Show I OUNDINTHE I i I I itU1KJ13HILIPPINF5 i y 7 BY GeI1ChasKing CCPfRICiHTJe I Y r NEEIY I j 2 p I b j I Synopsis of Preceding Chapters The regimental camp on Presidio Heights overlooking San Francisco harbor har-bor Is stirred up by rumor of moving order t Manila and by the arrival from New York of lavt visitors at headquarters headquar-ters The visitors aro In search of a runowny boy who is believed to have entered en-tered the army and Lieutenant Gray the most popular young officer in hh regiment regi-ment through a supposed acquaintance ttith one of the visiting party Miss Amy Lawrence is envied by his fellows Tho party escorted by Colonel ArmstronG attends at-tends a review on the drill grounds and Is disturbed by the dri a young prisoner pris-oner who breaks away from his ruard near them and by a collision among the carriage Mrs Garrison an old acquaintance acquaint-ance of Colonel Armstrong Is hurt Tri vato Morton Is arrested or a charge ol fcteoling money He appeals to Lieutenant Lieuten-ant Gray of his fraternity for help and Gray secures the detail of guard over him The troops prepare to tail for Manila nun Mrs Garrison joiiib the Red Cross society and assists at the embarking Young Moiton and three other prisoners escape through a tunnel Gray is > arrest od charged with having aided the prisoners prison-ers At West Point the summer before i taZ t1re Mrs Garrison and her younger sibti Nlta Terrish had caused much talk NIl fell in love With a prominent Oadet Pat Latrobe but frs Garrison took her away in time to prevent an elopement and marriage mar-riage Latrobe deserts and her friend Gouvernour Prime who had been infatuated infat-uated with Mrs Garrison l runs may irom home to join the army at San Fran I oirco Nita married Colonel Frost and Latrobe followed her from pluce to placeR place-R lcng an interview until he is located in San Francisco and suspected of being with Morton A valuable package of letters let-ters has been lost from General Draytons rein Latrobe is n nephew of the gen iral Colonel Armstrong defends Gray at the trial und secures his release Grains regiment sails for Manila but stopping at Honolulu Gray is taken ill Mrs Garrison Garri-son succeeds in sailing on one of the transports nurses Gray through his illness ill-ness 4ind goes on the same ship with him to Manila Colonel Armstrong sees a growing attachment between the two CHAPTER XV Manila at last Queen city of the archipelago and Manila again J > e sloe The loveliest of the winter months was come The Luneta an the Paseo do Santa Lucia close to the sparkling waters were gay every evening with the music of the regimental regi-mental bands and thronged with the carriages of oldtune residents and their new and not too welcome visitors Spanish Span-ish dames and damsels invisible at other hot drove or strolled along the roadway to enjoy the cool breezes that I iAvopt in from the beautiful bay and uistful peeps at the dainty toilets of the American beJlesnow arriving by every brit from Hongkong All the Castiljan disdain they might look and Kssibly fee toward the soldiery of lTncle Sam gave place to liveliest interest in-terest and curiosity when the ter curiasi whe wives and daughters of his soldiers appeared upon the scene and there was one carriage iage about which whenever it stopped a little swarm of officers gathered and toward which at any time all eyes were directed that of the White Sisters Within the old walled city and in the crowded districts of Binondo Quiapo and San Miguel north of the Pasig and again in Paco and Emuta to the south strong regiments were stationed in readiness to suppress the first sign of the outbreak s confidently predicted by the bureau of military intelligence In a great semicircle of over twenty miles girdling the city north east and south the outposts and sentries of the two divisions kept watchful eyes upon upn the insurgent forces surrounding them AguJnaldo and his cabinet at Malolos 0 to the north had all but declared war upon the obstinate possessors of the city and had utterly forbidden their leavhw the lines of Manila and seeking o penetrate those broader penete brde fields and roads and villages without Still hugging hug-ging to its breast the delusion that a wesniMalnysiaii race could be ap pased by a shpw of philanthropy the government at Washington decreed that despite their throwing up earthworks earth-works against and training guns on the American positions the enemy should be treated as though they never could 01 would h hostale and the privileges denied by the to American troops were bv the American troops accorded to them Coming and