"Ah! Your pardon, Monsieur le Comte. I inquire of course. I
put forward arguments to anticipate conditions that may possibly be
erroneous."
Samoval waived the point. "There is another force besides the
British and Portuguese troops that you have left out of your
calculations."
"And that?" The major was still faintly incredulous.
"You should remember what Wellington obviously remembers: that a
French army depends for its sustenance upon the country it is
invading. That is why Wellington is stripping the French line of
penetration as bare of sustenance as this card-table. If we assume
the existence of the barrier - an impassable line of fortifications
encountered within many marches of the frontier - we may also
assume that starvation will be the overwhelming force that will cut
off the French retreat."
The other's keen eyes flickered. For a moment his face lost its
assurance, and it was Samoval's turn to smile. But the major made
a sharp recovery. He slowly shook his iron-grey head.
"You have no right to assume an impassable barrier. That is an
inadmissible hypothesis. There is no such thing as a line of
fortifications impassable to the French."
"You will pardon me, Major, but it is yourself have no right to your
own assumptions.
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