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THE CAMPAIGN OF THE JUNGLE
by
Edward Stratemeyer
* * * * *
EDWARD STRATEMEYER'S BOOKS
Old Glory Series
_Cloth Illustrated Price per volume $1.25._
UNDER DEWEY AT MANILA Or the War Fortunes of a Castaway.
A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA Or Fighting for the Single Star.
FIGHTING IN CUBAN WATERS Or Under Schley on the Brooklyn.
UNDER OTIS IN THE PHILIPPINES Or a Young Officer in the Tropics.
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE JUNGLE Or Under Lawton through Luzon.
The Bound to Succeed Series
_Three volumes Cloth Illustrated Price per volume $1.25._
RICHARD DARE'S VENTURE Or Striking Out for Himself.
OLIVER BRIGHT'S SEARCH Or The Mystery of a Mine.
TO ALASKA FOR GOLD Or The Fortune Hunters of the Yukon.
The Ship and Shore Series
_Three volumes Cloth Illustrated Price per volume $1.25._
THE LAST CRUISE OF THE SPITFIRE Or Larry Foster's Strange Voyage.
REUBEN STONE'S DISCOVERY Or The Young Miller of Torrent Bend.
TRUE TO HIMSELF Or Roger Strong's Struggle for Place.
* * * * *
[Illustration: "You are from the Olympia, I believe?"--_Page 23._]
Old Glory Series
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE JUNGLE
Or
Under Lawton through Luzon
by
EDWARD STRATEMEYER
Author of "Under Dewey at Manila," "A Young Volunteer
in Cuba," "Fighting in Cuban Waters," "Under Otis
in the Philippines," "To Alaska for Gold"
"Richard Dare's Venture," "Oliver
Bright's Search," Etc.
Illustrated by A. B. Shute
Boston
Lee and Shepard Publishers
1900
Copyright, 1900, by Lee and Shepard.
All Rights Reserved.
The Campaign of the Jungle.
Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith
Norwood Mass. U.S.A.
PREFACE
"The Campaign of the Jungle" is a complete story in itself, but forms
the fifth volume of the "Old Glory Series," a line of tales depicting
life and adventure in our army and navy of to-day.
The heroes of these various stories are the three Russell brothers,
Larry, Walter, and Ben. In the first volume we told of Larry's
adventures while "Under Dewey at Manila," in the second and fourth we
followed Ben as "A Young Volunteer in Cuba" and during the opening
campaign "Under Otis in the Philippines," while in the third tale we
saw what Walter could do "Fighting in Cuban Waters."
In the present volume the reader is asked to follow the fortunes of
both Larry and Ben in two important expeditions of that gallant
soldier, General Henry W. Lawton, the first directed against Santa
Cruz on the Laguna de Bay, where the insurgents were left badly
scattered, and the second from Manila to San Isidro, a winding advance
of about one hundred and fifty miles through the jungle, which took
twenty days to complete, and during which time twenty-two battles were
fought and twenty-eight towns were captured, along with large
quantities of army stores and the like. This latter expedition was one
of the most daring of its kind, and could not have been pushed to
success had not the man at its head been what he was, a trained Indian
fighter of our own West, and one whose nerve and courage were almost
beyond comprehension. Small wonder it was that when, later on, General
Lawton was killed on the firing line, General Otis cabled, "Great loss
to us and to his country."
As in the previous volumes of this series, the author has endeavored
to be as accurate, historically, as possible, and for this reason has
examined the reports of the officers high in command, as well as
listened to many tales related by the returning soldiers themselves.
It is therefore hoped that if any errors have crept in they may not be
of sufficient magnitude to hurt the general usefulness of the work
from an historical standpoint. As a story of adventure, the writer
trusts it will find equal favor with those that have preceded it in
the series.
EDWARD STRATEMEYER.
Newark, N. J.,
March 1, 1900.
