“I wish we could make a break right now.”
“Quiet in the ranks,” said one of the guards.
The men’s boots sounded on the pavement; a bell in a nearby tower tolled the hour. When its echo had died away the voice of the town crier sounded in the street. “Ten o’clock and all’s well!”
The Confederate lieutenant called a halt in front of a three-story building that appeared to be a jail. It was built of brick, and the windows were heavily barred. Four steps led up to a door in the middle of the building, and beside the steps, just under a lamp, stood a prison guard. The man’s features, lit from above, were ghoulish in the yellow light.
The lieutenant spoke to the guard. “Captain Senn is nowhere about, I suppose?”
“No, sir, he’s not. He won’t be back until tomorrow morning.”
“Did he leave any orders for these prisoners?”
“Not that I know of, Lieutenant.”
“Then we’ll set up camp in the vacant lot at the corner of Gadsden and Taylor Streets.”
The lieutenant turned to the prisoners. “Will the officers step forward, please?”