And they rushed towards the soldiers, who pulled up. I was the only man armed in the crowd. "My friends," I shouted to the soldiers, "give up your guns and no harm shall be done you!" They consulted for a moment, then gave up their guns. I kept the soldiers covered with mine, prepared to kill the first man who should make any hostile demonstration. The people took the guns, but these were actually not loaded: hence, of course, arose the poor devils' readiness to give them up. The people uttered loud shouts of triumph, the battle had begun with a victory: one gendarme killed and three soldiers of the Royal Guard made prisoners! True, we had to let our captives go, because we did not know what to do with them. We now went on with our barricades. A little group of students arrived from the top of the rue de l'Université; a tall fair young man marched at its head, dressed in an apple-green frock-coat. He was the only one of the party who possessed a service gun. We fraternised and they joined with us to work at the barricades. The close vicinity of the barracks of the Gardes du Corps on the quai d'Orsay made us fearful of an attack. It was quite impossible for the sentinel not to have heard the two reports of a gun, not to have seen the police fly and not to have raised the alarm. I was tired of turning up paving-stones, so gave my pickaxe to the tall fair youth. He began to pick up the intermediate space, but the crowbar was heavy, fell out of his hands and struck me on the leg. "Ah! monsieur," he cried, "I beg your pardon most profoundly, for I am sure I must have hurt you badly!" It was true enough, but there are moments when one does not feel pain. "Never mind," I said to him; "it is on the bone." He raised his head. "Do you happen to possess a ready wit?" "By Jove!" I replied, "that's a fine question:' it is my business to have one!" "Would you favour me with your name?" "Alexandre Dumas." "Oh! monsieur!" (He held out his hand to me.) "My name is Bixio ... Profession--medical student. If I get killed, here is my card; have the goodness to see that I am carried home. If you are wounded, I will put my scientific knowledge at your disposal." "Monsieur, I hope that neither your card nor your knowledge will be required; but, all the same, I will take the one and accept the other. Take care to remember my name, if you please, as I will remember yours!" We shook hands, and our friendship dated from that meeting. The barricades finished, we left them to be guarded by those who had helped to make them. "Now, then," I said to Bixio, "where are you going?" "I am going in the direction of Gros-Caillou." "In that case, I will accompany you as far as the Chamber.... I want to go and see what is happening at the _National._" "What!" Bixio exclaimed. "Are you going like that, with your gun, through the streets?" "Certainly!" I replied; "you seem to me to be going to do just the same." "Yes, but only on this side of the Seine."