"They'll make an end of Robespierre?"
"Impossible!"
"It's true! Haven't they arrested Dumas?"
"Suspend the trial!"
"Mercy! Clemency!"
All eyes turned to Fouquier, who answered contemptuously and stubbornly:
"Justice must take its course!"
At Dossonville's side the blacksmith, with the sudden frenzy of prophecy, cried:
"Fouquier, beware! The guillotine is waiting for you!"
While with brawny shoulders he wriggled free of the willing crowd, Dossonville looked for the hundredth time at Nicole. She had not abandoned her calm; only a slight frown told of the havoc the sudden opening and closing of the gates of hope played in her soul.