these bore traces of blood: others had been
roughly washed and wrung out. These objects
amounted, in all to twelve hundred and fifty.
"The man must have a charnel somewhere,"
said one of the searchers.

It was next ascertained that, in November,
'fifty-eight, Dumollard was seen to alight one
evening at the station of Montlael, accompanied
by a young woman, whose luggage he deposited
in the office, saying that he would call for it
next day. It was never claimed.

"On the night you mean," said the wife of
Dumollard who, after the search in the house,
had been likewise taken into custody, and now
showed a disposition to confess—"Dumollard
came home very late, bringing a silver watch
and some blood-stained clothes. He gave me
the latter to wash, only saying, in his short
way, 'I have killed a girl in Montmain wood,
and I am going back to bury her.' He took his
pickaxe, and went out. The next day he wanted
to claim the girl's luggage, but I dissuaded him
from doing so."

In order to verify this statement, the
magistrates, on the thirty-first of July, 'sixty-one,
repaired to Montmain wood, taking with them
the two accused. For some hours all their
searches proved fruitless, the woman declaring
her inability to point out the precise spot, and
the man preserving a stolid silence. At length,
some appearance of a tumulus was detected
among the bushes, and a few strokes of the
pickaxe made visible some bones. A circular
trench was then carefully dug, and a perfect
female skeleton uncovered. The skull presented
a frightful fracture. Under it, was found some
brown hair and a large double hair-pin.

The prisoners were now brought forward, and
confronted with the silent witness.

The woman having volunteered further
confession, the party now proceeded to the wood
Communes, also near Montlael; but, night
coming on, investigation was deferred till
the next day. A great part of the next day
was passed in fruitless search, when, just as the
party prepared to return to Montlael with the
view of organising explorations on a larger
scale, Dumollard suddenly declared that he
would himself point out the place they sought.

He thereupon guided them to a spot about
fifty yards deep in the wood. Here, they laboured
for another hour with no better success, until one
of the officers noticed a slight displacement of
the soil, presenting some small fissures, from
whence flies were issuing. Above this spot, two
little shrubs, evidently planted by design, had
taken feeble root.

A stroke of the spade laid visible the back
of a human hand. Presently, the body of a
young female, in complete preservation (owing
to the character of the soil), was exposed to
view. The corpse lay on its back, the left
hand on the bosom, the fingers clutching a clod
of earth. Appearances favoured the frightful
conclusion that the victim had been buried while
yet alive and conscious.

The bearing of Dumollard in the presence of
this new and terrible accuser, was as calm as
ever. Not the slightest trace of emotion was
perceptible on his stolid features. It was
observed, nevertheless, that he studiously avoided
looking, as it were, on the face of his victim.
The magistrates seized the moment to impress
upon him the inutility of any further attempt to
evade justice, and invited him to make a full
confession. After a few moments of seeming
irresolution, he commenced the following
recital:

"One day in December, 'fifty-three, I was
accosted in Lyons by two individuals of the
farmer class, whose manner and appearance won
my unlimited confidence. After treating me to
wine at a neighbouring tavern, they invited me
to stroll on the quay, asked me a multitude of
questions, and finally proposed to me to enter
their service. I inquired the nature of the work
required of me? 'The abduction of young
women,' was the reply. 'You shall have forty
francs for every "prize," and if you remain with
us twenty years, we will guarantee you a
hundred thousand francs.'

"Such a proposal seemed far too advantageous
to be treated lightly," continued Dumollard.
"They gave me the necessary instructions,
which were simple enough. I was merely to
look out for young females in search of situations,
offer them first-rate wages, and conduct
them beyond the town.

"A week later, we commenced operations on
the Place de la Charité. My first attempt failed;
but the second woman I accosted listened to my
story, accepted the pretended situation, and
accompanied me from the town. At the end of
the suburb, my two employers met me. I
pretended to have forgotten something, and, telling
the girl these gentlemen were friends of mine,
requested her to go on with them, promising to
overtake them at Neyron. I lingered about
the spot for three hours, when the men
returned, and handed me a parcel, saying it
was a present for my wife. Opening it, I
found a gown and chemise, both stained with
blood. I recognised the dress of the woman
I had brought, and demanded what had become
of her? 'You will not see her again' was the
only reply.

"On the way home, I washed the clothes
in the fountain at Neyron, and gave them to
my wife, saying I had purchased them at
Lyons.

"I never knew the exact place in which
they murdered the girl, but I think it must
have been near the bridge Du Barre, and that
they flung the body into the Rhône. I think
so, because, one day in the ensuing summer,
while crossing that bridge in their company,
one of them remarked: 'We have sent two
bodies under this bridge already.' And this I
understood to imply two other murders, anterior
to that I have mentioned.

"Nothing remarkable happened until
February, 'fifty-five, when my two friends met me
by appointment at a wine-shop, and brought
with them a young female of dark complexion,