"Never mind that," said Mr. Verner. "It was in coming home, I conclude,
that you were met by young Broom."

Mrs. Roy raised her apron again, and passed it over her face but not a
word spoke she in answer.

"What time did you leave Broom's cottage to return home?"

"I can't be sure, sir, what time it was. Broom's haven't got no clock;
they tells the time by the sun."

"Was it dark?"

"Oh, yes, it was dark, sir, except for the moon. That had been up a good
bit, for I hadn't hurried myself."

"And what did you see or hear, when you got near the Willow Pond?"

The question sent Mrs. Roy into fresh tears; into fresh tremor.

"I never saw nothing," she reiterated. "The last time I set eyes on
Rachel Frost was at church on Sunday."

"What is the matter with you?" cried Mr. Verner, with asperity. "Do you
mean to deny that anything had occurred to put you in a state of
agitation, when you were met by young Broom?"

Mrs. Roy only moaned.