2042 Les Miserables
All were ready. The barricade, which had long been silent,
poured forth a desperate fire; seven or eight discharges fol-
lowed, with a sort of rage and joy; the street was filled with
blinding smoke, and, at the end of a few minutes, athwart
this mist all streaked with flame, two thirds of the gunners
could be distinguished lying beneath the wheels of the can-
nons. Those who were left standing continued to serve the
pieces with severe tranquillity, but the fire had slackened.
‘Things are going well now,’ said Bossuet to Enjolras.
‘Success.’
Enjolras shook his head and replied:
‘Another quarter of an hour of this success, and there
will not be any cartridges left in the barricade.’
It appears that Gavroche overheard this remark.