going at will through our lines they studied our force our arms equipment numbers I supplies methods aM long befprthe Christmas bells had clanged tlielr greeting to that universal feast day and the boom of the cannon ushered in the new ea all doubt ot the hostile sentiments of the insurgent leaders had vanished Already the had been om SndUa caT at tho front and with feVUry day the demeanor of the Phil lupine officers and men became more and more insolent and defiant Ceaseless Cease-less l vigilance and selfcontrol were enjoined en-joined uoon the xlt of the United States nearly all stalwart volunteers from the far wes sud while officers of the stfeff and G the halfdozen rim ri-m o quartered wit n the city wee privileged each day to stroll or drive upon the Luneta there were others that never knew an hour away from the line of the outposts and their supports sup-ports Such was the case with Stew arts regiment far out toward the waterworks wa-terworks a the east Such was the case with the Primeval Dudes on the other side of the fasts lining the banks of the crookedestjiary that formed the Rubicon ve wre forbidden to cross Such was the caso with Canker and the t teenth in the dense bamboo thicket to the south and sa It happened that at first Armstrong and Billy Gray saw nothing of each other and but little of the White Sisters probably a fortunate fortun-ate tiling for UL Ever since that nemorable ht on I theQue < jn of i1 Fleet Gray had studiously stu-diously avoided his whilom friend and t counselor while the Matters equally I studious avoidance of Mrs Garrison I had become observed throughout the ship The dominion and noci of that i little lady had been of brief duration a was to be expected in thecase of a I woman who hat secured for her undivided undi-vided use the best the airiest and by t J far the largest room on the steamer I cabine de luxe indeed that for a week < voyage on an Atlantic liner would have 3 cost small f < nU ne while here for a J sea sojourn of more than double tin time under tropic skies and while rand r-and worthier women were sweltering i three In a stuffybox below it had cost t S but a smile The captain had repentec him of his magnanimity before the lights of Honolulu faded out = lght astern < The general began to realize that he j had been made catspaw of and his amour propre being > wounded he had essayed for a day or two majestic dignity dig-nity of mien that became comical wher t complicated with the qualms of seasickness sickness There s was even noticeable aversion on part of sonic of the officers F r r of the dudes who havingmade the haYing journey from the hay to Honolulu with the omen passengers army wives and Tied Grose nurses naturally became the recipients of the views entertainec by these ladies Quick to see if slow to seem to sec Mrs Frank had lost no time in begging one of the young soldier sol-dier wives to share her big stateroorr and broad and comfortable bed arid the lady preferred the heat and dis cpmfort between decks to separation from her friend Then Mrs Garrison tendered both the of run her cabin durIng I dur-ing the day and evening suggested indeed in-deed that on hot nights they come and sleep there one on the bed atone at-one on the couch and they thanked her but never came She coddled the general gen-eral with cool champangne cup wher he was in the throes of mal de mer and held him prisoner with her viva clous chatter when he was well enough I to care to talk But after all her most I I serious trouble seemed to consist in keeping Billy Gray at respectful distance dis-tance H sought her siTe day afteu j day Arhisfroncs mild amaze a has been said and when he could not be with her was moody even fierce anc ugly temperedhe whose dispositior j had been the sunniest in all that gray I shivery dripping sojourn at the Sat I Francisco camp But once fairly settled in Manila the White Sisters seemed to regain all the old ascendency Colonel Frost had taken tak-en a big cool roomy house surrounded by spacious grounds down in Maiate 1 and close tothe plashing waters of the bay Duties kept him early and late at I his office in the walled city but every evening after the drive and dinner callers came thronging In and all Witchies witcheries were called into play to charm them into blindness and to cover Nitas fitful and nervous moods now almost painfully apparent Frosts face was ait times a thundercloud thunder-cloud and army circles within the outer out-er circle of Manila saw plainly that all was not harmony betwixt that veteran Benedict and that fragile Jluttenng bat r wife < The bloom of Nitas beauty was gone She looked