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diff --git a/old/55526-8.txt b/old/55526-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 4464cb7..0000000 --- a/old/55526-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7134 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Law of the Bolo, by Stanley Portal Hyatt - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Law of the Bolo - -Author: Stanley Portal Hyatt - -Release Date: September 11, 2017 [EBook #55526] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAW OF THE BOLO *** - - - - -Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project -Gutenberg (This file was produced from images generously -made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - THE LAW OF THE BOLO - - BY - - STANLEY PORTAL HYATT - - - DANA ESTES & COMPANY - BOSTON - - - - - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. HOW FELIZARDO TOOK TO THE HILLS 1 - II. HOW THE CORPORAL WENT BACK TO SPAIN 22 - III. HOW CAPTAIN BASIL HAYLE WENT TO THE MOUNTAINS 42 - IV. HOW MRS BUSH HEARD OF THE LAW OF THE BOLO 68 - V. HOW MR COMMISSIONER GUMPERTZ AND MR JOSEPH - GOBBITT TALKED OF HIGH FINANCE 96 - VI. CONCERNING MR JOSEPH GOBBITT, CAPTAIN BASIL - HAYLE, AND THE HEAD OF ALBERT DUNK 114 - VII. HOW THEY REBUILT THE GALLOWS AT CALOCAN 138 - VIII. HOW MR COMMISSIONER FURBER MET FELIZARDO 180 - IX. HOW MR COMMISSIONER GUMPERTZ OFFERED A REWARD 208 - X. HOW FELIZARDO WENT BACK TO SAN POLYCARPIO 221 - XI. HOW THE BOLO OF FELIZARDO CUT A KNOT 238 - XII. HOW FELIZARDO MADE PEACE 264 - - - - - - - - -FOREWORD - - -The Law of the Bolo, which runs throughout the Philippine Islands, -has the crowning merit of simplicity. Unlike the codes of other -countries, with their folios of verbiage, their precedents, decisions, -and interpretations, their hair-splitting subtleties and refinements -of phrase, their hidden dangers for the unwary and unfortunate, -the Law of the Bolo, of the terrible two-foot-long knife, with which -a Filipino can cleave his enemy from collar-bone to the waist, has -but one clause--that the spoil shall go to the man with the longest -reach. Possibly the process is crude, but, at least, it is speedy and -final. Judge, jury, counsel, the Bolo takes the place of all these; -and there is no appeal, at any rate in this life. - -The Law of the Bolo has also the merit of antiquity. It was in force -when the Spaniards annexed the Archipelago; it is in force there -to-day, under the American successors of the Spaniards; and probably it -will still be in force when, not only this generation, but half a dozen -of its successors as well, have passed away--not because it is perfect, -no law is, but because it is so admirably suited to local conditions. - -Half the troubles in the Islands during the last century or so--a great -many more than half, probably--have been due to the fact that white men -would not recognise this elemental code. Mr Commissioner Furber, the -head of the department of Constabulary and Trade in Manila, regarded it -as scandalous, as did also Mr Dwight P. Sharler, the Chief Collector -of Customs, and Mr Joseph Gobbitt, of the British firm of Gobbitt & -Dunk, Eastern merchants; but both old Felizardo, the ladrone leader, -and Captain Basil Hayle of the Philippines Constabulary, understood -it, and acted on that knowledge, thereby avoiding many mistakes, -as this story will show.... - - - - - - - - -THE LAW OF THE BOLO - - -CHAPTER I - -HOW FELIZARDO TOOK TO THE HILLS - - -Felizardo was sixty years of age, a wizened little man, quiet of voice, -emphatic of gesture, when the Americans displaced the Spaniards, and -began to preach the doctrines of Law and Order, coupled with those of -Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, as defined by the Declaration of -Independence. In appearance, Felizardo was not unlike a Japanese, being -purely Asiatic by descent; but, so far as essential characteristics, -were concerned, he was a son of the Tropics, with the qualities of -his kind. - -For all practical purposes, Felizardo's history begins thirty-five -years before the coming of the Americans. Up till that point in -his career, he had been an ordinary tao, one of the peasantry -of a village some ten miles from Manila, outwardly apathetic and -inoffensive, respecting, or at least fearing, the Law as represented -by the Presidente and the Guardia Civil, and earning such money -as he needed--which was not much--by an occasional day's work in -his hemp-patch up on the mountain-side. For the rest, he fished -when he had sufficient energy, or was sufficiently hungry so to do, -or gathered cocoa-nuts in the grove which stretched for a couple of -miles along the sea-shore. Then, suddenly, Dolores Lasara came into -his life, and his character developed. - -Dolores was the daughter of Juan Lasara, the Teniente of San -Polycarpio, the next village to that in which Felizardo had been born -and bred. Rumour in the village, which possibly spoke the truth, -declared that Juan was connected with the local band of ladrones, -and, as that body enjoyed a degree of immunity unusual even in the -Philippines, there may have been grounds for the suspicion. - -Juan Lasara was a mestizo, a half-caste, and Dolores herself showed -strong traces of her white ancestry. Felizardo, on the other hand, -was a native pure and simple, and, unlike most of his kind, prided -himself on the fact. - -Dolores and Felizardo first met after a fiesta, the feast of the -patron saint of San Polycarpio. The girl, clad all in white, was -walking in the procession round the plaza, following closely in the -wake of the stout priest and the gaudily-painted image, when the man, -lounging against the timbers of the crude belfry, smoking the eternal -cigarette, suddenly awakened to the fact that there were other things -in life besides tobacco and native spirits and game-cocks. He did not -follow Dolores into the church--that would have involved abstention -from several cigarettes, and would, to his mind, have served no useful -purpose--but he waited outside patiently, and, when she emerged, -followed her home, where he made the acquaintance of her father, -whom he knew well by sight. - -Juan Lasara, the Teniente of San Polycarpio, was a very able man, as -his hidden store of greasy Bank of Spain notes would have told you, -if you had been able to unearth them from the hiding-place up on the -mountain-side; and, being able, he realised that there were latent -possibilities in the rather shy young tao who was so obviously taken -with Dolores; consequently, he was perfectly ready to let the girl -accompany Felizardo down to the cockpit to see the fights, which, -as every Filipino knows, are the most important part of a religious -festival. - -The Teniente saw the young people off from the veranda of his house, -the only stone-built one in San Polycarpio; then he went back to his -office, where presently there came to him Father Pablo, the parish -priest, also a mestizo, and Cinicio Dagujob, a fierce little man, -with two bolos strapped on his waist. The last-named had come in, -unostentatiously, from the jungle behind the house, after the two -Guardia Civil, who had been sent to attend the fiesta, had gone off -to keep order at the cockpit; and even now he did not seem quite at -ease, knowing that those dreaded Spanish gens d'armes were still in -the village. "There might be trouble at the cockpit, and