CHAPTER II
A MEETING AT THE NIPA BARRACKS
It was only for a moment.
Then, without answering Hal's remark, the Filipino clutched at the whiteman's arm, shoving him out into the rain. The native followed.
Just then a _cochero_ with an empty _quilez_ drove up. With instantpresence of mind Vicente Tomba, as the dandy had called himself, held uphis hand.
It was all done in an instant, and native and white friend were drivingaway through the gusts of rain.
"Wonder who our friends are?" Noll remarked curiously.
"We know that one of them calls himself Vicente Tomba," replied SergeantHal.
"But he spoke of having us picked out for something, and he seemedalmost peevish because we didn't suit him," smiled Noll.
"I can't imagine what it is," replied Hal, undisturbed. "It couldn't beanything in the high treason line, anyway."
"Why not even that?" demanded Sergeant Noll.
"Why, look here, old fellow, we're just two plain, kid, doughboysergeants of the line. If that fellow had wanted anything in thetreasonable variety, what sort of goods could we deliver him, anyway?Nothing, much, beyond our own arms and a copy of the company's roll."
"Then what on earth was the fellow up to, anyway?"
"I don't know, Noll, and I don't much care. I've heard that there aresharks of all sorts here in Manila, ready to put up all sorts of gamesto get the easy-mark soldier's pay away from him. Probably Tomba and hisfriend belong in that class."
"Pooh! Tomba has plenty of money," snorted Noll Terry. "He wouldn't haveto be out for a poor, buck-foot soldier's pay."
"Swindlers sometimes do have plenty of money, for a while, until the lawrounds them up and puts them where they ought to be," observed SergeantHal sagely. "Let's forget the fellow, Noll, unless we see him again.Tomba is evidently up to something crooked, and we're not, so we haven'tany real interest in him, have we?"
"Except to be on our guard," said Noll.
"You speak as though you had some forebodings regarding Tomba, or Tombaand his friend," smiled Hal quizzically.
"Well, then, I have," returned Noll Terry.
"Not scared, are you?"
"That's a fine question to ask a soldier," sniffed Noll.
"Well, I'm not going to waste any more thoughts on Tomba, or on hiswhite-man companion, either. Whee! Look at that rain. It----"
But a fearfully vivid flash of tropical lightning caused Sergeant HalOverton to step further back into the little shed and close his eyes foran instant. Right after the flash came a prolonged, heavy roll ofthunder that made the earth shake.
"_Cochero, para!_" shouted Noll right after that, and a fareless_quilez_ stopped near the door of the shed.
"_Occupado_ (occupied)?" called Noll.
"No, senor."
Hal and Noll bolted through the rain, darted into the _quilez_ throughthe door at the rear, and plumped themselves down on the seats.
"_Sigue directio, Malate, cuartel nipa,_" ordered Hal, thus instructingthe driver to go straight ahead to Malate and to take them to the nipabarracks.
The Filipino driver himself was drenched. In his thin cotton clothingthe little brown man perched on the box outside, shivered until histeeth chattered. He did not propose, however, to let personal discomfortstop him from earning a fare.
Around the Walled City (Old Manila) the _quilez_ carried the youngsoldiers. These massive walls, centuries old, enclose perhaps a squaremile of city. Once past the Walled City the little vehicle glided onthrough pretty Ermita. Here, passing along Calle Real (Royal Street),the driver turned into the straight stretch for the next suburb, Malate.
For months before sailing for the Philippines both young sergeants haddevoted a good deal of their spare time to the study of Spanish. Theyhad, however, learned the best Spanish of old Castile. First SergeantGray, who had put in three terms of service in the Philippines, hadtaken pains to teach them much of the local Spanish dialect as it isspoken in this far-away colony of Uncle Sam's.
To-day the Filipino children speak English rather well and musically,for English is the language of the public schools of the islands. Manyof the older natives, however, even those with English-speakingchildren, know only a few words at most of the tongue of the_Americanos_.
By the time that the little cab turned in at the barracks grounds muchof the fury of the storm had passed. The rain, however, continued at asteady downpour, and seemed good for the night.