wan white even haggard She had refused to leave Hongkong or come to Manila until Margarets arrival and then Hew to the shelter of that sisterly wing Frank Garrison had been occupying a room under the same roof with his general I but both general and aidedecamp I were now much afield and Frank spent fa more days and nights along the line of blockhouses that he die at acme I II The commgof his wife was unannounced unannounc-ed and utterly unlocked for Did I consult my husband che exclaimed in surprise when asked the question one day by the wife of a veteran field officer cer Merciful heaven Mrs Lenox there was no time for that except by cable and at 4 a word No If vany doubt oFwhat Frank Garrison will say 1 or do exists in my mind I g and do the thing at once then the doubt is settled I he approve well and good if he doesnt well them Ive had my I fun anyway But it made little difference what Frank Garrison might think say or do when Nitas need came in question It was for Nita that Margaret Garrison so suddenly quitted the Presidio and hastened to Hawaii I was for her sake to be her counsel and protection the elder sister had braved refusal difficulties criticism even Armstrongs open suspicion and dislike to take that long voyage to a hostile dime That she braved too her husbands displeasure displeas-ure was not a mater of sufficient weight to merit consideration She wa I there to help Nita an 1 until that hap let child were fred tfroirf a peril that j ever threatening seemed sapping her very life Margaret Garrison meant t stay stayor For the letter that came by way of Honolulu had told the elder sister of increasing jealousy and suspicion on the colonels part of his > dreadful rage at Yokohama on learning that cven there the very hour of their arrival when the consul came aboard with a hatch of letters in his hand he had one for Mrs Frost She had barely glanced a its contents before She was stricken with a fit of trembling tore itin half and tosFed the fragments on the swift ebbing tide then rushed to her stateroom state-room There she added a postscript to the long letter penned to Margaret on the voyage and the purser not her husband saw it safely started on the Gaelic leaving for San Francisco via Hololulu that very day That letter heat the ordinary mail forthe Queen t was heading Sward even asthe Gae lie came steaming In the coralguarded I harbor and a little packet was tossed I aboard the new troop ship as she sped I away one missive in t telling Witchie Garrison that the man whose life had iI I been wrecked by her sisters enforced I desertion was already in Manila awaiting await-ing her coming and telling her moreover more-over that the packet placed in General I Draytons hands contained only her earlier letters In hs reckless wrath Latrobe had told her that those which bound her to him by the most solemn pledges those that yawed undying Sand S-and devotion were ettill in his hands t 4 > 1 ii + J I and that she should sec him and them i when at last she readied Manila olc lania Three mortal week had the sisters been there together and never once ir that time did Nita venture forth excepl when under the escort of her black I browed husband or the protection o her smiling witching yet vigilant Margaret 1 Mar-garet Never once had their house beer j approached by any one who bore resemblance i re-semblance to the dreaded lover Al 1 1 along the Calle Real where were the I quarters of many officers little guards of regulars were stationed for black rumors of Filipino uprising came will every few days and some mens hearts were failing them for fear when they thought of the paucity of their numbers a compared with the thousands of fanatical natives to whom the taking of human life was of less account than the loss of a game chicken and in whose sight assassination was a virtue when it rid one of a foe Already many a officer who had weakly yield ed to importunity OL a devoted wife was cursingth folly that led him to let her join him The outbreak was imminent im-minent Anyone could see the war was sure to come even those who strove to banish alarm and reassure an anxious nation And when the call to arms should sound duty honor and law would demand each soldiers instant in-stant answer on the battle line then who was to care for the women The very servants in each household it was ftwas known were in most cases regularly I enrolled in the insurgent army The i J i crowded districts in the city the nipaj huts suirounding the wealthy homes in i the suburbs swarmed with Filipino I soldiery in the garb of peace Arms and ammunition both were stored in I the great stone