The Mystery of the Hasty ArrowGreen, Anna Katharine
General
The Mystery of the Hasty Arrow
Green, Anna Katharine
Detective and mystery stories
"I acknowledge that; but conjecture is what in nine cases out of ten
smoothes out many of our difficulties. I have here a short statement made
by myself, after the most careful inquiries, of all that Mrs. Taylor and
the untrapped director did and said in the few difficult moments when
they met face to face over the body of his unfortunate victim. I will ask
you to listen to a portion of it.
"'She had not moved. After her one cry of horror which had brought a rush
of witnesses upon the scene, she remained fixed on her knees in the
absorbed introspection common to those brought suddenly face to face with
a life and death crisis. He, finding that his own safety demanded action
suitable to his position as a director, had entered with the crowd and
now stood in her presence, in face of his own diabolical work, in an
attitude of cold courage such as certain strong natures are able to
assume under the pressure of great emergencies.
"'So long as she was deaf to all appeal to rouse and explain the
situation, he stood back, watchful and silent; but when she finally
roused and showed a disposition to speak, his desperation drove him
into questioning her in order to see how much she understood of an attack
which had killed a harmless stranger and let herself go free.
"'He asked her first if she could tell them from which direction came the
arrow which ended this young girl's life.
"'She made no reply in words; but glanced significantly at the opposite
gallery.
"'This called from him the direct inquiry, "Did you see anyone over there
at the moment this young girl fell?"
"'She shook her head. Afterward she explained the denial by saying that
she had been looking down into the court.
"'But he did not cease his inquiries. Turning to the people crowding
about him, he put the like question to them; but receiving no answer, a
silence followed, during which a woman suggested in tones loud enough for
all to hear, that there were no arrows on the other side of the court,
but that the gallery where they stood was full of them.
"'This seemed to alarm Mrs. Taylor. Turning to the director, she asked
whether he was sure that the opposite gallery held no arrows and no bows;
and when he replied that nothing of the kind was to be found along its
entire length, she proceeded to inquire whether any such deed could be
committed in a place so open to view, without attracting the observation
of some one wandering in court or gallery.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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