIN in it. I'd like to talk to

302
00:15:59,639 --> 00:16:02,279
you about that a little later, Missus Hale, he said,

303
00:16:02,399 --> 00:16:05,039
I'm anxious to get the lay of things upstairs now.

304
00:16:05,159 --> 00:16:08,159
He moved toward the stair door, followed by the two men.

305
00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:11,039
I suppose anything Missus Peters does will be all right,

306
00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:13,919
the sheriff inquired. She was to take in some clothes

307
00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,200
for her, you know, and a few little things we

308
00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,240
left in such a hurry yesterday. The county attorney looked

309
00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:21,720
at the two women whom they were leaving alone there

310
00:16:21,759 --> 00:16:25,320
among the kitchen things. Yes, Missus Peters, he said, his

311
00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:28,440
glance resting on the woman who was not Missus Peters,

312
00:16:28,639 --> 00:16:31,879
the big farmer woman who stood behind the sheriff's wife.

313
00:16:31,879 --> 00:16:34,879
Of course, Missus Peters is one of us, he said,

314
00:16:34,919 --> 00:16:38,360
in a manner of entrusting responsibility. And keep your eye out,

315
00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:41,240
Missus Peters, for anything that might be of use. No

316
00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,639
telling you. Women might come upon the clue to the motive,

317
00:16:44,799 --> 00:16:47,480
and that's the thing we need. Mister Hale rubbed his

318
00:16:47,559 --> 00:16:50,159
face after the fashion of a showman getting ready for

319
00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,159
a pleasantry. But would the women know a clue if

320
00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,240
they did come upon it? He said, and having delivered

321
00:16:56,399 --> 00:16:59,600
himself of this, he followed the others through the stair door.

322
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,480
Women stood motionless and silent, listening to the footsteps, first

323
00:17:03,559 --> 00:17:05,759
upon the stairs and then in the room above them.

324
00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,559
As if releasing herself from something strange. Missus Hale began

325
00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,359
to arrange the dirty pans under the sink, which the

326
00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:16,000
county attorney's disdainful push of the foot had deranged. I'd

327
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,440
hate to have men coming into my kitchen, she said, testily,

328
00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:23,039
snoopin round and criticizin'. Of course, it's no more than

329
00:17:23,079 --> 00:17:25,680
their duty, said the sheriff's wife, in her manner of

330
00:17:25,759 --> 00:17:30,160
timid acquiescence. Duty's all right, replied missus Hale bluffly. But

331
00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:32,480
I guess that deputy sheriff that come out to make

332
00:17:32,519 --> 00:17:34,599
the fire might have got a little of this on.

333
00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,200
She gave the roller towel a pull. Wish I'd thought

334
00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:39,640
of that sooner. Seems mean to talk about her for

335
00:17:39,759 --> 00:17:41,920
not having things slicked up when she had to come

336
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,440
away in such a hurry. She looked around the kitchen.

337
00:17:44,759 --> 00:17:47,440
Certainly it was not slicked up. Her eye was held

338
00:17:47,519 --> 00:17:49,680
by a bucket of sugar on a low shelf. The

339
00:17:49,759 --> 00:17:52,319
cover was off of the wooden bucket, and beside it

340
00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:55,960
was a paper bag half full. Missus Hale moved toward it.

341
00:17:56,359 --> 00:18:00,519
She was putting this in there, she said to herself. Slowly.

342
00:18:00,839 --> 00:18:02,920
She thought of the flower in her kitchen at home,

343
00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,599
half sifted, half not sifted. She had been interrupted and

344
00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:09,799
had left things half done. What had interrupted Minnie Foster?

345
00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:12,720
Why had that work been left half done? She made

346
00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:15,839
a move as if to finish it. Unfinished things always

347
00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:18,640
bothered her. And then she glanced around and saw that

348
00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:22,039
Missus Peters was watching her. And she didn't want Missus

349
00:18:22,039 --> 00:18:24,519
Peters to get the feeling that she had got work

350
00:18:24,559 --> 00:18:27,920
begun and then for some reason not finish. It's a

351
00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:30,640
shame about her fruit, she said, and walked toward the

352
00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,599
cupboard that the County Attorney had opened, and got on

353
00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,480
the chair, murmuring, I wonder if it's all gone. It

354
00:18:36,599 --> 00:18:39,200
was a sorry enough looking sight. But here's one that's

355
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,000
all right, she said. At last, she held it toward

356
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,200
the light. This is Cherry's too. She looked again. I

357
00:18:45,319 --> 00:18:48,400
declare I believe that's the only one. With a sigh,

358
00:18:48,599 --> 00:18:50,880
she got down from the chair, went to the sink

359
00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:54,039
and wiped off the bottle. She'll feel awful bad after

360
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:56,759
all her hard work in the hot weather. I remember

361
00:18:56,799 --> 00:18:59,559
the afternoon I put up my cherries last summer. She

362
00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:02,200
set the bottle on the table, and with another sigh,

363
00:19:02,319 --> 00:19:04,559
started to sit down in the rocker. But she did

364
00:19:04,599 --> 00:19:07,480
not sit down. Something kept her from sitting down in

365
00:19:07,519 --> 00:19:11,119
that chair. She straightened, stepped back, and half turned away,

