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"To the sack!" repeated the thieves' crew; but they dared not approach They stared at the beam, they stared at the church The beam did not stir, the edifice preserved its cal chilled the outcasts

"To work, locksmiths!" shouted Trouillefou "Let the door be forced!"

No one took a step

"Beard and belly!" said Clopin, "here be men afraid of a beam"

An old locksmith addressed him-"Captain, 'tis not the beam which bothers us, 'tis the door, which is all covered with iron bars Our pincers are powerless against it"

"What more do you want to break it in?" de ra of Thunes ran boldly to the formidable beam, and placed his foot upon it: "Here is one!" he exclai asalute in the direction of the church, "Thanks, canons!"

This piece of bravado produced its effects,--the spell of the beae; soon the heavy joist, raised like a feather by two hundred vigorous arreat door which they had tried to batter down At the sight of that long beaands spread over the Place, thus borne by that crowd of ainst the church, one would have thought that he beheld awith lowered head the giant of stone

At the shock of the beam, the half metallic door sounded like an immense drum; it was not burst in, but the whole cathedral trembled, and the deepest cavities of the edifice were heard to echo

At the saan to fall from the top of the façade on the assailants

"The devil!" cried Jehan, "are the towers shaking their balustrades down on our heads?"

But the i of Thunes had set the exa hie, in spite of the stones which cracked skulls right and left

It was remarkable that all these stones fell one by one; but they followed each other closely The thieves always felt two at a tis and one on their heads There were fehich did not deal their blow, and a large layer of dead and wounded lay bleeding and panting beneath the feet of the assailants who, non furious, replaced each other without interular intervals, like the clapper of a bell, the stones to rain down, the door to groan