| Show BROADWAY AND MAIN STREET STREETA STREETA A little Secret of Murder Revealed After 40 Years By BILLY ROSE ROSEOn ROSEOn ROSEOn On an October morning in 1903 in a village not far from La LaRochelle LaRochelle LaRochelle Rochelle in eastern France a young priest paled as he listened to his rus first confession Yesterday afternoon he heard the penitent on the other side of the curtain say I met a strange girl on the dirt road that runs by the pond When I tried to make friends with her she laughed at me and andI I got so mad I picked up a stone and hit her to make her stop laughing She fell down and when I yelled and she didn't move I got scared and buried her beside some bushes Father Antoine recognized the Uie voice as that of ot a year old who was known in the village as t the h he e f. f r J story teller teller a a boy i i iwho who w was a s always alwa's talking about his Ws daydreams as l if they had actually happened Even though jie he he didn't know whether er the confession was fact or fiction the priest imposed Billy BUly Rose the most severe penance and in addition ordered the boy to visit him every day after school for tor a friendly talk A few weeks later Father Antoine was almost certain the crime was an hallucination For one thing there had been no report of a missIng missIng missing miss- miss Ing person in the district and for tor another the boys boy's descriptions of the murder grew more and more confused C C S I ONE AFTERNOON he finally adI ad ad- I mUted mUted- to the priest that his story starr was a fabrication I did meet a girl he said and she got me rue so angry that I wanted to kill her But ButI I never touched her and afterwards afterwards afterwards after after- wards I got all mixed up about what I wanted to do and what I really did UI 1 sm suspected as much all along said Father Antoine but bul butI bulI I must admit I 1 was shocked at al atI I first irs You see you were the first Person who had ever confessed essed to 10 me Two years later the boys boy's family moved to Paris and the priest allbut all allbut allbut but forgot the incident incident until until a new paved road was laid alongside the theold theold theold old dirt one Under a bush near the pond was found the decomposed body of ot a girl eirl and the coroner testified testified fied fled it had been there about two years and the skull had been crushed by some heavy object Bound by his vows Father Antoine Antoine Antome An An- toine tome could say nothing and for forthe forthe forthe the next 40 years the secret remained remained remained re re- re- re with him S C C THE TIlE YEARS of the German oc oc- were difficult ones for those who lived in the La Rochelle district but many of ot the villagers did what they could for the resistance resistance resistance tance movement movement and and not the least among them was the priest now in hi his late GOs And when liberation finally came a great celebration was arranged with Father Antoine as the guest of honor After ler the dinner there was a II good deal of 0 reminiscing among the veterans of 0 the underground but bul when someone asked the priest to tell of 0 his own oum adventures tures ha he smiled and declined The occupation atio was eventful for all of 01 ns its he be explained but bus In n my calling the e eventful Is s almost an a everyday occurrence As a II matter mailer of 0 fact the first con con confes fes slot slon I ever heard was that of a II murderer Then remembering his vows Father Antoine apologized for his off guard guard remark and despite the urging of the guests would say no nom m more ore Later that evening a delegation of ot underground workers from rom other districts joined the celebration and andone andone andone one of them a colonel in the Maquis was asked to say a few words Meeting Father Antoine tonight is a great pleasure he said to the gathering and not only because of his war record Although he doesn't remember my name or face I knew him when I was a boy boyas as as a matter of fact I was the first person Derson who ever confessed to him |
