"
"And did you see her any more in the course of that morning?" asked
the lawyer again.
"I did not: I saw her no more from that time to this," replied the
friar. During the whole of this interrogation, he had appeared far
less distressed and disturbed than he had been before speaking of
his having seen the body of La Bianca carried past the church
towards the city. He had answered all the questions concerning
Paolina readily and without hesitation.
"I don't think we need trouble you any further, frate," said the
Commissary. "I hope that you will soon get over your touch of fever;
and then, if we need you, there will be no difficulty in your
attending, when wanted, in the city. I don't see, that there is
anything more to be got at present," he added, addressing the
lawyer.
So the two visitors bade the friar adieu, and went down the stairs
on to the open piazza in front of the church.
"Does that fellow know anything more than he tells us?" said the
Commissary, as they stepped out of the narrow entry on to the green
sward of the piazza.
"I fancy not; I don't see much what he is at all likely to know,"
replied the lawyer.
"Nor I; but his manner was so remarkable. One would have said that
he was conscious of having committed the murder himself. In all my
experience I never saw a man so hard put to it to tell a plain and
simple fact.
Pages:
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563