CHAPTER XIII
IN WHICH A FLAG OF TRUCE IS FIRED UPON
Major Morris well knew the wiliness of the Filipinos, yet he did notdoubt but that they would pay due respect to a flag of truce whichthey had themselves invited. Accordingly he advanced boldly with hislittle party, until the four had covered fully one-half of thedistance which separated the American troops from the point where therebels had taken a stand.
"He is thrustin' thim a whole lot!" groaned Dan Casey, who was theclosest man in the ranks to Ben. "If he gits plugged--"
"They won't dare to fire, Dan," said a companion. "If they did--"
The speech was cut short by the pop of a Mauser rifle, followed by twomore pops, and the private who carried the white flag was seen tofling the banner down and fall headlong. In the meantime, theFilipinos who had appeared with the white rag were running back totheir own ranks with all possible speed.
"They have fired on the flag of truce!" The cry arose from a hundredthroats, and then a scattering volley rang out. At the same time theFilipinos opened up in a body, and Major Morris, Gilbert, and thethird man were seen to pitch into the tall grass in such a manner thatthey were almost hidden from view.
"Gilbert is shot! And Major Morris too!" Such was the painful thoughtwhich ran through Ben's brain. He looked at the colonel pleadingly.
"Advance at once, Captain Russell, with the first battalion, to therescue of the flag of truce," ordered the colonel, understanding himfully. "After this, give the enemy no quarter."
"Forward, men, to the rescue!" shouted the young captain, almostbefore his superior had finished. "Deploy to the left and fire atwill. And make every shot tell!" he added bitterly.
"Forward it is!" shouted Dan Casey. "Down wid the haythins that don'tknow the manin' av honor!" And he led in the rush over the longgrass.
The whole line was soon advancing, but Ben's company was in front, andkept there until within a hundred feet of where the four men had gonedown. Then, to his amazement, the young captain saw Major Morris leapup, followed by Gilbert and the third soldier, and run with all speedtoward the American line.
"Not shot!" cried Ben, joyfully. "Heaven be thanked for that!" And healmost felt like embracing his two friends. Only the flag-bearer hadbeen struck, and he not seriously. The others had gone down in thelong grass to destroy the enemy's aim. The wounded flag-carrier wastaken to the rear, and then the whole line pushed on with a yell whichwas as savage as it was loud and long. The incident, short as it was,was not forgotten, and when one end of the American line closed in onthe retreating insurgents the latter fought to the last, knowing onlytoo well that little quarter would be given to them because of theirperfidy.
The long American line had swung toward Baliuag in a semicircle, andnow, when the insurgents tried to flee by way of the north, they foundthemselves confronted front and rear. This put them in more of apanic than ever; and had General Lawton had a thousand additionaltroops, it is more than likely he could have surrounded the rebelscompletely and compelled every one in that territory to throw down hisarms.
But he had not the extra men, nor could he get them. Moreover, he hadhardly a decent map of the territory, while the enemy knew everyfield, every road, and every stream. They could not make a stand atBaliuag, nor could they run in the direction of San Rafael, so theironly course was to take to the rice-fields, the cane-brakes, and thejungle, and this they did in short order.
By the time the outskirts of the town was gained Ben's command wasalmost exhausted; yet the colonel of the regiment felt that now was notime to rest, and company after company was sent out in the hope thatsome of the scattering bands of insurgents might be rounded up.
"Major Morris, you will take your four companies up yonder road," saidthe colonel, after receiving orders from General Lawton's orderly, andthe head of the regiment pointed out the road in question. Soon thebattalion was off on the double-quick, the major more than eager towipe out the treachery which had been shown to him and his companionsbut an hour or two before.
The road which the battalion followed was a winding one, lined withcottages of the better sort, showing that this was a fashionableoutskirt of the town. Only a few people showed themselves, and nothingwas seen or heard of the insurgents until a quarter of a mile had beencovered, and the best of the habitations had been left behind. Thencame an unexpected fire from a cane-brake, and out dashed fully twohundred savage-looking Tagals armed with guns and bolos.
"Halt! Fire!" came the commands, and the Americans obeyed as quicklyas possible. Several of our men had been hit, one seriously, and nowhalf a dozen Filipinos went down. For several minutes the fighting wasat close quarters, and it looked as if the battalion had run into anambush and were about to be slaughtered.
