Book III, Chapter Fifteen – The Footsteps Die Out for Ever

Six carts carry fifty-two people to the guillotine. The Vengeance pushes through the crowd, crying out for Madame Defarge. She’s saved her a seat right by La Guillotine, but she can’t find her friend anywhere. As the Guillotine begins to crash, the audience counts the number of heads which roll to the ground.

Scared, the little seamstress clings to Sydney. She thinks that he’s an angel sent to be with her in her time of trouble. He comforts her, telling her that she’s going to a place with no suffering. They kiss, and she steps up onto the guillotine before Sydney. Sydney murmurs the words of Christ, "I am the Resurrection and the Life…" as he steps onto the platform.

It's revealed that, afterwards, witnesses said that his face was the most peaceful face they saw on the guillotine. The narrator reflects that, if Sydney had had a chance to write down his thoughts before his death, they would be something like this: He foresees a time when vengeance in France will end. He sees the Manettes in the future, with a child that bears his name. He imagines the stories that they’ll tell of a man who gave his life for their happiness. He sees his own name, cleared of all the stains he’s placed on it, living again through Lucie’s son. He reflects that this action is perhaps the best one that he’s ever taken.

Book III, Chapter Fourteen – The Knitting Done

Back at the wine shop, Madame Defarge is holding a council – without her husband. She’s decided that he’s too soft. Madame Defarge admits that she cares nothing about Dr. Manette. He can live or die…she doesn’t mind either way. Lucie and her child, however, must be exterminated. 

 Madame Defarge stalks through the streets. As she walks towards the Manette household, Miss Pross and Jerry Cruncher are finalizing their plans to leave. They’ve been left behind to pack all the Manettes’ things. Pross sends Jerry out to get the carriage. She plans to meet him by the cathedral door. 

Once she’s left alone, Miss Pross washes her face. Opening her eyes, she sees a figure standing in the doorway. It’s Madame Defarge. She demands to know where the wife of Evrémonde is at the moment. Miss Pross, of course, doesn’t speak any French. She has a pretty good hunch that Madame Defarge is asking for her darlings, however. And she’s determined not to give that evil Frenchwoman any hints about where her darlings have gone. Quickly, Miss Pross slams all the doors in the room shut. Miss Pross and Madame Defarge say some nasty things to each other. Neither can understand the other, but they seem to communicate pretty well, just the same. At the very least, they each hate the other.

Madame Defarge throws open all the doors in the house but one: Miss Pross guards the last door herself. Realizing that Miss Pross isn’t planning to move anytime soon, Madame Defarge lunges at the door. Miss Pross grabs Madame Defarge around the waist and hangs on for dear life. They claw at each other; Madame Defarge lunges for the keys at Miss Pross’ waist. All of a sudden, Miss Pross sees Madame Defarge draw something out of her dress. She grasps Madame Defarge’s hand. A loud blast goes off. As the smoke clears, she sees Madame Defarge lying on the ground. She’s dead. Miss Pross rushes to the cathedral. Jerry calls out to her, but she can’t hear him. In fact, she never hears anything again.

Book III, Chapter Thirteen – Fifty-two

In his room in the prison, Charles counts off the hours until his death. He writes letters to Lucie, her father, and Mr. Lorry. He knows that at three he’ll be summoned to the carriage which will take him to the guillotine. At one, however, Charles hears footsteps approaching. Sydney walks into the room.

He’s got a pressing request for Charles: he doesn’t have time to explain why he’s asking for the things he needs. Startled, Charles does what Sydney asks. They change boots, hair-ties, and shirts. Speaking rapidly, Sydney asks Charles to sit down and write a letter that he’ll dictate. 

Sydney tells him to write an unaddressed letter saying that the time has come for him to make good on the promise he once gave. He knows that the reader won’t forget the promise. He wants her to be assured that he’s glad that his time has come. Puzzled, Charles stops writing. He thinks he smells a strange vapor. He starts up to rip the bottle out of Sydney’s hand, but Sydney’s too quick for him. Charles slumps to the ground, drugged.

