doors of the Cathedral were wide open, and every little entry. How
spacious the city looked, how silent, how wonderful! There was room for
a squadron to wheel in the great square, but not so much as a bird, not
a dog; all pale and empty. We stood for a long time (or it seemed a long
time) at the corner, looking right and left. We were afraid to make a
step farther. We knew not what to do. Nor could I speak; there was much
I wished to say, but something stopped my voice.

At last M. le Curé found utterance. His voice so moved the silence, that
at first my heart was faint with fear; it was hoarse, and the sound
rolled round the great square like muffled thunder. One did not seem to
know what strange faces might rise at the open windows, what terrors
might appear. But all he said was, 'We are ambassadors in vain.'

What was it that followed? My teeth chattered. I could not hear. It was
as if 'in vain!--in vain!' came back in echoes, more and more distant
from every opening. They breathed all around us, then were still, then
returned louder from beyond the river. M. le Curé, though he is a
spiritual person, was no more courageous than I. With one impulse, we
put out our hands and grasped each other. We retreated back to back,
like men hemmed in by foes, and I felt his heart beating wildly, and he
mine. Then silence, silence settled all around.

It was now my turn to speak. I would not be behind, come what might,
though my lips were parched with mental trouble.

I said, 'Are we indeed too late? Lecamus must have deceived himself.'

To this there came no echo and no reply, which would be a relief, you
may suppose; but it was not so. It was well-nigh more appalling, more