Barrows went white as a sheet as she said this, and his lip curled back from his teeth, like those of an angry dog, as he half rose to his feet with a gesture as if he would strike her. But he thought better of it, and sank back. "Brown, take them away," he said to the sergeant. "I will hold you personally responsible for them." The sergeant saluted, and, catching Ted by the elbow, marched him into the next room. Hallie Croffut started to follow him, when she was stayed by Barrows. "Hallie, won't you come back with me?" he pleaded. "If you will, I will release Strong and let the rest of it go." "I wouldn't trust you out of my sight," said the girl. "Oh, how happy I am that I have found you out in time. You are the most miserable specimen of a man I ever heard of, and to think that you have called yourself an officer and a gentleman. But this is the last for you. If you were brave enough you ought to kill yourself to save the army from the disgrace of having had you in it." "Curse you!" he cried, in impotent rage. "If you were not a woman I would knock you down." "If you feel like it, don't let so small a matter that I am a girl and your colonel's daughter interfere with your pleasure. Strike me!" But Barrows only stared at her with a white face, and with a muttered curse left the room. "This way, miss," said the sergeant. She entered the room into which Ted had been taken, but he was not there. In the middle of the floor was an open trapdoor. "I must ask you to go down there," said the sergeant. "You will find a ladder. You will be safe, and it is not for long. We start for the post soon, I am told." Hallie made no reply, but did as she was bid. The cellar was as dark as a pocket, and she could see absolutely nothing as her feet touched the earth floor. But she found a box, and sat down upon it. The trap was closed, a bolt shot in it, and she was in Stygian darkness. She was terribly frightened at first, but there were no rats in the cellar, which she had at first feared, and she fell to thinking what it all meant. Surely the army must have gone entirely mad that she, Hallie Croffut, its pet, should be under arrest in a dark and musty cellar. But presently her heart stopped beating. In a far corner she heard a faint noise. Something else was in the place with her. What could it be? Where was Ted? What did it all mean? Then she heard a groan, and an uneasy movement. "Who is it?" Hallie asked, in a trembling voice. "Is that you, Hallie?" It was Ted's voice. "Yes, it is I. Where are you?" "Over here in the corner. Those brutes threw me down the ladder, and it stunned me. Come here. Perhaps you can untie my hands. Then we will see what chance there is for escape." Ted was soon released, and, climbing the ladder, tried the trapdoor, but found it securely fastened. There had been no sound above them for some time, and Ted came to the conclusion that the soldiers were gone.