churches Knives bolos and pistols were hidden in every I house Through the clergy in some instance i and foreign residents ir I others the statement was set afloat that every officers residence was mapped and marked that the Tagals were told off by name so many for each house in proportion to the numbei of American Inmatesand day aftei day awaiting the signal for their bloody work those native devotees greeted with servile bows and studied i the habits of the officers they were designated de-signated to fall upon in their sleep and slay without mercy Even women and children were not to be spared and many a woman hearing this grewsome story trembled in her terror For a I time in dread of this new peril Nita I Frost almost forgot the other but nato I nat-o Margaret She scoffed and scouted j the rumor of Filipino outbreak She laughed at Frost who all too evidently believed in it and was in hourly trepl I dation He hogged that the guard at his quarters might be doubled and was I totally unnerved when told it mIG even have to be reduced Not so Mrs Frank She made friends with the stalwart stal-wart sergeant commanding always had hot coffee and sandwiches ready for the midnight relief made It a point to learn the name of each successive noncommissioned officer in charge and had a winsome smile and word for the sentries as she passed I wasnt Filipino pino aggression that she feared The men wondered why she should s urgently ur-gently l bid them see that no strangers Americanswere allowed within the massive gates There were tramps even in Manila she said When the sis ters drove their natty little Filipino team flashed through the lanes and streets at top speed the springy Vic toria bounding at their heels to the imminent im-minent peril of the cockaded hats of the dusky coach and footman if not even to the seats of those trim white coated bigbuttoned topbooted impassive im-passive little Spanishbred servitors The carriage stopped only at Certain certabl designated points and only then when a group of officers stood ready to greet them Not once had they been menaced by any one nor approached by any man even faintly resembling poor Latrobe and Witchie Garrison was beginning to take heart and look upon that threaten I ing letter as a mad piece of bluff when one day the unexpected happened The men of the house Frost and Garrison Gar-rison were acctisfomed when the lat ter was at home to breakfast together quite early Then the colonel would I drive off to rfhe Ayunfcamientn in the walled city and Frank would mount I his pony and ride away to his long j days duties Later the sisters would I have their leisurely breakfast secure in the protection of the guard would give their Chdnaonan chef his orders for Sve clay and send him off to make such purchases as wen possible in the now scanty market Then reading writing I receiving calls of their own sex would fill th There fl up morning would be a brief siesta after luncheon an hour or so on the broad veranda over looking the sparkling bay then dress and the inevitable drive Of Armstrong Arm-strong User had seen nothing heard next to nothing He was busy with his men ovei toward East Paco Of Billy Gray of late they had seen rather to much On one pretext after another he was now forever coming to the house and Witchie waS beginning wish that Canker had had his way but Canker had tailed dismally Tho y 1 jffM b witnesses he counted on proved dumb or departed and it had pleased the gcrieralinchief to send him with a regiment qf infantry and a brace of guns to garrison an important point < juan ju-an adjacent island and to tell hn that in view of the impossibility of Ws substantiating hiS char against Gray the youngster had scmsi shadqw of excuse for i hisii I violent outbreak Rather than bring up a scandal it was best to drop the matter entirely dray had heart sent to duty with the tenth before he was thoroughly well artd a gbqdhearted battalion commander talcing pity on hisobvious1 qfiange for the worse had foundi QCjca ion after the I first ten days at the front to Send him backto quarters in Malate + instead of incessantly on duty talons the threatened threat-ened line toward Sinffalon church and while he seldom cam in the evening when numbers of visitors were present the boy had a way of dropping1 in between be-tween 3 and 4 when lie coxild generally count on a few moments at least alone with Mrs Frnnk She had n ned him well in his slow convalescence had made a deep impression on lit boyish heart lacerated as lje l conceived it by a disappointment at home She had won him to her service as she thought until she felt sure ho was ready