vestigation would follow and she and her sins be brought to light, she
fled, for she had enough of his money in her possession, and poor
demented Dawson, finding her gone, followed.

Philippes's story corroborated this in every particular. The last he saw
of the cab or of the cabman was near the house of the hook-and-ladder
company east of the French Market. The driver there said his horse was
dead beat and could do no more, so Philippes went into the market,
succeeded in getting another cab by paying a big price, slept at
Cassidy's, waited all the morning about Lascelles's place, and finally,
having to return to the Northeast at once, he took the evening train on
the Jackson road and never heard of the murder until ten days after. He
was amazed at his arrest.

And then came before his examiners a mere physical wreck,--the shadow of
his former self,--caught at the high tide of a career of crime and
debauchery, a much less bulky party than the truculent Jehu of Madame
Lascelles's cab, yet no less important a witness than that same driver.
He was accompanied by a priest. He had been brought hither in an
ambulance from the Hotel-Dieu, where he had been traced several days
before and found almost at death's door. His confession was most
important of all. He had struck Lieutenant Waring as that officer turned
away from Lascelles's gate, intending only to down and then kick and
hammer him, but he had struck with a lead-loaded rubber club, and he was
horrified to see him drop like one dead. Then he lost his nerve and
drove furiously back for Bridget. Together they returned, and found
Waring lying there as he had left him on the dripping banquette. "You've
killed him, Mike. There's only one thing to do," she said: "take his
watch and everything valuable he has, and we'll throw him over on the
levee." She herself took the knife from his overcoat-pocket, lest he
should recover suddenly, and then, said the driver, "even as we were
bending over him there came a sudden flash of lightning, and there was
Lascelles bending over us, demanding to know what it meant. Then like
another flash he seemed to realize what was up, sprang back, and drew
pistol. He had caught us in the act. There was nothing else to do; we
both sprang upon him. He fired, and hit me, but only in the arm, and
before he could pull trigger again we both grappled him. I seized his
gun, Bridget his throat, but he screamed and fought like a tiger, then
wilted all of a s