Chapter 18 - Page 2

Now he
returned into the court. He asked for a chair. It was brought
him. Immediately he placed his head in his hands, thinking hard,
took the chair and carried it over a little behind the shed. The
Nihilists watched everything he did and they did not smile, because
men do not smile when death waits at the end of things, however
foolish.

Finally, Rouletabille spoke:

"Messieurs," said he, his voice low and shaken, because he knew
that now he touched the decisive minute, after which there could
only be an irrevocable fate. "Messieurs, in order to continue
my experiment I am obliged to go through movements that might
suggest to you the idea of an attempt at escape, or evasion. I
hope you don't regard me as fool enough to have any such thought."

"Oh, monsieur," said the chief, "you are free to go through all
the maneuvers you wish. No one escapee us. Outside we should
have you within arm's reach quite as well as here. And, besides,
it is entirely impossible to escape from here."

"Very well. Then that is understood. In such a case, I ask you
now to remain just where you are and not to budge, whatever I do,
if you don't wish to inconvenience me. Only please send someone
now up to the next floor, where I am going to go again, and let
him watch what happens from there, but without interfering. And
don't speak a word to me during the experiment."

Two of the revolutionaries went to the upper floor, and opened a
window in order to keep track of what went on in the court. All
now showed their intense interest in the acts and gestures of
Rouletabille.

The reporter placed himself in the shed, between his death-stool
and his hanging-rope.

"Ready," said he; "I am going to begin"

And suddenly he jumped like a wild man, crossed the court in a
straight line like a flash, disappeared in the touba, bounded up
the staircase, felt in his pocket and drew out the keys, opened
the door of the chamber he had locked, closed it and locked it
again, turned right-about-face, came down again in the same haste,
reached the court, and this time swerved to the chair, went round
it, still running, and returned at the same speed to the shed. He
no sooner reached there than he uttered a cry of triumph as he
glanced at the watch banging from a post. "I have won," he said,
and threw himself with a happy thrill upon the fatal scaffold.
They surrounded him, and he read the liveliest curiosity in all
their faces. Panting still from his mad rush, he asked for two
words apart with the chief of the Secret committee.

The man who had pronounced judgment and who had the bearing of
Jesus advanced, and there was a brief exchange of words between
the two young men. The others drew