The wounded man took the pencil out of the note-book and tried to
write. In fact, the witness saw him form several letters, but with great
difficulty. As she could not read, however, she was unable to understand
their meaning. Exhausted by the effort, the colonel left the note-book
in the woman's hand, which he squeezed tightly, looking at her
strangely, as if he wanted to say (these are the witness's own words):
"It is important--it is my murderer's name!"

Maddalena Pietri was going up to the village, when she met Barricini,
the mayor, with his son Vincentello. It was then almost dark. She told
them what she had seen. The mayor took the note-book, hurried up to his
house, put on his sash, and fetched his secretary and the gendarmes.
Left alone with young Vincentello, Maddalena Pietri suggested that he
should go to the colonel's assistance, in case he was still alive, but
Vincentello replied that if he were to go near a man who had been the
bitter enemy of his family, he would certainly be accused of having
killed him. A very short time afterward the mayor arrived, found the
colonel dead, had the corpse carried away, and drew up his report.

In spite of the agitation so natural on such an occasion, Monsieur
Barricini had hastened to place the colonel's note-book under seal, and
to make all the inquiries in his power, but none of them resulted in any
discovery of importance.

When the examining magistrate arrived the note-book was opened, and on
a blood-stained page were seen letters written in a trembling hand, but
still quite legible; the sheet bore the word _Agosti_--and the judge
did not doubt that the colonel had intended to point out Agostini as his
murderer. Nevertheless, Colomba della Rebbia, who had been summoned by
the magistrate, asked leave to examine the note-book. After turning the
leaves for a few moments, she stretched out her hand toward the mayor
and cried, "There stands the murderer!" Then with a precision and a
clearness which were astonishing, considering the passion of sorrow
that shook her, she related that, a few days previously, her father had
received a letter from his son, which he had burned, but that before
doing so he had written Orso's address (he had just changed his
garrison) in the note-book with his pencil. Now, his address was no
longer in the note-book, and Colomba concluded that the mayor had torn
out the leaf on which it was written, which probably was that on which
her father