366
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,240
stood looking at it, seeing the woman who had sat

367
00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:17,079
there pleating at her apron. The thin voice of the

368
00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:19,839
sheriff's wife broke in upon her. I must be getting

369
00:19:19,839 --> 00:19:22,480
those things from the front room closet. She opened the

370
00:19:22,559 --> 00:19:25,559
door into the other room, started in, stepped back. You

371
00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:29,200
coming with me, Missus Hale, she asked, nervously. You you

372
00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:31,519
could help me get them. They were back soon. The

373
00:19:31,559 --> 00:19:34,279
stark coldness of that shut up room was not a

374
00:19:34,319 --> 00:19:37,720
thing to linger in my said Missus Peters, dropping the

375
00:19:37,759 --> 00:19:40,680
things on the table and hurrying to the stove. Missus

376
00:19:40,759 --> 00:19:44,039
Hale stood examining the clothes the woman who was being

377
00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:47,839
detained in town had said she wanted right. Was close,

378
00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:51,519
she exclaimed, holding up a shabby black shirt that bore

379
00:19:51,599 --> 00:19:54,680
the marks of much making over. I think maybe that's

380
00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:57,640
why she kept so much to herself. I suppose she

381
00:19:57,759 --> 00:20:00,680
felt she couldn't do her part, and then you don't

382
00:20:00,759 --> 00:20:03,680
enjoy things when you feel shabby. She used to wear

383
00:20:03,759 --> 00:20:06,880
pretty clothes and be lively when she was many Foster,

384
00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,359
one of the town girls, singing in the choir. But that, oh,

385
00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:13,519
that was twenty years ago. With a carefulness in which

386
00:20:13,559 --> 00:20:16,799
there was something tender, she folded the shabby clothes and

387
00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:19,599
piled them at the corner of the table. She looked

388
00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:22,119
up at Missus Peters, and there was something in the

389
00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,680
other woman's look that irritated her. She don't care, she

390
00:20:25,799 --> 00:20:28,440
said to herself, much difference it makes to her whether

391
00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:30,839
Minnie Foster had pretty clothes when she was a girl.

392
00:20:31,079 --> 00:20:34,039
Then she looked again, and she wasn't so sure. In fact,

393
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:38,039
she hadn't at any time been perfectly sure about Missus Peters.

394
00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:41,240
She had that shrinking manner, and yet her eyes looked

395
00:20:41,279 --> 00:20:43,799
as if they could see a long way into things.

396
00:20:44,039 --> 00:20:46,920
This all you was to take in, asked Missus Hale, No,

397
00:20:47,279 --> 00:20:49,920
said the sheriff's wife. She said she wanted an apron

398
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,920
funny thing to want. She ventured in her nervous little way,

399
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,079
for there's not much to get you dirty and jail

400
00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:57,960
Goodness knows, but I suppose just to make her feel

401
00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:01,079
more natural if you're used to wearing an apron. She said,

402
00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:03,559
they were in the bottom drawer of this cupboard. Yes,

403
00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:06,519
here they are. And then her little shawl that always

404
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:09,519
hung on the stair door. She took the small gray

405
00:21:09,599 --> 00:21:12,839
shawl from behind the door leading upstairs and stood a

406
00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,880
minute looking at it. Suddenly Missus Hale took a quick

407
00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:19,319
step toward the other woman, Missus Peters. Yes, missus Hale,

408
00:21:19,519 --> 00:21:22,480
do you think she did it? A frightened look blurred

409
00:21:22,519 --> 00:21:25,880
the other things in Missus Peters's eyes. Oh, I don't know,

410
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,480
she said, in a voice that seemed to shrink away

411
00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,200
from the subject. Well I don't think she did, affirmed

412
00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:34,720
Missus Hale, stoutly, asking for an apron and her little shawl,

413
00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:38,720
worrying about our fruit. Mister Peter says footsteps were heard

414
00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:41,599
in the room above. She stopped, looked up, and then

415
00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:44,759
went on in a lowered voice. Mister Peter says, it

416
00:21:44,799 --> 00:21:48,039
looks bad for her. Mister Henderson is awful sarcastic in

417
00:21:48,079 --> 00:21:50,119
a speech, and he's going to make fun of her,

418
00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:53,640
saying she didn't wake up for a moment. Missus Hale

419
00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,720
had no answer. Then, well, I guess John Wright didn't

420
00:21:56,759 --> 00:21:59,359
wake up when they was slipping that rope under his neck.

421
00:21:59,559 --> 00:22:04,359
She mut no, it's strange, breathed missus Peters. They think

422
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:06,599
it was such a funny way to kill a man.

423
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:09,160
She began to laugh. At the sound of the laugh

424
00:22:09,279 --> 00:22:13,359
abruptly stopped. That's just what mister Hale said, said missus Hale,

425
00:22:13,559 --> 00:22:16,400
in a resolutely natural voice. There was a gun in

426
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,920
the house, he says, That's what he can't understand. Mister

427
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,279
Henderson said coming out that what was needed for this

428
00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:27,359
case was a motive, something to show anger or sudden feeling. Well,

429
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,319
I don't see any signs of anger around here, said

430
00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:33,839
missus Hale. I don't. She stopped. It was as if

431
00:22:33,839 --> 00:22:36,559
her mind tripped on something. Her eye was caught by

432
00:22:36,559 --> 00:22:38,920
a dish towel in the middle of the kitchen table.

