ALL [seriously and incredulously]. Take the Bastille? [They turn to one another.]
NEWS-CRIERS [in the distance]. Latest news! Desperate struggle!
A MAN [shabby and pale, with the air of a maniac]. We haven't anything to fear from the soldiers. They won't attack.
A STUDENT. What!
THE MANIAC. They won't attack. They've got a simpler plan: they'll just blockade us. They'll starve us out.
A WORKINGMAN. Well, if they do it for very long, we'll take the road. We've lost a whole day waiting for bread at the bakeries.
A WOMAN. You can't get grain.
THE MANIAC. It won't arrive tomorrow.
A BOURGEOIS. But what are they doing with it?
THE MANIAC. I know: they've thrown it into the quarries of Senlis and Chantilly to let it rot, and keep us from eating it.