rutal treatment. Many houses had been burned down and
others had been plundered in a most barbarous manner, property that
could not be carried off having been wantonly destroyed. The fields and
farmlands seemed deserted, as though no one dared to work at a harvest
that was likely to be reaped by the enemies of their country.

The authors of all this mischief were said to be the Uhlans. It appeared
that these formidable horsemen, after the fall of Liege, had spread in
small parties all over the Ardennes and had carried terror and
destruction wherever they went. Their principal motive was, no doubt, to
gather information of the enemy's whereabouts, but, while doing so, they
seemed to throw themselves heart and soul into another task--that of
making their name known and dreaded throughout the length and breadth of
Belgium.

La Roche had so far suffered little. Parties of Uhlans had passed
through from time to time, but they had usually been in a hurry, and had
had no time to do more than seize supplies for themselves and their
horses. This was the kind of place Max and Dale were looking for, and,
finding no troops there at the moment, and none expected, they sought
out (avoiding the hotels) a cafe in the most out-of-the-way spot they
could find, and settled down for a long stay.

At least they hoped it might be a long stay. They had had so busy a time
of late that neither felt any inclination to go out of his way to meet
trouble. If only the enemy would leave them alone, they were prepared to
welcome a long period of peace and tranquillity.

But somehow peace and tranquillity seemed to have turned their backs
upon Max and Dale. Only the second night after their arrival they were
awakened in the middle of the night by the clatter of horses' hoofs upon
the cobbled pavements, loud shouting, and the insistent hammering of
doors.

"Ask the proprietor what's the row, Max," growled Dale sleepily, as he
heard Max get up and look out of the little window of their bedroom.

Max did so, and learned that a strong body of Uhlans had just ridden in
and demanded shelter and supplies.

"Are we in any danger?" he asked.

"I do not think so," the innkeeper replied. "But you must not leave the
town, for they have posted men to intercept all who try to go."

"And what is that for?" cried Max, more perturbed by this than if he had
been told that a house-to-house search for suspected persons was already
being made.

"Why, you must k