433
00:22:39,279 --> 00:22:41,960
Slowly she moved toward the table, one half of it

434
00:22:42,039 --> 00:22:45,400
was wiped clean, the other messy. Her eyes made a slow,

435
00:22:45,599 --> 00:22:48,400
almost unwilling turn to the bucket of sugar and the

436
00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:52,240
half empty bag beside it. Things begun and not finished.

437
00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:55,319
After a moment, she stepped back and said, in that

438
00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:59,359
manner of releasing herself, wonder how they're finding things upstairs.

439
00:22:59,559 --> 00:23:01,519
I hope she had it a little more red up

440
00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:05,319
up there, you know. She paused, and feeling gathered. It

441
00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,559
seems kind of sneaking, locking her up in town and

442
00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:11,640
coming out here to get her own house to turn

443
00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:15,240
against her. But missus Hale, said, the sheriff's wife, The

444
00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:19,240
law is the law, I supposed his answered missus Hale. Shortly,

445
00:23:19,599 --> 00:23:22,759
she turned to the stove, saying something about that fire

446
00:23:22,799 --> 00:23:25,480
not being much to brag of. She worked with it

447
00:23:25,519 --> 00:23:28,640
a minute, and when she straightened up, she said aggressively,

448
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,039
the law is the law, and a bad stove is

449
00:23:31,079 --> 00:23:33,240
a bad stove. How do you like to cook on this?

450
00:23:33,519 --> 00:23:36,240
Pointing with the poker to the broken lining. She opened

451
00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:38,599
the oven door and started to express her opinion of

452
00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:41,079
the oven. But she was swept into her own thoughts,

453
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,599
thinking of what it would mean year after year to

454
00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,000
have that stove to wrestle with the thought of Minnie

455
00:23:46,039 --> 00:23:48,359
Foster trying to bake in that oven, and the thought

456
00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,200
of her never going over to see Minnie Foster. She

457
00:23:51,359 --> 00:23:54,599
was startled by hearing Missus Peters say a person gets

458
00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,920
discouraged and lose his heart. The sheriff's wife had looked

459
00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:00,200
from the stove to the sink, to the pale of

460
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,119
water which had been carried in from outside. The two

461
00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:06,119
women stood there, silent above them the footsteps of the

462
00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:09,200
men who were looking for evidence against the woman who

463
00:24:09,279 --> 00:24:12,480
had worked in that kitchen. That look of seeing into things,

464
00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:15,480
of seeing through a thing to something else, was in

465
00:24:15,559 --> 00:24:19,000
the eyes of the sheriff's wife. Now. When missus Hale

466
00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:22,200
next spoke to her, it was gently, better, loosen up

467
00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:25,359
your things, Missus Peters, will not feel them when we

468
00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:27,799
go out. Missus Peters went to the back of the

469
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:30,240
room to hang up the fur tippet she was wearing.

470
00:24:30,319 --> 00:24:33,240
A moment later, she exclaimed why she was piecing a

471
00:24:33,279 --> 00:24:37,119
quilt and held up a large sewing basket piled high

472
00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,640
with quilt pieces. Missus Hale spread some of the blocks

473
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,640
out on her table. It's a log cabin pattern, she said,

474
00:24:43,799 --> 00:24:46,920
putting several of them together. Pretty, isn't it. They were

475
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,359
so engaged with the quilt that they did not hear

476
00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:52,799
the footsteps on the stairs. Just as the stair door opened,

477
00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,279
Missus Hale was saying, do you suppose she was going

478
00:24:55,359 --> 00:24:58,000
to quilt it or just nod it. The sheriff threw

479
00:24:58,079 --> 00:25:00,279
up his hands. They wonder whether she was went to

480
00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:02,640
quilt it or just nod it. There was a laugh

481
00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:05,119
for the ways of women, a warming of hands over

482
00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:08,240
the stove, and the county attorney said briskly, well, let's

483
00:25:08,279 --> 00:25:10,599
go right out to the barn and get that cleared up.

484
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:14,599
I don't see as there's anything so strange, missus Hale said, resentfully,

485
00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:17,559
after the outside door had closed on the three men.

486
00:25:17,839 --> 00:25:20,519
Our taking up our time with little things while we're

487
00:25:20,559 --> 00:25:23,079
waiting for them to get the evidence. I don't see

488
00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:25,720
as it's anything to laugh about. Of course, they've got

489
00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:30,200
awful important things on their minds, said the sheriff's wife apologetically.

490
00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,160
They returned to an inspection of the block for the quilt.

491
00:25:33,519 --> 00:25:36,400
Missus Hale was looking at the fine even sewing and

492
00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,599
preoccupied with thoughts of the woman who had done that sewing,

493
00:25:39,799 --> 00:25:42,640
when she heard the Sheriff's wife say, in a queer tone,

494
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,920
why look at this one? She turned to take the

495
00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,519
block held out to her. The sewing said Missus Peters

496
00:25:49,519 --> 00:25:51,880
in a troubled way. All the rest of them have

497
00:25:52,039 --> 00:25:55,680
been so nice and even but this one why? It

498
00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:57,960
looks as if she didn't know what she was about.

