At the one hundred and fiftieth round Yvonnet stopped, and all the others did the same. It was agreed beforehand that they should halt at that point long enough for each to say two _Paters_ and two _Aves_. When Martin-Guerre had finished his devotions, he was amazed to see that Yvonnet did not stir. He thought he must have missed his count, and reproving himself for his haste, he began conscientiously a third _Pater_ and a third _Ave_. But still Yvonnet remained motionless. Then--although they were only about a hundred feet from the platform, and it was dangerous to speak--Martin-Guerre struck Yvonnet's legs, and said to him,-- "Go on, pray." "No, I cannot," said Yvonnet, in a stifled voice. "You can't, villain! Why not?" asked Martin, shuddering. "I am dizzy," said Yvonnet. A cold perspiration broke out in beads on Martin's forehead. It was a moment before he could make up his mind what to do. If Yvonnet should have the vertigo and fall, they would all be carried down with him; to descend was no less hazardous. Martin felt himself to be incapable of assuming any responsibility whatever at such a terrible crisis. He leaned over to Anselme, who was next behind him, and said,-- "Yvonnet is dizzy." Anselme shuddered as Martin had done, and repeated the same words to his neighbor, Scharfenstein; and so the word was passed down the ladder, each one in turn removing his sword from between his teeth long enough to say to the man next below,-- "Yvonnet is dizzy." At last the dreadful intelligence reached the ears of Gabriel, who turned pale and trembled as the others had done when he heard it. CHAPTER XIX ARNAULD DU THILL, THOUGH ABSENT, CONTINUES TO EXERT A FATAL INFLUENCE ON THE DESTINY OF POOR MARTIN-GUERRE It was a moment of fearful suffering,--a supreme crisis. Gabriel saw that he was threatened by three distinct dangers. Beneath his feet, the roaring sea seemed to be calling to its prey with its mighty voice. Before him twelve terrified men, unable to move either forward or back, barred the road to the third source of danger,--the English pikes and arquebuses which were perhaps waiting for them to show their heads above the battlements. On all sides, terror and death seemed to threaten the poor beings upon that vibrating ladder. Fortunately, Gabriel was not the man to waste precious time in hesitating even between two formidable perils, and he made up his mind in an instant. He never stopped to wonder whether his grasp might not fail, and his brains be dashed out on the rocks below. Clinging closely to the rope that formed one side of the ladder, he raised himself by his hands alone, and passed by the twelve men in front of him one after another. Thanks to his enormous strength of muscle, as well as of soul, he reached Yvonnet without accident, and was at last able to place his feet beside those of Martin-Guerre. "Will you go on or not?" said he to Yvonnet, in sharp and commanding tones.