The General's Christmas by C. Metzinger Page A

captain looked up toward the loft and decided to have
a look.
    He reached the top of the
ladder, peering into thesemi-darkness. The loft was filled with
hay, and two bales stood against the wall next to a small pile at
the far end.
    "Captain! This man is trying
to stop us!" shouted one of his men. The captain looked down and
saw Clark shouting and attacking the looters at the barn
door.
    "Tie him up! We can use him back at camp,"
the captain ordered as he descended the ladder, abandoning his
search of the loft.
    The captain decided to inspect the house for
goods, and to find out what became of the lovely young Mädchen.
    The two soldiers at the door
of the house had managed to break it open. The captain walked in
and heard the girl screaming as she tried to fight off one of the
men. The captain smiled with amusement and the looked through the
house, taking food, blankets, and tools. While his men loaded these
onto the wagon, he saw one soldier pinning the young girl’s arms
behind her. They had removed her bonnet and pulled down her long,
wavy, golden hair. The captain guessed her age to be about
16.
    "My lovely young girl," he said in German,
stroking her face gently. She turned away, squeezing her eyes
shut.
    "Let her go," he told the soldier, "and go
help the others load the wagon."
    The soldier obeyed and
searched his captain's eyes as they feasted upon the
girl.
    Outside, Clark was tied with
a gag in his mouth. He stood helplessly as Elizabeth screamed from
inside the house. He tried to break free, but they held him fast,
striking him and shouting at him in German. He looked back at the
barn, searching for Anna. Had they killed her? Where was she? He
agonized at Elizabeth's cries, helpless and tortured.
    Inside the house, Elizabeth
pounded her fists against the captain as he tried to kiss her. He
grabbed her arms but she twisted one wrist out of his hand and
clawed at his face. Angry, he slapped her face once, and then
again. She screamed and pulled away from him, running to the door.
Grabbing her hair, he yanked her back. She kicked back viciously
several times, finally striking home. He yelped and bent over,
swearing in German while she flew toward open the door. He grabbed
her hair again, and dragged her back inside slamming her head
against the wall. She slid down the wall, unconscious.
    "Captain!" cried one of the
men as he struggled to hold Clark. The captain looked down at the
girl on the floor, now bleeding from her nose and lips. He swore at
her, and limped painfully out of the house.
    The wagon was heaped with goods, and one of
the soldiers' horses was tied to the back. Two others lifted their
struggling captive onto the horse and tied his hands to the
saddle.
    One soldier found a lantern
in the barn and went back to the house. He lit the flame inside the
lantern and tossed it through the open door. Glass smashed, and it
burst into flames, streaking across the floorboards.
    "No!" Clark screamed through
his gag, "For God's sake! No!!"
    The captain gave the order to start the
horses, leaving the house to burn with the girl inside.
    Up in the barn loft, Anna
came out from under the pile of hay where she had been hiding in
terror, listening to her father's pleading. Peering through the
cracks, she saw her father tied onto one of the horses.
    "Papa!" she shouted, but
they were already too far away. She saw smoke and looked toward the
house. Thick, gray puffs billowed from the doorway.
    Anna hurried down the ladder. She grabbed up
her skirt and ran as fast as she could to the house.
    The smoke blotted out
everything except the heat of the flames.
    "Elizabeth!" she shouted, "Elizabeth!"
    Searching through the rooms, she found her
sister on the floor.
    "Elizabeth! We have to get out!"
    The girl lay unconscious. Anna pulled on her
arm with all her weight.
    "The house is on fire! We have to leave!"
Anna shouted.
    When Elizabeth didn't respond, she grabbed
her sister by her armpits and dragged her across the floor.