et. Then he went out onto the landing-place again. There
he asked for the key of the chamber-door he had just left. They gave it
to him and he locked that door and put that key also in his pocket. Now
he returned into the court. He asked for a chair. It was brought him.
Immediately he placed his head in his hands, thinking hard, took the
chair and carried it over a little behind the shed. The Nihilists
watched everything he did and they did not smile, because men do not
smile when death waits at the end of things, however foolish.

Finally, Rouletabille spoke:

"Messieurs," said he, his voice low and shaken, because he knew that
now he touched the decisive minute, after which there could only be an
irrevocable fate. "Messieurs, in order to continue my experiment I am
obliged to go through movements that might suggest to you the idea of an
attempt at escape, or evasion. I hope you don't regard me as fool enough
to have any such thought."

"Oh, monsieur," said the chief, "you are free to go through all the
maneuvers you wish. No one escapes us. Outside we should have you
within arm's reach quite as well as here. And, besides, it is entirely
impossible to escape from here."

"Very well. Then that is understood. In such a case, I ask you now to
remain just where you are and not to budge, whatever I do, if you don't
wish to inconvenience me. Only please send someone now up to the next
floor, where I am going to go again, and let him watch what happens from
there, but without interfering. And don't speak a word to me during the
experiment."

Two of the revolutionaries went to the upper floor, and opened a window
in order to keep track of what went on in the court. All now showed
their intense interest in the acts and gestures of Rouletabille.

The reporter placed himself in the shed, between his death-stool and his
hanging-rope.

"Ready," said he; "I am going to begin"

And suddenly he jumped like a wild man, crossed the court in a straight
line like a flash, disappeared in the touba, bounded up the staircase,
felt in his pocket and drew out the keys, opened the door of the chamber
he had locked, closed it and locked it again, turned right-about-face,
came down again in the same haste, reached the court, and this time
swerved to the chair, went round it, still running, and returned at the
same speed to the shed. He no sooner reached there than he uttered a cry
of triumph as he glanced at the watch banging from a post