"It humiliates us."
"You are the reserved force."
"We would rather be in the vanguard."
"I need you to insure success at the close of the engagement. That is why I keep you back."
"There is too much of this keeping back."
"It is all the same. You are in the column. You march."
"In the rear. Paris has a right to march at the head."
"I will consider the matter, Sergeant Radoub."
"Consider it to-day, commander. The occasion is at hand. Hard knocks will be given on both sides; it will be lively work. He who lays a finger on the Tourgue will get himself burned; we request the favor of being in the thick of it."
The sergeant paused, twisted his moustache, and continued in a changed voice:—