499
00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:02,880
Their eyes met, thing flashed to life, passed between them, Then,

500
00:26:03,079 --> 00:26:05,279
as if with an effort, they seemed to pull away

501
00:26:05,319 --> 00:26:08,559
from each other a moment. Missus Hale sat her hands

502
00:26:08,599 --> 00:26:11,559
folded over that sewing, which was so unlike all the

503
00:26:11,599 --> 00:26:14,039
rest of the sewing. Then she had pulled a knot

504
00:26:14,079 --> 00:26:16,839
and drawn the threads. Oh what are you doing, missus

505
00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,240
Hale asked the sheriff's wife startled, just pulling out a

506
00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:22,839
stitch or two that's not sewed very good, said missus

507
00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:25,640
Hale mildly. I don't think we ought to touch things,

508
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:29,319
missus Peters said a little helplessly. I'll just finish up

509
00:26:29,319 --> 00:26:33,039
this end, answered missus Hale. Still in that mild, matter

510
00:26:33,079 --> 00:26:36,119
of fact fashion, she threaded a needle and started to

511
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,240
replace bad sewing with good. For a little while she

512
00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,720
sewed in silence. Then in that thin, timid voice, she

513
00:26:42,799 --> 00:26:46,680
heard missus Hale. Yes, missus Peters, what do you suppose

514
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:49,720
she was so nervous about? Oh? I don't know, said

515
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:53,119
missus Hale, as if dismissing a thing not important enough

516
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,319
to spend much time on, I don't know, as she

517
00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:59,240
was nervous. I so awful queer sometimes when I'm just tired.

518
00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:01,880
She cut athad and out of the corner of her eye,

519
00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:05,000
looked up at missus Peters. The small, lean face of

520
00:27:05,039 --> 00:27:07,920
the sheriff's wife seemed to have tightened up. Her eyes

521
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,680
had that look of peering into something. But next moment

522
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:14,279
she moved and said, in her thin, indecisive way, well,

523
00:27:14,519 --> 00:27:17,119
I must get those clothes wrapped. They may be through

524
00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:19,640
sooner than we think. I wonder where I could find

525
00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:22,839
a piece of paper and string in that cupboard, maybe,

526
00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:27,000
suggested missus Hale. After a glance around, one piece of

527
00:27:27,039 --> 00:27:31,119
the crazy sewing remained unripped. Missus Peters back turned. Martha

528
00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:34,440
Hale now scrutinized that piece, compared it with the dainty,

529
00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:38,039
accurate sewing of the other blocks. The difference was startling.

530
00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:40,720
Holding this block made her feel queer, as if the

531
00:27:40,799 --> 00:27:43,759
distracted thoughts of the woman who had perhaps turned to

532
00:27:43,839 --> 00:27:47,319
it to try and quiet herself, were communicating themselves to her.

533
00:27:47,599 --> 00:27:51,319
Missus Peters's voice roused her. Here's a bird cage, she said,

534
00:27:51,519 --> 00:27:54,559
Did she have a bird? Missus Hale? Why? I don't

535
00:27:54,599 --> 00:27:56,880
know whether she did or not. She turned to look

536
00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:59,279
at the cage. Missus Peters was holding up. I've not

537
00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:02,640
been here so long, she sighed. There was a man

538
00:28:02,759 --> 00:28:05,960
round last year selling canaries cheap, but I don't know

539
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:09,039
as she took one. Maybe she did. She used to

540
00:28:09,079 --> 00:28:12,440
sing real pretty herself. Missus Peters looked around the kitchen.

541
00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:14,839
Seems kind of funny to think of a bird here,

542
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:17,480
she half laughed. An attempt to put up a barrier.

543
00:28:17,839 --> 00:28:20,319
But she must have had one, or why would she

544
00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:22,880
have a cage? I wonder what happened to it. I

545
00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:26,680
suppose maybe the cat got it, suggested missus Hale, resuming

546
00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,680
her sewing. No, she didn't have a cat. She's got

547
00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:33,200
that feeling some people have about cats being afraid of them.

548
00:28:33,519 --> 00:28:36,079
When they brought her to our house yesterday. My cat

549
00:28:36,079 --> 00:28:38,119
got in the room and she was real upset and

550
00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:40,680
asked me to take it out. My sister Bessie was

551
00:28:40,799 --> 00:28:43,960
like that, laughed missus Hale. The sheriff's wife did not reply.

552
00:28:44,319 --> 00:28:47,839
The silence made missus Hale turn round. Missus Peters was

553
00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,400
examining the bird cage. Look at this door, she said, slowly.

554
00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:55,799
It's broke. One hinge has been pulled apart. Missus Hale

555
00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:58,920
came nearer, looks as if someone must have been rough

556
00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:03,079
with it again. They're eyes met, startled, questioning, apprehensive. For

557
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:07,440
a moment, neither spoke nor stirred. Then missus Hale, turning away,

558
00:29:07,519 --> 00:29:10,200
said brusquely, if they're going to find any evidence, I

559
00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:12,599
wish they'd be about it. I don't like this place,

560
00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:15,200
but I'm awful glad you came with me, missus Hale.

