The record-union., 1895-04-13

her head, and Herve was already in GUS
tody for the murder of his mother. He had
been met flying like madmsn from the
house, and then this horrible discovery
had been made.
Hardly waiting to hear the details which
were poured in upon him from every
mouth, Pere Jacquemard vaulted over
the paling that divided his orchard from
the road. and fastened to the place with
the ever-thickeniug crowd. The geu-
darmes were already in possession, and
the curious throng had to content them
selves with what they could see through
the nigh, narrow window. A kind
farmers wife was trying to lead away
| little Georgette, the murdered woman's
granddaughter, the only creature who
had been in the house with her; but the
child, sick with terror and bewildered
with the questions of the gendarmes, re-
fused to stir and struggled aud fought
| against the kind hands that tried to hold
her. At sight of NJ. le Recteur she
| wrenched herself away and flew to him,
hiding herself in his skirts. He picked
her up in his arms, and presently, feeling
herself safe and sheltered in that emf
nence, she whispered in his ear the little
| she could tell of the events of the night.
She had been put to bed early as usual
| in the oak press bed in the wall with the
doors drawn close, and il the middle Of
: the night she had woke in fright, hear
a
sound like fall, then sort of gurgling
noise, and then the door banged and all
was still. She had been too frightened TO
call out at first, and then she thought
| that perhaps she had had the nightmare
and that grandmother would be angry if
she screamed, and so lay trembling till
| she slept again. Iu the morning she
awoke suddenly; she thought she heard
the door slam again, but was not sure,
and grandmother had never come TO bed,
and 1t seemed all strange and dreadful.
And then people came, and there was
| poor grandmother on the floor all blood
This was all she could tell, and Armand
questioned it out of her by degrees and
repeated it to the official, who wrote it
| down. Some one asked whether any
robbery had been committed. Had the
old soul anything to lose? Then Armand
told what he had seen of the little hoard
| OF coins counted into the old stocking.
Search was made and revealed that a
drawer in the bureau had been wrenched
| open and was empty. This seemed to
in the evidence, possible motive for the
| crime.
This makes it look bIacker still for the
young fellow" said the man who had
been taking notes. "Who else could have
known or suspected the existence OF the
money!"
Where is he ?" asked the priest "Can
speak to him ?''
This, however, could not be permitted;
the gendarmes declared they had no au-
| thorlty to allow auy one access to their
prisoner. A disused pigsty had been
| turned into temporary jail, while con-
veyance was being fetched to drive the
| sitting In close custody. What he had to
say for himself could only be cleaned
from the people who were there when he
was taken.
By his own story, he had got an unex-
pected turlough and had come from Brest
as far as Carbaix by diligence, and thence
had set out to walk, but as the night was
| foggy he had stayed at little tavern
about mile from his mothers cottage
Armand shrewdly suspected that the at
fractions of yermuth had proved IOC
strong for his not very steady head. With
the earliest dawn he had started, slipping
out unfortunately without rousing any
one, having paid his reckoning over
night. 10 his astOnlShment he found the
cottage door ajar, and, stepping in, he
had almost fallen over the PROSTATE body
OF his mother. He had not even thought
to look for the child who was sleeping be-
hind the closed doors, but, rushing out
nearly mad with terror, had met two
peasants setting off TO their field work
and blood-stained hands for evidence OF
guilt, hastened to rouse the village and
summon the gendarmes.
To Armand nothing but the testimony
OF eye witnesses would have seemed evil
dence worth considering. Herve's open
boylsh face and clear eyes came before
him with irrefutable witness of the I'M
possibility of a crime so hideous. He
fingered about the spot for a while, Oh
the chance of discovering something thai
| might throw light on the mystery.
Presently there was a movement among
the crowd, and the little cart that was tC
take the prisoner away was heard lum-
berlng over the narrow, stony road. Il
was awkward to turn just here, and the
spectators were forced to scramble up the
bank out OF the way. There seemed quite
little lane of them TO pass through wheI
the accused was led out, pale, wide-eyed
with the gaze of a terrified child, between
two men in uniform. The appealing
look he cast at the priest. as he caught
sight OF him, was like little Georgette's
when she had rushed to hide her face il
those friendly arms. The utter helpless.
ness and trust in 1t went straight to A r.
mand's heart. He pressed forward. The
gendarmes hurried their prisoner into the
cart and whipped up the horse. "GoC
help you, my boy! l will do all 1 can fol
you"
iIs
NAMED watching so long as the cart wa.
IN sight: and Herve, looking back, coulC
see the thin, black figure standing ou
against the sky, and knew there was ont
man who believed in his innocence.
".
1t was the evening of Ali Souls Day
Masses for the dead had been going OF
all day in the old church among the nils
! Yespers were Just over, the congregation
had dispersed and the sacrisLan gliueC
noiselessly about extinguishing the
lights. only the priest fingered. He
| had laid aside his vestments and knelt q
black shadow among the shadows, in one
OF the side chapels. His heart was heavy
The day before he had gone to Quimpel
to visit Herve \ Nedelec III the prison; the
trial was but ten days distant and not
scrap of evidence was forthcoming to ex-
cupate the poor lad. The unlucky poini
was that he had slipped out OF the public
house with the earliest dawn, without
seeing anyone; not a soul could testify
that he had really spent the night there
il looked very black.
The sacristan paused, having ended his
task; he Strengthened few books anC
hassocks in the choir and coughed defer.
entially; he wanted to go home to his
supper, poor man. Armand rose from
his knees. you can lock the doors anC
go; l have my key of the sacristy. Lock
that door also as you go out; | do no
wish to be disturbed" The man obeyed
murmuring as be went that NJ. le Rec
teur would kill himself with his fasts
and vigils. He locked the great ives
doors first, then the south porch; the
little chancel door was fast already. Their
he went out by the sacristy; the outer
door changed behind him aud the KEY
turned with click.
Now Armand felt himself alone. H,
returned to the shrine of ST. Corentin anC
threw himself on his knees upon the
stones. 1t was no personal sorrow tina
weighed him down, but sympathy tol
the best loved of his flock in this crue
tribulation; and horror also that a ghastlI