they might -bring their prisoners here," he muttered. - -Juan Lasara laughed. "If there were trouble, they would only beat the -causes of it with the flat of their sabres. That is their way--with -the tao. It is only you and your kind that they take as prisoners, -or kill." - -Cinicio's beady eyes flashed. "And how about you and the reverend -father?" he snarled. - -Once more Lasara laughed. "He is the priest of San Polycarpio, and -I am the Teniente. If they came--which they would not do without -warning--you would be Dagujob, the ladrone chief, whom we had lured -here, in order that he might be taken and hanged on the new gallows -at Calocan. You understand, Cinicio?" - -A sudden movement of his hand to his side showed that the robber did -comprehend; then the half-drawn bolo was thrust back into its wooden -sheath, contemptuously. "Bah!" its owner growled, "you dare not. I -should talk, and there is room on that gallows for three of us, -even when one is a fat priest. And now--what is the business we are -to discuss?" - -Father Pablo blew out a cloud of smoke and watched it curling -upwards. "Don José Ramirez will be receiving three thousand pesos -next month to pay for the new hemp land he is buying from the Friars," -he said. - -Cinicio Dagujob leaned forward. "Don José, the Spanish merchant at -Calocan?" he asked. - -The priest nodded, whilst the Teniente added with a grin: "His place -is opposite the new gallows, which they have put up for you and your -kind, Cinicio." - -The ladrone ignored the last remark; this was now a purely professional -matter. - -"How are we to get in?" he demanded. "The house is of stone, well -shuttered; and, if we tried force, the noise would bring down the -Guardia Civil, who are only a quarter of a mile away." - -Father Pablo had gone to the window, and was staring out. He preferred -not to listen to such discussions, which accorded ill with his calling; -but the Teniente had no such scruples. "You must have some one inside, -to open the door, then when Don José comes down----" He finished with -a suggestive motion. - -"That is easy to say," growled the ladrone--"very easy to say; -but whom can you get? Our own men are"--he shrugged his shoulders -expressively--"suspected; and they might not like to be so near your -gallows; whilst your people here are fools, every one--just common -tao. Then a man from Manila would get in one of his own hands. It -is rubbish. I know Don José Ramirez of old. He will keep his pesos -safe until he hands them over to the Friars; and then, of course, -one cannot rob the Church." - -Father Pablo, standing with his back to them, seemed to have missed -everything else, but he heard those last words, and nodded his head, -apparently in approval of the sentiment; though possibly, could -the others have seen it, the smile on his face might have explained -various things to them. - -The Teniente of San Polycarpio did not answer at once, but lighted -a fresh cigar very carefully, and got it drawing well; then, "I have -the man," he said quietly. "He came to me to-day, by chance, following -my daughter, Dolores." Father Pablo started slightly. "He is a tao, -with brains. I know Don José wants a man to live in the house. If I -send this young Felizardo to him, he will take him; and if I promise -Felizardo that he shall marry Dolores, the door will be opened to -you. I only met him to-day, but"--he laughed pleasantly--"I know men -and women; and I saw how it was with those two, at once." - -There was no smile on Father Pablo's face now, and one of his hands was -gripping the window frame more tightly than a casual observer might -have thought necessary; but the two other men were not watching him, -being interested in the details of their plan. - -It was sundown when Felizardo and Dolores came back, chattering -gaily. On the road they passed the two Guardia Civil, in their -gorgeous uniforms, with their clattering sabres and horse pistols in -vast leather holsters. Felizardo received a friendly nod from them, -being known as a decent young tao; but Father Pablo, whom they met -a little further on, had no blessing to bestow, only a scowl. - -"I do not like him," the man said abruptly. - -The girl shivered slightly. "Nor I. He is a priest, I know; but -still----" She broke off significantly, and, for the first time in his -life, Felizardo felt the instinct to kill awaken in him. Unconsciously, -he became a convert to the Law of the Bolo; consciously, he decided -that Father Pablo must be watched. - -The Teniente of San Polycarpio was alone when the couple returned, -and received Felizardo very graciously. He was interested in the young -man, and asked him many questions, whilst Dolores was preparing some -supper, a far more elaborate supper than usual. - -"You ought to do better," Lasara said kindly. "I see you are not -like the majority; and there are careers for those who are ready to -work. Look at myself"--he was a hemp-buyer--"I started to learn in -a Spaniard's store, and made all this myself. I should be a very -happy man, if only I had a son. As it is, there is Dolores alone; -and my ambition now is to see her married to an honourable man, -a man of the people like myself, not a frothy agitator from Manila." - -Felizardo fumbled badly with the cigarette he was rolling; but before -he could make any reply, his host had got up abruptly. "Come and see -me again soon--the day after to-morrow, if you like. I believe I know -of a post which might suit you." - -They make love quickly in the Tropics; consequently, it was not out -of the natural order of things that, as he walked home through the -cocoa-nut groves that night, Felizardo should feel sure both of his -own feelings and of those of Dolores. Somehow, the world seemed to -have grown a very different place. He had never noticed the moon -quite so bright before, never realised how wonderfully beautiful -was the effect of the light dancing on the waters. Then, suddenly, -with a sense of shame, he remembered how he had wasted his life. He -had eaten, smoked, and gambled on fighting-cocks--that was his whole -record so far; but it should be different for the future. He turned -into his little nipa-thatched house full of this good resolution, -and awakened in the morning still of the same mind. There was a fiesta -on in his own village that day, and he had saved five pesos in order -to have an unusually large bet on his own favourite fighting-cock, -hitherto the champion of the place; but, instead of doing so, -he donned his working clothes, took his working bolo, and started -off towards his hemp-patch, two miles away, up the hillside. One or -two women he passed--the men rose late on fiesta-days--stared after -him in astonishment; whilst a youth, who was taking a game-cock for -its morning airing, hugging the over-fed bird closely in his arms, -endeavoured to call him back; but Felizardo knew his own mind. That -evening, just as the cock-fighting was over, he staggered down with the -biggest load of hemp a man had ever brought into the village--one or -two complained afterwards that he had cleaned up some of their hemp in -addition to his own--took it into the Spanish hemp-buyers' warehouse, -and presently emerged with the best suit of white linen he could buy. - -In after years they used to talk of the look which was on Felizardo's -face that last evening he spent in the village. They chaffed him, -of course--who but a fool would clean up hemp on a fiesta-day?