d it squarely in his face.
With blood gushing from his mouth and nose, the man fell to the floor.

In the meantime Hal had turned swiftly once more to face the second
attack of the two soldiers. As they again raised their rifles to strike
him down, he leaped between them, thrusting with his sword.

Pierced through the shoulder, one of the soldiers threw up his arm and
staggered back. In doing so he struck the arm of his companion, and the
latter's blow was deflected; and Hal was unharmed.

Turning, Hal dashed into the next room--the parlor--closely followed by
the two soldiers, the wounded man not being seriously hurt. At the same
time the German officer sat up on the floor, looked around dazedly, then
picked up one of his revolvers, drew his sword, and followed his men.

"Shoot the dog in the legs!" he commanded, and the soldiers brought their
rifles to their shoulders.

An instant before they fired Hal sprang upon the piano stool, which was
just behind him, and the bullets went low. Hal jumped to the top of the
piano, and then dropped behind it. As the soldiers again prepared to
fire, Hal put his shoulder to the piano, and sent it tumbling over, and
the bullets were imbedded in the soft wood.

Hal ducked as the officer raised his revolver and fired at him, and then,
stepping around the piano, made a sweeping slash at the officer. The
sword struck the latter on his pistol hand, and, with a groan, the
officer dropped his revolver.

Hal turned to the two soldiers, who had leaped on the overturned piano to
get at him before he stepped from behind it, and again his sword darted
out. The thrust went true, and one soldier fell to the floor, blood
streaming from a deep wound in his chest.

Before the second soldier could bring his rifle to bear, Hal ran from the
room into the hall. The soldier followed. In the hall, dimly lighted by a
single chandelier over the stairway, Hal sprang up the steps.

At the bottom of the steps the soldier stopped and took aim at the lad.
With a backward sweep of his sword, Hal knocked the chandelier crashing
to the floor, throwing the hall into inky darkness, and with a quick leap
was several steps higher up.

There came the sharp crack of a rifle, and the hall was lighted for a
second by a flash, as a bullet sped past Hal. With a light leap the lad
dropped over the railing into the hall, and, taking a step forward,
lunged swiftly in the darkness from where came the sound of a muttered