Gratia's Trials — page 150: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

GRATIA’S TRIALS. 141 The child answered only by her sobs. The scene below. Stairs, with its array of silent jurymen, its crowd of listeners at the door, and the ghastly presence of the covered corpse in the background, had racked her nervous system to the utmost ex- tent of its endurance, ‘‘Joanna, what does she mean?” Gratia asked, lifting her eyes to the maid, while she smoothed down Ida’s hair, and en- deavored to quiet her agitation. ‘‘It means, miss—notas I believe a word of it!” cried Joanna, excitedly—‘‘ but they’re a-tryin’ down stairs to prove as it was you murdered the poor, dear gentleman.” ‘“ That—it—was—/— murdered — him !” slowly repeated Gratia, almost stauck dumb by the force and suddenness of the Suspicion. ‘‘ Great Heaven !” ‘*Miss, you ben’t goin’ to faint ?” screamed Joanna, catching up the caraffe of water, as a deadly ashen hue crept up to the roots of Gratia’s hair. | ‘*No,” Gratia answered, recovering herself with an effort, and Ida sobbed out the whole story to her. ‘‘It’s a shame, miss! a burning shame, so it is!” cried the zealous Joanna, ‘‘ But it’s my belief Miss Alberta‘d like to see you hanged !” ‘‘You must not speak so, Joanna,” said Gratia, calmly. ‘It is some hideous mistake—it mus/ be. It will be set right after a while ; we need not worry outselves about it.” But Joanna could see that she was trembling violently as she spoke ; and almost at the same moment Scipio knocked at the door. The coroner’s jury requested the presence of Miss Kempfield down stairs in about fifteen minutes. ‘‘Jes’as soon as dey done get troo wid Mr. Parley,” said Scipio, in a low tone. ‘‘Deyye a-edzaminin’ of Mr. Parley now.” | | ‘‘You're not going, miss!” said Joanna. ‘‘No one aint bound to criminate themselves to please other folks.” ‘‘T am not afraid to tell all that I know,” said Gratia, with cComicbooks (E(o)