"No, General," replied the soldiers; "if you are serious—"
"Perfectly serious; take him away and shoot him."
The soldiers moved forward to lead off the spy.
"One moment!" he said, seeing that matters had taken a grave turn.
"Will you confess?"
"Yes, yes, I confess," said the spy, after a moment's hesitation.
"You confess you have swallowed your despatches?"
"Yes, General."
"And how long ago did you do that?"
"About two hours and a half ago, General."