AN ENCOUNTER AT THE RIVER
To say that both Larry and his old friend were surprised at the sudden
demand which had been made upon them would be to put the truth very
mildly. They had been of the firm belief that the insurgents had
retreated, and to find themselves in a "reg'lar hornet's nest," as
Luke afterward expressed it, dumfounded them.
"Do you surrender, or not?" came the words, after an awkward pause.
It was dark about the huts, yet not so dim but that they could see the
barrels of several Mauser rifles thrust toward them. The sight made
Larry shiver, for he had never before met the rebel soldiers at such
close quarters.
"We're in a box," muttered Luke. "Somethin' wrong somewhar--our
soldiers didn't come this way, ye kin reckon on thet."
"I move we run for it," whispered Larry. "If they take us prisoners--"
He did not finish, but his silence was more impressive than mere words
would have been. He had heard many stories of terrible cruelty
practised by the insurgents on their prisoners, and whether these
tales were true or not, they had had their full effect on both him
and his shipmates.
"Where are ye goin' to run to, lad? We don't want to run an' be shot
down in cold blood."
"Get in front of me and take to the woods opposite, Luke," was the
hurried reply. "Here goes! I don't think they'll fire now!"
As Larry concluded, he sprang to the side of one of the native women
standing nearest to him. Before the woman could resist, he had her in
his arms behind him and was running off as speedily as the weight of
his living load permitted. Seeing this, Luke scuttled off before, and
away they went for the woods, not twenty yards distant.
A howl arose on the night air, and one gun went off, but the bullet
did no damage. Then the leader of the rebels was heard, calling to his
men not to fire, for fear of killing the woman, who chanced, by good
luck, to be a close relative; for the soldiers behind the bamboo fence
were part of a home guard brought out that very afternoon to defend
the road and Santa Cruz.
The woman on Larry's back shrieked in terror and clawed at his neck
and hair, causing him considerable pain. But he held his burden tight
until the shelter of the trees was gained, when he let her slip to the
ground and darted after Luke, who was running with all the speed of
his lanky limbs.
It was pitch dark in the jungle, and the pair had not advanced more
than a hundred yards when they found themselves going down into a
hollow which both felt must lead to a dangerous swamp, or morass, for
the island of Luzon is full of such fever-breeding places.
"Go slow, lad," whispered Luke, as he caught Larry by the hand. "We
don't want to land out o' the fryin'-pan into the fire."
They both became silent and listened attentively. At a distance they
heard the insurgents coming on slowly and cautiously, spreading out as
they advanced. Probably they knew the topography of the country and
meant to surround the hollow completely.
"They are coming, that's sure," whispered Larry, and clutched his
pistol. "I wonder if we can't get away from them by climbing a tree."
"We can--if they ain't a-followin' the trail putty close," answered
his companion.
They began to search around for a tree, and in doing so came to
several large rocks, much over-grown with trailing vines. There was an
opening between two of the rocks, and Luke slipped into this, hauling
Larry after him.
"Jest as good as a tree, an' mebbe better," he whispered, as he
rearranged the vines over the opening.
The hiding-place was not a large one, and Larry felt very much like a
sardine in a box as he crouched close to his Yankee friend. The vines
covered the opening completely, yet they remained on guard, each with
his finger on the trigger of his weapon, resolved, if the worst came
to the worst, to fight the best they knew how before surrendering.
The Filipinos were evidently puzzled, for they had come to a halt and
made not the slightest noise. Possibly they were listening for some
sound from those they were pursuing, but if so, none came, for Luke
clapped his hand warningly over Larry's mouth, and the youth
understood and remained as motionless as a statue.
Five minutes went by--to the boy they seemed an age--and then the
rebels came on again, halting every few steps to make sure of their
ground. Three passed close to the rocks, so close in fact that Larry
and Luke could have shot them down without trouble. But this would
have given the alarm to the entire party, and neither the boy nor the
man wanted to shed blood unless it became absolutely necessary.
At last the Filipinos had left the rocks behind and were circling
around the swamp at the bottom of the hollow. "Now is the time to give
'em the slip," whispered Luke, and crawled once more into the open.
Larry followed, and both hurried away from the vicinity with all
possible speed. It was the last seen or heard of the party who had so
unexpectedly blockaded their progress on the highway.
The jungle at the top of the hill was as dense as that below, and the
pair had not proceeded far before they found themselves in a veritable
tangle of bushes and vines. The bushes were of the thorny kind
peculiar to this locality, and more than once Larry found himself
caught and held as if in a vice.
"My clothing will be in tatters if this keeps on," he panted, as he
cut himself loose with difficulty. "Did you ever see such a thicket!"
"We missed it when we started out to-night," returned Luke, gravely.
"We've gone astray o' the firm' line and everything else, to my way o'
lookin' at it."
