The Springfield herald., 1912-11-29

know how Madame Bazire was as
sassinated. Listen"
And l read him my report, or, rath-
er, the story OF my dream.
YES" he said, when had finished,
your conclusions are perfectly log
ical; the crime undoubtedly has been
committed in the manner you say But
your conviction and mine are not suf-
hcient to allow us to arrest this wom-
an and commit her for trial. | share
your opinion that Madame L..
whose mind seems deranged. has
strangled the widow. Where. how
ever. are the proofs?"
III only l could find that clock!"
groaned. "and 1t is impossible for me
to lay my hands on 1t unless | turn
Madame LIS apartment upside
down. always supposing that she has
not hidden 1t somewhere else"
You are clever enough to unearth
that clock without searching the
apartment" laughed M. Guillot. but
unearth 1t you must"
AS Madame l. had taken a dis.
like to me l could not attempt to ap-
proach her. |. therefore, sent for
Barbaste. one of my inspectors. and
gave him my instructions. Barbaste
had curious specialty-that OF maxi
ing criminals confess. His afrable
manner impressed them. and when he
gravely shook his head and remarked:
Yes. l know provocation Is a terrible
thing" the culprits would turn to this
sympathetic friend and say how they
had committed their crime, under
such strong provocation that no right.
minded jury could convict them. And
they would pour out their whole story
into Barbaste's attentive ear
OF course l did not mention to Bar.
baste word OF my dream, and only
gave him sketch OF how l thought
the murder had been committed.
You must" said, Induce Madame
l. to confess. and try all you can
to make her show you where she hid
the clock"
Like all dreams. mine had been in.
complete, for l had attempted to re,
member where the timepiece might
have been slowed away.
When he reached vincennes he
found Madame L In bed. She was
Ill and greatly excited.
Are you coming to bother me again
with this stupid AFFAIR."" she began
angrily.
No. no. my deir lady, replied Bar
baste soothingly.
And, taking chair close to her
bed, he added:
Il have only come to see you on
small matter"
What matter?"
Yes" continued Barbaste, II was
thinking all along of what you had
done. and wondering how l would
have acted If some one had contin-
ually been rolling noisy trunk over
my head"
The mad creature sat up in bed,
and her eyes grew large.
My good fellow" she cried, II soon
settled that little business"
Quite So" said the imperturbable
Barbaste; but what have you done
with the clock?"
The clock?" she shouted, shaking
with laughter, why it is here, under
my bed!"
And there it was, and very well
hidden, too, for she had managed to
squeeze it inside the mattress.
An hour later Barbaste brought
Madame l. to my office. where in
disconnected manner she gave me
all the details of the crime.
AT last" she cried, Il can sleep
quietly, since that old psalm-singer
is dead Every morning and every
,inh
heard her rolling her beastly trunk
had to kill her! On the previous
day | had received a parcel bound
with some strong cord. All right, 1
said to myself, that will just do nice
ly to strangle her. AS usual, was
awakened by the noise of the trunk.
The old woman had come back from
church. l jumped out of bed. ran up
stairs, threw her on the floor, and
twisted the cord around her neck"
She remained a moment silent, and
then. with an uncanny laugh, re-
sumed:
at was as easy as possible. She
did not utter sound. A child OF six
could have done It,"
And then" she yelled her eyes
uartlhS names, ana tnen l took ner
trunk, her dirty trunk, and threw 1t
on her back, calling out: You will
never bother me again with that, you
old pig!' l also took away her clock,
the dirty clock she liked so much. and
shrieked, into her ear: You will
never hear that strike any more"
She fell back In her chair exhaust
ed, and remained speechless. My |
dream, my whole dream, had proved
true!
AS to Madame L., she required
doctors, not judges. She was sent to |
La Salpetriere in the ward of Pro-
fessor Nigouroux
She Is still In a criminal lunatic |
asylum.