"It is exactly as I told you!" cried Elie Lacoste. "The leaders of the Commune must be instantly arrested, and with them Robespierre and his two accomplices!" "Commencing with Saint-Just and his speech," said Collot. "Robespierre was here just now," observed Billaud-Varennes, who had followed his colleagues out of the room; "he wanted to know what we had done with the prisoner from La Force. We told him we had not to render account to him, whereupon he went away in a rage, crying out, 'You want war? War you shall have then!' We have been warned by the Incorruptible himself, you see!" "Yes, but we shall crush him through his Englishman! We have witnesses enough now!" "Nay, unhappily we have not!" replied Billaud. "What! we have no witnesses?" exclaimed Barère in surprise. "What do you mean? ... Has not Coulongeon...?" "Coulongeon arrived too late at La Bourbe Lebas had just taken them off, by Robespierre's orders--no one knows whither." "Oh! the villain! he suspected something, then, and abducted them to suppress their evidence; but we have at any rate the young man from La Force." "He is upstairs, but he knows nothing." "He lies, he is a traitor!" "No, he seemed quite sincere, and he execrates Robespierre; but I shall question him again to-morrow." "And meanwhile we must resort to stratagem," remarked Barère. They discussed and debated the question, and all came to the conclusion that Barère was right. Their safety lay in stratagem. After all, there was no immediate peril. Robespierre was not fond of violent measures, he would not break the bounds of the law unless driven to it. It was out of sheer vexation that he had thrown that challenge in Billaud-Varennes' face; and after all, since Saint-Just had again assured them of the Incorruptible's pure intentions, it would be perhaps prudent to dissemble and to disarm the triumvirate by simulating confidence. On the whole the members of the Committee were undecided, hesitating between two alternatives, one as dangerous as the other. Either they must openly attack Robespierre and overthrow him, and thus add to the already unbounded power of the Committee, which would then more easily crush the Convention; or they must leave the power in Robespierre's hands, who, when once master, would lose no time in annihilating them. The members returned to the Committee-room where Saint-Just was still writing. They spoke as if they had altered their mind on thinking things over. They regretted their hasty words, for after all the patriotism of Robespierre and his friends had stood a long test. They spoke of precautions to be taken in case of an unexpected attack, for warnings had reached them from every quarter. All this was discussed aloud before Saint-Just, ostensibly to show their complete confidence in him.