--but -he walked past them all without appearing to notice them. He was not -angry--there was no question of that; it was only that he seemed to -have urgent, and very pleasant, business of his own on hand. He had -become a man apart from them; and, though none could have foreseen it, -he was to remain a man apart, in a very different sense. - -By noon the following day, Felizardo was sitting on the broad, cool -veranda of Juan Lasara's house, talking to Dolores. There was no hurry -about business, the Teniente said cheerfully. He himself was likely -to be fully occupied until evening. Let the visitor stay the night, -and on the morrow they would go over and interview Don José Ramirez, -to whom he had already written--a proposal which suited both Dolores -and Felizardo. - -They talked all that afternoon and all that evening--the Teniente -was wonderfully discreet in keeping out of the way--and when, on -the following day, Felizardo took a reluctant farewell, they were -perfectly sure they understood one another. Other people of their -ages have made up their minds, temporarily at least, just as quickly, -even under colder skies than those of the Philippines. - -As the two men were going down to the beach--Calocan lay round a -headland, a long stretch of mangrove swamp, and you had to reach it by -canoe--they met Father Pablo, apparently going to the Teniente's. The -Teniente stopped a minute and spoke to the priest in a low voice, -then rejoined Felizardo, whilst the Father continued on his way. - -Felizardo thought of Dolores, alone in the house, with only a couple of -servants working in the courtyard, thought of the fat, sensual face, -the self-assertive swagger, and once more that instinct to kill, -which is one of the elemental corollaries of love, came back to him, -stronger than ever. For a moment he hesitated, half inclined to go -back; but he had not yet felt the full strength of that instinct; -and so in the end he went on, reluctantly. Juan Lasara, thinking -deeply over the priest's words--"It will be five thousand pesos -now. Don José has bought a second hemp-patch from the Friars"--did -not notice his hesitation, and might not have understood it in any -case, having got over his days of love, or at least of the love of -woman. He worshipped the peso only. - -Don José, white-haired and courtly, was gravely polite to the Teniente, -as a white gentleman must be to a half-caste; but he was almost -cordial to Felizardo. - -"I have already asked the Guardia Civil, and they speak well of you," -he said; then, as if fearing his words might seem slighting to Juan -Lasara, he hastened to add: "Of course, in any case, the recommendation -of Senor Lasara would suffice. Still, in these days there are so many -ladrones--you see my shutters and bars? You can read and write? Yes, -the good Friars taught you? Well, then it is arranged. Good!" - -So Felizardo became warehouseman, and, in a humble way, junior clerk, -to Don José Ramirez, to live in the house, and, if need arose, -to fire at ladrones with a musket through one of the loopholes of -those same shutters, an arrangement satisfactory to himself, to the -Spaniard, and perhaps most of all to his patron, the Teniente of San -Polycarpio. There was no mistaking the cordiality of the latter's -farewell. "Come and see us the first holiday," he said; "I shall be -pleased, and"--he smiled meaningfully--"so will Dolores." - -If there had been no woman in the case, Felizardo would not have stayed -two days in the warehouse. True, on the rare occasions when he did -see Don José, the old man was kindness personified; but the merchant -spent his time in his private office, whilst the other clerks, all -mestizos, looked on what they called "a wild tao" as a fitting subject -for jests and practical jokes. But Felizardo thought of Dolores, -who could only be won by his success in that warehouse; moreover, -he was wiry and strong as a leopard, as the practical jokers soon -learned; consequently, at the end of the first week he had not only -decided to stay, but had also made a definite position for himself. - -"A good boy, a very good boy," Don José remarked to the corporal of -the Guardia Civil. - -The latter nodded. "Yes, but watch him. They all want watching, -these Filipinos. I say it with all respect--but what has the Holy -Church done for them, save teach them our secrets and make them more -dangerous than ever." He sighed heavily, and twirled his huge, dyed -moustache. "Thirty years I have been out here, Don José, thirty years, -and only home to Spain once, and I still look on them as savages, -who will get my head in the end. I shall never see Spain again." - -Don José took him by the arm; it was Sunday, and they were standing -on the veranda. "Come inside," he said; "I have some choice wine -which came in the other day, wine of Spain; and some cigars such as -you could not get elsewhere, even in Spain. Come inside, corporal, -and drink to the day when we both return to Spain." - -Meanwhile, Felizardo had borrowed a dug-out canoe, and paddled round -the long headland to San Polycarpio. Dolores was waiting for him. "I -knew you would come," she said simply, "because Don José always closes -his warehouse on Sunday." - -The implied assurance in her words made him the happiest man in the -Islands; and as he sat talking to the Teniente that afternoon, he -was very full of the possibilities of a commercial career, and very -severe on the subject of ladrones and the injury they did to trade, -which was perhaps not very pleasant hearing to his host, for after -the guest had gone--this time Dolores accompanied him down to the -beach--Lasara remarked to the priest: "He will not open the door of -the warehouse, even if I ask him. He is a fool, after all." - -The priest shook his head. "He will open it, because he is a special -fool on one point." - -"What is that?" demanded the other. - -Father Pablo smiled grimly. "You will see. Leave it to me." And -with that promise the Teniente of San Polycarpio had to be content, -though, knowing the priest well, he was not really uneasy in his -own mind. Certainly, they would eventually share those five thousand -pesos of Don José's, and if, as was probable, Don José himself were -eliminated during the process of removal, so much the better. The -disappearance of a rival is never felt very keenly by a good business -man. - -The pesos for the purchase of the Friars' hemp lands came on the -appointed day, and Felizardo helped to carry them into the warehouse, -wondering greatly at the amount, and envying the man who possessed so -much wealth. He was still thinking over the matter at closing time, -when a strange youth hurried up, thrust a note into his hand, and -disappeared as suddenly as he had come. Felizardo read the letter -slowly, and forthwith forgot all about the pesos; for Dolores was in -trouble; Dolores had fled from her father's house, fearing a forced -marriage with a wealthy cousin, who had unexpectedly re-appeared -after years of absence; and, what was most important of all, Dolores -was coming to him for shelter and protection. At eleven o'clock that -very night, she would be outside the small door at the back of the -warehouse, where he must join her, and take her somewhere for safety. - -Felizardo sat down on a pile of cases in the corner of the warehouse, -where he