He moved restlessly and looked down at his boots. He mopped his brow
again.

Then he gripped the corporal by the arm and dragged him some yards back
from the others. "Jones," he said, in an intensely earnest voice, "will
you tell me what in the devil I am going to do?"

The corporal's countenance became illuminated with satisfaction at being
thus requested to advise his superior officer. He adopted an air of
great thought, and finally said: "Well, of course, the feller with the
gray sleeve must be upstairs, and we must get past the girl and up there
somehow. Suppose I take her by the arm and lead her----"

"What!" interrupted the captain from between his clinched teeth. As he
turned away from the corporal, he said fiercely over his shoulder, "You
touch that girl and I'll split your skull!"

III.

The corporal looked after his captain with an expression of mingled
amazement, grief, and philosophy. He seemed to be saying to himself that
there unfortunately were times, after all, when one could not rely upon
the most reliable of men. When he returned to the group he found the
captain bending over the girl and saying, "Why is it that you don't want
us to search upstairs?"

The girl's head was buried in her crossed arms. Locks of her hair had
escaped from their fastenings and these fell upon her shoulder.

"Won't you tell me?"

The corporal here winked again at the man next to him.

"Because," the girl moaned--"because--there isn't anybody up there."

The captain at last said timidly, "Well, I'm afraid--I'm afraid we'll
have to----"

The girl sprang to her feet again, and implored him with her hands. She
looked deep into his eyes with her glance, which was at this time like
that of the fawn when it says to the hunter, "Have mercy upon me!"

These two stood regarding each other. The captain's foot was on the
bottom step, but he seemed to be shrinking. He wore an air of being
deeply wretched and ashamed. There was a silence.

Suddenly the corporal said in a quick, low tone, "Look out, captain!"

All turned their eyes swiftly toward the head of the stairs. There had
appeared there a youth in a gray uniform. He stood looking coolly down
at them. No word was said by the troopers. The girl gave vent to a
little wail of desolation, "O Harry!"

He began slowly to descend the stairs. His right arm was in a white
sling, and there were some fresh blood stains upon the cloth. His face
was rigid and deathly p