561
00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:17,799
Missus Peters put the bird cage on the table and

562
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:21,200
sat down. It would be lonesome for me sitting here alone. Yes,

563
00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,839
it would, wouldn't it, agreed missus Hale, a certain determined

564
00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,519
naturalness in her voice. She had picked up the sewing,

565
00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:29,960
but now it dropped in her lap, and she murmured

566
00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,480
in a different voice. But I tell you what I

567
00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:35,599
do wish, Missus Peters. I wish I had come over

568
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,519
sometimes when she was here. I wish I had. But

569
00:29:38,599 --> 00:29:41,640
of course you were awful busy, missus Hale, your house

570
00:29:41,759 --> 00:29:45,519
and your children. I could have come, retorted missus Hale. Shortly.

571
00:29:45,759 --> 00:29:48,480
I stayed away because it weren't cheerful, and that's why

572
00:29:48,519 --> 00:29:51,599
I ought to have come. I she looked around. I've

573
00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,200
never liked this place, maybe because it's down in a

574
00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:56,319
hollow and you don't see the road. I don't know

575
00:29:56,359 --> 00:29:59,359
what it is, but it's a lonesome place, and always was.

576
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,640
Wish I had come over to see Minnie Foster. Sometimes

577
00:30:02,759 --> 00:30:06,200
I can see now she did not put it into words. Well,

578
00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:10,920
you mustn't reproach yourself, counseled Missus Peters. Somehow we just

579
00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:13,960
don't see how it is with other folks till something

580
00:30:14,039 --> 00:30:17,480
comes up. Not having children makes less work, mused Missus Hale,

581
00:30:17,519 --> 00:30:20,799
after a silence, But it makes a quiet house and

582
00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,640
right out to work all day and no company when

583
00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:26,960
he did come in. Did you know John Wright? Missus Peters,

584
00:30:27,319 --> 00:30:30,119
not to know him. I've seen him in town. They

585
00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:33,640
say he was a good man. Yes, good, conceded John

586
00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,960
Wright's neighbor grimly. He didn't drink and kept his word

587
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:39,880
as well as most, I guess, and paid his debts.

588
00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:42,680
But he was a hard man, Missus Peters. Just to

589
00:30:42,759 --> 00:30:46,079
pass the time of day with him, she stopped, shivered

590
00:30:46,119 --> 00:30:49,240
a little, like a raw wind that gets to the bone.

591
00:30:49,359 --> 00:30:52,160
Her eye fell upon the cage on the table before her,

592
00:30:52,359 --> 00:30:55,680
and she added, almost bitterly. I should think she would

593
00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,440
have wanted a bird. Suddenly, she leaned forward, looking intently

594
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,039
at the cage. But what do you suppose went wrong

595
00:31:02,079 --> 00:31:05,480
with it? I don't know, returned missus Peters, unless it

596
00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:08,160
got sick and died. But after she said it, she

597
00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,680
reached over and swung the broken door. Both women watched it,

598
00:31:11,759 --> 00:31:14,480
as if somehow held by it. You didn't know her,

599
00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:18,119
missus Hale asked, a gentler note in her voice. Not

600
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:21,319
till they brought her yesterday, said the sheriff's wife. Come

601
00:31:21,359 --> 00:31:23,519
to think of it, she was kind of like a

602
00:31:23,519 --> 00:31:27,240
bird herself, real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid

603
00:31:27,559 --> 00:31:30,960
and fluttery. How she did change that held her for

604
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,880
a long time. Finally, as if struck with a happy

605
00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:37,359
thought and relieved to get back to everyday things, she exclaimed,

606
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:39,960
Tell you what, missus Peters, why don't you take the

607
00:31:40,039 --> 00:31:42,680
quilton with you? It might take up her mind. Why,

608
00:31:42,759 --> 00:31:45,599
I think that's a real nice idea, missus Hale, agreed

609
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:48,000
the Sheriff's wife, as if she too were glad to

610
00:31:48,039 --> 00:31:51,039
come into the atmosphere of a simple kindness. There couldn't

611
00:31:51,079 --> 00:31:54,000
possibly be any objection to that, could there? Now? Just

612
00:31:54,079 --> 00:31:56,319
what will I take? I wonder if her patches are

613
00:31:56,319 --> 00:31:59,359
in here and her things. They turned to the sewing basket.

614
00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:02,160
Here's some rere, said Missus Hale, bringing out a roll

615
00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:05,319
of cloth underneath. That was a box here. Maybe her

616
00:32:05,319 --> 00:32:08,319
scissors are in here and her things. She held it up.

617
00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:11,160
What a pretty box. I'll warrant. That was something she

618
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:13,359
had a long time ago, when she was a girl.

619
00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:15,759
She held it in her hand a moment, then, with

620
00:32:15,839 --> 00:32:18,920
a little sigh, opened it instantly. Her hand went to

621
00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:22,720
her nose. Why, missus Peters drew nearer, then turned away.