smoked innumerable cigarettes, and tried to think out -the situation. For a moment, he was inclined to consult Don José, -then dismissed the idea as impossible. It seemed like treason to -Dolores. Above everything, no one must know that she had come to him -secretly, in the dead of night--no one, that is, except the person -who actually gave her shelter until he could marry her openly, in the -light of day. Yet who would give her shelter? Who would not talk? He -racked his brains for an answer, and then it came to him--the good -Sisters at the little convent on the far-side of the plaza. It was -only a few moments' walk, and when he took Dolores there, and she -knocked, and told her story, and showed the letter she had written -him--the first line he had ever received from her--there would be -no question of her welcome or her safety. All the Tenientes in the -Islands would be powerless to wrest her from the Sisters. - -Felizardo waited with almost savage impatience for eleven o'clock. If -she missed her way, if by any chance she were overtaken, if some one -should be watching outside to see if she were coming to him! Full -of the latter thought, he slipped into the warehouse again and -searched for a bolo, a particularly fine and keen weapon, which, -only that afternoon, one of his fellow-clerks had bought from a -hill-man. Felizardo found it, strapped it round his waist, saw that -it was loose in its sheath, crept cautiously to the little back door, -unlocked it, taking the key so as to be able to lock it again from -the outside, took down the heavy bars, opened the door cautiously--and -saw a dozen figures crouching on the ground, ready to spring at him. - -Then he understood. Like a flash his bolo was out, and, with his -back to the door, he was facing them, shouting, "The ladrones, -the ladrones!" whilst unconsciously he crumpled up, and dropped, -that forged letter. - -It was his first fight. An old man, telling Captain Basil Hayle of -it thirty-five years later, declared that it was his greatest fight; -and Felizardo had then been in hundreds. Be that as it may, the fact -remains that he had killed two ladrones, and mortally wounded two more, -himself receiving only a gash across the forehead, before help came, -in the form of the Guardia Civil from without, and Don José and his -five men from within. - -Of the twelve ladrones, only four escaped, crawling away wounded. Four -they killed out of hand, and four more, including Cinicio Dagujob -himself, they hanged on that new gallows opposite Don José's warehouse, -as a warning to all men. - -Felizardo staggered back against the wall, half-blinded by the blood -from his forehead, trembling, as a man does after his first fight; -then, without the slightest premeditation, he made the mistake of his -life. He slipped away in the darkness, down to the beach, launched a -canoe, and began frenziedly to paddle towards San Polycarpio. He had -remembered Dolores and her possible peril, and forgotten all else--Don -José, the Guardia Civil, the questions he would be expected to answer. - -The corporal asked one of those same questions of Don José half an -hour later, after the prisoners had been safely locked in the cells. - -"Who gave the alarm?" he demanded. - -"Felizardo," the merchant answered. "He was fighting in the doorway -when we rushed down, fighting like a dozen devils." - -The corporal frowned. "Then he must have opened the door -himself. Why? Where is he now?" - -Don José poured himself out another glass of wine with a rather shaky -hand. He was an old man, and his nerves were upset. "Felizardo is gone, -they tell me. They have searched, thinking he might be lying wounded, -but they cannot find a trace anywhere." - -Once more the corporal frowned, and drummed on the table with his -fingers. He was not very brilliant, and he was trying to construct -a theory. At last, "Let them search again," he said severely. - -A few minutes later, one of the clerks came back with a crumpled slip -of paper in his hand. "We have found this, Senor," he said. - -The corporal handed it to Don José--despite that huge, dyed moustache -and his straight back, his eyes were growing old, and one does not -take spectacles when one is on service. "Will you read it, Don José, -read it aloud slowly?" he asked with dignity, then turned a fierce -gaze on the knot of clerks gathered in the doorway, who fled hurriedly. - -When the merchant had finished, the corporal brought his hand down -on the table with a thump which made all the wine-glasses dance. "A -love affair, as I think I said, or rather a false assignation. He -has got frightened at his mistake, and gone to the hills." - -Don José sighed. "I liked him. He is a good, sensible boy, and I hope -he will come back." - -The corporal shook his head. "He will never come back. Thirty years -I have been here, in this service, only going home to Spain once, -and I should know that they are only savages, after all. I think -I have said before that the Holy Church makes a mistake in trying -to tame them. Let them be brought to hear Mass every Sunday--that -would be only fitting, and would doubtless save their souls, if they -have any--but books and learning are not for them. When I get back -to Spain I shall make a journey to Rome to tell his Holiness these -things. Doubtless, he will listen to an old soldier of Spain.... No, -Don José, your Felizardo will never come back here. Yet"--he sighed -regretfully--"he is a fine fighter. He was the only one on our -side with a bolo, and two have been killed with the bolo, and two -wounded so badly that we must hurry on the hanging of them. A fine -fighter--but what will you----? They are all savages at heart, as I -hope to tell his Holiness one day." He stood up abruptly, saluted, -and stalked out with his hand on the hilt of his great sabre. - -There was only one light showing in San Polycarpio when Felizardo -beached his canoe on the shingle by the palm grove; and only one -mangy dog, which relapsed into silence after the first stone, noted -his arrival. On the other hand, the light was in the Teniente's house, -which made things easier for the newcomer. - -Felizardo had bandaged his forehead with a strip torn off his shirt, -and as soon as he came to the stream of fresh water which ran down -the one long street, he bathed the blood from his face carefully. He -did not want to alarm Dolores--about himself. Then, bolo in hand, he -made his way to the house, clambered cautiously on to the veranda, and -peered in through a tiny hole in the matting blind. He could see very -little--only Dolores standing, pale and trembling, against the further -wall, and the heads of Lasara and Father Pablo, who were seated at -the table. But he could hear, and that was almost better than seeing. - -The voices were a little thick--it had been a weary task waiting -for the return of the messenger Cinicio Dagujob was to send, and -the native spirit had been very strong--but the priest, at least, -knew what he wanted. - -"You must let her come to me as housekeeper," he was saying. "You would -like that, wouldn't you, girl"--he turned towards Dolores--"to keep -house for your parish priest? I would get rid of the other. Answer me, -Juan Lasara. Will you agree, or shall I denounce you as Cinicio's -partner?" There was a snarl in his voice. "After to-night's work -there will be a hue-and-cry; and you remember the new gallows at -Calocan. Answer me, you ladrone Teniente of San Polycarpio." - -But the reply did not come from Juan Lasara. With one cut of his bolo -Felizardo cleared away the matting, and was in the room. Dolores -gave a scream and fainted; Lasara fumbled drunkenly for his knife, -and, failing to find it, seized a bottle; but the priest stood back -unarmed--trembling, perhaps, but still apparently secure in the -protection of his cloth. - -"You dare not touch me," he said. And for answer Felizardo slew him -with a single slash of that terrible bolo. Then he dealt with Lasara, -whom he maimed for life; and after that he gathered together the -remains of the food and the wine--he was looking ahead even then--put -out the lamp, took the insensible girl in his arms, and made his way -to the jungle. - -So in the one night Felizardo killed two ladrones and a priest who -was worse than a ladrone, secured the hanging of two others, and then, -possibly because, as the corporal said, he was a savage at heart, took -Dolores Lasara with him to the hills, and became a ladrone himself. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER II - -HOW THE CORPORAL WENT BACK TO SPAIN - - -For six months the tao of the district talked of Felizardo, the man -who had slain a priest; then, as nothing more had been heard of the -outlaw, and a new band of ladrones had been formed in the neighbourhood -of Calocan, the centre of interest shifted, and the crime at San -Polycarpio, if not forgotten, at least ceased to be discussed. - -The tao knew nothing about Father Pablo's connection with the band -of the late Cinicio Dagujob--the Church had seen to that fact being -suppressed--but the corporal knew, in fact he had been the first to -suspect it, and he took the information across to Don José Ramirez. - -"This Pablo was a mestizo," he said. "You knew him, I suppose. No? A -big scoundrel, gross and burly. I wonder why the Church will allow -natives to be priests. I am sure the Holy Father cannot know. Some -day, perhaps, I may have the chance of telling him, if I get back -to Spain. A villain, that Pablo; but still your Felizardo was wrong -to kill him. Nothing can save him now. I told you that night, even -after we found how splendidly he had boloed those ladrones, that he -would not come back. I was right, of course. Have I not been thirty -years in these accursed Islands, and if I do not know the Filipinos, -who should know them, Senor? A fine fighter, that Felizardo. Had -he been in our native troops, he would have risen high. And now, -because he is a savage at heart, he has become a ladrone." - -Don José sighed--there had been a romance and a tragedy in his own -life, many years before, in Spain. "No, corporal. He went because he -loved one woman too well to leave her to some one else." - -The corporal twisted his moustache. "Therein he was a savage, as I -said before. He got one idea in his mind, and he could not forget it, -not having room for two. I have loved women, Senor, and women have -loved me, many of them; but as for turning highwayman, or at least -outlaw, for the sake of one--pouf!" He shook his head with a great -assumption of scorn. - -"I see." Don José smiled. They had been friends for many years, these -two, and he knew the story of the girl in Spain whom the other had gone -back to marry--and found dead; therefore, he always listened patiently -to those stories of subsequent love affairs, none of which ever had -the slightest foundation in fact. "I see," he repeated. "Then you think -a man should have as many wives as he can get, like a Moor or a Chino?" - -"No, no"--the corporal frowned--"the Church would not allow that, -only--well," he got up rather hastily. "I was forgetting the time. I -must be off. After thirty years' service in these accursed Islands, one -must not begin to neglect one's duty, Senor." At the door he stopped -and looked back. "Think no more of your Felizardo, Don José. He will -never return; and, if he did, we should have to hang him. A fine -fighter, certainly--but, to kill a priest!" - -"But you say the priest was also a ladrone," the merchant objected. - -The corporal shook his head. "A priest is a priest, and the Church -will not forgive, or admit excuses. How can she, when she has the -souls of all these savages to save? Still, if I ever get the chance -of seeing the Holy Father, and explaining----" and he went out, -still frowning and shaking his head. - -Don José helped himself slowly to another glass of wine, and -sighed. "We shall never go back to Spain, he and I. It is getting -too late now, and so"--he smiled sadly--"the Holy Father will lose -much useful information." - - - -When Felizardo slew Pablo the priest, and took to the bush, carrying -Dolores Lasara in his arms, he had no definite aim, save that of -gaining a temporary hiding-place; but the moment he had found this, and -even whilst he was bringing the girl round with some of the wine he had -taken from her father's table--the bottle itself was sticky with her -father's blood--his mind became busy with the problem of the future. - -He was an outlaw for life. He had killed a priest--had offended -far beyond the offence of the ordinary ladrone, who only kills -ordinary men, and tortures women and children. True, the priest -was a ladrone, even worse than a ladrone, but it was the cloth, and -not the man beneath it, which mattered. Felizardo faced the issue -squarely. Somehow, it seemed as though he had learned many things -during that night. He had taken up the bolo, and thenceforth the Law -of the Bolo must be his only code. A few hours before, no one had -less desire to be an outlaw than he; now, he had become an outlaw, -despite himself; but he did not rail against Fate, because he was an -Asiatic, and also because, after all, he had got Dolores. - -Still, there was one trouble, which would be greater for her than -for him. He put it to her very gently after he had told her of the -end of Father Pablo. - -"We cannot be married now, dear one," he said. "No priest would do it, -even though I captured him, and threatened him with death." - -She looked at him with shining eyes. "What matter? I shall have you, -all the same." - -He turned away. "It is not too late for you to go back, even now. The -good Sisters at the convent would take you." - -For answer, she kissed him, the first kiss she had ever given him, -and they said no more of that matter. - -From Felizardo's own village, from every village for miles round in -fact, you can see a great range of mountains, rugged and forbidding, -beginning practically at the shore of a huge bay and running inland -for many miles. The lower slopes of the range are covered with dense -jungle; but when you have climbed a thousand feet or so, you leave -all this behind, and find bald rock, and lava-beds, and ashes, for -there are half a dozen active volcanoes there, as well as many which -are merely quiescent, and hot springs, and geysers, and other dangers -to life and peace of mind. - -Felizardo had often looked at those mountains, especially when he had -been fishing in the bay, waiting lazily for a bite. Then, they had -always seemed to suggest harshness and danger, the very antithesis -to the dreamy life amongst the cocoa-nut groves and the hemp-patches; -now, however, he thought of them in a very different light, as offering -an ideal refuge; and even if, as was rumoured, they were the home of -many bad men--well, was he, himself, not a bad man too? - -He made up his mind quickly. It was no use thinking of remaining in -the jungle by the coast. He was not greatly afraid of the authorities -finding him, although the Church might insist on a hue-and-cry of an -unusually vigorous nature; but he was afraid of coming across some -of the local ladrones, who would assuredly take vengeance on him for -what he had done to their friends. So, at the first streak of dawn -he and Dolores set out for the mountains, where the rest of their -lives were to be spent. - -It was a long and slow journey, for Dolores was not used to the bush, -and they had to avoid all footpaths and villages. Time after time, -Felizardo had to carry her through those steep-banked, narrow little -streams, which on the paths you cross by shaky pole-bridges; and -twice he had to cut down hemp-palms, and make rafts on which to get -to the other bank of larger streams. The second night out it rained, -a veritable deluge; but he had foreseen it, and had made a little -shelter of palm-leaves, which kept them perfectly dry, greatly to -the surprise of Dolores. - -"You seem to know everything, and to be prepared for everything," -she said; and he felt prouder than he had ever felt in his life. - -Early next morning, whilst she still slept, he went out to a -neighbouring village, where they were also asleep, and when she -awakened he was plucking a newly-killed fowl, whilst there was a -basket of sweet potatoes beside him. It was his first definite act -of ladronism, and he shifted uneasily under her gaze, until she, -understanding, laid a soft hand on his arm and said: "They drove you -to it, dearest, and you have done it for me;" so Felizardo enjoyed -his meal after all. - -That night, Felizardo went much further. He found a water-buffalo -belonging to the priest of the village they were skirting; and -from that point onwards, until they were well up the lower slopes -of the range, there was plenty of meat, whilst, of course, if you -are a Filipino, you can always find sweet potatoes, and beans, -and cocoa-nuts. - -They built a little shelter in the jungle, and there they lived like -children of nature for a week. - -"I should be content to stay here for ever," Dolores said; but the -man shook his head. - -"It will rain every day soon, and then you would die. There are caves -on the slope overlooking the bay. We will take one. Then we can store -a supply of food, and, if I can get a pig and some fowls from one of -the villages in the valley, we shall have no need to trouble." - -The first two caves they explored were damp and dark, then they went -into a third--and came on two men and a woman, sitting in the entrance, -smoking some fish. - -The men sprang to their feet, and one, the elder, came forward, bolo -in hand; but the woman held the other back. "He may not be an enemy, -and at least be fair," she cried, for which Dolores loved her ever -afterwards. - -The other man was a little unsteady--there was a jar of spirits beside -the fire--and his eyes were staring and bloodshot. He did not stop to -ask any questions, and Felizardo said nothing, except, very quietly: -"Go back, Dolores." - -It was not a fight: it did not last more than a few seconds; then, -as he wiped his bolo on the white tunic of his attacker, Felizardo -looked at the man beside the fire: "And you now?" he asked. - -The other shook his head, and sheathed the bolo, which, despite the -woman's efforts, he had drawn. - -"You are the better man," he replied. "And he," nodding towards the -body--"he was a scoundrel;" whereat the woman gave a queer little sob, -gratitude, relief, horror perhaps, which brought Dolores running to her -side, and they cried together; whilst the men carried the body out, -and threw it over the cliff, returning with dry earth with which to -cover the stains. - -They sat down beside the fire, Felizardo in his late foe's place, -and the stranger poured out some spirit, which they drank in silence. - -After a while Felizardo spoke. "Why did you come up here, on the -mountains?" - -The stranger, whose name was Carlos, pointed to the woman: "I took -her from a convent." - -Felizardo smiled grimly. "And I killed a priest, for her," nodding -towards Dolores. - -Carlos leaned forward quickly. "Are you named Felizardo? I thought -so. Even here, on the mountains, we hear things.... Let me, let us, -stay here with you in this cave--as I said, you are the better man -and can take it if you will--but I can help you; and the women will -not be lonely." - -For answer, Felizardo held out his hand; and so was started his band, -which afterwards became the most famous in the Islands. - -The band grew rapidly, as is the way of such organisations, when the -leader is infinitely stronger than any of his followers; then, after -a while, Felizardo determined to weed it out. He would have no men -who were outlaws merely because of their own vicious natures, to whom -ladronism was a natural calling. There were many of these already in -the mountains, and they formed a rival band against him, on hearing -of which he sallied out one night and cut them to pieces. From that -time onwards, for many years, no native challenged his sovereign -rights over the mountain range. - -He made peace with the tribe of head-hunters, who were his northern -neighbours, respecting their customs, so long as they took none of -his men's heads, and with the tao to the south, from whom he bought -live-stock, the money he gave being obtained from Presidentes and -Tenientes and planters, and other folk who oppress the common people, -though it was taken as tribute, Felizardo not being a midnight robber, -like Cinicio Dagujob had been. - -News might go up from the coastal towns to the mountains, in fact -it did go freely--news of what the Government was doing, of how -the Presidentes and Tenientes were robbing the tao, of where the -Guardia Civil was; but very little came down from the mountains, at -least to the white men, and, of that little, practically none reached -Calocan. Consequently, five years after Felizardo had turned ladrone, -neither Don José nor the corporal knew that he was the chief of the -big band, consisting of outlaws rather than of ladrones, of which -they had heard vague rumours. - -"They are in the mountains--pouf! I should let them stay there," the -corporal said. "They do not seem to do much harm, and it would cost -a fabulous sum to hunt them out from amongst the caves and craters;" -an opinion with which Don José, being already heavily taxed, agreed -heartily. - -"I wonder if Felizardo is there," he added. - -The corporal shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? Let me see--he -went four, or was it five, years ago. Five, that is it. Probably he -is dead by now; he was not of the true ladrone breed. Anyway, I was -right when I said he would never come back, just as I was right when -I said I should never go home to Spain." - -"Have you applied for your pension?" the merchant asked. - -The old soldier drew himself up. "How can I, Senor, when I am still -active, and--and not old, declare I am no longer fit for my work? No, -if they offer it, I shall take it; but until they offer----" and he -went out, shaking his head. - -That night a runner came in with a message for the corporal. A large -band of ladrones, or rather a combination of a number of small bands, -had raided