He ranged up beside the fellow with drawn pistol Page 27
"I'll make him do it," returned Ben, firmly.
A talk of several minutes with the Tagal followed. At first the sharpshooter was very unwilling, and shook his head steadily, but when Ben placed a pistol to the man's forehead he quickly changed his mind. Then Gilmore was lifted up, and the Tagal caught hold of his legs, while the lieutenant used what little strength he had to cling to the man's neck.
"Now you have got to get us past your sharpshooters in safety," said Ben, emphatically. "If you attempt to play us any trick, I'll shoot you on the spot. Forward!" And picking up the Tagal's rifle and slinging it over his shoulder, he ranged up beside the fellow, with drawn pistol ready for use.
It was plain to see the sharpshooter did not relish the task cut out for him, yet as he did not want to be shot, he moved forward as directed, and soon the hollow was left behind and the party of three was heading toward the rocks before mentioned.
The downfall of rain had now increased, and but little could be seen at a distance of a hundred feet or even less. The guide found a passage between the rocks and then moved directly northward.
"This is not the way to the American camp," said Ben, as he halted the sharpshooter.
"We must go around; six or eight sharpshooters are ahead," replied the Tagal, sourly.
"Oh, all right; but mind what I told you." And the young officer shook his pistol suggestively. On they went again, and no more was said for nearly quarter of an hour, when the sharpshooter came to a sudden halt.
"What's the trouble now?" began Ben, when he saw several forms moving in the brushwood ahead. "Are they your men?" he questioned quickly.
"Who can tell that—in this storm?" was the reply. And then the Tagal added: "I did not know anybody was here."
The forms were approaching rapidly, and there was no time to retreat. Suddenly the Tagal uttered a sharp cry and pushed Gilmore from him. He had recognized some fellow-sharpshooters, and fearing for his own safety he dodged behind a tree, but not before Ben had fired on him and wounded him in the shoulder.
The cry attracted the attention of the Filipinos, and the shot made them take to cover. But in a minute the young captain and his companion were surrounded, and a voice called out, in very bad English: "Americano, surrender, or we shoot him dead!"
Ben looked around, lowering his pistol as he did so. He saw the barrels of four rifles pointed at him and the barrel of a fifth pointed at Gilmore, who lay flat on his back, almost breathless with pain.
"I—I surrender!" gasped the lieutenant. "Don't kill me in cold blood!"
"Do you surrender, capitan?" demanded the voice which had spoken before.
Ben hesitated, but only for a moment longer. He saw several determined faces peering at him, saw that the Filipinos were ready to pull trigger at the word of command, and felt that the discharge of rifles would more than likely prove deadly.
"I surrender," he said quietly, and his heart sank as he uttered the words.
"The capitan will throw down his pistol and his rifle," went on the Tagalog leader.
Without ceremony Ben did as requested. The Tagals came out of the brushwood, and the Americans were quickly surrounded and searched, and all of their other weapons taken from them. Then the man named Riva came forward and claimed his rifle and his knife, telling his story with all the points possible in his favor.
A lively discussion followed. The sharpshooters were willing to conduct Ben to the rear, considering it a great feather in their cap to have captured an Americano capitan, but none of them wished to carry Gilmore.
"Shoot him where he lies," said two of the party, and one raised his rifle for that purpose.
"Don't, you inhuman brute!" protested Ben. "That is not war; it is murder!"
"Let him be as he is," said the leader of the sharpshooters. "If he lives, very well; if not, it will not matter. Come!" And he ordered Ben on, raising his rifle as he spoke. The young captain wished to protest, and even offered to carry Gilmore himself; but the Tagals would not listen, and so he had to move on, leaving his injured companion to his fate.
CHAPTER IV
A MEETING IN A NIPA HUT
Ben wondered where he was to be taken, but his captors remained silent on the subject, and at last threatened to shoot him on the spot if he did not stop asking questions.
The trail led in the direction of the Pasig River, and as the party proceeded the ground became more and more sloppy, until all were wading in water up to their ankles. Meanwhile the downpour of rain continued, soaking the party to the skin. It was a cold rain calculated to strike one's very backbone, and made the young captain shiver.
At last, when Ben was coming to the conclusion that they were bound directly for the Laguna de Bay, the leader of the party made a turn to the southward. Here there had once been an extensive rice field, but this was now torn up and abandoned. Beyond the field, backed by a small growth of palm trees, was a nipa hut with several bamboo sheds surrounding it. The course was straight for the nipa hut, and Ben was told to halt before it. Then the leader of the sharpshooters disappeared inside the structure.
The young captain suspected that the hut was a sort of headquarters for the sharpshooters, and in this he was right, for presently the leader of the party returned, followed by a Tagal wearing the uniform of a captain. The latter ordered the American into the hut, and Ben entered.
It was a low, dingy affair, dirty to the last degree, the ceiling covered with soot and the floor overrun with vermin. In the centre of the single apartment which it contained was a rude table, surrounded by several chairs, while in one corner rested some boxes of ammunition, and in another a few army stores.
The Filipino captain spoke broken English and seemed rather a good kind of a fellow. With a profound bow he invited Ben to take a seat.
"You have come in one big rain, capitan," he began. "You should have taken some better weather for your trip to our camp," and he smiled broadly.
"Thank you, but I didn't expect to come so far," returned Ben, rather amused at the show of humor, which is generally lacking in the average Tagal.
"I understand it must be so. But now you are with us, and it is raining so hard, you will not object to remaining?"
"I suppose I'll have to stay," said Ben, bluntly.
"Why put the matter so harshly, capitan? I will count you as my guest."
"If