to to almost anything for her sake then she had put him to the test and he had failed her Believing as she did that the bin well knew tho whereabouts of the allecod deserter Morton and his friend Nftas reckless lover she had counted on him to wring from them the letters poor Latrobe declared he still possessed but the threeweeks had passed without a sign and it was becoming be-coming evident to her that Gray had lost track of them entirely One brilliant afternoon as she lay on the broad canebottomed bedstead wiith its overhanging canopy of filmy netting I I net-ting she drowsily heard the corporal 1 I fi S a 1vA Y i1 77fl It 2 c S pT4r4 = = = J I pr c j r l i tTT pi l f T L T t I r J x f t THE XOTJNG ATHLETE HIRLED ON THE STALWART BEGTJLAB posting the new sentry in the marbled corridor below and then marching the relief to the rear gate a opening to the beach Nita was already up and moving mov-ing i about in her msm Margaret heard the rustle of her1 skirts and the light I patter of her tinyfeet as she sped over I the hardiwcQtl floor of the main salon j She heard her throwing back the sliding I slid-ing i shutters thatjkept out the glares of the sun in the morning hours and knew I that she was gazing out over the tree dotted lawn toward the gate where the guard lounged through the warmraf I ternoon All of a sudden quick land stirring a bugleso lnded over on the Calle Nueva where the North Dakotas I had a strong detachment The call was repeated and army woman though she was she did not recognize it She could not rcniember ever having heard it before Then up the street from the engineer barrack there came thrilling echo Und there was a sound of movement ana excitement along the dusty thoroughfare She heard Nita calling her name and then the childs quick nervous step along the hallway toward the stairs Then came a sudden stop a gasping wailing cry ana L springing from her bed and to the door Margaret found her sister cowering before be-fore a tall slender man in the rough dress apiA field equipment of a orl vate soldier With a little packet letters l apoaretntly held forth in one hand while the other grasped hsr wrist Rollin Latrobe stood sternly gazing at the girl shrinking at his test The tableau was over in another second sec-ond Springing up the broad marble j I stairs came Billy Gray the corpora of the guard at his heels and Latrobe saw his danger in a flash Throwing little Gray aside as he would a terrier the young athlete whirled on the stalwart I regular There was the sound of a crashing blow follajved by a heavy fall The corporal went rolKng down the steps with LtJtrobe bounding over the tumbling form and the next infant in-fant he had vaulted over the ledge of the open window on the lower floor and vanished through the gateway to the I beach And now all along the Call Real the bugles were sounding To I Arms CHAPTER XVI That was a wild day in Manila Far overnear the Bscolta somebody shot at a vagrant dog Japping water from a little pool undqr one of the many hy drants The soldier police essayed an arrest thc culprit broke and ran the guard filed a lot of coolies taking alarm fled jabbering to the river side i The natives looking for trouble any moment rushed to their homes Some soldiers on pass and unarmed tumbled over the tables and chairs in the Al haanbra in their dash tor the open street A stampeded sergeant told a bugler to sound to arms and in the inkling of an eye the call was taken up from barrack to barrack and the news went flashing out by wire to the extreme front The shopkecifer has tily put up thqir shutters and bolted their doors Cabs carts ctuilez and carromaMas even the street car were instantly seized by the soldiery scat tered all over town and utilized to take them tearing back to join their regiments I regi-ments in fiveminutes the business nree > ts clown town were deserted Chi nese cowered within their crowded huts The natives men and women either hid within the shelter of ithelr homes or fled to the sanctuary of the many churches All over the great city the alarm spread like wildfire The bat talions formed under arms tfcose near cst the outer lines being inarched at once to their positions in support these nearer the walled city waiting for or ders Foreign residents took matters more coolly than did the Asiatic German Ger-man phlegm Bngllsht impassiveness and Yanlf e devilmaycarelshness prevented pre-vented a panic But those who had families and owned or could hire carriages I car-riages and laundiea were not slow in seeking for their households the refuge I of the fleet of transports lying Jtlcr ll hat h-at anchor in the bay where