and burned the village of Igut, which was about ten -miles from the foot of the mountains, on the edge of the bay. Most -of the tao had been killed; the Spanish trader had been tortured to -death, and all the women and girls carried off. Troops were being -hurried from Manila--in the Spanish way of hurrying, which did not -mean much--but, meanwhile, all the small detachments were to go in -pursuit. The corporal was to take two of his troopers, and twenty of -the native soldiers attached to his post. - -It was a great grief to the corporal that he had to make the trip -by canoe in order to save time. He disliked service on foot, being -a little stiff and short of wind; whilst, more important than that, -it was always more dignified to ride in full uniform, at the head of -your men. Now, however, not only his horse, but his great thigh-boots -as well, would have to remain behind. Even his sabre must be carried -by a native orderly. Still, as he said to Don José, who came to the -landing-stage to see him off, one's duty came before one's sense of -dignity, and an old soldier of Spain could afford to do things which -would make a lesser man look absurd. - -They landed on the beach at Igut, which now consisted of some piles -of still-smoking ashes, a hundred or two charred posts, the remains -of the nipa-houses, and the blackened walls of the church and the -Spanish merchant's house. There were bodies everywhere, slashed -hideously with bolo-cuts; and beside the post in the plaza, where -they had done him to death, in the hope of making him confess how he -had hidden the wealth he did not possess, was all that remained of -the Spanish merchant himself; seeing which, the corporal swore great -oaths, unconsciously drew his hand across his eyes--curious how dim -they were growing!--then, like a good Catholic, knelt down and prayed -for the soul of the man he had never seen in life; and after that he -donned the parade uniform he had brought in case of emergency, buckled -on his sabre, and carried out the funeral of his fellow-countryman. - -There was no trace of the other detachments which were supposed to -be coming; but that fact did not weigh with the corporal. He had been -ordered to pursue the ladrones, so he marched inland on the trail of -the robbers. It was not difficult to follow them, at least for the -first few miles; they were a large body, and they were taking along -much loot and many prisoners. A little way out, the pursuers came -on the body of a woman, and then those of two children, all boloed, -apparently because they could not travel. - -The trail led towards the foot of the range of mountains, Felizardo's -territory; and the corporal groaned involuntarily. He had to keep -at the head of his little force, yet he was very stiff, and the -climbing tried him severely. Once or twice, he was sorely inclined -to call a halt, just to get his breath again; but he could not let -his native soldiers see any signs of weakness, and so he struggled -on. It was rather curious. After thirty-five years' service, a man -should be fit for anything, inured to all hardships. Probably it was -only fancy after all, he told himself, as he squared his shoulders, -and looked back sternly for any possible stragglers. Then suddenly, -his orderly, who was just behind him, cried out that he had seen a -ladrone scout, moving amongst the trees; and a moment later, almost -before the corporal had time to take his sabre from the orderly, -the ladrones were on them, three to one, cutting and slashing with -their bolos. The corporal's men, winded and exhausted, fired a volley -from their muskets, but only one of the enemy was hit, and there was -no chance of reloading. It became a case of the butt-end against -the bolo, and, naturally, the bolo won. A few seconds afterwards, -the corporal, one of his white troopers, and a native sergeant were -the only survivors in sight, standing with their backs to a huge tree. - -The corporal had drawn his pistol with his left hand, but a slash -from a bolo had taken off three of his fingers before he could fire, -though he was hardly conscious of the fact. All he knew was that he -must die like a soldier of Spain, with his sabre in his hand. - -For a minute, they kept the bolomen at bay, then the native sergeant -went down, and the enemy began to close in, twenty of them, at least. - -"It is over. Good-bye!" the corporal cried to his one remaining -comrade. - -There had never been any chance, and now there were more bolomen -coming, scores of them, rushing down the hillside, yelling. The -corporal braced himself up. His strength was almost gone, but he -meant to kill one more enemy of Spain before he himself was killed. - -And then a miracle seemed to happen. Suddenly, there was not an enemy -within reach of his sabre, for boloman was fighting boloman, or, -rather, the newcomers were slaying his enemies for him. The corporal -lowered the point of his sabre--he had lost a great deal of blood, -and the weight of the weapon now seemed almost unbearable--then he -turned to his comrade with a question in his eyes, and, before the -other had time to answer, lurched forward in a dead faint. - -When the corporal recovered his senses, he was lying on a pile of -blankets under a palm-leaf shelter. His left hand, which was bandaged -up, was very painful--that was his first impression; then he began -to remember, vaguely at the outset, seeing everything as through a -mist of blood, which cleared away suddenly when it struck him that he -was a prisoner amongst the ladrones, and he knew how ladrones treated -Spanish prisoners. Better to have died there, at the foot of the big -tree. Still, they should get no sign of weakness from him. - -He closed his eyes whilst he repeated a prayer, then opened them again, -to see a native, whose face was somehow familiar, standing beside him, -regarding him with grave interest. - -The corporal returned the look, then raised himself on his unwounded -arm. "You are Felizardo!" he cried. - -Felizardo nodded. "Yes, Senor, it is Felizardo. You remember last -time, outside Don José's warehouse, you saved me? Now"--he bowed -slightly--"I am able to save you, also from ladrones." - -The corporal lay back again. This was an unprecedented situation, -for which there was no provision made in the Regulations; for this -same Felizardo was a ladrone who had slain a priest. At first, he -tried to think what would be the correct thing to do; but in the end -he could only jerk out a question: "Why did you do it?" - -Felizardo waved his hand. "Those ladrones who burned Igut captured -some of my men's wives--that was all. We came on you by chance, -and I was glad to pay my debt." - -The corporal breathed heavily. He did not intend to show any anxiety, -but he wanted to know his fate. "And now?" he asked. - -Felizardo smiled slightly. "Now, if you like, you may go back to -Calocan at once; or, if you would honour me, stay with me in my -mountains until your wound is healed." - -From any other native, the mere invitation, even without the phrase -"my mountains," would have stirred the corporal's deepest wrath; but -somehow he realised, almost with a sense of humiliation, that this -native was a stronger man than himself. For a moment, he was inclined -to accept, then he remembered he must go back and report--his defeat. - -"Senor Felizardo," he said, "I must go back;" he looked away and went -on, a