CAMPING OVER A POWDER MAGAZINE
Bang!
It was the report of Ben's pistol, and the weapon was aimed directly
for the Igorrote's head, for the young captain had learned the value
of aiming and firing quickly.
But the Filipino "had been there before," and as the trigger went down
he dropped to the ground with the rapidity of lightning, and the
bullet intended for him struck a man some distance in the rear. Then
up leaped the Igorrote once more and bounded onward, the lance point
aimed directly for Ben's throat!
The young captain's pistol was now empty, the other shots having been
discharged during the climb up the hill. His sword was out, but the
lance was three times the length of the blade, so he was still at a
disadvantage. Yet he aimed a blow at the barbed point and thus turned
it aside.
"Ha!" hissed the Filipino, and drew back. Then he struck again at
Ben, and instantly both slipped on the moist grass and fell directly
into each other's clutches. The Igorrote was a powerful warrior, and
grasped Ben's throat with the tightness of a steel band.
Ben tried to cry out, but not a sound could he make. His eyes bulged
from their sockets, and he felt his breath leaving him. A second
Igorrote leaped forward to hit him on the head with a war club, such
as some of the Igorrote still insisted upon carrying. Of the use of
rifles this tribe of the Filipinos knew little or nothing.
"Back, ye nager!" came in Dan Casey's voice, and there followed a
sickening thud, and down went the enemy with the club, his head split
open by a blow from the Irish volunteer's gun-stock. Casey then aimed
a second blow at the rebel who had hold of Ben, but not wishing to
receive such a dose as had been meted out to his companion, the other
Igorrote sprang up, butted Casey in the stomach with his head, thus
landing the Irishman on his back, and then ran for his life toward the
nearest shelter of brush.
"Oh, be gracious! To look at that now!" spluttered the Irishman as he
arose. "But I got wan av thim, anyhow, captain," he added, with a
jerk of his thumb toward the Igorrote, who lay with a broken head.
"Yes, Casey; and you saved me, too," returned Ben, earnestly. "You are
worth two ordinary men;" and then captain and private drifted apart,
as the tide of battle rolled forward.
The top of the hill was gained, but for once the insurgents did not
know when they were whipped, and held to their guns until more than
half of their number were either killed or wounded. The contest raged
to the right and the left of the battery, and this was fortunate, for
seeing they could not hold the pieces, some of the rebels overcharged
one of the guns and set it off, blowing it into a thousand pieces.
Then the main body retreated into the jungle, carrying a few of their
wounded with them.
By this time it was raining again, and the downpour on the top of the
hill was so great that little could be seen of the condition of
affairs at a distance. Sending word that the hill was taken and one
old-fashioned Spanish field-piece captured, Major Morris rallied his
battalion around him and stood on the defensive. But the rebels had
had enough of fighting for the present, and once again took up the
retreat in the direction of San Isidro.
"I reckon that was hot enough for anybody," said the major, as he
stalked up to Ben and the other captains under him. "I wonder if
anybody was killed by the explosion of that old cannon?"
"Nobody was killed, but several were wounded," answered one of the
captains. "The rebel who charged her up and then fired her had lots of
nerve," he added.
Word soon came back from General Lawton that the battalion should hold
the hill until further orders. The situation was not a pleasant one,
but orders must be obeyed, and the various companies proceeded to make
themselves as comfortable as possible, which was not saying much,
since the top of the hill afforded little or no shelter. One company
was detailed to do picket duty, but a little scouting soon proved that
the rebels were a mile or more distant.
When the main body of the troops under General Lawton marched into
Maasin, they found the pretty little town all but deserted. In a few
of the huts the inhabitants remained, having hung out dirty white
rags to show that they were _amigos_. Here were also numerous "Chinos"
or Chinese, some of mixed blood, and all ready to do anything for the
American soldiers, provided they were paid for it. Natives and
"Chinos" went about bared to the waist, casting fearful eyes at those
who had so suddenly disturbed the peace of their homesteads, for the
inhabitants of Maasin were peaceably inclined, and took but little
interest in the war Aguinaldo and his followers had instituted.
