Together they called on the prostrate Sana. She was lying on her bed
weeping and softly calling the name of her lover. The couple sought
to explain, and hoped, in doing so, to mitigate the horror of the
catastrophe. But the attempt was fruitless, the girl refused to be
comforted or quieted. Realizing the futility of their desires, they
took their leave, feeling the worse for so painful and depressing a
call. They decided, however, to call later in the day.
About noon Mrs. O’Brien and Dr. White again called to see Sana. Their
explanations were lost on the girl. She could not comprehend and she
feared to believe. All she would say was, half to herself “François,
François, come to me. I need you so.”
As time went by, however, Sana became calmer under the soothing words
of her friends, and the three, together with Prof. Grant, who had been
summoned, went to the District Attorney’s office.
When they had been seated in the private office of that official, Sana
and the others were greatly surprised at the attitude he immediately
assumed. Without hesitation, he proceeded to implicate Sana in the
death of de Rochelle. His questioning was ruthless and his accusations
most bitter. From his words one would gather that Sana was the guilty
one--that in some way or other she had contrived to put her sweetheart
out of the way.
The processes of our law are peculiar, and to a stranger, as Sana
was, to such methods, it was indeed difficult to understand. She had
undergone a severe nervous strain--a terrible shock--and, naturally,
was far from being in a calm collected state of mind. It was this
nervousness, then, that had led the man to believe her guilty of some
crime. Peculiar? Yes, to be sure--but many a man has come to realize
that justice is more than blindfolded!
Dr. White, although quite familiar with incidents of this sort, was
outraged at the procedure. Knowing, as he did, the true circumstances
of the case, he could bear it no longer. His agitation was demonstrated
clearly, when, in a cold, cutting voice, he interrupted the questioner
with, “This young lady knows absolutely nothing as to the why and
wherefore of de Rochelle’s death. At the time of his disappearance,
she was at the home of Mrs. O’Brien. It is clear, then, that you are
injuring her with your accusations.”
At this, the tide of questions turned to overwhelm the O’Briens.
Suffice to say, it was easy for them to establish an alibi both for
Sana and themselves.
Dr. White was next to face the fire of the attack. His explanations
with regard to the dead man’s hypnotic influence over Sana, served only
to add fuel to the flames. A barrage of questions were hurled at him in
an effort to trick him into saying something that might be used against
him or one of the others. White, however, was too clever a man, and
knowing just what he was up against, successfully parried the thrusts
of his opponent.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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