"Massa Clayton, sah. He's foolin' 'roun' wid some ob dem militious men; but I ain't foun' out wedder he whipped de Britishers, or ef dey done gone got de bes' ob him." "I reckon you can say that he has got the worst of it up to the present time, for your 'militious' men didn't make any great showing," I said with a laugh, and then there came into my mind the memory of Elias Macomber. "Tell me, uncle, where did the American soldiers keep their prisoners?" "Right hyar, sah; I'se done seed de barracks jail many a time." "Were you around here when the building was fired?" "Yes sah, I stood right hyar when de ossifers rode up." "Did they set the prisoners free?" "Sure enuf, honey, more'n twenty ob dem, an' I'se tellin' you dat dem white men was mighty glad fo' to get clear so easy like." "Come on, Amos," Jerry said impatiently. "You can do no good talkin' with the old darkey, for he doesn't know anything concerning our business." I recognized that fact fully, and yet I lingered to ask one more question, never fancying of how much importance the answer might be to us. "Where do the British keep their prisoners? Surely they must have brought in some since the battle, and these barracks would have been a prime place for anything of the kind." "Dey is pilin' de 'Mericans inter dat stone house back ob whar de arsenal uster was 'fore it got set on fire las' night." "Where is that, uncle?" Jerry cried excitedly, and the old darkey replied as he pointed out the direction: "Ober yander, sah, des whar you'se kin see de red roof." Now it was that I understood what was in Jerry's mind, and only with difficulty could I restrain myself from running forward at full speed. If Darius had been captured, then it was in the "stone house" he must be confined, and I believed our search would be at an end if we could look into every portion of that building. There were many loungers near about, and no one might say how many were British spies or sympathizers, therefore we remained looking at the men who were digging amid the ruins until feeling certain our departure would not attract undue attention. There were many lads of about our age idling on the streets, watching simply from curiosity the movements of the enemy, and I said to myself that if we were careful to do nothing which might cause suspicion, we could walk wheresoever we pleased without fear of being taken for lads who, under Commodore Barney, had given the invaders such good battle for the possession of the hill at Bladensburg. "Now we know where Darius is!" Jerry exclaimed when we were where there was little danger our words would be overheard. "How can you be so certain of that? He might have come to grief in many another way than that of being gobbled up by the enemy." "In any other case I'll warrant he'd have contrived to send some word to us. I'm convinced he's in the 'stone house.'"