"I'm hungry enough to eat anything," said Ben, with a little smile.
"Then come with me to the dining room, Captain Russell, and I will prepare supper."
"You haven't any servants now, I suppose?"
"No; every one of them has deserted us."
They entered the dining room, and the young lady asked Ben to close the shutters. While he was doing this she prepared such a meal as the larder of the house afforded. It was not much, but he did not complain, and he thanked her warmly for giving what he felt she could ill afford to set before him.
The meal finished, they sat down to await the coming of Mr. Chase. While doing this Ben related some of his experiences in the army and the young lady told of the horrors of the siege.
"One cannot understand it unless you are in the midst of it," she said. "Papa says business is at a standstill, the hospitals are filled with the sick and the wounded, and we are in constant dread that the next moment will be our last. The suspense is so great that in one or two cases the inhabitants have gone crazy."
"I can well believe that, Miss Chase. During the war in the Philippines I saw——"
Ben paused, as a heavy footstep sounded on the porch of the residence. Other footsteps followed, and then came a loud knock on the door.
"Open here!" demanded a voice in Russian. "Open, in the name of the Czar!"