<\/p>\n\n
“Griswell, bana inanmas\u0131 \u00e7ok zor bir hik\u00e2ye anlatt\u0131n. Seni kovalayan bir \u015fey g\u00f6rd\u00fcm ama bu g\u00fcm\u00fc\u015f kurt da olabilir ya da kuduz bir k\u00f6pek. E\u011fer bir \u015feyler sakl\u0131yorsan, \u015fimdi d\u00f6k\u00fclsen iyi olur. Bana s\u00f6ylediklerini hi\u00e7 bir mahkeme kabul etmez. Arkada\u015f\u0131n\u0131 \u00f6ld\u00fcrmekle su\u00e7lanacaks\u0131n. Seni tutuklamak zorunda kalaca\u011f\u0131m. E\u011fer \u015fimdi bana do\u011frular\u0131 verirsen, her \u015fey daha kolay olur. \u015eimdi, Branner denen bu herifi sen \u00f6ld\u00fcrmedin de\u011fil mi? \u015e\u00f6yle bir \u015fey de\u011fildi yani, bo\u011fu\u015ftunuz o da baltay\u0131 kap\u0131p sana sallad\u0131 ama bir anda ani bir hareket yapt\u0131n ve olanlar oldu?”<\/p>\n
Griswell \u00e7\u00f6kt\u00fc ve y\u00fcz\u00fcn\u00fc elleriyle kapatt\u0131, kafas\u0131 allak bullak olmu\u015ftu.<\/p>\n
“Aman tanr\u0131m, dostum, John’u ben \u00f6ld\u00fcrmedim! Nas\u0131l yapar\u0131m, ayn\u0131 okula d\u00fc\u015ft\u00fc\u011f\u00fcm\u00fczden beri arkada\u015f\u0131z. Sana do\u011fruyu s\u00f6yledim. Bana inanmad\u0131\u011f\u0131n i\u00e7in seni su\u00e7lam\u0131yorum. Ama Tanr\u0131 yard\u0131mc\u0131m olsun ki, ger\u00e7ek bu!”<\/p>\n
I\u015f\u0131k tekrardan cesede do\u011fru \u00e7evrildi ve Griswell g\u00f6zlerini kapatt\u0131. Buckner’\u0131n homurdand\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 duydu.<\/p>\n
“Elindeki bu baltayla \u00f6ld\u00fcr\u00fclm\u00fc\u015ft\u00fcr diye d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcn\u00fcyorum. Kan ve beyin par\u00e7alar\u0131 baltan\u0131n a\u011fz\u0131na yap\u0131\u015fm\u0131\u015f ve sa\u00e7larda oraya tak\u0131lm\u0131\u015f, sa\u00e7lar onunkiyle ayn\u0131 renkte. Bu i\u015fini zorla\u015ft\u0131r\u0131r Griswell.”<\/p>\n
“Nas\u0131l yani?” diye aptalca sordu New Englandl\u0131.<\/p>\n
“Bir \u00f6z savunma iddias\u0131yla sona erdirebiliriz. Sen kafas\u0131n\u0131 par\u00e7alad\u0131ktan sonra Branner bu baltay\u0131 sana do\u011fru savuramazd\u0131. Baltay\u0131 kafas\u0131ndan \u00e7ekip yere saplaman ve sana sald\u0131rm\u0131\u015f gibi g\u00f6z\u00fckmesi i\u00e7in parmaklar\u0131n\u0131 baltaya kenetlemi\u015f olman gerekirdi. Ve ba\u015fka bir balta kullansayd\u0131n \u00e7ok ak\u0131ll\u0131ca olurdu.”<\/p>\n
“Ama onu ben \u00f6ld\u00fcrmedim.” diye s\u0131zland\u0131 Griswell.<\/p>\n
“Kendimi savunmak i\u00e7in a\u00e7\u0131klama yapamam.”<\/p>\n
“Beni \u015fa\u015f\u0131rtan \u015fey de bu,” diye a\u00e7\u0131k\u00e7a itiraf etti Buckner.<\/p>\n
“Hangi katil masumiyetini kan\u0131tlamak i\u00e7in b\u00f6yle salak\u00e7a bir hik\u00e2ye uydurur? S\u0131rada bir katil en az\u0131ndan mant\u0131kl\u0131 bir ifade verirdi. Hmmm! Kan damlalar\u0131 kap\u0131dan ba\u015fl\u0131yor. Ceset s\u00fcr\u00fcklenmi\u015f mi– hay\u0131r, s\u00fcr\u00fcklenemezdi. Zeminde iz yok. Ba\u015fka bir yerde \u00f6ld\u00fcrd\u00fckten sonra buraya kadar ta\u015f\u0131m\u0131\u015f olman gerekirdi. \u00d6yleyse neden k\u0131yafetlerinde hi\u00e7 kan izi yok? Tabii k\u0131yafetlerini de\u011fi\u015ftirip ellerini y\u0131kayabilirdin. Ama adam \u00f6leli \u00e7ok olmam\u0131\u015f.”<\/p>\n
Griswell umutsuzca, “A\u015fa\u011f\u0131 indi ve odan\u0131n kar\u015f\u0131s\u0131na ge\u00e7ti.” dedi.<\/p>\n
“Beni \u00f6ld\u00fcrmek i\u00e7in gelmi\u015fti. Merdivenden a\u015fa\u011f\u0131 indi\u011fini g\u00f6rd\u00fc\u011f\u00fcmde beni \u00f6ld\u00fcrmek i\u00e7in geldi\u011fini biliyordum.\u00a0 E\u011fer uyanmasayd\u0131m, yatt\u0131\u011f\u0131m yerde beni o \u00f6ld\u00fcrecekti. \u0130\u015fte bu pencereden f\u0131rlay\u0131p \u00e7\u0131kt\u0131m. Bak k\u0131r\u0131k, g\u00f6r\u00fcyorsun.”<\/p>\n
“G\u00f6r\u00fcyorum. Ama madem y\u00fcr\u00fcyordu, \u015fimdi neden y\u00fcr\u00fcm\u00fcyor?”<\/p>\n
