She sat down. The audience in the court room laughed. The jurors looked at one another in astonishment. The judge said: “Defendant Cornu, you seem to have been the instigator of this infamous plot. What have you to say?” And Cornu rose in his turn. “Judge,” he replied, “I was full.” The Judge answered gravely: “I know it. Proceed.” “I will. Well, Brument came to my place about nine o'clock, and ordered two drinks, and said: 'There's one for you, Cornu.' I sat down opposite him and drank, and out of politeness, I offered him a glass. Then he returned the compliment and so did I, and so it went on from glass to glass until noon, when we were full. “Then Brument began to cry. That touched me. I asked him what was the matter. He said: 'I must have a thousand francs by Thursday.' That cooled me off a little, you understand. Then he said to me all at once: 'I will sell you my wife.' “I was full, and I was a widower. You understand, that stirred me up. I did not know his wife, but she was a woman, wasn't she? I asked him: 'How much would you sell her for?' “He reflected, or pretended to reflect. When one is full one is not very clear-headed, and he replied: 'I will sell her by the cubic metre.' “That did not surprise me, for I was as drunk as he was, and I knew what a cubic metre is in my business. It is a thousand litres, that suited me. “But the price remained to be settled. All depends on the quality. I said: 'How much do you want a cubic metre?' “He answered: 'Two thousand francs.' “I gave a bound like a rabbit, and then I reflected that a woman ought not to measure more than three hundred litres. So I said: 'That's too dear.' “He answered: 'I cannot do it for less. I should lose by it.' “You understand, one is not a dealer in hogs for nothing. One understands one's business. But, if he is smart, the seller of bacon, I am smarter, seeing that I sell them also. Ha, Ha, Ha! So I said to him: 'If she were new, I would not say anything, but she has been married to you for some time, so she is not as fresh as she was. I will give you fifteen hundred francs a cubic metre, not a sou more. Will that suit you?' “He answered: 'That will do. That's a bargain!' “I agreed, and we started out, arm in arm. We must help each other in this world. “But a fear came to me: 'How can you measure her unless you put her into the liquid?' “Then he explained his idea, not without difficulty for he was full. He said to me: 'I take a barrel, and fill it with water to the brim. I put her in it. All the water that comes out we will measure, that is the way to fix it.' “I said: 'I see, I understand. But this water that overflows will run away; how are you going to gather it up?'