Sheriff. nothing here but kitchen things.
(the county attorney, after again looking around the kitchen, opens the door of a cupboard closet. he gets up on a chair and looks on a shelf. pulls his hand away, sticky.)
county attorney. here’s a nice mess.
(the women draw nearer.)
mrs. peters (to the other woman). oh, her fruit; it did freeze. (to the lawyer). she worried about that when it turned so cold. she said the fire’d go out and her jars would break
what do the underlined stage directions suggest about the women, mrs. hale and mrs. peters?
they are totally fascinated by what the county attorney is saying.
they are being polite by attempting to move nearer to the speaker.
they share a bond as women and are instinctively curious.
they are attempting to hide something by distracting the speaker.