622
00:32:23,119 --> 00:32:26,400
There's something wrapped up in this piece of silk, faltered

623
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:30,000
missus Hale. This isn't her scissors, said Missus Peters in

624
00:32:30,039 --> 00:32:33,920
a shrinking voice. Her hand not steady. Missus Hale raised

625
00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:36,680
the piece of silk. Oh, Missus Peters, she cried, it's

626
00:32:37,039 --> 00:32:41,000
Missus Peters bent closer. It's the bird, she whispered. But

627
00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:45,079
Missus Peters, cried missus Hale, look at it. It's neck,

628
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:48,480
Look at its neck. It's all other side too. She

629
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:51,440
held the box away from her. The sheriff's wife again

630
00:32:51,519 --> 00:32:55,079
bent closer. Somebody wrung its neck, she said, in a

631
00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:57,920
voice that was slow and deep, And then again the

632
00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:01,240
eyes of the two women met, this time clung together

633
00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:05,119
in a look of dawning comprehension of growing horror. Missus

634
00:33:05,119 --> 00:33:07,880
Peters looked from the dead bird to the broken door

635
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:10,880
of the cage. Again their eyes met, and just then

636
00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,000
there was a sound at the outside door. Missus Hale

637
00:33:14,119 --> 00:33:16,839
slipped the box under the quilt pieces in the basket

638
00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:20,039
and sank into the chair before it. Missus Peters stood

639
00:33:20,079 --> 00:33:22,880
holding to the table. The county Attorney and the sheriff

640
00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:26,400
came in from outside. Well, ladies, said the county attorney,

641
00:33:26,519 --> 00:33:29,960
as one, turning from serious things to little pleasantries. Have

642
00:33:30,079 --> 00:33:32,359
you decided whether she was going to quilt it or

643
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,279
nod it? We think, began the Sheriff's wife, in a

644
00:33:35,319 --> 00:33:38,680
flattered voice, that she was going to nod it. He

645
00:33:38,799 --> 00:33:41,519
was too preoccupied to notice the change that came in

646
00:33:41,599 --> 00:33:45,279
her voice on the last. Well, that's very interesting, I'm sure,

647
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,200
he said tolerantly. He caught sight of the bird cage.

648
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:50,880
Has the bird flown? We think the cat got it,

649
00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:54,160
said Missus Hale in a voice curiously. Even He was

650
00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:57,160
walking up and down, as if thinking something out. Is

651
00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:00,559
there a cat? He asked absently. Missus Hale shot a

652
00:34:00,599 --> 00:34:04,000
look up at the sheriff's wife. Well not now, said

653
00:34:04,039 --> 00:34:08,079
missus Peters. They're superstitious, you know. They leave. She sank

654
00:34:08,119 --> 00:34:10,960
into her chair. The county attorney did not heed her,

655
00:34:11,199 --> 00:34:13,920
no sign at all of anyone having come in from

656
00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:16,760
the outside. He said to Peters, in the manner of

657
00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:20,599
continuing an interrupted conversation their own rope. Now, let's go

658
00:34:20,679 --> 00:34:23,280
upstairs again and go over at piece by piece. It

659
00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:26,280
would have to have been someone who knew just the

660
00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:29,400
The stair door closed behind them, and their voices were lost.

661
00:34:29,599 --> 00:34:32,840
The two women sat motionless, not looking at each other,

662
00:34:33,039 --> 00:34:35,599
but as if peering into something, and at the same

663
00:34:35,719 --> 00:34:38,400
time holding back when they spoke. Now it was as

664
00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:40,440
if they were afraid of what they were saying, but

665
00:34:40,519 --> 00:34:43,400
as if they could not help saying it. She liked

666
00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:47,159
the bird, said Martha Hale, low and slowly. She was

667
00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:50,440
going to bury it in that pretty box. When I

668
00:34:50,599 --> 00:34:54,079
was a girl, said Missus Peters under her breath, my kitten,

669
00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:57,760
there was a boy took a hatchet, and before my eyes,

670
00:34:58,159 --> 00:35:01,239
before I could get there, she covered her face an instant.

671
00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:03,800
If they hadn't held me back, I would have she

672
00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:07,079
caught herself, looked upstairs, where the footsteps were heard, and

673
00:35:07,159 --> 00:35:11,599
finished weakly hurt him. Then they sat without speaking or moving.

674
00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:15,280
I wonder how it would seem. Missus Hale at last began,

675
00:35:15,519 --> 00:35:18,400
as if feeling her way over strange ground, never to

676
00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:21,320
have had any children around her eyes made a slow

677
00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:24,000
sweep of the kitchen, as if seeing what the kitchen

678
00:35:24,039 --> 00:35:27,719
had meant through all the years. No right wouldn't like

679
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,760
the bird, she said, after that, a thing that sang

680
00:35:31,079 --> 00:35:34,840
she used to sing. He killed that too. Her voice tightened.

681
00:35:35,039 --> 00:35:38,679
Missus Peters moved uneasily. Of course, we don't know who

682
00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:42,519
killed the bird. I knew John Wright, was missus Hale's answer.

