em agreeably in the trial room, they were
beginning to be rather disgusted by his cries, his protestations and all
the maneuvers by which he so apparently was trying to hold off the hour
of his death.

But all at once Rouletabille jumped up onto the fatal stool. They
believed he had decided finally to make an end of the comedy and die
with dignity; but he had mounted there only to give them a discourse.

"Messieurs, understand me now. If it is true that you are not
suppressing me in order to avenge Michael Nikolaievitch, then why do you
hang me? Why do you inflict this odious punishment on me? Because you
accuse me of causing Natacha Feodorovna's arrest? Truly I have been
awkward. Of that, and that alone, I accuse myself."

"It was you, with your revolver, who gave the signal to Koupriane's
agents! You have done the dirty work for the police."

Rouletabille tried vainly to protest, to explain, to say that his
revolver shot, on the contrary, had saved the revolutionaries. But no
one cared to listen and no one believed him.

"Here is the priest, monsieur," said the gentleman of the Neva.

"One second! These are my last words, and I swear to you that after this
I will pass the rope about my neck myself! But listen to me! Listen to
me closely! Natacha Feodorovna was the most precious recruit you had,
was she not?"

"A veritable treasure," declared the president, his voice more and more
impatient.

"It was a terrible blow, then," continued the reporter, "a terrible blow
for you, this arrest?"

"Terrible," some of them ejaculated.

"Do not interrupt me! Very well, then, I am going to say this to you:
'If I ward off this blow--if, after having been the unintentional cause
of Natacha's arrest, I have the daughter of General Trebassof set at
liberty, and that within twenty-four hours,--what do you say? Would you
still hang me?'"

The president, he who had the Christ-like countenance, said:

"Messieurs, Natacha Feodorovna has fallen the victim of terrible
machinations whose mystery we so far have not been able to penetrate.
She is accused of trying to poison her father and her step-mother,
and under such conditions that it seems impossible for human reason to
demonstrate the contrary. Natacha Feodorovna herself, crushed by the
tragic occurrence, was not able to answer her accusers at all, and her
silence has been taken for a confession of guilt. Messieurs, Natacha
Feodorovna will be started for Siberia to-morrow. W