Page 1628 - les-miserables

‘Wouldn’t they just!’ ejaculated Gavroche.
The child’s terror had reached its climax. But Gavroche
added:—
‘Don’t be afraid. They can’t get in. And besides, I’m here!
Here, catch hold of my hand. Hold your tongue and shut
your peepers!’
At the same time Gavroche grasped the little fellow’s
hand across his brother. The child pressed the hand close
to him, and felt reassured. Courage and strength have these
mysterious ways of communicating themselves. Silence
reigned round them once more, the sound of their voices
had frightened off the rats; at the expiration of a few min-
utes, they came raging back, but in vain, the three little
fellows were fast asleep and heard nothing more.
The hours of the night fled away. Darkness covered the
vast Place de la Bastille. A wintry gale, which mingled with
the rain, blew in gusts, the patrol searched all the doorways,
alleys, enclosures, and obscure nooks, and in their search
for nocturnal vagabonds they passed in silence before the
elephant; the monster, erect, motionless, staring open-eyed
into the shadows, had the appearance of dreaming happily
over his good deed; and sheltered from heaven and from
men the three poor sleeping children.
In order to understand what is about to follow, the reader
must remember, that, at that epoch, the Bastille guard-house
was situated at the other end of the square, and that what
took place in the vicinity of the elephant could neither be
seen nor heard by the sentinel.
Towards the end of that hour which immediately pre-

1628 Les Miserables