683
00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:45,039
It was an awful thing was done in this house

684
00:35:45,119 --> 00:35:48,159
that night, missus Hale said, the sheriff's wife killing a

685
00:35:48,239 --> 00:35:51,639
man while he slept, slipping a thing round his neck

686
00:35:51,719 --> 00:35:54,639
that choked the life out of him. Missus Hale's hand

687
00:35:54,679 --> 00:35:57,719
went out to the bird cage. His neck choked the

688
00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:01,960
life out of him. We don't know who killed him,

689
00:36:02,119 --> 00:36:06,920
whispered missus Peters wildly. We don't know. Missus Hale had

690
00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:10,760
not moved. If there had been years and years of nothing,

691
00:36:11,119 --> 00:36:13,440
then a bird to sing to you, it would be

692
00:36:13,519 --> 00:36:17,559
awful still After the bird was still. It was as

693
00:36:17,559 --> 00:36:20,840
if something within her, not herself, had spoken, and it

694
00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:24,760
found in Missus Peters something she did not know as herself.

695
00:36:25,039 --> 00:36:28,159
I know what stillness is, she said, in a queer,

696
00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:32,239
monotonous voice. When we homesteaded in Dakota and my first

697
00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:35,320
baby died after he was two years old, and me,

698
00:36:35,599 --> 00:36:39,360
with no other than missus Hale, stirred, how soon do

699
00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:42,159
you suppose they'll be through looking for the evidence? I

700
00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:46,360
know what stillness is, repeated Missus Peters in just that

701
00:36:46,519 --> 00:36:49,639
same way. Then she too, pulled back. The law has

702
00:36:49,679 --> 00:36:52,719
got to punish crime, Missus Hale, she said, in her

703
00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:55,960
tight little way. I wish you'd seen Minnie Foster was

704
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,840
the answer. When she wore a white dress with blue

705
00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:02,239
ribbons and stood up there in the choir and sang

706
00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:05,239
the picture of that girl. The fact that she lived

707
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:08,079
neighbor to that girl for twenty years and had let

708
00:37:08,159 --> 00:37:11,000
her die for lack of life was suddenly more than

709
00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:13,039
she could bear. Oh I wish I'd come over here

710
00:37:13,079 --> 00:37:15,800
once in a while, she cried. That was a crime,

711
00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:18,280
That was a crime. Who's going to punish that we

712
00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:21,400
mustn't take on, said Missus Peters, with a frightened look

713
00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:24,079
toward the stairs. I might have known she needed help.

714
00:37:24,119 --> 00:37:27,079
I tell you it's queer, Missus Peters. We live close together,

715
00:37:27,199 --> 00:37:29,280
and we live far apart. We all go through the

716
00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:31,840
same things. It's all just a different kind of the

717
00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:35,000
same thing. If it weren't, why do you and I understand?

718
00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:37,599
Why do we know what we know? This minute? She

719
00:37:37,719 --> 00:37:40,760
dashed her hand across her eyes. Then, seeing the jar

720
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:43,039
of fruit on the table, she reached for it and

721
00:37:43,119 --> 00:37:45,679
choked out. If I was you, I wouldn't tell her

722
00:37:45,719 --> 00:37:48,159
her fruit was gone. Tell her it ain't. Tell her

723
00:37:48,159 --> 00:37:50,800
it's all right, all of it here. Take this in

724
00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:53,639
to prove it to her. She she may never know

725
00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:57,119
whether it was broke or not. She turned away. Missus

726
00:37:57,119 --> 00:37:59,719
Peters reached out for the bottle of fruit as if

727
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:02,400
she were glad to take it, as if touching a

728
00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:06,159
familiar thing, having something to do could keep her from

729
00:38:06,159 --> 00:38:09,480
something else. She got up, looked about for something to

730
00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:11,960
wrap the fruit in, took a petticoat from the pile

731
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,639
of clothes she had brought from the front room, and

732
00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:19,079
nervously started winding that round the bottle my, she began

733
00:38:19,159 --> 00:38:22,119
in a high false voice. It's a good thing. The

734
00:38:22,199 --> 00:38:25,360
men couldn't hear us getting all stirred up over a

735
00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:29,320
little thing like a dead canary. She hurried over that,

736
00:38:29,639 --> 00:38:32,760
as if that could have anything to do with with

737
00:38:33,239 --> 00:38:36,920
my wouldn't they laugh? Footsteps were heard on the stairs.

738
00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:42,079
Maybe they would, muttered Missus Hale. Maybe they wouldn't know, Peters,

739
00:38:42,119 --> 00:38:46,039
said the county attorney incisively. It's all perfectly clear except

740
00:38:46,079 --> 00:38:48,400
the reason for doing it. But you know, jury's when

741
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:51,119
it comes to women. If there was some definite thing,

742
00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:54,519
something to show, something to make a story about, a

743
00:38:54,599 --> 00:38:57,199
thing that would connect up with this clumsy way of

744
00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:00,199
doing it in a covert way. Missus Hale looked looked

745
00:39:00,199 --> 00:39:03,519
at Missus Peters. Missus Peters was looking at her. Quickly

746
00:39:03,559 --> 00:39:06,440
they looked away from each other. The outer door opened

747
00:39:06,519 --> 00:39:09,280
and mister Hale came in. I've got the team round now,

748
00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:12,199
he said, pretty cold out there, I'm going to stay

749
00:39:12,239 --> 00:39:15,760
here a while by myself. The county attorney suddenly announced,

750
00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:18,000
you can send Frank out for me, can't you? He

751
00:39:18,039 --> 00:39:20,760
asked the sheriff. I want to go over everything. I'm

