rooms overhead!"--I
acknowledged that this would be, to say the least, disagreeable, but
argued that in time of war one must take one's chance.--"Do you think,
then, monsieur," he continued, "that, if in the event of the insurgents
entering we were to look out for a back door to escape by, we should be
acting the part of cowards?"--"Of cowards? no; but of excessively
prudent individuals? yes.":--"Well, monsieur, I am prudent, and there is
an end of it!" exclaimed my comrade, with an air of triumph, "and I
think I have found----"--"The back door in question?"--"Just go; look
down that passage in front of us; at the end there is a door which
leads--where do you think?"--"Into the Passage des Panoramas, does it
not?"--"Yes, monsieur, and now you see what I mean."--I told him I did
not think I did.--"Why, you see," he explained, "when the enemy comes we
must rush into that passage, shut the lower door, and make for our post
at the windows, where we will do our duty bravely to our last cartridge.
But suppose, in the meantime, that those devils, succeed in breaking
open the lower door with the butt end of their muskets--and it is not
very strong--what shall we do then?"--"Why, of course," I said, "we must
plant ourselves at the top of the staircase and receive them at the
point of our bayonets."--"By no means;" he expostulated.--"But we must;
it is our duty."--"Oh! I fancied we might have gained the door that
leads into the passage," he went on, looking rather shame-faced.--"What,
run away!"--"No, not exactly; only find some place of safety!"--"Well,
if it comes to that," I replied, "you may do just as you like; only I
warn you that the passage is occupied by a hundred of our men, and that
all the outlets are barricaded."--"No, not all," he said with
conviction, "and that is why I appeal to you. You are a journalist, are
you not?"--"Sometimes."--"Yes, but you are; and you know actors and all
those sort of people, and you go behind the scenes, I dare say, and know
where the actors dress themselves, and all that."--I looked at my brave
comrade in some surprise, but he continued without noticing me, "And,
you know all the ins and outs of the theatre, the corridors, the
trapdoors."--"Suppose I do, what good can that do you?"--"All the good
in the world, monsieur; it will be the saving of me. Why we shall only
have to find the actors' entrance of the _Varietes_, which is in the
passage, then ring, at the bell; the porter knows you,