CONTENTS
I. Dismaying News 1
II. Something about the Situation at Malolos 10
III. An Adventure on the Pasig River 20
IV. The Gap in the Firing Line 30
V. An Encounter at the River 41
VI. In which Luke Striker is Wounded 52
VII. The Retreat to the Rice-house 61
VIII. A Prisoner of the Filipinos 70
IX. The Advance into the Jungle 81
X. The Taking of Angat 91
XI. The Crossing of the Rio Grande River 101
XII. Something about a Poisoned Well 112
XIII. In which a Flag of Truce is fired Upon 122
XIV. Surrounded by the Enemy 132
XV. The Escape from the Burning House 141
XVI. News from Home 150
XVII. In and out of a Strange Pitfall 160
XVIII. The Adventure at the Mill-house 169
XIX. News of Larry 179
XX. The Advance upon Maasin 189
XXI. Camping Over a Powder Magazine 199
XXII. The Result of an Ambush 208
XXIII. The Tornado in the Cane-brake 218
XXIV. The Flight for Liberty 227
XXV. The Caves under the Mountain 235
XXVI. Boxer the Scout 244
XXVII. The Departure of the _Olympia_ 257
XXVIII. The Advance upon San Isidro 267
XXIX. Larry is sentenced to be Shot 280
XXX. A Rescue under Difficulties 292
XXXI. The Fall of San Isidro--conclusion 305
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
"'You are from the _Olympia_, I believe?'" Frontispiece
PAGE
"'Alto!' came the sudden cry" 47
"'Hullo, sailor, where did you come from?'" 82
"'The well is poisoned! don't drink! it will kill
you!'" 115
"His sword kept the two Tagals back" 146
"'Can you hold on a few minutes longer?'" 173
"On they plodded, up an incline that seemed to have
no end" 236
"Down went the sapling over the edge of the cliff" 281
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE JUNGLE
CHAPTER I
DISMAYING NEWS
"How are you feeling to-day, Ben?"
"Fairly good, Larry. If it wasn't for this awfully hot weather, the
wound wouldn't bother me at all. The doctor says that if I continue to
improve as I have, I can rejoin my company by the middle of next
week."
"You mustn't hurry matters. You did enough fighting at Caloocan,
Malabon, Polo, and here, to last you for some time. Let the other
fellows have a share of it." And Larry Russell smiled grimly as he
bent over his elder brother and grasped the hand that was thrust
forward.
"I am willing the other fellows should have their share of the
fighting, Larry. But you must remember that now Captain Larchmore is
dead, and Lieutenant Ross is down with the fever, there is nobody to
command our company but me--unless, of course, Sergeant Gilmore takes
charge."
"Then let Gilmore play captain for a while, while you take the rest
you have so well earned. Why, you've been working like a steam-engine
ever since you landed in Luzon. Gilbert Pennington says he never
dreamed there was so much fight in you, and predicts that you'll come
out a brigadier general by the time Aguinaldo and his army are
defeated."
"Well, I believe in pushing things," responded Ben Russell, smiling
more broadly than ever, as his mind wandered back to that fierce
attack on Malolos, where he had received the bullet wound in the side.
"If we can only keep the insurgents on the run, we'll soon make them
throw down their arms. But tell me about yourself, Larry. What have
you been doing since you were up here last?"
"Oh, I've been putting in most of my time on board the _Olympia_, as
usual," replied the young tar. "About all we are doing is to nose
around any strange vessels that come into the harbor. Since the
outbreak in Manila last February, the navy has had next to nothing to
do, and I'm thinking strongly of asking to be transferred to the
marines at Cavite, or elsewhere."
"I don't blame you." Ben Russell paused. "Have you heard anything more
about Braxton Bogg and that hundred and forty thousand dollars he said
he had left hidden in Benedicto Lupez's house in Manila?"
A shade of anxiety crossed Larry Russell's face. "Yes, I've heard a
good deal--more than I wanted to, Ben. But I wasn't going to speak of
it, for fear of adding to your worry and making you feel worse."
"Why, Larry, you don't mean-- Has Braxton Bogg escaped from jail and
got hold of the money again?"
"No, Braxton Bogg is still in prison at Manila, although the
Buffalo bank officials are about to have him returned to the
United States for trial. But the money has disappeared. The police
authorities at Manila went to Benedicto Lupez's house, to find it
locked up and deserted. They broke in and made a search, but they
couldn't find a dollar, either in Spanish or American money, although
they did find Braxton Bogg's valise and a dozen or more printed bands
of the Hearthstone Saving Institution--the kind of bands they put
around five-hundred-dollar and one-thousand-dollar packages of
bills."
"Then this Spaniard found where Bogg had hidden the money and made off
with it?"
"That is the supposition; and I reckon it's about right, too. Of
course, it may be possible that Braxton Bogg never left the stolen
money in Lupez's house, although he swears he did. He says Lupez was
an old friend of his and was going to have the bills changed into
Spanish money for him, so that Bogg could use the cash without being
suspected of any wrong-doing."
"It's too bad; and just as we thought our fifteen or sixteen thousand
dollars of the amount was safe. I wonder what the bank people at home
will say now."
"Of course, they won't like it. They would rather have the money than
their missing cashier; and I would rather have the money, too--not but
that Braxton Bogg ought to be punished for his crimes."