Sydney calls Barsad, who drags Charles out of the jail. At two, a jailer comes into the room and calls for Evrémonde. Sydney follows him. He gets into a line with fifty-one other prisoners, all of whom are scheduled to die. They board carts that will carry them to the guillotine. 

Sydney stands next to a young seamstress who stares at him. She knows Charles; she was with him in La Force. She says that she wouldn’t be afraid to die for the Republic…but she can’t understand how the death of an insignificant, innocent woman can matter at all. All of a sudden, she realizes that Sydney isn’t Charles. Startled, asks if Sydney is dying for Charles. He says he’s dying for Charles’ wife and child. The seamstress asks to hold the hand of the "brave stranger" as they ride to the guillotine.

Meanwhile, the Manettes and Mr. Lorry are going through the checkpoints out of town. Anxiously, they watch as guards check and re-check all their papers. Soon, however, the carriage is flying out of Paris. When they get out to a village, they’re stopped again. It turns out that the guards just want to know how many people are being fed to La Guillotine today.

Book III, Chapter Twelve – Darkness

Sydney wanders through the streets of Paris, contemplating life. He decides it will be best if the Defarges know what he looks like. Madame Defarge  is sitting at the till. Sydney heads over to the bar and asks for some wine. His French is suddenly really bad. Wait…didn’t he speak almost perfect French a few chapters ago? What’s going on here? Madame Defarge stares at him curiously and asks if he’s English. He says that he is. As she pours out the wine, he overhears her muttering to herself that he looks just like Evrémonde. Defarge enters the shop; he apparently thinks the same thing. 

He starts when he sees Sydney at the counter, then walks over to confer with his wife. She and Jacques Three are discussing when the revolution will be over. Defarge notes that the violence will have to stop somewhere. The question, of course, is where. Madame Defarge has an answer to that: they’ll stop when all of the aristocrats are exterminated. Defarge doesn’t quite agree. After all, they all saw how Dr. Manette suffered when his son-in-law’s verdict was read. Come to think of it, Madame Defarge is not so sure that Dr. Manette is a true patriot.

Defarge continues: Dr. Manette’s daughter, that sweet, innocent girl, was devastated by the trial today. Madame Defarge snaps at her husband. She’s been watching Lucie.  Madame Defarge goes on an angry tirade.  She is the younger sister of the woman who was raped and kidnapped. She’ll never stop pursuing her revenge against the Evrémondes. 

Sydney Carton listens to all of the conversation, then leaves to meet Lorry.  He tells Mr. Lorry about the conversation he overheard. Lucie and Dr. Manette are no longer safe in Paris. Quickly, Sydney lays out his plans: Mr. Lorry will gather money and traveling papers for the Manettes. He should also arrange for a coach to take them to the border. Sydney hands Mr. Lorry his own traveling papers. He says that Mr. Lorry should only wait until Sydney’s place in the coach is filled. As soon as that happens, the entire family must leave at once. He makes Mr. Lorry promise that they won’t stop for any reason.

Book III, Chapter Eleven – Dusk

This is a stressful chapter. No fun and games, folks. Lots of bad stuff is on the horizon. Like this: when she hears Charles’ sentence, Lucie falls to the ground in shock. Quickly, however, she realizes that this won’t help her husband; she pulls herself back up to her feet.

Charles and his guards are alone in the front of the courtroom. One of the guards is Barsad. Barsad looks at Lucie and tells the guards that she should have an opportunity to say goodbye to her husband. Sheepishly, they agree. (Maybe Barsad isn’t all bad.) Lucie rushes up to Charles; they embrace.Her father follows behind her, still in shock that his influence couldn’t save Charles. Dr. Manette begins to fall on his knees before Charles, but his son-in-law quickly pulls him back up. After all, there was nothing that anyone could have done to save him this time. It’s just the way that the revolution works.

