The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-12-20

heavy-hearted. He had hitherto avoided
the road past the scene of the murder;
TO his nervous, sensitive temperament
the sight oil the forsaken cottage was too
distressing; but now some strange i'm
pulse. perhaps a morbid one, prompted
him to return by the Devils Cauldron.
The way led within a few yards OF the
chasm which had figured so painfully
in his last nights dream AS he drew
near a strange feeling of horror over
whelmed him. an anguished sense Of
trouble and dismay beyond what any
mere association could produce; his
knees shook and his breath seemed al
most TO fail For an instant he fancied
he saw the pale. red-bearded face Of
his penitent against a gray bowlder in
the gathering dusk. He crossed himself
and looked steadily at it; it disappeared,
and he FASTENED on.
As he was leaving the church after
vespers that evening. il suddenly oc-
Cured to him to count the money again.
It could hardly be of much avail, since
II could not be used as evidence against
the criminal; but he felt desire to eX-
anime it once more. The keys were in
his pocket, where they had lain ever
since he put the coins away on the pre-
ceding night. He unlocked the cup
board, and carried the little box across
10 his own room. thinking, as he did So
how strangely light il felt The lock was
complicated one, but the key made
the double turn with ease: the lid fell
back, and Armand remained gazing into
il speeches. with dismay. 1t was abso-
lutely empty 1t was quite impossible
for anybody to have had access to it;
the sacristy had been locked as fast as
the safe in which the box had been
placed. There was only solution
possible; he had been the victim of an
hallucination, and no penitent had knelt
in the confessional pouring into his ears
CT /, r1aar-a F1O do
liyerance after all for poor Herve; the
whole thing must have been a dream.
Slender as the hope had been, the dis
appointment was sharp. Armand buried
his face in his hands and burst into
tears.
After another sleepless night. tortured
by thoughts of the unhappy prisoner
awaiting his doom, in the gray Of the
morning the priest fell asleep, and again
that hideous dream came upon him.
Once more he was among the great
boulders by the DEVILS cauldron; he tried
to turn and fly, but unseen hands We're
dragging him on, till he felt himself
falling over the edge, and clutching
wildly. with a hoarse cry. he awOke
To sleep again was impossible; he rose
and sat by the window till daylight
broadened in the east Then a thought
came to him; he dressed and went out
walking with quick firm stride in the
direction Of the forge. The sun had
risen by the time he reached the spot,
and was shining down into the awful
chasm. AS Armand leaned over the
brink, his eyes fell upon a PROSTATE
body with pale face. framed in a ragged,
tawny beard, turned up to the pitiless
light; one arm was bent and doubled
under the body as though broken; in
the other hand was stocking of coarse
gray wool, knotted in the middle; the
dress was that of a sailor
Within half an hour the gendarmes
were on the spot, and the corpse was
drawn up with ropes and examined. 1t
was identified as Jean Baptiste Goan by
the scar on the eyebrow. Without doubt
the man had been dead a considerable
time; and every indication pointed to
a fall in his flight on the night of the
murder. His back was broken and his
arm, but there We're no wounds about
him to account for the blood stains on
his hands and clothes; moreover a
sailors dirk, much stained, was sticking
in his belt. Armand asked to be allowed
to see the contents of the stocking; they
were sixteen Napoleons and one Spanish
doubloon. The demonstrating was
found in Mother Nedeiec's bureau. So
Nerves innocence was eSta bliShed. The
dead man had already paid the penalty
Of his crimes, and passed beyond the
reach of human justice.
Armand kept silence about the events
of the night of All Souls; but long af-
ter he had been removed to a different
post, far from Brittany. mysterious
rumors crept about, and a new legend
grew up around the DEVILS Cauldron-
the story of a miraculous vision vouch-
safed in answer to the prayers of
saint, uncanonized save in the hearts of
his people-Macmillan' Magazine.