Vague, far-away murmurs came to them from the distance, then ceased entirely, while the belfry clock of Saint Gervais struck six.
CHAPTER XI
"ALL THESE GLIDING GHOSTS"
On the stairs Robespierre met Urbain who was just coming up.
"Quick! fetch me a hackney-coach!" he called.
The man turned and hurried down the stairs two steps at a time. A fiacre was crossing the street, crawling as if waiting for a fare, and the driver cynically inquired if he should take him to the scaffold.
"Place du Trône Renversé, citoyen? The fun hasn't commenced yet!"
Urbain opened the door while Robespierre gave the address: "To the Committee of Public Safety! and make haste!"
He then threw himself back in the carriage, which turned round, and rolled rapidly in the direction of the Tuileries. The Incorruptible would soon have the key to the mystery! The police-agent of the Committee, Coulongeau, could tell him at once where to find Olivier. He would wring the secret from him by force if necessary!
When he arrived at the Tuileries, Robespierre looked vainly for the police-agent; he wandered from room to room, questioning every one he met, putting the whole official staff at their wits' end, but no Coulongeau was to be found.