there were better hiding-places about
the house, but the blue-jackets came up so suddenly that he did not have
time to go to them. A little further search resulted in the finding of
some important dispatches which the Confederate had concealed in a
barrel of corned beef; but when its contents were poked over by a
bayonet, the dispatches betrayed themselves by rising to the surface. So
you see it was sometimes necessary to search private houses; but like
Mr. Watkins, the gunboat officer who took Marcy Gray from his bed to
serve as pilot in the Union navy, Captain Barrows wished that some other
officer had been detailed to do the work. Although he went from
Beardsley's house straight to Mrs. Gray's, he had no intention of
searching it. He knew more of Marcy than Tom and Mark thought, and
perhaps he could have told them a few things concerning themselves that
would have made them open: their eyes. He had halted and questioned
every negro he met on his scout, and he knew the name of every Union man
and every rebel in the settlement. When he arrived at the house he did
not lead his men into the yard, nor did he ride in himself. He
dismounted and went in on foot, and Marcy, who had seen him coming,
opened the door without giving him time to knock.

"I know you are Marcy Gray, from the descriptions I have heard of you,"
was the way in which the captain began his business. "I am told that you
have any number of dangerous weapons as well as a Confederate flag in
your possession."

"I plead guilty," replied Marcy. "Will you walk in?"

He was not at all afraid of the officer, for the latter smiled at him in
a way that put him quite at his ease. Besides, if the captain knew
anything about him, as his words seemed to indicate, he must be aware
that he had willingly served under the Union flag, and under the other
one because he could not help himself. Marcy led him into the room in
which his mother was waiting, and the captain straightway quieted her
fears, if she had any, by saying:

"I am on a scout, madam, looking for rebel soldiers and fire-arms that
may be concealed in the settlement; but, so far as you are concerned, my
visit is merely a matter of form."

"Take this chair," said Marcy, "and I will be back in a moment."

The Confederate flag had been removed from its place on the wall, but
the boy knew where to find it; and when he brought it into the room he
brought with it his fine rifle and shotgun, his revolvers, a b