Page:Under MacArthur in Luzon.djvu/58

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
38
UNDER MacARTHUR IN LUZON

and toward the end Captain Relosus spoke so rapidly, and in Spanish, that Ben understood only a small portion of what was said. At last the rebel turned on him sharply. "You will not speak? Very well, but the consequences will be on your own head. Do not forget that I gave you fair warning." With this he turned to the door and went out.

It must be confessed that the young captain was greatly downcast, nor did his spirits improve when two Filipinos came in with a rope and bound his hands behind him. Then he was forced into a sitting position on the wet flooring of the hut and tied fast to one of the corner posts. This work was just completed when several shots were heard, coming from a distance, and the rebels ran outside to learn what they meant.

Left to himself, Ben wondered what would happen next. He knew that the American forces at the waterworks intended to move before nightfall, but would they come in that direction, or strike out to the southeastward? The shots worried him also, for he could not help but connect them with the possible fate of poor Gilmore.

An hour went by, and the rain came down more furiously than ever, causing a pool of water to collect