"Look here," he said distinctly, "we came in because we had been fighting in the woods yonder, and we concluded that some of the enemy were in this house, especially when we saw a gray sleeve at the window. But this young man is wounded, and I have nothing to say to him. I will even take it for granted that there are no others like him upstairs. We will go away, leaving your d----d old house just as we found it! And we are no more thieves and rascals than you are!" The old man simply roared: "I haven't got a cow nor a pig nor a chicken on the place! Your soldiers have stolen everything they could carry away. They have torn down half my fences for firewood. This afternoon some of your accursed bullets even broke my window panes!" The girl had been faltering: "Grandpa! O grandpa!" The captain looked at the girl. She returned his glance from the shadow of the old man's shoulder. After studying her face a moment, he said, "Well, we will go now." He strode toward the door and his men clanked docilely after him. At this time there was the sound of harsh cries and rushing footsteps from without. The door flew open, and a whirlwind composed of blue-coated troopers came in with a swoop. It was headed by the lieutenant. "Oh, here you are!" he cried, catching his breath. "We thought----Oh, look at the girl!" The captain said intensely, "Shut up, you fool!" The men settled to a halt with a clash and a bang. There could be heard the dulled sound of many hoofs outside of the house. "Did you order up the horses?" inquired the captain. "Yes. We thought----" "Well, then, let's get out of here," interrupted the captain morosely. The men began to filter out into the open air. The youth in gray had been hanging dismally to the railing of the stairway. He now was climbing slowly up to the second floor. The old man was addressing himself directly to the serene corporal. "Not a chicken on the place!" he cried. "Well, I didn't take your chickens, did I?" "No, maybe you didn't, but----" The captain crossed the hall and stood before the girl in rather a culprit's fashion. "You are not angry at me, are you?" he asked timidly. "No," she said. She hesitated a moment, and then suddenly held out her hand. "You were good to me--and I'm--much obliged." The captain took her hand, and then he blushed, for he found himself unable to formulate a sentence that applied in any way to the situation. She did not seem to heed that hand for a time. He loosened his grasp presently, for he was ashamed to hold it so long without saying anything clever. At last, with an air of charging an intrenched brigade, he contrived to say, "I would rather do anything than frighten or trouble you." His brow was warmly perspiring. He had a sense of being hideous in his dusty uniform and with his grimy face. She said, "Oh, I'm so glad it was you instead of somebody who might have--might have hurt brother Harry and grandpa!" He told her, "I wouldn't have hurt 'em for anything!"