Bad as was their situation, they felt it would be worse with the
coming of daylight. "We must get out of the enemy's territory before
the sun rises," said Larry. "If we don't, we'll have no show at all."
But getting out was not easy; indeed, the farther they advanced, the
more difficult did it seem to become, until both came to the
conclusion that they had missed their bearings entirely, and were
lost. "And can't even see the stars to read 'em," groaned Luke.
"Larry, we might as well make the best of it, and wait for daylight."
But the youth demurred and insisted on going ahead. "We're bound to
strike something soon," he said, and did, immediately afterward. It
was a log lying on the edge of an incline, and down he pitched, and
log and lad rolled over and over, with Luke following, to bring up
with a loud splash in the river below.
The force of their fall took them under the surface of the stream, and
in the struggle to save themselves both lost their cutlasses. But, as
old readers know, each could swim well, and they speedily came up and
struck out for the most available landing-place, which was on the
opposite bank.
"_Alto!_" came the sudden cry, in Spanish. "Halt!" And now a sentry
appeared from behind a pile of cord-wood lying but a short distance
away.
[Illustration: "Alto!" came the sudden cry.--_Page 47._]
"Discovered again," muttered Luke, and felt for his pistol. "Soaked!"
he muttered, in disgust.
The cry of the rebel on guard had given the alarm to several others,
and in a twinkling Larry and the old Yankee tar found themselves
confronted by an even more determined crowd than that encountered on
the road. With the water behind them, escape was out of the question,
for a jump back into the river would have courted a fire which must
have resulted in death.
"_Americanos!_" muttered one of the rebels, drawing closer. "And
sailors, not soldiers," he added, in his native tongue. "Where did you
come from?"
Larry and Luke shook their heads. "Talk United States and we'll speak
to you," said the old sailor.
"You gif up?" demanded an under officer, as he pushed his way forward,
with his pistol covering Larry's heart.
"Ain't nuthin' else to do, I reckon," replied Luke, before Larry could
answer. He was afraid the boy might be rash and try running away
again.
"Throw down de pistoles, den," muttered the Tagal, with an ugly
frown.
Down went the weapons on the ground, and then two of the rebels
advanced to search them. They found nothing of special value excepting
the pair's jack-knives, and these were confiscated and turned over to
the officer in command.
The prisoners were then told to march up the river shore to a road
leading into Santa Cruz. With their hands bound tightly behind them,
they were placed in charge of a detail of four Filipinos, who were
instructed to take them without delay before the general in charge of
the city's defences.
"They may hold information of importance," said the under officer.
"Do not delay a minute;" and off went the crowd, the soldiers prodding
the prisoners with their bayonets whenever Larry and Luke did not walk
fast enough to suit them.
The course taken was through a narrow and exceedingly dirty street. It
was after midnight, yet the expected attack of the Americans had kept
all the inhabitants awake. The prisoners were jeered at repeatedly,
and at one point were covered with a shower of mud and stale
vegetables. The onslaught might have been more serious had not the
soldiers interfered.
"Get back, you dogs," shouted the leader, a little Tagal scarcely five
feet in height, but with an air of magnificent importance. "These men
are to go before the general, and at once!" And much abashed the
natives fell back, and the prisoners were molested no further.
It would naturally be supposed that the general in command would be
found at the front at such a time, when an attack on the city was but
a matter of a few hours. Instead, however, General Bamodo was found at
one of the government buildings, calmly smoking a cigar, and
conversing with several native business men.
"Spies, eh?" he queried, when the guard had told him about the
prisoners. "Bring them in immediately."
Larry and Luke were told to enter the room, and did so, their still
wet clothing forming little puddles at their feet. The guards stood
beside and behind them. General Bamodo eyed them critically. He spoke
no English, and so called in an interpreter.
"Where are you from?" demanded the interpreter, presently, after a few
words with his superior.
"We are from the warship _Olympia_," answered Luke, briefly.
"You were sent here by General Otis as spies, not so?"
"No, sir, we are jest plain, everyday sailors."
"Then what brought you here?" demanded the interpreter, after
translating their words to General Bamodo.
"We missed our way on the road," put in Larry, before Luke could
answer. He thought it best not to say anything about accompanying
General Lawton's expedition.
"You must have missed it very much, General Bamodo says," growled the
interpreter, after another consultation with his superior. "Santa
Cruz is a good many miles from Manila harbor."
To this Larry remained silent, and another talk in Spanish followed.
Then a sudden shot from a distance caused General Bamodo to leap to
his feet and dash down his cigar.
"Take them to the prison--I will examine them later on," he said, in
Spanish, and hurried away.
A few minutes later Larry and his Yankee friend were marched off, this
time to a stone building several squares away. Here they were taken
inside, thrust into a cell, the iron-barred door was locked upon them,
and they were left to their fate.