Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1876-01-29
A DESPERATE DEED.
BY
f BOYD,
CHAPTER XXIII.
An IMPORTANT MITN EIS.

In the meanwhile, Monsieur DaburON,
the magistrate, was awaiting with fever
ish Impotence the arrival of visitor.
Besides the warrant issued for the an
rest of Albert dc Valcourt, he had issued
others for the immediate appearance Of
the Count de Valcourt, Madame Gerly,
Noel. and several Of the servants belong
ing to the young Viscount.
He wished to examine all these people
before the arrival of the accused.
The person he now expected was Mon
sieur Noel Gerdy.
1t was half-past nine III the morning,
his usual hour for receiving witnesses and
commencing business; but n"ve" in his
life had he felt so nervous and utterly
miserable at the thought Of the ordeal
that was before him.
At half-past ten an usher introduced
'Monsieur Noel Gerdy."
He entered with the easy. unemburrusS-
ed air of Il man who is perfectly acq,taint-
ed with all the us and outs of u law court,
and no one could have recognized i'll him
the individual who had con:ided in Daddy
Tabaret, much less the nervous lover OF
Miss Nellie Nicholson.
From the exquisite propriety of his dress,
hi; quiet face. and reposc Of manner even
the most iStute observer would scarcely
have imagined that he had passed an
evening and night rcplHtc with the most
violent emotions, after - furtive visit to
the girl he loved, followed by anxious
hours passed at the bedside Of II dying
wuman-and that woman, one whom he
had, un:il then, believed to be his mother.
What Il difference between the ma"is-
tlate and himself.
The magistrate had also passed a sl"c;,-
l.. +. h,t l,,t, Il ,lI IN,
III. languid step. lis careworn f,,ca, and
Ii" dark hOllows round his ey'ns.
"fou sent fo" me, sir" So ;he yo.'A:;
bariistcr. bowing respectfully; land |
have lost no tiiac in ob'yin:s yolr or
,lcrs'
"lcu are, Of couls". aware said Non
sieur i}aluroil, returning III s.lutaton.
''oi the unhappy nature Of the business
that has compelled your appearance
hcrc?'
"Y,s, sir; t',e assassination of the poor
ol,l woman Il: the village OF I.t Jonrh"rc.'
"Preci~yly: and if you think tn" s,tm-
mons somewhat ha.ty, il IL simply Ne
cause your Lame appears r"l""nily in
tn. paper, found in possession ot III,
Widow I.rrorl"~."
lin not III t;,. least surprised at tht,"
answered the harr' ,rt.y, "w' were mach
interested IN the poor wo nan. she w,:s
my ntus", and know 1h,,f Mtlamn Ger
dy Wrote to hrr vary f"'n''"u;iv.'
"Very good, You will, of course, be
able, then, to give us some information.'
"Very insufficient, I'm afraid. In short,
1 know nothing of the poor creature in
question. l was taken from her care in
early infancy, and since we been man,
I've hardly given her thought, except
10 send hcr from tilpe to time some pecu.
mary aid
"Iou never went to her housei"
"Oh, yes-several times; but when l
did, | only remained few minutes. Ma
dame Gerdy, who saw her often, and to
whom she contided her most private al
fairs, can eulighten you upon the subject
far better than ] cam
"But," said the magistrate, IL am ex-
pecting Madame Gerdy. She has, Of
course, received citation"
"She has; but she can't appear; she is
ILL.,"
dangerously so?'
$50 dangerously, that l think it would
be advisable to give mp all idea of her ap-
pearance in this c,;se. She is attacked
with Il malady which. according TO my
friend Doctor Harvey, whose name you
possibly know, is fatal. IFS something
that has attacked the brain. Encepha-
illus, think he called it. Her life, he
said, might be saved, but never her rea-
son."
Monsieur Daburon looked very grave.
This is bad news, indeed" he murinrrr-
ed. "And so you think that it will be
impossible to obtain any evidence in that
quarter!"
"Its not even to be thought Of She is
quite delrous. and when left her, was IN
such state of physical and mental pros
tration that l fear she'll not get through
the day
"And when was she taken with this i'll
ness"
"Yestcrday evening"
"Suddenlyi'
"Ycs. sir, apparently so; but, for my
part, I've strong reasons to believe that
she had been ailing for weeks past Yes
terday.on leaving the dinner table, she took
up the newspaper, and by an unfortunate
chance her eyes fell upon the very para
graph that announced the murder With
a loud cry, she raised her hands to her
head, staggered towards the sofa, then
fell face downwards upon the ground,
murmuring, oh, unfortunate boy-unfor-
tunate boy"
"r0y? Woman you mcan.'
"No, sir; those We're her words. Evil
IDENTIFY the exclamation did not refer to
my poor old nurse
Upon this important answer, given in
the most natural manner possible, the
magistrate raised his eyes to the young
mans face The barrister bent his head.
"And what followed" asked Monsieur
Daburon, after u pause, during which he
had been making notes.
"rhosc were the last words she uttered
With the help of our servant, | carried her
to her bed,and at once sent for the doctor
Since then She has not recovered con-
sciousness. The doctor, in fact"
"Vely good--vcry good"' interrupted
Monsieur Daburon. Stop where you are
at present; we'll come to the medical evi-
demce afterwards. Now, tell me on your
oath, do you know if the Widow Lerouge
had any ene!nirS"'
'Nonc that | know Of"
"Good, Shc had no enemiea, then; but
do you know if there existed any one who
might have been in any way benefited by
her DEATH"
The magistrate fixed his eyes on Noel
as he asked this question.
The harrister hcsitated, and seemed
deeply moved-put out of countenance, in
fact. II n fsltering voice, he reiterated
his former answer, "None that / know
or