Dewey3 blu jackets sMfted their quids went coolly to their stations and grouped I about their guns quietly awaiting fu J i r h = > I ture developments In an agony of fearss i I Colonel Frost had bidden his > driver to I lash the ponies to a gallop J 1 I and go X3ike the wind to Ma J i I late but the appearance of the I 1 long ranks of sturdy infantry resting on 1 i their arms and beginning to ook bored measurably reassured him before x he reached his homt Once theriuQixver the sight < of Nita clinging hysterically to her sister and moaning on her bed was sufficient to determine his first move which was to wire for his launch j to come arquaclo the bay shore and take therii oft to the fleet The next was to send and ask tor art officer and twenty men from the Cuartel on receiving re-ceiving which message the major commanding com-manding standing on the dusty roadway I road-way in front of his men srinnedl upder htsi grizzled mustachd and said Frosts jot em again Here Gray fI you go over I and tell him to keep Ms hairs on that I I its nothing but a fake alarm And I Gray glad enough of the chance to go again into the presence of tho woman I who so fascinated hIm sped Qn his mis alert He was fit a fury over his recent humUiatiqn in her very sightlIe a commissioned officer tossed aside like a child and outwitted by this daring Intruder In-truder In the shape of a private soldier he and his guard brushed away and derided by a young fellow in some strange regimentwho had easily escaped es-caped along the beach to an adjoining inclosure into which he darted and was no more seen The streets were I full of scurrying soldiers and it was the simplest thing in the world for him to mingle with them and make his way to his own command Of course Gray well knew who the man must be Nitas troublesome lover of whom Witchie had told him S J much There was his chance to recover the letters and claim the reward but man and letters both had escaped his grasp and when he pulled up blown and exhausted after fruitless chase he was brought to his senses by the sight of his own men falling in for business and ha had to scamper for his sword and join them That was a miserable evening Margaret Mar-garet Garrison was the only member of the household who seemed to have her wits about her and her nerves under un-der control for Frank1 her liege lord had his duty elsewhere and not until hours later trotted slowly home Margaret Mar-garet plainly let Gray understand how he had fallen in her estimation at being so easily tossed aside A warn ing finger was laid upon her UR Not one word 6C whitt has happened while he is here she muttered and a nod of her Huffy head toward the perturbed colonel told plainly that the chief of the household really had no place in the family councils To the sisters that alarm was a blessing1 in disguise It was all sufficient to account for Nitas prostration To the rash and reckless lad who claiming to be an orderly with i a letter from the colonel had been I passed by the gate guard to the open stairway it afforded ample cover for escape when alarmed by Nitas cry I Gray and the corporal came springing Ito I-to her aid To Gray himself it gave I only a few mInufes forgetfulness of his trouble for smarting under the sting of a womans only halfhidden disdain he would have welcomed with almost savage joy some fierce battle with a I skillful foe some scene in which he I I could compel her respect and admira tion He was still smarting and stung when at last that opportunity came I Long will Manila remember the night It followed evose upon the heels of warn ings that tar weeks held every officer anJ man to his > post of duty The insurgents crowding upon our outnosta In fron of Santa Mesa on the north and of Santa Ana on the south hide of the Paij haJ j heaped insults upon our silent sentries compelled by orders to the very last to submit to anything but actual attack rather than brine on a battle Tim Americans Amer-icans are afraid was the gJeeful cry of Agulnaldeo officers the jeer anti taunt of his men hue regulars were soon to coma and replace thoss volunteers said the wiseacre of his cabinet itaerefoe strike now before the trained and c clpmed troops arrive and fieep these tg boat into the fad And on the sulU starlit nIght sooner perhaps than hs 9 confeder ates within the nulls intended the reset loader struck and long before the dawn of the lovely Sunday morn that loilcwed the tire flasheAl from 40000 rifles In frig bemlcirele around Manila and the Ion expected battle was on t Hours after awn hours after the attack began tha tejntli were in extended tat vle order to the