"Well," asked the first lieutenant, "have you found anything?"
"No," said a corporal.
"Did you shake the straw, the hay, and everything?"
"We prodded everywhere with our bayonets. If there was a man hidden anywhere it is impossible he should have escaped being stabbed."
"Very good; then we will go to the adjoining house. These persons must be somewhere."
The men left the room, and the officer followed them.
While the soldiers continued their exploration the lieutenant stood leaning against the outer wall of the house, looking suspiciously at a little pent-house he resolved to search carefully. Suddenly a bit of plaster, no bigger than a man's finger, fell at his feet. He raised his head and fancied he saw a hand disappearing under the roof.
"Here!" he cried to his men, in a voice of thunder.
The soldiers surrounded him.
"You are a pretty set of fellows!" he said; "you do your business finely!"