l I could
remain idle no longer.

"I'm going out somewhere!" I cried. "Almost anything is better than
sitting here in suspense, when it may be that he has simply fallen
into difficulties from which we might extricate him."

"But what of the British?" my father asked, and I replied recklessly:

"We must take our chances as to them, sir. It does not seem probable
that two or three lads would be looked upon by them with suspicion,
for there must be many wandering around the city this night."

"Who will go with you?"

"That's for me to do," Jerry said promptly. "The other fellows will
stay here with you, sir, and the door must not be opened without good
reason. Keep under cover while we are gone," he added to Jim, "an'
don't let one of the boys so much as stick his nose outside. Come on,
Amos, the longer we stand here talkin' about it the greater will the
danger appear."

Then he stepped outside quickly, and I followed his example, closing
the door behind me lest father should attempt to say something in the
nature of a farewell, which I knew would unnerve me, because I
believed it was exceedingly dangerous for any of our party to move
around the city.

When we were alone in the night, where the shadows were distorted by
the dancing glow of the live embers on every hand, Jerry said grimly:

"It was foolish to make any talk about what we would do toward findin'
Darius, while we were in the smoke-house, because we might have argued
till mornin' without comin' to any conclusion; but now that we've
started out I'd like to know how we're goin' to work?"

I could make no satisfactory reply to this question, and plainly told
him so. We had nothing to guide us on the search. The old man had
given us no idea of where he might go, and all we knew was that he
disappeared beyond the burning tavern.

"He wouldn't have followed the Britishers," I said after a long pause,
"therefore it seems foolish to look for him at the other end of the
city. If we only knew what he went after!"

"I reckon the first thing in his mind was to get food, and he might
have thought that could be done where the shops were bein' robbed."

"And then would come to his mind the question as to how we might get
down the river while father is unable to walk," I added, believing
that by thus trying to make out what Darius was most likely to do we
could hit upon a plan for the search.

"The only way we'd be able to leave this city by water, if we wanted