same, general."
"But I see nobody around."
"They were all here last night, general. I saw them with my own eyes."
"Then I will go in and wait. If you see Captain Relosus or any of the others, send them to me at once."
"I will, general."
"Tell them I bring news of great importance," concluded the Spaniard, and then he stepped into the hut, shaking the water from his feathered hat as he did so.
The gloom outside made the interior of the hut, which boasted of but one window, quite dark, and for several minutes the Spaniard did not discover Ben's presence. He stood near the doorway and ordered the Tagal boy to bring in his luggage and pistols, and told the youth to hunt up something to eat if he could.
"I will do my best, General Lupez," answered the boy, and ran away to one of the sheds close to which a camp-fire had been burning.
At the mention of the name Ben's heart gave a bound of curiosity. General Lupez! Could this be the man, José Lupez, who had run away with the fifty thousand dollars, obtained from Benedicto Lupez, which belonged to the Hearthstone Saving Institution?
CHAPTER V
THE TAKING OF CAINTA AND TAYTAY
"Ha, a prisoner! Why did you not speak, man?"
"I didn't know that it was my place to speak," answered Ben, coldly. "I hadn't anything to say."
"You are an Americano capitan? A good haul, truly."
"And you are a Filipino general? "
"Yes."
"Am I addressing General José Lupez? " went on the young captain, curiously.
"You are." The Spaniard stared at Ben. "Where have we met before? I remember it not."
"I don't believe we ever met, General Lupez. But I have often heard of you, and I have seen your photograph."
"I see. And what is your name?"
The young captain hesitated. Should he reveal himself? Probably it would do no harm, unless General Lupez should hold him responsible for Benedicto's capture. But would it do any good?
"I prefer to keep my name to myself, sir."
The Spaniard drew up his shoulders. "As you will. Perhaps you are somebody of importance."
"No, I am only an ordinary soldier. I was a lieutenant, but our captain was shot, and—"
"I see—they made you capitan; very good—if you are worth the position. But you are not much of a capitan now, ha! ha! Who caught you? some of Capitan Relosus's men?"
"Yes, general."
"They are a shrewd set—some of our best. Well, if you are a spy, your days are numbered; probably you already know that." The general paused. "You have been in Manila lately? Did you ever hear of my brother, Benedicto Lupez? "
"Quite often. He is in prison."
"As a rebel?"
"Both as a rebel and on a charge of robbery. It is said he stole some money brought to Luzon by an American."
"'Tis not true!" exclaimed José Lupez, growing red in the face. "I know the whole story, and my brother came by the money honestly. The charge is one gotten up by you Americanos merely to create a sensation."
"But I was told Señor Benedicto Lupez had confessed and had surrendered part of the money."
"Indeed!" General Lupez gazed at Ben curiously. "And what do they say he did with the balance of the money?"
"They say he gave it to his brother."
"To me? How absurd! The invention truly of pigs, vile Americano pigs! " The general began to pace the floor nervously. "Why should I take his money, since I have always had more than enough of my own? 'Tis truly the invention of Americano pigs! They are willing to say everything that is bad of a Spaniard or a Tagal."
"They say that you took five thousand dollars of the money and bought your title in the army with it," went on Ben, anxious, if possible, to draw the Spaniard out.
"Again I say absurd. The appointment came to me direct from General Aguinaldo, who is our President also, and it came without solicitation on my part, although I will admit some of my friends insisted on my appointment, knowing my military ability. I have no money but my own, and I want none. The Americanos—" General Lupez broke off short. "Ah, Capitan Relosus, here at last. I was wanting to see you."
"There is no time now!" burst out the captain of the sharpshooters, speaking in the Tagalog dialect. "The Americanos are in the jungle below, and pressing forward with all speed. We must retreat!"
"The enemy! A large number?"
"My men counted a regiment at least, and more to the southward. We cannot hold this ground; it is too open. We must retreat to Cainta, and possibly to Taytay."
The captain of the sharpshooters showed that he was much aroused. He had been followed by several of his men, and one of these now liberated Ben from the corner post of the hut.
"You must go with us," said Captain Relosus. "And go quickly and without resistance, unless you wish to be shot."
No more was said, and in a moment more Ben found himself outside. The rain had ceased, but the air was full of moisture and the trail all but impassable. At a distance there was steady firing, showing that a lively skirmish was on.
Before Ben could look around him, he was hurried along the trail leading to the lake shore. Here there had been a large Filipino encampment, but all the soldiers were now either at the front or in full retreat. He had a rebel at each side of him, the pair holding on to the rope which bound his hands behind him. Each rebel had a gun slung over his shoulder, and looked like a fairly good fighter, even though barefooted and in tatters.
"Where are you going to take me?" asked the young captain, as they hurried along. But neither would answer the question, even if he understood it, which was doubtful, and both only grinned wickedly and trotted him on faster than ever.
All the while they were running Ben was working at his wrists, and presently, as they came to a patch of woods, he was delighted to find that his right hand could be slipped from its fastening.
"Now or never!" he thought, and watching his opportunity, he gave the guard on his right a tremendous shove which pitched the Tagal headlong over a tree root. Then he leaped at the other fellow, snatching for the rifle as he did so. The Mauser fell to the ground, and the Tagal on top of it. Before he could get up, the young