sourh of lylaiate con I tionted by thicKeU ot bamboo test fairly bwarmeJ wuii insurgents yet only by tho incessant zip and whiew I of their deadly inrfcoileij ana the ceuresa crackle of rUle lire could this be determined leI wita rheir smoiceseas rowtter and their Indian liKe skill in concealment nothing could be scef of ineir trray Over to the west wrmi 011 me piatirt waters of the bay tho huge Monudnock was driving shell after sael into toe dense underbrush across abandoned nee fields and the marshy flats that lined the tnore Over to the cast resounding re-sounding cneers and crashing volleys punctuate1 by tho snarp reports of tieui n urn tOld that tne comrade brigade was neavlly enga eJ and apparerrty driving the enemy cerore them ro right anct leit flair voiuniesr supports were banging inco tho brush witn their heavy Spring neicls and still there seemed no symptom of weakness aiorfff the immeaiate tront no SIgn of yielding If anything1 the fury of the insurgent volleying irorea ed as tne sun climbed higher and an alOng tee lueytMrte line men grit their team and swore as they crouched or lay full length along the roadsae peering rhrouga too filmy veil that Gritted sowiy across thE r from he i smoke from the prinrrield of tine volunteers To lie there longer witn tha buiCibi buzzing close overhtud or bt ing deep Into the tow embankment some times tearing a stinging rah through human fiesta ami bone was adding to tea nerve strain of tin hours gone I y To rush headlong across that intervenIng open lace through deep and muddy pools anti stagnant allah ana hurl them solves upon the lurking enemy in the bam boo copse beyond had been the ardent lonsring l of the line since oayllghc came to illumine the Staid before Intan Yet sirn orders withheld Defend but do not ad vance said the general message and the whisper went aiong from man to man There Is trouble In town behtitd tri ana the dhief may mad us there But as S oclock passed with no word of uprising in the rtar un the cheering over toward Santa Ana grow louder and louder l the nerve strain upon the tfceriji became well liglt intolerable 1or Gods t alcs cant we be doing omethlnG In stead ot lIng here t1ling Ino a hJrnets nest was lh9 murmur ttllt arM in more than one company along the impa tient line and the gruft voices f01 veteian sergeants could be heard ordering silence whue moving up and down behind tnetr men tho Imo officers cautionad agamit waste of ammunition and needless ex posure Lie flut men Keep down were tho words Vo wont have to eand this forever Youll soon get your chance And presently it came The Cheering that had died away far over to the heir beyonU the woocted knolls chat surround ed fatoga on artd back house 12 was sud denly taken up nearer at html Then crushing volleys sounded along the nar row roadway to ths east and a bu vo rang otrt sinrill and clear above the noise ot cattle and tate closer still nhaah unseen in the glqom of She dense thicket in which they lay the men of the Second battalion strung along a lthpim uuii that led away to the rice fieCas swung young their big olitccx straw his hats eyes and flashing yelled fr his joy face A I tlustong with excitement came bounding I out from the grave at the left cf tho crouching line and made stiaiight to where tho veteran baltalon commander knelt In rear of his center Jt was Billy Gray II adjutant of the Ihlrd battalion acting I that day at adjutant to the reglznsrural commander Ihe bullets whstlca by hs Iread u > ho daitod spnngJngy along and in their joy at sight of him even old hands forgot Sue reserve of tho regular service ana some man shoutctt Xow were off anti tune popular query Whats ttos mat ter with Lieutenant Gray i At any other time under any other clr cum tance5 bath qUctioner anti respond I entl who glecCudy shouted tIcs all rJgM would hIvc been promptly and I sternly suppressed But the stsnlor cap tain at their head welt knew tho excite i meat tingling In the nerves of that ong suffering line and only I fefa nodded sympathy He saw too that Gray was quivering nitS pentup feeling as the boy halted short suluted and striving to steady his eager voice said j t I Captain the colonels direct that you l open sharp1 lire oh th wood < In i your front and occupy the enemy there HEt Is awut to charge with the third battalion and drive them out of the trenches weve located over yonder and Billy pointed v eagerly to the Ifeftf l font tho southeast Th cnpt1ill grizzled fnc trick on a look or eiJi dbtairklntnent 17pll mean wvo mitt m stay here antI see you iei > k lows go Inj < tt H i j I v < j I inf ft few minutes sFrv < The colonel l gajs