"Clary," the general said to him, sternly, "why this hesitation? Would you refuse to do what I ask of you?"
"I do not refuse, General," he said sharply, "I only call attention to an impossibility."
"Nothing is impossible when a man has a firm will. Moreover, any discussion is useless," he added, laying a marked stress on his words, "the hour has arrived, and the master awaits for you to answer distinctly."
The hunter started at these words, and said, with a respectful bow—
"Very good, I will obey, since you insist, Excellency. You know that you can do anything with me; but on one condition."
"I will have no conditions."
"Pray listen to one remark."
"Be brief, for time presses."
"I claim the right to choose my companions. We are going to undertake a campaign in which we shall leave our scalps, if not our carcases; and as I am greatly attached to mine, I must be sure of the men I take with me."
"What you ask is quite fair, my friend, and if you have no other condition to make—"