shock was so rude that he fell. Beside him Jacques and Pierre manipulated the
long pole. During nearly an hour that unending fight continued. And the water
retained its tranquil obstinacy, invincible.

Then Jacques and Pierre succumbed, prostrated; while Gaspard, in a last
violent thrust, had his beam wrested from him by the current. The combat was
useless.

Marie and Veronique had thrown themselves into each other's arms. They repeated
incessantly one phrase--a phrase of terror that I still hear ringing in my
ears:

"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

Rose put her arms about them. She tried to console them, to reassure them.
And she herself, trembling, raised her face and cried out, in spite of herself:

"I don't want to die!"

Aunt Agathe alone said nothing. She no longer prayed, no longer made the sign
of the cross. Bewildered, her eyes roamed about, and she tried to smile when
her
glance met mine.

The water was beating against the tiles now. There was no hope of help. We
still heard the voices in the direction of the church; two lanterns had passed
in the distance; and the silence spread over the immense yellow sheet. The
people of Saintin, who owned boats, must have been surprised before us.

Gaspard continued to wander over the Roof. Suddenly he called us.