Page:Under MacArthur in Luzon.djvu/99

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WALTER AND SI DORING
77

his old Yankee chum, Si Doring. As Walter had written to Ben and Larry, he could not stand it to remain idle while so much that was stirring was going on in the Philippines, and he had applied several times for a transfer, the last time with success, through the aid of his firm friend, Caleb Walton, the gunner.

The Central, a double-decked tramp steamer, formerly in the Australian trade, had left San Francisco about seven weeks before. The weather had been all that could be hoped for, and the run to Honolulu of the Hawaiian Islands had taken place quickly and without special incident. At Honolulu Walter had had a brief run ashore, and, in company with Si, had taken a stage trip to the Pali, that wonderful precipice overlooking the Pacific, where Larry was first introduced to my readers, in "Under Dewey at Manila." At the Pali, Walter met the inn-keeper, Ralph Harmon, who was much pleased to hear from Larry again, and equally pleased to learn that the young sailor was doing so well.

From Honolulu the run had been straight for the Ladrones, with a brief stop at the little island of Guam, now another of Uncle Sam's new posses-