752
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:24,440
not satisfied. We can't do better again. For one brief moment,

753
00:39:24,559 --> 00:39:27,559
the two women's eyes found one another. The sheriff came

754
00:39:27,639 --> 00:39:29,480
up to the table. Did you want to see what

755
00:39:29,559 --> 00:39:32,360
Missus Peters was going to take in? The county attorney

756
00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:35,239
picked up the apron He laughed, Oh, I guess they're

757
00:39:35,280 --> 00:39:38,159
not very dangerous things the ladies have picked out. Missus

758
00:39:38,199 --> 00:39:40,559
Hale's hand was on the sewing basket in which the

759
00:39:40,599 --> 00:39:43,159
box was concealed. She felt that she ought to take

760
00:39:43,159 --> 00:39:45,840
her hand off the basket. She did not seem able to.

761
00:39:46,239 --> 00:39:48,400
He picked up one of the quilt blocks which she

762
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:51,840
had piled on to cover the box. Her eyes felt

763
00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:54,440
like fire. She had a feeling that if he took

764
00:39:54,519 --> 00:39:56,800
up the basket she would snatch it from him. But

765
00:39:56,840 --> 00:39:59,039
he did not take it up. With another little laugh,

766
00:39:59,119 --> 00:40:03,639
he turned away, saying, no, Missus Peters doesn't need supervising

767
00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:07,639
for that matter, A sheriff's wife is married to the law. Ever,

768
00:40:07,719 --> 00:40:10,599
think of it that way, Missus Peters. Missus Peters was

769
00:40:10,639 --> 00:40:13,519
standing beside the table. Missus Hale shot a look up

770
00:40:13,519 --> 00:40:15,880
at her, but she could not see her face. Missus

771
00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:19,159
Peters had turned away when she spoke. Her voice was muffled,

772
00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:22,639
Not just that way, she said, married to the law,

773
00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:26,199
chuckled Missus Peters husband. He moved toward the door into

774
00:40:26,239 --> 00:40:29,239
the front room and said to the county attorney, I

775
00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:31,320
just want you to come in here a minute, George.

776
00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:34,039
We ought to take a look at these windows. Oh windows,

777
00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:37,840
said the county attorney, scoffingly. We'll be right out, mister Hale,

778
00:40:38,239 --> 00:40:40,679
said the sheriff to the farmer, who was still waiting

779
00:40:40,719 --> 00:40:43,199
by the door. Hale went to look after the horses.

780
00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:46,840
The sheriff followed the county attorney into the other room again.

781
00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:49,440
For one final moment, the two women were alone in

782
00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:53,000
that kitchen. Martha Hale sprang up her hands tight together,

783
00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:56,519
looking at that other woman with whom it rested. At first,

784
00:40:56,679 --> 00:40:59,159
she could not see her eyes, for the Sheriff's wife

785
00:40:59,199 --> 00:41:01,639
had not turned back since she turned away at the

786
00:41:01,719 --> 00:41:05,440
suggestion of being married to the law. But now Missus

787
00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:08,559
Hale made her turn back. Her eyes made her turn

788
00:41:08,639 --> 00:41:13,679
back slowly, unwillingly, Missus Peters turned her head until her

789
00:41:13,719 --> 00:41:16,719
eyes met the eyes of the other woman. There was

790
00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:19,760
a moment when they held each other in a steady,

791
00:41:20,079 --> 00:41:23,760
burning look in which there was no evasion nor flinching.

792
00:41:24,159 --> 00:41:28,000
Then Martha Hale's eyes pointed the way to the basket

793
00:41:28,119 --> 00:41:31,599
in which was hidden the thing that would make certain

794
00:41:31,840 --> 00:41:35,199
the conviction of the other woman, the woman who was

795
00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:38,159
not there, and yet who had been there with them

796
00:41:38,360 --> 00:41:41,559
all through that hour. For a moment Missus Peters did

797
00:41:41,599 --> 00:41:44,519
not move, and then she did it with a rush forward.

798
00:41:44,719 --> 00:41:47,679
She threw back the quilt pieces, got the box, tried

799
00:41:47,719 --> 00:41:50,000
to put it in her handbag. It was too big.

800
00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:53,360
Desperately she opened it, started to take the bird out,

801
00:41:53,599 --> 00:41:56,199
but there she broke. She could not touch the bird.

802
00:41:56,559 --> 00:41:59,519
She stood there, helpless, foolish. There was the sound of

803
00:41:59,519 --> 00:42:02,800
a knob turning in the inner door. Martha Hale snatched

804
00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:05,000
the box from the sheriff's wife and got it in

805
00:42:05,079 --> 00:42:07,519
the pocket of her big coat, just as the sheriff

806
00:42:07,559 --> 00:42:10,559
and the county attorney came back into the kitchen. Well,

807
00:42:10,559 --> 00:42:14,480
Henry said the county attorney facetiously. At least we found

808
00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:16,719
out that she was not going to quilt it. She

809
00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:19,280
was going to what is it you call it? Ladies,

810
00:42:19,599 --> 00:42:22,280
Missus Hale's hand was against the pocket of her coat.

811
00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:25,920
We call it, nodded mister Henderson. And of a jury

812
00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:28,199
of her Peers by Susan Glaspell