The latter warded off the blow with his arm, but one of his pistols was sent flying from his grasp.  As he raised his other revolver, his arm was suddenly seized from behind, and Edna attempted to wrench the revolver from him.  He turned on her, and as he did so the revolver came away in her hand.

Pointing the weapon straight at the officer, the girl pulled the trigger; but the revolver missed fire.  Stepping back, as the officer advanced, the girl grasped the pistol by the muzzle and hurled 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 imprecation.  There was a stifled groan, and the second soldier dropped to the floor.