"We may have to be campaigning in this kind of weather in anotherfortnight," remarked Hal.
"Fine business," commented Noll dryly.
"Well, it all goes in the life of a soldier. It can't hurt the soldiermuch, either, for somehow he's healthier than fellows who clerk or workin machine shops."
"Clerking? Shops?" repeated Noll, with a smile of mild disgust. "Did weever stand that sort of life, Hal?"
"Once upon a time, Noll."
"Thank goodness that day has gone by."
"Here we are," announced Sergeant Hal, reaching for the rear door andopening it. "I'll pay the _cochero_ this time, Noll; you paid for ourlast ride."
On the broad veranda of the barracks, well out of the rain, lounged halfa hundred of the men of the Thirty-fourth. A few of them were at tableswriting home letters.
"Did you give my regards to the Escolta, Sergeant?" called PrivateKelly, from one of the groups.
"I didn't forget you, Kelly," laughed Hal.
"Get those picture post cards for me?" called Corporal Hyman.
"Here you are, Hyman," responded Noll, opening his blouse and exploringan inner pocket. "I hope I haven't got them too wet, and that the viewswill suit."
"Any views will suit," retorted Hyman. "My kid brothers and cousins havenever been out here and one view will please them as well as another."
A few more soldiers came forward to ask about errands that the youngsergeants had undertaken. No one's commissions had been forgotten.
"Your leave didn't do you two so much good this afternoon," grinnedCorporal Hyman.
"Why not?" Sergeant Overton wanted to know.
"On account of the weather we didn't have parade, anyway."
"I'm no parade shirker," retorted Hal. "On the busiest day we're notbeing overworked here. We may strike something hard in the tropics yet,but so far, since reaching Manila, the men of this regiment haven't beenworked more than a quarter as hard as in barracks at home. But I wonderwhen we go south?"
"Haven't you heard?" asked Corporal Hyman.
"Not a word," Hal declared.
"I haven't, either. But we heard that the 'Warren' came in thisafternoon."
The "Warren" was the United States Army transport vessel that was muchused in carrying troops between the different islands.
"We ought to be under way soon, then," Hal replied thoughtfully. "Isuppose we're still slated to go down among the Moros."
"That's the talk in the regiment, anyway," replied Corporal Hyman.
"I hope it's true."
"You're one of the few that does, then," retorted Hyman, with a grimace."In these islands the real fine place for a regiment to be stationed isright here on the outskirts of Manila. Plenty of grub, kitchen-cooked;little work to do, and no danger of anything except guard duty to callus out of our bunks."
"That's altogether too lazy for a soldier," objected Hal, with spirit."I don't want to see any trouble start in these islands, but if there'sgoing to be any campaigning, I want to see the Thirty-fourth right inthe thick of it."
"You'll get over that, by and by, Sergeant," responded Corporal Hyman."More than half of the fellows in the Thirty-fourth have been out herein other years, and have seen plenty of fighting. Now, getting shot atby a lot of strangers is all right enough for a soldier when it has tobe done; but you'll find that the older men in this regiment are notdoing any praying that 'Ours' will get more than its share of fighting."
"Perhaps I won't, when I've seen as much fighting as some of you fellowshave," Hal nodded. "I
've never been in a real battle yet."
"You've been under stiff enough fire, right back in the good old RockyMountains," retorted Corporal Hyman. "You don't need any more by way oftraining."
"Perhaps not; but I want it, just the same. I'm a hog, ain't I?" laughedthe boyish young sergeant.
"No; you're simply a kid soldier," grumbled Hyman. "All the kids want aheap of fighting--until after they've had it. When you've been with thecolors a few years longer you'll be ready to agree that three 'squares'a day and a soft bed at night are miles and miles ahead of desperatecharges or last-ditch business."
"So the 'Warren' is in port from her last trip south," Hal went on. "Oh,I wonder when we start."
"So do a lot of us," retorted Private Kelly. "But we hope it won't besoon, Sarge."
"Oh, you coffee-coolers!" taunted Hal good-naturedly.
