Sharpe told how he had come to Lucille's chateau in search of information, and instead had been shot in the leg. "By Madame! " he said indignantly, and most of them laughed. He told them about Ducos, and how he had been called a Major, but was not really a soldier at all. He had been un foncionnaire, he told them, and they sighed for they had all suffered greatly at the insolent hands of officials, and he had been a secret policeman, Sharpe said, and shawled heads shook in the church, and Ducos might even have been a lawyer. Sharpe embellished his story, and some of the women crossed themselves. Then Sharpe told how he had travelled to Naples and cornered Ducos, and how he had taken the gold back, and that made everyone sit up because if there was one subject that was always close to a peasant's heart, it was gold. "But I did not travel to Naples alone, " Sharpe said, and he crossed the church and took hold of Corporal Lebecque. The villagers still did not know why Lebecque and his two companions were Sharpe's prisoners, and they watched wide-eyed as the dragoon was dragged to the front of the aisle. "This man, " Sharpe said, "was one of Ducos's companions. Isn't that true, Lebecque?"

Lebecque nodded. "So you tell them, Corporal, " Sharpe went on, "who came to Naples with me." Lebecque's nose was running and his hands were tied behind his back, so all he could do was sniff. «Soldiers,» he said miserably. "What sort of soldiers?" "French." "And what uniform were they wearing?" Sharpe demanded. Lebecque looked sullen, then shrugged. "The Imperial Guard, " he said. «Louder,» Sharpe demanded. "Head up, man! Back straight! Let's hear you! " Lebecque instinctively stood up straight. "The Imperial Guard! " he snapped, and Sharpe saw that Jacques Malan had heard. He had wanted Jacques Malan to hear, for Malan had been an Imperial Guardsman himself and he still wore one of the great moustaches that Napoleon's picked warriors had sported.