He glanced at the old barricade and saw, with a shudder, that it was already pierced with countless open cracks that showed the angry fire beyond.  And through these cracks great volumes of smoke were pouring.

Fortunately, most of this smoke, especially at first, was borne away upward by the blower’s suction, and for some minutes Alice was able to help Coquenil with the new barricade.  They built this directly in front of the iron door, with only space enough between it and the door to allow them to crouch behind it; they made it about five feet long and three feet high.  Coquenil would have made it higher, but there was no time; indeed, he had to do the last part of the work alone, for Alice sank back overcome by the smoke.

“Lie down there,” he directed.  “Stretch right out behind the logs and keep, your mouth close to the floor and as near as you can to the crack under the door.  You’ll have plenty of cool, sweet air.  See?  That’s right.  Now I’ll fix a roof over this thing and pretty soon, if it gets uncomfortable up here, I’ll crawl in beside you.  It’s better not to look at the silly old barricade.  Just shut your eyes and—­rest.  Understand little friend?”

“Ye-es,” she murmured faintly, and with sinking heart, he realized that already she was drifting toward unconsciousness.  Ah, well, perhaps that was the best thing!

He looked down at the fair young face and thought of her lover languishing in prison.  What a wretched fate theirs had been!  What sufferings they had borne!  What injustice!  And now this end to their dream of happiness!

He turned to his work.  He would guard her while life and strength remained, and he wondered idly, as he braced the overhead logs against the iron door, how many more minutes of life this shelter would give them.  Why take so much pains for so paltry a result?

He turned toward the barricade and saw that the flames were licking their way through the wall of logs, shooting and curling their hungry red tongues through many openings.  The heat was becoming unbearable.  Well, they were at the last trench now, he was surprised at the clearness and calmness of his mind.  Death did not seem such a serious thing after all!

Coquenil crawled in behind the shelter of logs and crouched down beside the girl.  She was quite unconscious now, but was breathing peacefully, smilingly, with face flushed and red lips parted.  The glorious masses of her reddish hair were spread over the girls white shoulders, and it seemed to M. Paul that he had never seen so beautiful a picture of youth and innocence.

Suddenly there was a crumbling of logs at the passageway and the chamber became light as day while a blast of heat swept over them.  Coquenil looked out around the end of the shelter and saw flames a yard long shooting toward them through widening breaches in the logs.  And a steady roar began.  It was nearly over now, although close to the floor the air was still good.