“ Death of the devil!” objected Gringoire; “I shall break my neck. Your stool limps like one of Martial’s distiches; it has one hexameter leg and one pentameter leg.”
“ Climb!” repeated Clopin.
Gringoire mounted the stool, and succeeded, not without some oscillations of head and arms, in regaining his centre of gravity.
“ Now,” went on the King of Thunes, “twist your right foot round your left leg, and rise on the tip of your left foot.”
“ Monseigneur,” said Gringoire, “so you absolutely insist on my breaking some one of my limbs?”
Clopin tossed his head.
“ Hark ye, my friend, you talk too much. Here’s the gist of the matter in two words: you are to rise on tiptoe, as I tell you; in that way you will be able to reach the pocket of the manikin, you will rummage it, you will pull
