It was nothing unusual for
Hepworth to be absent, superintending the furnishing of a ship, for
a fortnight at a time, and nothing had transpired in the office
necessitating special instructions. The telegram had been handed in
at Charing Cross, but the time chosen had been a busy period of the
day, and no one had any recollection of the sender. Hepworth's
clerk unhesitatingly identified the body as that of his employer,
for whom it was evident that he had entertained a feeling of
affection. About Mrs. Hepworth he said as little as he could.
While she was awaiting her trial it had been necessary for him to
see her once or twice with reference to the business. Previous to
this, he knew nothing about her.
The woman's own attitude throughout the trial had been quite
unexplainable. Beyond agreeing to a formal plea of "Not guilty,"
she had made no attempt to defend herself. What little assistance
her solicitors had obtained had been given them, not by the woman
herself, but by Hepworth's clerk, more for the sake of his dead
master than out of any sympathy towards the wife. She herself
appeared utterly indifferent. Only once had she been betrayed into
a momentary emotion. It was when her solicitors were urging her
almost angrily to give them some particulars upon a point they
thought might be helpful to her case.
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