I was able to take care of myself."
"Why did you visit the forward house?"
"I was nervous and could not sleep. I thought no one safe while
the axe was on the ship."
"Did you see the body of Burns, the sailor, lying on the deck at
that time?"
"He might have been there; I did not see him."
"Are you saying that you went to the forward house to throw the
axe overboard?"
"Yes--if I could get in."
"Did you know why the axe was being kept?"
"Because the murders had been committed with it."
"Had you heard of any finger-prints on the handle?"
"No."
"Did it occur to you that you were interfering with justice in
disposing of the axe?"
"Do you mean justice or law? They are not the same."
"Tell us about your visit to the forward house."
"It was between two and three. I met no one. I had a bunch of
keys from the trunks and from four doors in the after house. Miss
Lee knew I intended to try to get rid of the axe. I did not need
my keys. The door was open---wide open. I--I went in, and--"
Here, for the first time, Mrs. Johns's composure forsook her. She
turned white, and her maid passed up to her a silver smelling-salts
bottle.
"What happened when you went in?"
"It was dark. I stood just inside. Then something rushed past me
and out of the door, a something--I don't know what--a woman, I
thought at first, in white.
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