While she was delivering her message to me, they
conveyed the sick person to the stair-head, and then disappeared.
I went down, without staying for my servant to light a candle,
and in the dark happened to stumble upon the sick person, and
kicked him down stairs. In fine, I saw he was dead, and that it
was the crooked Mussulman, whose death you are now about to
avenge. So my wife and I took the corpse, and, after conveying it
up to the leads of our house, moved it to the roof of the
purveyor's house, our next neighbour, and let it down the chimney
into the chamber. The purveyor, finding it in his house, took the
little man for a thief, and, after beating him, concluded he had
killed him; but that it was not so, you will be convinced by this
my deposition; so that I am the only author of the murder: and
though it was committed undesignedly, I have resolved to expiate
my crime by keeping clear of the charge of the death of two
Mussulmen, and hinder you from executing the sultan's purveyor,
whose innocence I have now revealed. So pray dismiss him, and put
me in his place, for I alone am the cause of the death of the
little man.
The chief justice being persuaded that the Jewish doctor was the
murderer, gave orders to the executioner to seize him, and
release the purveyor. Accordingly the doctor was just going to be
hung up, when the tailor appeared, crying to the executioner to
hold his hand, and make room for him, that he might come and make
his confession to the lord justice; which being done, My lord,
said he to the judge, you have narrowly escaped taking away the
lives of three innocent persons, but if you will have patience to
hear me, I will discover to you the real murderer of the
crook-backed man.
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