“Bilmiyorum! Mant\u0131kl\u0131 d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcnemeyecek kadar da\u011f\u0131ld\u0131m. Hala yatt\u0131\u011f\u0131 yerden kalk\u0131p \u00fczerime gelmesinden korkuyorum. O kurdun pe\u015fimden ko\u015ftu\u011funu duydu\u011fumda gecenin bir yar\u0131s\u0131 beni kovalayan\u0131n elinde kanl\u0131 baltas\u0131 ve kanayan ba\u015f\u0131yla John oldu\u011funu sand\u0131m.” O deh\u015feti tekrar ya\u015farken di\u015fleri titriyordu.<\/p>\n
Buckner \u0131\u015f\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 zemine do\u011fru tuttu.<\/p>\n
“Kan damlalar\u0131 salona do\u011fru gidiyor. Haydi gel. \u0130zleri takip edece\u011fiz.”<\/p>\n
Griswell \u00e7\u0131ld\u0131rm\u0131\u015ft\u0131.<\/p>\n
“Yukar\u0131 do\u011fru \u00e7\u0131k\u0131yorlar.”<\/p>\n
Buckner’\u0131n g\u00f6zleri ona kenetlenmi\u015fti.<\/p>\n
“Benimle yukar\u0131 \u00e7\u0131kmaya korkuyor musun?”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\t
<\/p>\n\n
“Griswell, you’ve told me a yarn that’s hard to believe. I saw something chasin’ you, but it might have been a timber wolf, or a mad dog. If you’re holdin’ back anything, you better spill it. What you told me won’t hold up in any court. You’re bound to be accused of killin’ your partner. I’ll have to arrest you. If you’ll give me the straight goods now, it’ll make it easier. Now, didn’t you kill this fellow, Branner? Wasn’t it something like this: you quarreled, he grabbed a hatchet and swung at you, but you dodged and then let him have it?”<\/p>\nGriswell sank down and hid his face in his hands, his head swimming.
\n“Great God, man, I didn’t murder John! Why, we’ve been friends ever since we were children in school together. I’ve told you the truth. I don’t blame you for not believing me. But God help me, it is the truth!”
\nThe light swung back to the gory head again, and Griswell closed his eyes. He heard Buckner grunt.
\n“I believe this hatchet in his hand is the one he was killed with. Blood and brains plastered on the blade, and hairs stickin’ to it-hairs exactly the same color as his. This makes it tough for you, Griswell.”
\n“How so?” the New Englander asked dully.
\n“Knocks any plea of self-defense in the head. Branner couldn’t have swung at you with this hatchet after you split his skull with it. You must have pulled the ax out of his head, stuck it into the floor and clamped his fingers on it to make it look like he’d attacked you. And it would have been damned clever-if you’d used another hatchet.”
\n“But I didn’t kill him,” groaned Griswell. “I have no intention of pleading self-defense.”
\n“That’s what puzzles me,” Buckner admitted frankly, straightening. “What murderer would rig up such a crazy story as you’ve told me, to prove his innocence? Average killer would have told a logical yarn, at least. Hmmm! Blood drops leadin’ from the door. The body was dragged-no, couldn’t have been dragged. The floor isn’t smeared. You must have carried it here, after killin’ him in some other place. But in that case, why isn’t there any blood on your clothes? Of course you could have changed clothes and washed your hands. But the fellow hasn’t been dead long.”\n“He walked downstairs and across the room,” said Griswell hopelessly. “He came to kill me. I knew he was coming to kill me when I saw him lurching down the stair. He struck where I would have been, if I hadn’t awakened. That window-I burst out at it. You see it’s broken.”
\n“I see. But if he walked then, why isn’t he walkin’ now?”
\n“I don’t know! I’m too sick to think straight. I’ve been fearing that he’d rise up from the floor where he lies and come at me again. When I heard that wolf running up the road after me, I thought it was John chasing me-John, running through the night with his bloody ax and his bloody head, and his death-grin!”
\nHis teeth chattered as he lived that horror over again. Buckner let his light play across the floor.
\n“The blood drops lead into the hall. Come on. We’ll follow them.”
\nGriswell cringed. “They lead upstairs.”
\nBuckner’s eyes were fixed hard on him.
\n“Are you afraid to go upstairs, with me?”\n
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