Page 36 - A Tale of Two Cities

Defarge was in the middle of this sea of people, with his wife. He
A Tale of Two Cities
was pushed forwards, and he caught the arm of one of the prison
offi cers.

‘Take me to the North Tower!’ he said. ‘Cell one hundred and fi ve,
North Tower. Quickly!’

He followed the officer through dark corridors of the prison,

where the light of day had never shone, and up the stone stairs into
the tower.

The officer stopped at a low door, opened it, and said, ‘One
hundred and five, North Tower!’ as Defarge stepped into the empty

cell.
It was small and dark, with a dirty straw bed, a chimney against
the wall, and a small table and chair.

‘Hold your torch so that I can see!’ Defarge said to the offi cer,

and while the officer held the flame high, Defarge moved his hands

along the cold walls.
He reached the chimney and started to push around inside it,
creating a shower of dust and stones. There was a place inside where
one of the bricks was missing, and reaching inside it, he pulled out
some blackened and dirty papers.
He put them inside his coat, and then turned to the offi cer. ‘We
can go,’ he said.

That day, the people took power in Paris and in the weeks that
followed they took their terrible revenge on those who had made
them suffer. In other parts of France, too, the people fought back –
and before long, the villagers of Evrémonde took their chance to
rise up against the family of the marquis who had shown them such
cruelty and injustice.

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