Quick march. Off with you
(bustling him).
GIUSEPPE. Instantly, Lieutenant, instantly. (He disappears in the
vineyard, where the light is now reddening with the sunset.)
LIEUTENANT (looking about him on his way to the inner door). By
the way, General, did I give you my sword or did I not? Oh, I
remember now. (Fretfully.) It's all that nonsense about putting a
man under arrest: one never knows where to find-- (Talks himself
out of the room.)
LADY (still at the sideboard). What does all this mean, General?
NAPOLEON. He will not find your brother.
LADY. Of course not. There's no such person.
NAPOLEON. The despatches will be irrecoverably lost.
LADY. Nonsense! They are inside your coat.
NAPOLEON. You will find it hard, I think, to prove that wild
statement. (The Lady starts. He adds, with clinching emphasis)
Those papers are lost.
LADY (anxiously, advancing to the corner of the table). And that
unfortunate young man's career will be sacrificed.
NAPOLEON. HIS career! The fellow is not worth the gunpowder it
would cost to have him shot. (He turns contemptuously and goes to
the hearth, where he stands with his back to her.
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