The Army "coffee-cooler" is the man who is left behind in stirringtimes. Uncle Sam's soldiers explain that a coffee-cooler is a man whowon't go forward, in the morning, until his coffee is cool enough forhim to drink it with comfort. Hence a coffee-cooler is a man who isdetailed on work at the rear of the fighting line simply because he isof no earthly use at the front.
It is not as bad, however, to be a coffee-cooler as a cold-foot. A"cold-foot" is a soldier paralyzed with terror; he is worse than uselessanywhere in the Army. The cold-foot is ironically asked why he didn'tbring his woolen socks along. If a cold-foot gets into deadly action itis said that the cold chills chase each other down his spine and allsettle in his feet, so that he is frozen in his tracks. However, asoldier who betrays cowardice in the face of the enemy may be shot forhis cowardice, for which reason "cold feet" sometimes become cold forall time to come.
Soldiers there have been who have shown "cold feet" in their firstbattle or two, and yet have been among the best of soldiers later on.But the cold-foot is a rarity, anyway, among the regulars.
"Hello," broke in Kelly, peering out through the rain, "there goes somegood fellow to the rainmakers."
Many of the other soldiers looked. Two hospital-corps men were carryinga stretcher in the direction of the post hospital. None could make out,however, who was on the stretcher, as, owing to the downpour of rain,the unfortunate one was covered with three or four rubber ponchos.
"I hope none of our good fellows is badly hurt," broke in Sergeant NollTerry.
"Rheumatism, most likely," grunted Corporal Hyman. "Did you ever see acountry where the rain fell as steadily when it got started?"
"Well, this is the rainy season, isn't it?" inquired Noll.
"Yes."
"But half of the year we have a dry season, don't we?"
"We do," admitted Hyman. "Yet, of the two, you'll prefer the wet seasona whole lot. In the dry season the dust is blowing in your face day andnight."
An orderly stepped briskly out on the veranda.
"Sergeant Overton is directed to report immediately to LieutenantPrescott at the latter's quarters."
"I'll be there before the words are out of your mouth, Driggs," laughedHal, rising and starting.
"Hold on, Sarge," called Private Kelly. "Look at the sheets of dewcoming down, and you haven't your poncho. Here, put mine on."
"Thank you; I will," Hal assented, halting.
The poncho is a thin rubber, blanket-like affair. In the field the menusually spread the poncho on the ground, under their blankets. But inthe middle of the poncho is a hole through which the head may be thrust,the poncho then falling over the trunk of the body like a rain coat.
Getting this on and replacing his campaign hat, Hal started brisklytoward officers' quarters.
Lieutenant Prescott was in his room when Hal knocked, and promptlycalled, "Come in."
Hal entered, saluting his lieutenant, who was writing at a table. Helooked up long enough to receive and return Hal's soldierly salute.
"With you in a moment, Sergeant," stated Lieutenant Prescott, who thenturned back to his writing.
"Very good, sir."
Hal did not stir, but merely changed from his position of attention toone of greater ease.
Lieutenant Prescott is no stranger to our readers. He was secondlieutenant of Captain Cortland's B Company of the Thirty-fourth. Readersof our "HIGH SCHOOL BOYS SERIES" recall Dick Prescott as a schoolboyathlete, and readers of the "WEST POINT SERIES" have followed the sameDick Prescott through his four years of cadetship at the United StatesMilitary Academy.
After finishing a page and signing it, Lieutenant Prescott wiped hispen, laid it down and wheeled about in his chair.
"You heard about Sergeant Gray?" asked the young West Pointer.
"Nothing in especial, sir."
"He was badly hurt ten minutes ago in stopping the runaway horses ofColonel Thorpe, of the Thirty-seventh Infantry. Colonel Thorpe wasvisiting our colonel, and only the two little Thorpe youngsters were inthe carriage when the horses bolted, pitching the native driver from theseat."
"Badly hurt, sir?" cried Hal Overton in a tone of genuine distress."That will be bad news in the company, sir. I don't think any of themknow it yet, or I would have heard it before. Sergeant Gray is a man weswear by, sir, in the squad rooms."
