She stood proudly in front of the man with the
pistol, and in a firm and disdainful voice inquired,
"What do you want?"

"Vina! vina!" replied the Kalmuck.

Eugénie stooped to one of her servant's ears,
and gave her a key, which the Cossacks simply
took for the key of the cellar. " Margaret,"
said Eugénie, rapidly, "take the key of the
garden gate; run quickly to inform the
neighbours; and give the alarm, while I try to
amuse these brigands."

The servant obeyed; the courageous mistress
opened the buffet and the closets, took out the
remains of the day's repast, and threw them
down before the Cossacks, who crowded round
the table like vultures.

They all howled at once in their savage
language; they all shook in vain the few empty
bottles that were standing in the buffet and other
parts of the kitchen. For a minute or two they
appeared to hold a council, and their ringleader
again advanced to the intrepid Luronne.
Declaiming all the while in terms that were
unintelligible to Eugénie, he expressed his real
meaning by threatening gestures, concluding his
discourse with demands for " Vina! vina!"

"Vina! vina!" howled the band in chorus.

Pale, but listening attentively—for she had
just heard a distant sound which seemed to
announce the approach of succour—she went to
the buffet—took a copper jug, which she
plunged in a bucket full of water, and set it
before the Kalmuck, saying, " Here; this is the
wine which we drink in France ever since you
came."

The Cossack raised his hand; he was about to
strike the courageous woman; but Eugénie was
beforehand with him. By a rapid movement she
dashed in the coward's face the whole copper
pot full of water. The Kalmuck directed his
hand to his girdle, took from it a loaded pistol,
and pointed it at Eugénie's breast. A double
cry replied to this threatening gesture.

"Philibert!"—"Eugénie!"

A man bounded between the brave Luronne
and the assassin, who instantly fell with his head
cleft by a frightful stroke from a hatchet. The
other Cossacks rushed forward; but the terrible
axe whirled by Philibert's arm felled every
individual whom it struck. The brigands retreated
in alarm; but it was too late. A score of old
men, women, and children, led on by Margaret,
and armed with scythes, mattocks, and cudgels,
poured into the kitchen. A few shots were fired;
very soon the silence of death hovered over the
field of combat.

About midnight, a dozen Cossack corpses
were shot into the stream of the Reigne without
further ceremony; and next morning, at daybreak,
the younger of the two servants dug a
grave destined to receive the remains of poor
Turk, who died defending his intrepid mistress.

In the middle of the Reigne, a short distance
from its junction with the Ognon, and about
three miles from Lure, there was to be seen, in
1814, an islet so completely overgrown with
osiers that it was impossible for a person
standing on either bank of the stream to distinguish
in the midst of the rank vegetation, a but
originally intended for the use of the keeper and
the men who worked on the islet.  But at the
period when these events occurred, there existed
neither keeper nor workmen; every able-bodied
man was drawn into the ranks.  The canton of
Lure had not been spared in respect to levies;
consequently, the osiers of the islet of the
Reigne had not been cut for some time past; they
had grown so strong and so thick as to form a
little virgin forest, whose centre was impenetrable
to the view.   But in spite of the absence
of a keeper, the hut was inhabited; the wretched
hovel, now almost a ruin, afforded a refuge to
Poor Uncle Philibert.

Why had he left his sister's hospitable
mansion? Why did he retreat to so wild a spot in
the depth of winter?

The pistol-shot fired at poor Turk had
produced the most deplorable effects. Suddenly
interrupted in his quiet labours, Philibert
believed himself threatened by an invisible
enemy; he determined to make his escape.
Rushing down stairs, he retreated into a wood-
house. But, from his hiding-place, he heard the
disturbance which the marauders made; and,
seizing a heavy axe for self-defence, he burst
into the kitchen just as the Kalmuck, the orator
of the troop, was about to fire at Eugénie.
The struggle over, he lost sight of his sister
for a single instant, and that instant sufficed to
confirm him in the delusion that the crowd
assembled in the kitchen had come for the sole
purpose of arresting him as a deserter. Retaining
his weapon, he darted through the garden,
the door of which had been left open to admit
the neighbours who came to Eugénie's assistance,
fled in the direction of the Reigne, plunged
into the stream, swam across to the osier island,
and took refuge in the dilapidated hut: where he
must have died of cold had not one of the lads
who bravely contributed to the victory over the
Cossacks witnessed his disappearance. The boy
hastened back to the house, and related what he
had seen.

Time was precious. Eugénie instantly
comprehended that her poor brother's reason
was completely upset, and that he would not
voluntarily quit his retreat. With the help of her
two faithful servants, she provided herself with
clothing, linen, blankets, and such food as was
left in the house, and followed her young guide
to the osier islet. The weather was terrible;
snow was falling in heavy flakes; but the
courageous women, braving both the storm and
the enemy, successfully accomplished their
perilous enterprise.

On reaching the islet, Eugénie ordered her
escort to observe the strictest silence. The
search was tedious, but at last they contrived
to find the hut. She entered the ruined hovel
alone, softly repeating, " Philibert! Philibert!"
The unhappy man, shuddering with cold, was
crouched in a corner of the hut; as soon as he
caught sight of the lantern, he made an effort
to rush out; but his strength was exhausted,