"Well, we are one step nearer to San Isidro," remarked Gilbert, when
he got the chance to talk to Ben. "I suppose we can't get there any
too quick for you."
"I don't know, Gilbert. You must remember that while Larry may be near
San Isidro now, he may be miles off when we reach there. These
Filipinos change their capital and their prisons as quickly as a flea
jumps."
"Never mind, we'll keep them on the jump until they drop," answered
the young Southerner. "They can't stand up before us forever."
"To my way of thinking, I don't believe this war will come to definite
end, Gilbert."
"What do you mean, Ben? They have got to stop sometime--or else we
have got to stop."
"These Filipinos are not pulling together--on the contrary, they are
split up into half a dozen factions. If we defeat one faction, the
others will still keep on, and, besides that, the worst of the rebels
are of Malayan blood, pirates and bandits. I believe after we have
whipped them as an army they will still keep on fighting in small
bodies, somewhat after the order of the brigands in Mexico and
northern Africa. With the mountains to fly to, such brigands could
keep on worrying an American army for years."
"Possibly; but when the main body of the natives see what we want
to do for them, they'll be as anxious as we to wipe out such
brigands, and with their own people after them, life will be pretty
uncomfortable, I'll wager. To be sure, there will always be
robbers, just as there are outlaws and train-wreckers in the western
states of our own country."
Some of the men had found a small opening between the rocks, and over
this had hung their tents, making a rude shelter which Ben and Gilbert
were glad to share with them. In the crowd were Casey and Stummer, and
the latter busied himself in trying to make a cup of hot chocolate
over a handful of dry twigs found in the shelter. The attempt was
hardly a success, yet the drink was better for the convalescent than
either water or liquor would have been.
"Sure, an' if this shtorm kapes up, we'll all be dhrowned out," was
Casey's comment, as he shifted his feet to keep them out of a rising
puddle. "Now who would think the water would rise on the top av a
hill. Things do be mighty peculiar in Luzon, an' that's a fact."
"Never mind, Casey, you'll get back home some day," put in another
soldier. "And in years to come you'll be telling your grandchildren
what a mighty fighter you were out in the state of Luzon, recently
annexed to the United States, along with the state of Hawaii." And a
laugh went up over the conceit.
"Sure an' you ton't haf nodding to grumble ofer of you ton't git
shot," said Stummer.
"Or don't get taken down with disease," put in another. "My, but I
pity the fellows with fever and chills and malaria, and the other
things that are just as bad. I believe about one-fifth of the army is
now on the sick list."
"Some of the boys are going to send a petition to General Otis for
relief. They say they can't stand it much longer."
So the talk went on, both Ben and Gilbert saying but little. Presently
Major Morris poked his nose into the opening.
"I think you boys had better come out of there," he said shortly.
"Why, major--" began several.
"Are we to advance?" asked others.
"No, we are not going to advance, unless it's skyward," continued the
major. "Either come out of that, or else put out that fire, and be
mighty careful about it."
"The fire ain't doing no harm," grumbled a private, under his breath.
"I don't believe the enemy can see the smoke in this rain," suggested
another, thinking that this was the cause of their being disturbed.
"I'm not thinking of the enemy, boys, I'm thinking of you. Better come
out, and then we'll put out that fire as carefully as we can."
Seeing that something unusual was in the wind, one after another of
the officers and privates came forth from the hollow, Stummer giving
the fire a kick as he passed. As soon as they were outside they
surrounded the commander of the first battalion.
"Now, boys, do you know why I called you out?" asked Major Morris,
with just the suspicion of a twinkle in his clear eyes.
"No, why was it?" came from a dozen voices.
"Because I wanted to save your lives," was the quiet response.
"Save our lives, major? You must be joking."
"No, I am not joking. We have just captured one of the rebel gunners,
who was in command of the piece that was blown to atoms. He says that
this hollow, where you had your camp-fire, was their powder magazine,
and that they left all of a hundred and fifty pounds of powder stored
there, hidden under the moss and dead leaves."