"Sergeant Gray is a splendid soldier," observed Lieutenant Prescottwarmly. "It is not believed that he will have to be retired, but he mayhave to put in two or three months on sick report before he can comeback to duty. But that is not what I sent for you to tell you, SergeantOverton. As Sergeant Hupner was left behind on detailed duty in theUnited States, the accident to Gray now leaves you the ranking sergeantin the company. Until further orders you will take over the duties ofacting first sergeant, by Captain Cortland's direction."
"Very good, sir."
"This is Tuesday, Sergeant. Thursday, at eleven in the morning, theThirty-fourth is due before the office of the captain of the port, totake boats for the transport 'Warren.' This regiment sails for Iloiloand other ports."
"May I repeat that to the men, sir?"
"It is going to be necessary, for you will have to see to it that allthe personal and company baggage is ready for the teamsters at fourto-morrow afternoon."
"Very good, sir."
"And, Sergeant, this is not official, but I believe it to be reliable;some of the Moro _dattos_ (chieftains) are said to be preparing to stirup trouble in some of the southern islands. In that case theThirty-fourth will bear the brunt of it all."
"I am really very glad to hear that, sir," cried Sergeant Hal eagerly.
"So am I, Sergeant," admitted the lieutenant, who, like most of theyounger officers, hungered for active service against an enemy. "Youunderstand your instructions, Sergeant?"
"Yes, sir."
"Very good; that is all, Sergeant."
Hal Overton saluted his officer with even more snap than usual, thenhastened back to barracks.
Supper soon followed, and before the meal was over the rain had stopped.After supper several of B Company's men went out into the near-by streetto stroll in the somewhat cooler air of the tropical evening.
A little later Hal and Noll followed. Presently, in the shadow under adensely foliaged yllang-yllang tree, they came upon two figuresstanding there, just in time to hear Corporal Hyman's voice sayingheartily:
"That sounds like just as good a time as you make it out to be. And itwon't take us over three hours? This is a hard night to get off, as thepacking-up order has been given. I'll see our first sergeant, however,and find out whether there's any chance of my getting leave for theevening. If he says so, I can put it by the captain all right. Waithere, and----"
"I guess it won't be necessary, Corporal Hyman," broke in Hal's voice,sounding rather cool, for Hal had recognized Hyman's companion--noneother than Vicente Tomba.
"Hello! There you are, Sarge," cried Hyman, while the little Filipinodandy started, peered at the young sergeants and then scowled.
"I'll try to fix it for you to get a pass to-night, Corporal," Hal wenton, "if you really want one. But I don't exactly believe that you d
o.This native gentleman tried to butt in with us this afternoon, and atfirst we took it in good part. But he was too eager. Then, a littlelater in the afternoon, we heard him denouncing us to a white manbecause we weren't eager enough. Corporal, unless you know a lot aboutthis man, I don't believe you want anything to do with him."
Tomba's face was blazing hotly, while his eyes gleamed angrily atSergeant Overton's words.
"If that's the kind of fellow he is, then I don't want a pass to-night,"Hyman replied. "This little man has just been telling me how much heloves American _soldados_, and he proposed to get a _quilez_ and take meover into the city for the time of my life."
"From what happened this afternoon I'm a little shaky on Senor Tomba,"Hal continued.
"You never saw me before!" cried Tomba, wheeling about on Hal. "Liar!Thief!"
Hal's reply was prompt, sufficient, military. He delivered a short-arm,right-hand blow that struck the native in the neck, felling him to thesidewalk.
But Tomba was up in an instant, and a knife flashed in his hands.
Hal did not flinch. He leaped upon the little brown man, getting aclinch that held the rascal powerless. Then Noll coolly took away theknife, striking the blade into the tree trunk and snapping the steel intwo.
"Shall I call the guard, Sergeant, to take this little brown rat?"demanded Corporal Hyman.
"No; he isn't big enough, or man enough to bother the guard with,"replied young Sergeant Overton. "I'll take care of him myself."
Whirling the Filipino around, Hal gave him a vigorous start, emphasizedby a kick, and Vicente Tomba slid off into the darkness.
Malay blood is not forgiving. There were other reasons, too, why itwould have been far better had Sergeant Hal turned Tomba over to theguard.