The bewildered druggist answered: 

“Yes—­but I did not tell on him—­I haven’t said a word—­I swear it—­he has served me excellently from that time on—­”

The officer pronounced severely: 

“I will take down your testimony.  The law will take notice of this new action, of which it was ignorant, Monsieur Marambot.  I was commissioned to arrest your servant for the theft of two ducks surreptitiously taken by him from M. Duhamel of which act there are witnesses.  I shall make a note of your information.”

Then, turning toward his men, he ordered: 

“Come on, bring him along!”

The two gendarmes dragged Denis out.

The lawyer used a plea of insanity, contrasting the two misdeeds in order to strengthen his argument.  He had clearly proved that the theft of the two ducks came from the same mental condition as the eight knife-wounds in the body of Maramlot.  He had cunningly analyzed all the phases of this transitory condition of mental aberration, which could, doubtless, be cured by a few months’ treatment in a reputable sanatorium.  He had spoken in enthusiastic terms of the continued devotion of this faithful servant, of the care with which he had surrounded his master, wounded by him in a moment of alienation.

Touched by this memory, M. Marambot felt the tears rising to his eyes.

The lawyer noticed it, opened his arms with a broad gesture, spreading out the long black sleeves of his robe like the wings of a bat, and exclaimed: 

“Look, look, gentleman of the jury, look at those tears.  What more can I say for my client?  What speech, what argument, what reasoning would be worth these tears of his master?  They, speak louder than I do, louder than the law; they cry:  ’Mercy, for the poor wandering mind of a while ago!  They implore, they pardon, they bless!”

He was silent and sat down.

Then the judge, turning to Marambot, whose testimony had been excellent for his servant, asked him: 

“But, monsieur, even admitting that you consider this man insane, that does not explain why you should have kept him.  He was none the less dangerous.”

Marambot, wiping his eyes, answered: 

“Well, your honor, what can you expect?  Nowadays it’s so hard to find good servants—­I could never have found a better one.”

Denis was acquitted and put in a sanatorium at his master’s expense.

MY WIFE

It had been a stag dinner.  These men still came together once in a while without their wives as they had done when they were bachelors.  They would eat for a long time, drink for a long time; they would talk of everything, stir up those old and joyful memories which bring a smile to the lip and a tremor to the heart.  One of them was saying:  “Georges, do you remember our excursion to Saint-Germain with those two little girls from Montmartre?”