This passage was so narrow at this particular point that the four gendarmes who accompanied the prisoners changed the line of march.

First came two officers, then the prisoners one by one, then the other two officers.

The girls stood in the doorway.
When Amelie heard the doors open she was obliged to lean upon Charlotte's shoulder for support, the earth seemed to give way under her feet and the wall at her back.

She heard the sound of feet and the rattle of the gendarmes' sabres, then the door of the prison opened.
First one gendarme appeared, then another, then Sainte-Hermine, walking first, as though he were still Morgan, the captain of the Companions of Jehu.
As he passed Amelie murmured: "Charles!" The prisoner recognized the beloved voice, gave a faint cry, and felt a paper slip into his hand.

He pressed that precious hand, murmured her name, and passed on.
The others who followed did not, or pretended not to, notice the two girls.