The guards lead Charles away. As she watches Charles go, Lucie faints again. Once she’s unconscious, Sydney rushes to her side and gently carries her out to her carriage. Little Lucie cries out to Carton for help. She knows how much he loves her mother – why, then, can’t he do something to stop this? Before he leaves, Sydney asks if he can kiss Lucie. Little Lucie later remembers that, as he bends over Lucie, he whispers, "A life you love." Confused by that? Re-read their conversation in "The Fellow of No Delicacy" (Book Two, Chapter Thirteen).

As Carton approaches him, Dr. Manette decides that he’ll visit and write letters to all the people who he thinks could save Charles. Sydney encourages him; Dr. Manette runs off. Left alone with Mr. Lorry, Sydney says he fears that Dr. Manette won’t have any luck. At least it will give Dr. Manette the satisfaction of knowing he did all that he could do.

Book III, Chapter Ten – The Substance of the Shadow

This chapter is all Doctor Manette’s letter (which is read to the court). He recounts the reason that he’s been unjustly imprisoned for so long. To do so, he starts his history ten years earlier, in 1757. It’s late at night. A carriage driver calls Dr. Manette’s name. Inside the carriage, two men sit in the dark. The men ask if he’s Doctor Manette and ask him to accompany them.  Dr. Manette has misgivings, but he gets in the carriage. 

He’s taken to a house where he finds a patient who appears to be suffering from brain fever. She’s a beautiful young woman about twenty years old. When he asks the brothers how long this has lasted, they say she’s been screaming since last night. They bring out a case of medicines for the doctor to use. After taking one look at the medicines, the doctor realizes that they’re all narcotics and poisons. After a few hours, the elder brother says that there’s actually another patient in the house, as well.

Surprised, the doctor follows the brothers out into the barn. A young man has been stabbed. Hmm…and no one thought that the doctor should see him until now? Dr. Manette asks to see the wound. The young man refuses. He’s dying. He doesn’t want to be treated. As doctor Manette looks at the man, he realizes that he’s been stabbed with a sword. Only nobles carry swords. He tells the doctor that the girl is his sister. The brothers wanted the girl. Desperate to save his family, the young boy took his other (little) sister away from the country where they lived. He then returned to seek revenge for the rape and kidnapping of his sister.

The noble struck the boy through with his sword. Gasping for breath, the young boy curses the nobles and all of their family. Then he dies. Dr. Manette returns to the young woman. After sitting with her for days, he realizes that she’s pregnant. When the Marquis asks Dr. Manette how his patient is doing, he says that she’s almost dead. Once the girl dies, the Marquis offers Dr. Manette gold. He turns it down.

Back at home, Dr. Manette is told a lady is waiting to meet him. It’s the wife of the Marquis. Somehow, she’s learned about the fate of the young woman. She’s devastated by her husbands’ behavior. She wants her son to have a different life than his father’s. Wanting to help the family, the woman begs Dr. Manette to tell her where the other sister of the family was taken. He doesn’t know. The woman rides away. 

Troubled by all of this, Dr. Manette writes a letter to the Minister of State explaining the situation. Later he is forced into a carriage and taken to a dark place where two brothers emerge from the shadows. The elder holds Dr. Manette’s letter.  He burns the letter in front of Dr. Manette’s eyes, and then the carriage drives Dr. Manette to the prison. 

When the court finishes reading Dr. Manette’s letter, they immediately vote to kill Charles Evrémonde. The crowd roars in approval.

Book III, Chapter Nine – The Game Made

While Sydney and Barsad are talking in the next room, Mr. Lorry sits in silence. He’s staring at Mr. Cruncher. Hard. Finally, he asks what Mr. Cruncher does besides working at Tellson’s. If Jerry’s been using the respectable name of Tellson’s as a front for illegal activities, then Mr. Lorry will terminate his position as soon as they all get back to London. Mr. Cruncher takes deep offense to this. Basically, he says that what he does isn’t so bad…if only because everyone else does bad things, as well.

