mind to assume a reassured air after we had explored the first room, and
that made Marcasse think that there must be a second. Did the Trappist
know of this, and was he pretending ignorance? He played his part so
well that we were all deceived. We set to work to explore all the nooks
and corners of the ruins again. There was one large tower standing apart
from the other buildings; it did not seem as if this could offer any
one a refuge. The staircase had completely fallen in at the time of the
fire, and there could not be found a ladder long enough to reach the
top story; even the farmer's ladders tied together with ropes were too
short. This top story seemed to be in a state of good preservation and
to contain a room lighted by two loopholes. Marcasse, after examining
the thickness of the wall, affirmed that there might be a staircase
inside, such as might be found in many an old tower. But where was the
exit? Perhaps it was connected with some subterranean passage. Would the
assassin dare to issue from his retreat as long as we were there? If, in
spite of the darkness of the night and the silence of our proceedings,
he had got wind of our presence, would he venture into the open as long
as we continued on the watch at all points?

"That is not probable," said Marcasse. "We must devise some speedy means
of getting up there; and I see one."

He pointed to a beam at a frightful height, all blackened by the fire,
and running from the tower over a space of some twenty feet to the
garrets of the nearest building. At the end of this beam there was
a large gap in the wall of the tower caused by the falling-in of the
adjoining parts. In his explorations, indeed, Marcasse had fancied that
he could see the steps of a narrow staircase through this gap. The wall,
moreover, was quite thick enough to contain one. The mole-catcher had
never cared to risk his life on this beam; not that he was afraid of
its narrowness or its height; he was accustomed to these perilous
"crossings," as he called them; but the beam had been partly consumed
by the fire and was so thin in the middle that it was impossible to say
whether it would bear the weight of a man, even were he as slender
and diaphanous as the worthy sergeant. Up to the present nothing had
happened here of sufficient importance for him to risk his life in
the experiment. Now, however, the case was different. Marcasse did not
hesitate. I was not near him when he formed his plan; I sho