ds to pieces, helped themselves
to all the food in the house, then turned their attention to the
husband, who had stood helplessly by. Not Gene. She stood trembling
with anger, scarcely able to restrain herself.

"'We want your money!' demanded the captain of the dragoons, turning
to Gene's father. 'Quick, or you shall suffer.'

"'I have none. I have spent it all on my poor wife,' replied the
father.

"'Bah! The French always have money. We shall find it. Throw the old
woman out of the bed. She is but pretending to be sick. She is in bed
to hide the money of the household,' raged the captain.

"Obeying his orders, his men dragged the sick woman from the bed and
dropped her on the floor, where Gene, with tears of anger in her eyes,
bent over and clasped her parent's hand. The husband protested against
their treatment of the wife and Gene pleaded with them to go away and
leave her family in peace.

"'You would resist us, would you!' demanded the captain, drawing back
a fist to strike the child's father. 'Ah! He shall be taken away for
that. You shall see that it is not for cowardly French to thwart the
will of the Bavarian dragoons. He directed his men to remove the
father. Several soldiers grabbed Gene's father and dragged him from
the house.

"'Now to the cellar!' cried the commander. 'There we shall at least
find wine, for the French always have wine in their cellars. Perhaps
you will tell us there is no wine there!' he said sneeringly, fixing
his eyes on the child.

"'There is wine in plenty there,' she answered sweetly, favoring the
captain with a smile. 'You will find the jugs in the front part of the
cellar.' Gene lowered her eyes, that the officer might not read the
thought that she felt certain was reflected there.

"'Come,' he said, leading the way to the cellar, which they gained by
raising the trapdoor in the kitchen floor and descending a ladder,
this being the customary way of getting to the cellar in a peasant's
home.

"For several moments all was silent in the room where Gene and her
mother sat on the floor, the child supporting her parent with one arm.
Down cellar the voices of the Germans could be faintly heard. At last
Gene laid her mother down and tripped lightly to the kitchen.
Listening a moment she cautiously lowered the trapdoor in the floor
and closed the opening, fastening it with its bolt. Not satisfied with
this, the child moved a table to the trapdoor, on which she piled
everythin