ntly considered the unhappy ravings of a madman, she let go his arm
and turned upon me in frenzy.

"Convince him!" she cried. "Convince him by your questions that he never
could have done this fearful thing."

I was laboring under great excitement myself, for I felt my youth
against me in a matter of such tragic consequence. Besides, I agreed
with her that he was in a distempered state of mind, and I hardly knew
how to deal with one so fixed in his hallucination and with so much
intelligence to support it. But the emergency was great, for he was
holding out his wrists in the evident expectation of my taking him into
instant custody; and the sight was killing his wife, who had sunk on the
floor between us, in terror and anguish.

"You say you killed Mr. Hasbrouck," I began. "Where did you get your
pistol, and what did you do with it after you left his house?"

"My husband had no pistol; never had any pistol," put in Mrs.
Zabriskie, with vehement assertion. "If I had seen him with such a
weapon----"

"I threw it away. When I left the house, I cast it as far from me as
possible, for I was frightened at what I had done, horribly frightened."

"No pistol was ever found," I answered, with a smile, forgetting for the
moment that he could not see. "If such an instrument had been found in
the street after a murder of such consequence it certainly would have
been brought to the police."

"You forget that a good pistol is valuable property," he went on
stolidly. "Some one came along before the general alarm was given; and
seeing such a treasure lying on the sidewalk, picked it up and carried
it off. Not being an honest man, he preferred to keep it to drawing the
attention of the police upon himself."

"Hum, perhaps," said I; "but where did _you_ get it. Surely you can tell
where you procured such a weapon, if, as your wife intimates, you did
not own one."

"I bought it that self-same night of a friend; a friend whom I will not
name, since he resides no longer in this country. I----" He paused;
intense passion was in his face; he turned towards his wife, and a low
cry escaped him, which made her look up in fear.

"I do not wish to go into any particulars," said he. "God forsook me and
I committed a horrible crime. When I am punished, perhaps peace will
return to me and happiness to her. I would not wish her to suffer too
long or too bitterly for my sin."

"Constant!" What love was in the cry! and what despair! It seeme