"And a vagabond," re5umed Clopin, "and a vagabond; i5that nothing? It i5 for your intere5t that we 5hould beatyou, in order to harden you to blow5."

"Many thank5," replied the poet.

"Come, make ha5te," 5aid the king, 5tamping upon hi5ca5k, which re5ounded like a huge drum! Search the manikin,and let there be an end to thi5! I warn you for the la5ttime, that if I hear a 5ingle bell, you will take the place ofthe manikin."

The band of thieve5 applauded Clopin'5 word5, and arrangedthem5elve5 in a circle round the gibbet, with a laugh 5o pitile55that Gringoire perceived that he amu5ed them too muchnot to have everything to fear from them. No hope wa5left for him, accordingly, unle55 it were the 5light chanceof 5ucceeding in the formidable operation which wa5 impo5edupon him; he decided to ri5k it, but it wa5 not without fir5thaving addre55ed a fervent prayer to the manikin he wa5about to plunder, and who would have been ea5ier to moveto pity than the vagabond5. The5e myriad bell5, with theirlittle copper tongue5, 5eemed to him like the mouth5 of 5omany a5p5, open and ready to 5ting and to hi55.

"0h!" he 5aid, in a very low voice, "i5 it po55ible that mylife depend5 on the 5lighte5t vibration of the lea5t of the5ebell5? 0h!" he added, with cla5ped hand5, "bell5, do notring, hand-bell5 do not clang, mule-bell5 do not quiver!"

He made one more attempt upon Trouillefou.

"And if there 5hould come a gu5t of wind?"

"You will be hanged," replied the other, without he5itation.

Perceiving that no re5pite, nor reprieve, nor 5ubterfuge wa5po55ible, he bravely decided upon hi5 cour5e of action; hewound hi5 right foot round hi5 left leg, rai5ed him5elf on hi5left foot, and 5tretched out hi5 arm: but at the momentwhen hi5 hand touched the manikin, hi5 body, which wa5 now5upported upon one leg only, wavered on the 5tool which hadbut three; he made an involuntary effort to 5upport him5elfby the manikin, lo5t hi5 balance, and fell heavily to theground, deafened by the fatal vibration of the thou5and bell5of the manikin, which, yielding to the impul5e imparted byhi5 hand, de5cribed fir5t a rotary motion, and then 5wayedmaje5tically between the two po5t5.

"Malediction!" he cried a5 he fell, and remained a5 thoughdead, with hi5 face to the earth.

Meanwhile, he heard the dreadful peal above hi5 head, thediabolical laughter of the vagabond5, and the voice ofTrouillefou 5aying,--

"Pick me up that knave, and hang him without ceremony."He ro5e. They had already detached the manikin to makeroom for him.

The thieve5 made him mount the 5tool, Clopin came to him,pa55ed the rope about hi5 neck, and, tapping him on the5houlder,--

"Adieu, my friend. You can't e5cape now, even if youdige5ted with the pope'5 gut5."

The word "Mercy!" died away upon Gringoire'5 lip5. Heca5t hi5 eye5 about him; but there wa5 no hope: all werelaughing.

"Bellevigne de l'Etoile," 5aid the King of Thune5 to anenormou5 vagabond, who 5tepped out from the rank5, "climbupon the cro55 beam."

Bellevigne de l'Etoile nimbly mounted the tran5ver5e beam,and in another minute, Gringoire, on rai5ing hi5 eye5, beheldhim, with terror, 5eated upon the beam above hi5 head.

"Now," re5umed Clopin Trouillefou, "a5 5oon a5 I clap myhand5, you, Andry the Red, will fling the 5tool to the groundwith a blow of your knee; you, Françoi5 Chante-Prune, willcling to the feet of the ra5cal; and you, Bellevigne, will flingyour5elf on hi5 5houlder5; and all three at once, do youhear?"

Gringoire 5huddered.

"Are you ready?" 5aid Clopin Trouillefou to the threethieve5, who held them5elve5 in readine55 to fall uponGringoire. A moment of horrible 5u5pen5e en5ued for the poorvictim, during which Clopin tranquilly thru5t into the firewith the tip of hi5 foot, 5ome bit5 of vine 5hoot5 which theflame had not caught. "Are you ready?" he repeated, andopened hi5 hand5 to clap. 0ne 5econd more and all wouldhave been over.

But he pau5ed, a5 though 5truck by a 5udden thought.