you realized this and improved on your first answers by substituting more innocent words.  For example, the first time you answered ‘hole’ when I said ‘auger,’ but the second time you answered ‘hammer.’  You said to yourself:  ’Hole is not a good answer because he will think I am thinking, of those eyeholes, so I’ll change it to “hammer” which, means nothing.’  For the same reason when I said ‘Fourth of July’ you answered ‘banquet’ the first time and ‘America’ the second time, which shows that the Ansonia banquet was in your mind.  And when I said ‘watchdog’ you answered first ‘scent’ and then ‘tail’; when I said ‘Brazil’ you answered first ‘ship’ and then ‘coffee,’ when I said ‘dreams’ you answered first ‘fear’ and then ‘sleep’; you made these changes with the deliberate purpose to get as far away as possible from associations with the crime.”

“Not at all,” contradicted Groener, “I made the changes because every word has many associations and I followed the first one that came into my head.  When we went through the list a second time I did not remember or try to remember the answers I had given the first time.”

“Ah, but that is just the point,” insisted the magistrate, “in the seventy unimportant words you did remember and you did answer practically the same words both times, your memory only failed in the thirty important words.  Besides, in spite of your will power, the test reveals emotional disturbance.”

“In me?” scoffed the prisoner.

“Precisely.  It is true you kept your answers to the important words within your normal tone of reply, but in at least five cases you went beyond this normal time in answering the unimportant words.”

Groener shrugged his shoulders.  “The words are unimportant and so are the answers.”

“Do you think so?  Then explain this.  You were answering regularly at the rate of one answer in a second or so when suddenly you hesitated and clenched your hands and waited four and two fifths seconds before answering ‘feather’ to the simple word ‘hat.’”

“Perhaps I was tired, perhaps I was bored.”

The magistrate leaned nearer.  “Yes, and perhaps you were inwardly disturbed by the shock and strain of answering the previous word quickly and unconcernedly.  I didn’t warn you of that danger.  Do you know what the previous word was?”

“No.”

“It was guillotine!”

“Ah?” said the prisoner, absolutely impassive.

“And why did you waver and wipe your brow and draw in your breath quickly and wait six and one fifth seconds before answering ‘violin’ when I gave you the word ’music’?”

“I’m sure I don’t know.”

“Then I’ll tell you; it was because you were again deeply agitated by the previous word ‘coaching party’ which you had answered instantly with ‘horses.’”

“I don’t see anything agitating in the word ‘coaching party,’” said Groener.