He closed the window.
The commandant returned to his troop. But before giving any information, eyeing Lieutenant Picart from head to foot, he exclaimed:
“You're a great one, you are! You're a fine specimen of manhood! You're a disgrace to the army! I degrade you.”
“I don't give a——!”
He turned away and mingled with a group of townspeople.
Then the doctor hesitated. What could he do? Attack? But would his men obey orders? And then, did he have the right to do so?
An idea struck him. He ran to the telegraph office, opposite the town-hall, and sent off three telegrams:
To the new republican government in Paris.
To the new prefect of the Seine-Inferieure, at Rouen.
To the new republican sub-prefect at Dieppe.