that for T you charge1 before I hes l got onto their flank would cost too I L J > iliL B 1 many men Youll get the word as soon as her got the works Well said Billy iwy That sounds ai most epigrammatic Hullo You hit I Stoop down bert maIl Ddnt try to get I perforated My hat onlyVwa < the answer aSI they bo the-y stooped quickly to hide tng Irrepress ible twitching about the muscles of his lip A Remington had ripped from side to > side tearing k way through < curl f hair at the top oC hiss head arid almost coring the acaip To save his soul he could not quite suppress the trembling ot I hH 1 knees but steadying himself by great offartt h sj COntinuexU The colonel I saiys to commence llring by volley the moment OU bugle spundi t 1Qq chargeV Now JC must get luacltti I Alt right youngster Tell the colonel I savey and well do our level I t btst only Tc 1f let us Into 1 It as quick as you can But Gray heard only the first part oTl the sentence He was panting wiles he reached Ma placid graymusiached chief and could only gas out The cajjtttiri tjriiferstands1 sir And then tno Set l mental commander simply turned to tlc battalion leader standing silent at hte left In a little clump of timberanothw veteran cttptata grown gray as himself itt long Ions years of service ICows our Urn < old manlf Pitch i lit Gray wtfll eo vtttt him AH alms the lino from rl > itt to left th ere ran the crosscountry road cdn nectins the brodder highnay from Maf lato to San Rafael and Paranaque on tho west and from West Pace by way of Slngalon to Pasay In front of thE right winjj all was swamp morass or nee ilelds In front of gl left wins nil was close denco bamboo and jungle save where the broad straight roadway led on i 1 past Block House 13 or the narrower curt i track stretched southward overarched In places by spreading hitt and commanded com-manded srta narrowest path nLi the swartu of dusky lighters in Clack House 4 14 A year before the blue shirts stormed I than ese forest strongholds from th south th-an d took them from the troops of Spain I Now they Swore compelled to turn and I g llt l t storm them from the north for stn as Stanley Armstrong said at San I Francisco I the Filipinos had turned upon their any I and wouldbe friend Aguinaldo had 1Ufl bearded Uncle Sam I And while the volunteers and regulars I tv the right could only remain In support sup-port it fell to the lot of the left wing of I this grave brigade to assault in almol Impenetrable position an enemy armed with magazine rides or breechloaders l fr1fJh i and entirely at home The bugler range th rang-e signal the officers in silence took their stations and stepping into the ear I I I row pathways 1 thr ugJn thft jungle J crouching alonpf tHbi oadways of crash > J t j Ins throughj he stjffj bam o the blue f I i shirts drove ahid 7w6i fnreei minute iuml their purpcskf setmeil undiscovered Then suddenly Block Huoo It blazed with t k j 1 I lir S and it storm ofi bulM 1 swept th < toad 1 The earthworks In thfe thickets to the Bright am 1 left fceenjed tse crowded with 14 running tjamej andj diii lon J1jei factsr i fell Ufo > foremost sodfiri their gallant leader shot through ant throughi ptosr lng headlong yet In hisdjlng agony waving i wav-ing hH surviving men to > get to cover fengefully j now the Kragsf opened fnc I reply to Kemlntora aids Mauser The rl t i blue shirts struggled m > fnch by lucfs rthfatfgft I tho network tS bamboo Stilt L j the storm swept up > tflo roadway and no tt ci I irian conltl hope to facell and live But I little by little the lawamed steady vol t leys driven Ire by squid and sections t through the earaebreak or by company find platoon aonwa the westward swamps t I told on the nerve and discipline of Ute I little brown men Irtt tile bamboo Their t shots flew swift but wtld and higher t I Then a daring lad Ire thorough Ileld uniform I uni-form of a subaltern of hfatitrj sprang f like a cat Into the flrellashtng lane anti I revolver In hand and a gcjiad of devoted I fellows at his heels lasted 1 straight ir I tho wooden walls ahead it frantic hast lire occuprtates blamed shot doer shot upon t df him and his heroic followers One after f another three went down Jut in anothpr i I instant the lieutenant leading they I t reached the block house antI darted through the open doorway the last of Irt 1 garrispn fleeing Jn panic before sue un ue iiw > f daring and determination Ami then came the rush of comrades cheering down the lane tumbling oi the earthworks earth-works and the luckless gll ifr that slit i crouching there Iteld to tieir position and all the fouthiward leading road was ours j r 5Eo Be Continued |