I slipped out again, and stroked the coat which
Peer had taken off.
The inquiry was held in my schoolroom. My master acted as
secretary to the court, and I got leave to sit there and listen.
For the matter of that, the clerk spoke in so loud a voice that it
could be heard through the open window by every one in the place.
The unfortunate youth was called upon to account for the entire
day on which the murder had been committed--for every hour of that
Sunday. He denied that he had killed her--denied it with the
utmost emphasis: "It was not he who had done it." The magistrate's
examination was both acutely and kindly conducted; Peer was moved
to tears, but no confession could be drawn from him.
"This will be a long business, madam," said the magistrate to my
mother when the first day's inquiry was over. But later in the
evening Peer's sister came to the parsonage and remained with him
all through the night. They were heard whispering and crying
unceasingly. In the morning Peer was pale and silent; before the
court he took all the blame upon himself.
The way it had happened, he explained, was that he had been her
lover, and that his mother had strongly disapproved of the
connection.
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