"To the shelter of the trees!" shouted Ben, and was about to guide hismen when a fierce-looking rebel officer leaped before him with drawnsword. His own blade met that of the enemy, and both flashed fire. Butthe Tagal was a fine swordsman and kept at his work, feeling certainthat he could run the _Americano_ through and through. Clack! clack!went the blades, up and down, side to side, and straight forward.
"Take care there!" came from Major Morris, and just then the Tagal'ssword pricked Ben's arm. The young captain leaped back a step, thencame forward, and as quick as lightning his sword found the Tagal'sribs. At the same time Dan Casey fired at the enemy, and the officerwent down flat on his back, shot through the breast.
"I had to do it," cried the Irish volunteer. "I thought he was aftherstickin' ye like a pig!"
"It was a close shave," murmured Ben, as he passed on. "He handled hissword like an expert. I shan't forget you for that, Casey."
"Sure, an' that's all right, captain," answered the soldier, quickly."Is your arm hurted much?"
"I guess not. Come, we've got them on the run again." And away thepair went, into the cane-brake, through which the rebels were crashinglike so many wild cattle.
The day had been full of excitement, but much more was to follow. Thecane-brakes were heavy, and soon Ben and Casey found themselvesseparated from the main body of the battalion and out of sight oftheir own company. Then several Filipinos confronted them and calledupon them to surrender.
"We ain't surrenderin' just yit, we ain't!" howled the Irish soldier,and let drive at the nearest rebel, while Ben discharged his pistol.Two of the enemy were wounded, and in an instant the others took totheir heels, evidently convinced that such fighters were "too many"for them.
The encounter, however, had taken time, and now Ben called upon hiscompanion to stop running. "We want to know where we are running tofirst," he said. "Listen."
They listened and made out a distant firing to both the right and theleft. "I'm afther thinkin' our b'ys is to the right," said Dan Casey.
"I believe you are right, Casey; although both of us may be mistaken,"rejoined the young captain of Company D. "We will try that direction,anyway."
They continued on their way through the cane-brake until they reacheda small stream. Here the ground was soft and full of treacherousbog-holes, and both looked at each other in dismay.
"Sure, an' this is more than we bargained fer, eh, captain?" remarkedCasey, as he pulled himself out of a hole into which he had gonealmost to his knees. "If we don't look out we'll git stuck so tightthere'll be no budgin' av us."
"The ground to the right seems to be firmer," replied Ben. "Come, wewill move in that direction."
But to get out of the soft spot was not easy, and soon they foundthemselves between the tall cane and up to their knees in a muck thatseemed to stick worse than glue.
"Sure, an' this is fightin' wid a vengeance," said the Irishvolunteer, smiling grimly. "It's sthuck we are like flies on a flypaper, eh, Captain Russell?"
"We've got to get out somehow, Casey," answered Ben, half desperately."Our command is marching farther and farther away, and we'll have allwe can do to get up to them."
"Sure thin, an' Major Morris betther send a detail back wid a longrope to pull u
s out. We couldn't fly from the inimy now if we thried,could we?"
"This is no joke, Casey."
"Joke, bedad? No, captain, I'm afther thinkin' it's a mighty sariousdifficulty. But there's no use av cryin', no matther how bad it is,"finished the Irish soldier, philosophically.
A moment of reflection convinced Ben that the best thing he could dowas to go back part of the distance they had come, and make anendeavor to cross the little stream at another point.
They retreated with difficulty, first one sinking into sometreacherous hole and then the other. Once Casey went flat on his back,and gave a loud yell of dismay when he found himself covered with amud that was more like a paste than anything else.
"Sure, an' I'll not go in such a cane-field again, bedad," hemuttered, as he started to pick up the gun he had dropped. As he didso a cracking of cane-stalks near them caused both to straighten up inalarm.
"Who comes?" cried Ben, and drew the pistol he had shoved into hisbelt.
There was no answer and he repeated the demand. "Are you Americans?"he added.
Still there was no reply. But the cracking of the stalks continued,and the sounds seemed to move around the pair in something of acircle. Then came a soft command in the Tagalog dialect. At once DanCasey clutched Ben by the arm.
"They be afther surroundin' us, captain," he whispered. "Be the noisesthere must be tin or a dozen av thim. Phwat shall we do, fight or runfer it?"