In point of fact, they had no ladder; the one sent from Javené had not arrived; the flames spread as from a yawning crater; it was simply absurd to attempt to extinguish them with the water from the half-dried brook in the ravine; one might as well empty a glass of water into a volcano.
Cimourdain, Guéchamp, and Radoub had gone down into the ravine. Gauvain had returned to the hall on the second story of the Tourgue, where the turning stone, the secret passage, and the iron door of the library were to be found; it was there that the sulphur match had been lighted by the Imânus, and there the fire had originated.
Gauvain had brought with him twenty sappers. Their last resource was to force open the iron door. Its fastenings were terribly strong.
They went at it with their axes, dealing violent blows. The axes broke. One of the sappers exclaimed,—
"Steel shivers like glass against that iron."
In fact, the door was composed of double sheets of wrought-iron bolted together, each sheet three inches thick.
Then they took iron bars and tried to pry the door open from below. The iron bars broke.
"One would think they were matches," said the sapper.
"Nothing less than a cannon-ball could open that door," muttered Gauvain, gloomily. "We should have to mount a field-piece up here."
"But even then—" replied the sapper.