But a stir was noticeable in the crowd, not far from Robespierre. A man had just made an observation in an audible whisper, attracting the attention of the bystanders. They looked at him in surprise, trying to divine his meaning, but Robespierre, who was too far off to have heard, continued-- "Frenchmen! if you would triumph over your enemies, be just, give to the Divine Being the only offerings worthy of Him--virtue, compassion, forbearance----" "With the guillotine!" called the voice in the crowd, with a bitter laugh. A murmur rose round the man, every one whispering out of respect for Robespierre, who continued his harangue. They questioned the man, threatened him. Voices grew louder. "Silence!" called the officials, but the disturbance went on. "He ought to be arrested!" and the words drunkard, aristocrat, _chouan_, were thrown at him. "What did he want? What did he say?" "Yes, what did you say?" asked a patriot coming close to him. "I say only what you ought all to cry out to that charlatan--'Instead of burning incense to your idol, Tyrant, burn the guillotine!'" This daring critic, as the reader will guess at once, was Olivier. His voice was drowned in a burst of applause which greeted the words of Robespierre encouraging him to go on with his speech. In presence of such irony Olivier lost all self-control. "And they can applaud him, the fools! They can applaud him!" The fury of the multitude, now unchained, knew no bounds. Cries of "To death with him! To death!" were heard amidst the awful tumult, which completely drowned the voice of Robespierre, whose anxiety was now also aroused. Olivier, down-trodden, his clothes torn to tatters, fought and struggled in the grasp of twenty or more of the infuriated populace. "He must be killed! He is an aristocrat! A _chouan_! To death with him!" One of the patriots lifted a be-ribboned spike in the air, threatening to pierce his eyes. But a man armed to the teeth, dagger and pistols in his belt, pushed aside the crowd and seized the offender by the throat. He then turned and bade them make way for the officers of the peace who followed him. "Stand back there!" he cried. "This man is to be dealt with by justice only!" It was Héron, chief police-agent of the Committee of Public Safety. With the assistance of his men Héron dragged the offender to the feet of Robespierre, who, being informed of the affair, had asked to see the interrupter. But a vociferating crowd obstructed the passage. Robespierre impatiently descended the steps of the altar. The whole Convention and the _cortège_ had moved also, wishing to see. The police forced a way in the crowd for Robespierre. At the name of the Incorruptible the multitude gave way, and Olivier appeared before him, struggling in the powerful grasp of Héron. "Against whom does this madman, who disturbs our _fête_, bear a grudge?" asked Robespierre.