"Down with these traitors who dishonour the uniform of France! Death to the blue-coats!" He leapt forward towards the military, and with a sudden roar his followers, a full hundred strong sprang after him to the charge.
"Fire!" commanded the Captain, and from the front line of his company fifty sheets of flame flashed from fifty carbines.
The mob paused; for a second it wavered; then before the smoke had lifted it broke, and shrieking in terror, it fled for cover, leaving the valorous Souvestre alone, to revile them for a swarm of cowardly rats.
The Captain put his hands to his sides and laughed till the tears coursed down his cheeks.

Checking his mirth at last, he called to Souvestre, who was retreating in disgust and anger.
"Hi! My friend the patriot! Are you still of the same mind or will you withdraw your people ?" "We will not withdraw," answered the giant sullenly.

"You dare not fire upon free citizens of the French Republic." "Dare I not?
Do you delude yourself with that, nor think that because this time I fired over your heads I dare not fire into your ranks.

I give you my word that if I have to command my men to fire a second time it shall not be mere make-believe, and I also give you my word that if at the end of a minute I have not your reply and you are not moving out of this--every rogue of you shall have a very bitter knowledge of how much I dare." Souvestre was headstrong and angry.

But what can one man, however headstrong and however angry, do against two hundred, when his own followers refuse to support him.