Left alone with Sydney, Mr. Lorry asks what sort of deal Barsad made. Sydney says that he’s managed to make sure that someone can get in to see Charles, just once, if things go very poorly at trial. He didn’t want to ask for anything more: it’s a bit perilous in the prison these days. Mr. Lorry starts to tear up a bit at the thought of the danger ahead.  Mr. Lorry agrees to keep Carton’s presence a secret.

They each go their separate ways. Sydney goes to a small woodworking shop in Saint Antoine. He stands outside it. The wood sawyer sees him and is surprised at the resemblance between Sydney and the prisoner. He also comments on Sydney’s perfect French. Next, Sydney heads to a chemist. He buys two different drugs. The pharmacist warns him that combining the two would be dangerous. Seems like Sydney has some sort of plan here…

Sydney walks through the streets of Paris all night, thinking of his childhood. He was orphaned at an early age. He’s never felt at home anywhere. By morning, he’s back at Mr. Lorry’s door. Together, they head to the Tribunal. Charles Evrémonde is called to the stand. He’s been denounced by three people: M. and Mme Defarge, and Doctor Manette. Wait…what? Doctor Manette? The doctor seems a shocked as the rest of the court. He cries out that the accusation is a mistake.

The court calls Defarge to the stand.  He says that he found a letter hidden in the walls of the Bastille…a letter written by Alexandre Manette during his imprisonment. The courtroom gasps. The judges order that the letter be read aloud.

Book III, Chapter Eight – A Hand at Cards

While Charles is being arrested at home, Miss Pross and Mr. Cruncher are still out shopping for his feast. All of a sudden, Miss Pross sees a man and starts to scream. Miss Pross runs up to him, calling out his name. Soloman, the man, drags her into an alley and tells her to shut up. Mr. Cruncher follows them into the alley. He’s a bit confused. Angry, Soloman wants to know what Miss Pross wants. Miss Pross, teary-eyed, introduces Soloman to Mr. Cruncher as her beloved brother. Of course, our narrator is quick to tell us that Soloman stole Miss Pross’ money. Suddenly, Mr. Cruncher takes an interest in Soloman. As he remembers it, however, Soloman wasn’t his name back in England. In fact, he thinks that Soloman used to be a spy. What was the name Soloman used to use?

While Mr. Cruncher thinks, a new voice breaks into the conversation. It’s Sydney. He informs Cruncher that Solomon’s old name was Barsad. Sydney reassures Miss Pross that everything is alright. He showed up a day ago; he’s been to see Mr. Lorry, and he’s now trying to be of some help to the Manettes. Now, though, he’s here to see Barsad.

Apparently Soloman/Barsad has become a spy in the French prisons. Sydney explains that he’d like to have a conversation with Barsad at Mr. Lorry’s. When Barsad seems inclined to say no, Sydney gently tells him that he has information which could make life pretty sticky for Barsad. That changes Barsad’s mind! 

At Mr. Lorry’s, Sydney introduces Barsad. Next, he breaks the bad news to Mr. Lorry: Charles has been arrested again. Not to worry, though: Sydney has a plan. To make the plan work, though, he needs Barsad’s help. Luckily, however, Sydney as some dirt on Barsad.  Barsad has been spying on the prisoners for the French revolutionaries, but he’s also been spying on the French for the English. No one likes a double-crossing spy.

Moreover, Sydney knows that Barsad’s friend is passing as a Frenchman – but he’s really an Englishman, Roger Cly. Mr. Cruncher suddenly pays close attention. He wants to know why Roger Cly never got properly buried. In fact, he asks Barsad. Barsad can’t figure out how Cruncher would know this…until Jerry informs them that he tried to dig Roger up. In Roger’s place, however, he found an empty coffin.  Barsad wants to know what Sydney wants from him. As it turns out, Sydney doesn’t want much. Barsad is a keyholder of the prison. He can pass in and out at will, right? 

Sydney asks Barsad to step into the next room so that they can have a word together in private...and unfortunately, we don’t get to read about that particular conversation.