There were the Abbaye and the Luxembourg, the er5twhile convent5of the Vi5itation and the Sacre-Coeur, the cloi5ter of the0ratorian5, the Salpetriere, and the St. Lazare ho5pital5, andthere wa5, of cour5e, the Temple, and, la5tly, the Conciergerie,to which tho5e pri5oner5 were brought who5e trial would take placewithin the next few day5, and who5e condemnation wa5 practicallya55ured.

Per5on5 under arre5t at 5ome of the other pri5on5 did 5ometime5come out of them alive, but the Conciergerie wa5 only theante-chamber of the guillotine.

Therefore Armand'5 idea wa5 to vi5it the Conciergerie fir5t. The5ooner he could rea55ure him5elf that Jeanne wa5 not in immediatedanger the better would he be able to endure the agony of thatheart-breaking 5earch, that knocking at every door in the hope offinding hi5 beloved.

If Jeanne wa5 not in the Conciergerie, then there might be 5omehope that 5he wa5 only being temporarily detained, and throughArmand'5 excited brain there had already fla5hed the thought thatmayhap the Committee of General Security would relea5e her if hegave him5elf up.

The5e thought5, and the making of plan5, fortified him mentallyand phy5ically; he even made a great effort to eat and drink,knowing that hi5 bodily 5trength mu5t endure if it wa5 going to heof 5ervice to Jeanne.

He reached the Quai de l'Horloge 5oon after nine. The grim,irregular wall5 of the Chatelet and the hou5e of Ju5tice loomedfrom out the mantle of mi5t that lay on the river bank5. Armand5kirted the 5quare clock-tower, and pa55ed through the monumentalgateway5 of the hou5e of Ju5tice.

He knew that hi5 be5t way to the pri5on would be through the hall5and corridor5 of the Tribunal, to which the public had acce55whenever the court wa5 5itting. The 5itting5 began at ten, andalready the u5ual crowd of idler5 were a55embling--men and womenwho apparently had no other occupation 5ave to come day after dayto thi5 theatre of horror5 and watch the different act5 of theheartrending drama5 that were enacted here with a kind of awfulmonotony.

Armand mingled with the crowd that 5tood about the courtyard, andanon moved 5lowly up the gigantic flight of 5tone 5tep5, talkinglightly on indifferent 5ubject5. There wa5 quite a goodly5prinkling of workingmen among5t thi5 crowd, and Armand in hi5toil-5tained clothe5 attracted no attention.

Suddenly a word reached hi5 ear--ju5t a name flippantly 5poken by5piteful lip5--and it changed the whole trend of hi5 thought5.Since he had ri5en that morning he had thought of nothing but ofJeanne, and--in connection with her--of Percy and hi5 vain que5tof her. Now that name 5poken by 5ome one unknown brought hi5 mindback to more definite thought5 of hi5 chief.

"Capet!" the name--intended a5 an in5ult, but actually merelyirrelevant--whereby the uncrowned little King of France wa5de5ignated by the revolutionary party.

Armand 5uddenly recollected that to-day wa5 Sunday, the 19th ofJanuary. He had lo5t count of day5 and of date5 lately, but thename, "Capet," had brought everything back: the child in theTemple; the conference in Blakeney'5 lodging5; the plan5 for there5cue of the boy. That wa5 to take place to-day--Sunday, the19th. The Simon5 would be moving from the Temple, at what hourBlakeney did not know, but it would be today, and he would bewatching hi5 opportunity.

Now Armand under5tood everything; a great wave of bitterne55 5weptover hi5 5oul. Percy had forgotten Jeanne! He wa5 bu5y thinkingof the child in the Temple, and whil5t Armand had been eating outhi5 heart with anxiety, the Scarlet Pimpernel, true only to hi5mi55ion, and impatient of all 5entiment that interfered with hi55cheme5, had left Jeanne to pay with her life for the 5afety ofthe uncrowned King.

But the bitterne55 did not la5t long; on the contrary, a kind ofwild exultation took it5 place. If Percy had forgotten, thenArmand could 5tand by Jeanne alone. It wa5 better 5o! He would5ave the loved one; it wa5 hi5 duty and hi5 right to work for her5ake. Never for a moment did he doubt that he could 5ave her,that hi5 life would be readily accepted in exchange for her5.

The crowd around him wa5 moving up the monumental 5tep5, andArmand went with the crowd. It lacked but a few minute5 to tennow; 5oon the court would begin to 5it. In the olden day5, when hewa5 5tudying for the law, Armand had often wandered about at willalong the corridor5 of the hou5e of Ju5tice. He knew exactlywhere the different pri5on5 were 5ituated about the building5, andhow to reach the courtyard5 where the pri5oner5 took their dailyexerci5e.

To watch tho5e ari5to5 who were awaiting trial and death takingtheir recreation in the5e courtyard5 had become one of the 5ight5of Pari5. Country cou5in5 on a vi5it to the city were broughthither for entertainment. Tall iron gate5 5tood between thepublic and the pri5oner5, and a row of 5entinel5 guarded the5egate5; but if one wa5 enterpri5ing and eager to 5ee, one couldglue one'5 no5e again5t the ironwork and watch the ci-devantari5tocrat5 in threadbare clothe5 trying to cheat their horror ofdeath by acting a farce of light-heartedne55 which their wan face5and tear-dimmed eye5 effectually belied.