once more with
the murdered woman. They had the whole night before them. Vitalis had
already considered the matter of the disposal of the body. He had bought
a pick and spade. He intended to bury his former mistress in the soil
under the cellar. After that had been done, he and Marie would sell the
business for what it would fetch, and go to Brussels--an admirable plan,
which two unforeseen circumstances defeated. The Rue de la Republique
was built on a rock, blasted out for the purpose. The shop-boy had gone
to the station that evening to enjoy the joke which, he believed, was to
be played on his mistress.

When Vitalis tried to dig a grave into the ground beneath the cellar
he realised the full horror of the disappointment. What was to be done?
They must throw the body into the sea. But how to get it there? The
crime of Billoir, an old soldier, who the year before in Paris had
killed his mistress in a fit of anger and cut up her body, was fresh in
the recollection of Vitalis. The guilty couple decided to dismember
the body of Madame Boyer and so disfigure her face as to render it
unrecognisable. In the presence of Marie, Vitalis did this, and the two
lovers set out at midnight to discover some place convenient for the
reception of the remains. They found the harbour too busy for their
purpose, and decided to wait until the morrow, when they would go
farther afield. They returned home and retired for the night, occupying
the bed in which Madame Boyer had slept the night before.

On the morning of the 20th the lovers rose early, and a curious
neighbour, looking through the keyhole, saw them counting joyously money
and valuables, as they took them from Madame Boyer's cashbox. When the
shop-boy arrived, he asked Vitalis for news of Madame Boyer. Vitalis
told him that he had gone with her to the station, that she had taken
the train to Montpellier, and that, in accordance with his plan, he had
given her the slip just as the train was starting. This the boy knew to
be false: he had been to the station himself to enjoy the fun, and had
seen neither Vitalis nor Madame Boyer. He began to suspect some mystery.
In the evening, when the shops had been closed, and he had been sent
about his business, he waited and watched. In a short time he saw
Vitalis and Marie Boyer leave the house, the former dragging a hand-cart
containing two large parcels, while Marie walked by his side. They
travelled some distance with their burden, leav