"The man was up in a second. He tried to run after the wretch, but,
seeing that he could not catch him, and maddened by an irresistible
anger, yielding to one of those thoughtless impulses which we cannot
foresee or prevent, he picked up my gun, which was lying on the ground.
near him, put it to his shoulder, and, before I could make a motion, he
pulled the trigger without even noticing whether or not the weapon was
loaded.

"One of the cartridges which I had put in to announce the fire was still
intact, and the charge caught the fugitive right in the
back,--throwing him forward on the ground, bleeding profusely. He
immediately began to claw the earth with his hands and with his knees, as
though trying to run on all fours like a rabbit who has been mortally
wounded, and sees the hunter approaching.

"I rushed forward to the boy, but I could already hear the death-rattle.
He passed away before the fire was extinguished, without having said a
word.

"Cavalier, still in his shirt, his legs bare, was standing near us,
motionless, dazed.

"When the people from the village arrived, my gamekeeper was taken away,
like an insane man.

"I appeared at the trial as witness, and related the facts in detail,
without changing a thing. Cavalier was acquitted. He disappeared that
very day, leaving the country.

"I have never seen him since.