The farmer jumps up and rushes to the door to listen, -- 710 there is no mistake, nearer and nearer come those ominous sounds, and soon a party of some fifteen men or more, can be seen advancing like spectres of the night. In a few moments they reach the house and enter without invitation. With small ceremony, they make their business known, by demanding all the money and valuables to be handed over to them at once on pain of death. All are armed with the military muskets of the period, and the majority carry pistols and knives in addition, but, they have no other insignia of regular soldiers about them except cartridge boxes, belts, etc. They are, for the most part, dressed in the ordinary clothing of the common people of the country, with here and there a stolen military garment, made conspicuous by its incongruity. To their demand the owner of the house replies that he has no money, and is therefore unable to give it to them. The intruders reiterate their threats of instant death unless they get what they desire; but finding it useless to parley longer with the farmer, they leave a

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couple of their number to guard him and his family, and proceed to search the house for themselves. After an absence of about half an hour, during which time all the upper rooms are thoroughly ransacked, the party return with very little booty and again threaten the unfortunate proprietor, who can only tell them just what he did before, that he has nothing to satisfy them; which answer is in all probability perfectly true, as previous visitors of the same kind had helped themselves to everything worth carrying away on the premises.