The Morning herald., 1877-09-12
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I've hardly given her q thought, except
to send her from time to time some pecu-
MARY aid"
"You never went to her houseq"
"Oh, yes-several times; but when I
did, only remained few minutes. Ma
dame Gerdy, who saw her often, and to
whom she confded her most private af-
fairs, can enlighten you upon the subject
far better than cam" ",Lf'E1F'.Is @ ~.
"But," said the magistrate, II am ex-
pecting Madame Gerdy. She has, Of
course, received citation"
"she has; but she can't appear; she is
ill.," RI f. Et& y,
~Dangerously sof" :, 4 g.. =. -',
$50 dangerously, that I think it would
be advisable to give up all idea of her ap-
pearance in this case. She is attacked
with malady which, according to my
friend Doctor Harvey, whose name you
possibly know, is fatal. It's something
that has attacked the brain. Encepha-
illus, think, he called it. Her life, he
said, might be saved, but never her rea-
son." VI F
Monsieur Daburon looked very grave.
"This is bad news, indeed" he murmur-
ed. sand so you think that it will be
impossible to obtain any evidence in that
|quarter"
"It's not even to be thought of. She is
quite delirious, and when l left her, was in
such a state of physical and mental pros
tration that 1 fear she'll not get through
the day."
"And when was she taken with this ILL
|nessY" r%
yesterday evening" ,.~s~"
"SuddenlyY"
"Yes, 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 e,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 boyv" g
"Boy9 Woman you mean."
"No, sir; those were her words. Evi-
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 followedW asked Monsieur
Daburon, after pause, during which he
had been making notes. 5y l.
"Those were the last words she uttered.
With the help. Of our servant, I carried her
to her bed land at once sent for the doctor.
Since then she has not recovered con-
seriousness. The doctor, in fact"
every good-very goodw interrupted
Monsieur Daburon. Stop where you are
at present; we'll come to the medical evil
dence afterwards. Now, tell me on your
oath, do you knowif the Widow Lerouge
had any enemies?" '|
"None that know Of"
"Good! She had no enemies, then; but
do you know if there existed any one who
mi ght have been in any way benefited by
her death2" ...
The magistrate fixed his eyes on Noel,
as he asked this question.
The barrister hesitated, and seemed
deeply moved-put out Of countenance, in
fact. In a faltering voice, he reiterated
his former answer, "None that l know
Of" ...
"On your oath," said the magistrate, fix
ing his eyes still more penetratingly on the
shifting ones that met his-''on your oath,
can you say that you are not aware OF any
one who would profit by this crime? :
II only know one thing, sir" answered
Noel; "and that is, that it is likely to do
me the most irreparable injury"
cat last" thought Monsieur Daburon,
"we come to the letters. and I haven't as
the Count de Valcourt, Madame Gerdy,
Noel, and several of the servants belong
ing to the young Visccunt.
He wished to examine all these people
before the arrival of the accused.
The person he now expected was Mon
sieur Noel Gerdy.
was half-past nine in the morning,
his usual hour for receiving witnesses and
commencing business; but never 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, unembarrass-
ed air of man who is perfectly acqualnt-
ed with all the ins and outs Of law court
and no one could have recognized IN him
the individual who had confded in Daddy
Tabaret, much less the nervous lover OF
Miss Nellie Nicholson.
From the exquisite propriety of his dress,
his quiet face. and repose Of manner, even
the most astute observer would scarcely
have imagined that he had passed an
evening and night replete with the most
violent emotions, after furtive visit to
the girl he loved, followed by ANXIOUS
hours passed at the bedside OF dying
woman-and that woman, one whom ne
had, until then, believed to be his mother!
wilt a d;Hnronca between the maglS-