"Yes, Larry, Braxton Bogg deserves all the law can give him, for the
depositors in the Hearthstone Saving Institution were mostly poor,
hard-working persons, and the wrecking of the bank meant untold
hardships for them." The wounded brother sighed deeply. "If that money
isn't recovered, we'll be as badly off as we were when we first came
to Manila," he concluded.
Ben Russell was the eldest of three brothers, Walter coming next, and
Larry being the youngest. They were orphans, and at the death of their
widowed mother had been left in the care of their uncle, Job Dowling,
a miserly man whose chief aim in life had been to hoard money, no
matter at what cost, so long as his method was within the limit of the
law.
The boys were all sturdy and had been used to a good home, and Job
Cowling's harsh and dictatorial manner cut them to the quick. A clash
between guardian and wards had resulted in the running away of the
three youths, and the guardian had tried in vain to bring them back.
Larry had drifted to San Francisco and shipped on a merchantman bound
for China. He had become a castaway and been picked up by the Asiatic
Squadron of the United States Navy. This was just at the time of the
outbreak of the war with Spain, and how gallantly the young tar served
his country has already been told in detail in "Under Dewey at
Manila."
Ben had found his way to New York, and Walter had drifted to Boston.
After several adventures, the war fever had caught both, and Ben had
joined the army to become "A Young Volunteer in Cuba," as already
related in the volume of that name, while Walter had joined the
armored cruiser _Brooklyn_ and participated in the destruction of the
Spanish fleet in Santiago Bay, as told in "Fighting in Cuban Waters."
While the three boys were away from home, Job Dowling had overreached
himself by trying to sell some of the Russell heirlooms which it had
been willed the lads should keep. The heirlooms had been stolen by a
sharper, and it had cost the old man a neat sum of money to get them
back. The experience made him both a sadder and a wiser man, and from
that time on his manner changed, and when the boys returned from the
war they found that he had turned over a new leaf. In the future he
was perfectly willing that they should "do fer themselves," as he
expressed it.
After a brief stay in Buffalo, Walter had left, to rejoin the
_Brooklyn_, which was bound for a cruise to Jamaica and elsewhere.
At this time trouble began to break out between the United States
troops in the Philippines and the insurgents who had been fighting
the now-conquered Spaniards, and it looked as if another fair-sized
war was at hand. This being so, Ben lost no time in reenlisting in
the army, while Larry hastened to join Admiral Dewey's flagship
_Olympia_ once more. "If there's to be any more fighting, I want
to be right in it," was what the young tar said, and Ben agreed with
him. How they journeyed to Manila by way of the Mediterranean, the
Suez Canal, and the Indian Ocean, has already been related in "Under
Otis in the Philippines." Ben was at this time second lieutenant
of Company D of his regiment. With the two boys went Gilbert
Pennington, Ben's old friend of the Rough Riders, who was now first
sergeant of Company B of the same regiment, and half a dozen others
who had fought with the young volunteer in Cuba. On arriving at
Manila Larry found matters, so far as it concerned his ship, very
quiet, but Ben was at once sent to the front, and participated with
much honor to himself in the campaign which led to the fall of
Malolos, a city that was at that time the rebel capital. As Company D,
with Ben at its head as acting captain, had rushed down the main
street of the place, an insurgent sharpshooter had hit the young
commander in the side, and he had fallen, to be picked up later and
placed in the temporary hospital which was opened up in Malolos as
soon as it was made certain that the rebels had been thoroughly
cleaned out. Fortunately for the young volunteer the wound, though
painful, was not serious.
Of the fifteen thousand to twenty thousand dollars coming to the
Russell brothers, more than three-quarters had been invested by Job
Dowling in the Heathstone Saving Institution, a Buffalo bank that had
promised the close-minded man a large rate of interest. The cashier of
this bank, Braxton Bogg, had absconded, taking with him all the
available cash which the institution possessed. Bogg had come to
Manila, and there Ben had fallen in with him several times and finally
accomplished his arrest. It was found that Braxton Bogg had very
little money on his person, and the guilty cashier finally admitted
that he had left his booty at the house of one Benedicto Lupez, a
Spaniard with whom he had boarded. As all the Spaniards in Manila were
being closely watched by the soldiers doing police duty in the
disturbed city, both Ben and Larry had supposed that there would be
no further trouble in getting possession of the missing money. But
Benedicto Lupez had slipped away unperceived, taking the stolen money
with him, and the Russell inheritance--or at least the larger portion
of it--was as far out of the reach of the boys as ever.