The National tribune., 1902-03-20

A hot. tropical sun beat down relent-
lessly upon a landscape of flooded rice
fields, tide swamps, clumps of bamboo and
a turnpike road leading through them.
Off to the right stood a little group of
bamboo shacks, entirely deserted except
for the chickens picking a living about
their environs and a few stray gaunt pigs
grunting their diSpieasure at the lack of
food, A couple OF lean and useless ours
sent ND occasional hOwls of protest. But
for these signs of life the entire land
scape might as well have been a painted
one, except for the little cloud of smoke
that hung about a certain spot on the
turnpike, where four men sheltered them
selves as best they might by its shelving
bank and with their Springfelds kept up
q steady fire into the fringe of bamboo
timber about 200 yards to their front. -.
There was nothing, apparently, to call
for their waste of ammunition to one at
a little distance, but 10 the four men
there was more than enough reason for 1t,
for from the timber came the frequent
sharp crack of Mauser rifles, and over
their heads the constant kissing of swift
ly-winging bullets warned them 10 keep
as well under cover as their exposed po-
sition permitted.
Smokeless powder enabled the attack
ing party to keep its exact position Sc
ing its approximate location, but every
loud bang of the Springfields in the hands
OF the little squad of defenders was fol-
lowed by a cloud of smoke, a sort of in
cense TO the criminal stupidity of the War
Department, which had sent out soldiers
to fight with antiquated weapons and
black powder, and it was impossible for
them to deceive the Filipinos by shifting
their position, since the new one was thus
clearly marked by the first shot made
from it.
As for the Filipinos, they could move
about at will and shoot without danger of
discovery, so long as they did not expose
themselves TO view, and they were cOnsti-
tutiOnally cautious in that respect,
For an hour this had been going on. the
half hundred or more Filipinos being
afraid to charge the four Americans they
had entrapped, while the latter could not
retreat without danger cf being pounced
upon and slaughtered, because hampered
by their wounded officer, TO leave whom
TO the mercy of the enemy never entered
the head of any of them.
Lieut.. Fred Warren had that morning
gone out on a little reconnaissance with
Corp1 William Dalton and two privates.
They had gone some three miles from
camp, and were crossing this swamp by
the turnpike road, the only thoroughfare,
and had approached within 200 yards of
the bamboo fringe on the opposite side,
when a volley of Mauser bullets was
poured into them and the Lieutenant fell
with q bullet through his breast, piercing
the lung. The others were unhurt. Drop
ping to the ground, they drew the Lieu
tenant back behind the crest of the turn
pike ont of danger and then began using
their Springields. Every shot made them
a mark for return shots, and had the Fill
ipinOs been as good marksmen as the
Americans, q few minutes would have
settled the whole matter, but here they
were, after an hour of this kind of work,
with none of them hit except the officer.
Boys" said Corpl Billy Dalton, at the
end of that period ''we must manage TO
get out of here somehow. The wind is
in the wrong direction, and they do not
hear the shooting in camp. Our ammuni-
ton is getting low, and when it is gone
they will rush us, and it viii be all off
with us then"
"But if we carry the Lieutenant we
cannot shoot, and they will see what is
up and sneak up On us along the other
side of the pike"
81 know they will, Jim, but something's
got to be done. Let me think about it a
minute"
"All right. Billy. Whatever you say
goes" was the reply, as the two turned
again to their work of sharpshooting at
their invisible assailants, in order TO keep
, them in wholesome fear of nearer ap-
proach to the little band.
I Just then the wounded officer groaned