SWINDON. I am sorry I cannot pretend to your intellectual eminence, sir. I can only do my best, and rely on the devotion of my countrymen.
BURGOYNE. (_suddenly becoming suavely sarcastic_). May I ask are you writing a melodrama, Major Swindon?
BURGOYNE. What a pity! WHAT a pity! (_Dropping his sarcastic tone and facing him suddenly and seriously_) Do you at all realize, sir, that we have nothing standing between us and destruction but our own bluff and the sheepishness of these colonists? They are men of the same English stock as ourselves: six to one of us (_repeating it emphatically_), six to one, sir; and nearly half our troops are Hessians, Brunswickers, German dragoons, and Indians with scalping knives. These are the countrymen on whose devotion you rely! Suppose the colonists find a leader! Suppose the news from Springtown should turn out to mean that they have already found a leader! What shall we do then? Eh?
SWINDON. (_sullenly_). Our duty, sir, I presume.
BURGOYNE. (_again sarcastic—giving him up as a fool_). Quite so, quite so. Thank you, Major Swindon, thank you. Now you’ve settled the question, sir—thrown a flood of light on the situation. What a comfort to me to feel that I have at my side so devoted and able an officer to support me in this emergency! I think, sir, it will probably relieve both our feelings if we proceed to hang this dissenter without further delay (_he strikes the bell_), especially as I am debarred by my principles from the customary military vent for my feelings. (_The sergeant appears._) Bring your man in.
BURGOYNE. And mention to any officer you may meet that the court cannot wait any longer for him.
SWINDON. (_keeping his temper with difficulty_). The staff is perfectly ready, sir. They have been waiting your convenience for fully half an hour. PERFECTLY ready, sir.
BURGOYNE. (_blandly_). So am I. (_Several officers come in and take their seats. One of them sits at the end of the table furthest from the door, and acts throughout as clerk to the court, making notes of the proceedings. The uniforms are those of the 9th, 20th, 21st, 24th, 47th, 53rd, and 62nd British Infantry. One officer is a Major General of the Royal Artillery. There are also German officers of the Hessian Rifles, and of German dragoon and Brunswicker regiments._) Oh, good morning, gentlemen. Sorry to disturb you, I am sure. Very good of you to spare us a few moments.