it produced, and said to the cannon:
"You are growing diffuse, my good fellow."
One gets puzzled in battle, as at a ball.
It is probable that this silence on the part of the redoubt began to render the besiegers uneasy, and to make them fear some unexpected incident, and that they felt the necessity of getting a clear view behind that heap of paving-stones, and of knowing what was going on behind that impassable wall which received blows without retorting.
The insurgents suddenly perceived a helmet glittering in the sun on a neighboring roof. A fireman had placed his back against a tall chimney, and seemed to be acting as sentinel.
His glance fell directly down into the barricade.
"There''s an embarrassing watcher," said Enjolras.
Jean Valjean had returned Enjolras'' rifle, but he had his own gun.
Without saying a word, he took aim at the fireman, and, a second later, the helmet, smashed by a bullet, rattled noisily into the street. The terrified soldier made haste to disappear.
A second observer took his place.
This one was an officer.
Jean Valjean, who had re-loaded his gun, took aim at the newcomer and sent the officer''s casque to join the soldier''s. The officer did not persist, and retired speedily.
This time the warning was understood. No one made his appearance thereafter on that roof; and the idea of spying on the barricade was abandoned.