little brokenly: "Thank you, Senor. I told Don José we should -never see you again, either of us. Now I, at least, have seen you, -and I am glad, and--and very grateful." - -Again Felizardo smiled. "So you told Don José that? Well, we shall -see;" and he began to walk away slowly. - -The corporal called him back. "I might get you a pardon, even now, -though ... you know ... the Church----" - -The other man's face grew hard. "I take no pardons," he said sternly; -then he shrugged his shoulders and laughed. "And, anyway, Senor, -they would grant none. Still, it was kind of you." - -They carried the corporal down to Igut, where to his surprise he found -eight survivors out of his force, and they put him on board a canoe, -after what seemed a day's unnecessary delay. Then they started back -to Calocan, his own men paddling the canoe. The corporal was very -unhappy. He knew now that he must be invalided out of the service: -not honourably, however, but in disgrace, for his haste, or rather -his over-devotion to duty, had brought disaster on the arms of Spain. - -True, it would be a difficult matter to explain, for the women and -children and the loot as well were back in Igut, and the surviving men -had crept in from the jungle and begun to rebuild the nipa-houses, -whilst, as a price for his rescue, Felizardo had made him promise -not to tell how the mountaineers had rescued him. He wished now he -had not given that promise--it was, probably, like the rest of the -business, contrary to the Regulations--but, having given it, he must -abide by it. He puzzled over the matter all the way back to Calocan, -wondering what his men would say, not knowing that they had received -orders on that point--orders which they now dare not disobey--from -Felizardo himself. - -When the canoe reached Calocan, the whole population was waiting on -the beach to greet him. They cheered, and they crowded round him, and -the women showered blessings on him; whilst there was even an orderly -from Manila, commanding him to go to the Governor-General himself, a -Grandee of Spain, as soon as his wounds permitted. The corporal flushed -and stammered and looked round helplessly; then Don José came forward -and took his arm. "Come up to my house. It will be quiet there." - -He led the corporal into the well-remembered room, which, somehow, -seemed different now to the visitor, possibly because he had always -entered it before as a proud and important man, whilst this time he -felt himself an impostor. He took his glass of wine with trembling -hands, put it to his lips, then set it down untasted. He might have -to deceive every one else, but he could not be false to this old -friend. He drew his hand across his forehead slowly, then he blurted -out: "It's a lie. I was beaten. I thought all my men were killed." - -Don José leaned forward and laid a hand on his arm. "I know the truth, -my friend--everything. Felizardo told me." - -The corporal sat up erect in his chair and -gasped. "Felizardo? When? How?" - -"In this room, last night. He came alone, by canoe, and walked straight -in. He wanted me to see you said nothing foolish, and he wanted to -prove you had been wrong when you said he would never come back." - -For a full minute they sat in silence, then the corporal broke out. "He -is a strong man, Senor." - -Don José nodded. - -"He is a gentleman, Senor, even if he did kill a priest;" there was -almost a note of defiance in the corporal's voice. - -Again Don José nodded. - -There was another spell of silence, which was broken by the merchant -saying: "You will do as he wishes? You will hear all, and say -nothing? Then you will go back to Spain with your pension. Why not? You -tried your best; you held up the ladrones--you, single-handed--and -gave Felizardo his chance. It was your victory, after all." - -They took the corporal's reticence and his rather muddled statements -as the results of the wound he had received, coupled with his -modesty. How could one doubt when one had been to Igut and seen -the released prisoners, and the restored loot, and the heads of the -ladrones stuck on posts along the beach? - -Don José came to Manila to see him start on his journey to Spain. - -"Will you see the Holy Father--now?" the merchant asked. - -The corporal's eyes brightened. "Why, yes, if I can. Why should I -have changed--I, who have had thirty-five years in which to learn -the truth?" - -Don José laughed. "But has not Felizardo changed you? Is he only a -savage, then?" - -For a moment, the corporal was at a loss, then, "If he had not been -educated, he would never have been able to read that letter, and -would not have had to take to the hills," he answered stoutly. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER III - -HOW CAPTAIN BASIL HAYLE WENT TO THE MOUNTAINS - - -The corporal never went to Rome, after all, and, as a result, his -message to the Holy Father remained undelivered. True, he talked about -going often during the ten years which elapsed before he himself was -gathered to his mundane fathers, but, somehow, life was very pleasant -in his own little village, where there were no ladrones to worry -you, and plenty of untravelled folk ready to listen to your stories -of ladrones. Moreover, Rome was a long way off, a very long way, -and the journey needed many preparations; so, in the end, the only -journey he did make was when he went on a visit to Don José Ramirez, -who had also come home, rich and very weary. - -They talked of Calocan, of San Polycarpio, and of the new gallows, -on which Cinicio Dagujob was hanged, of many familiar spots and old -friends; but most of all they talked of Felizardo and his doings. - -"We were both wrong," the corporal said. "He came back to Calocan, -and we have come back to Spain. Curious, I am seldom wrong; but I was -over those matters. Still, even an old soldier of thirty-five years' -service may make mistakes sometimes.... You say Felizardo is still -in those same mountains?" - -Don José nodded. - -"He, at least, will never go back to his home to stay," the -corporal went on. "If there were nothing else, there is the Church, -you know." He shook his head gravely. "Felizardo killed a priest, -and even though that Father Pablo was a ladrone, the cloth remains, -always. And the Church does not forget. How can she afford to forget, -with all those half-heathen souls to be saved?" - -The corporal stayed a week in Don José's big house, and then he -went home to his own little house, in the village at the foot of the -mountains, and with that both he and Don José Ramirez go out of this -story, leaving only Felizardo and Dolores Lasara, who were still in -the mountains in the distant Philippines, outlaws and, if you will, -ladrones. - - - -The corporal had been dead twenty years when Captain Basil Hayle, -who was then only Serjeant Hayle of the Garrison Artillery, United -States Army, landed in Manila. From the transport, he had seen a -great range of mountains, running right down to the sea, and had -admired them in his silent way, though he made no remark about them, -even to the comrade who was leaning on the rail beside him, for, -as a rule, the more he liked a thing, the less he said about it. It -was only when his aversion was roused that he was moved to speech. If -any one had told him then that those same mountains, and the people -on them, were destined to play the most important part in his life, -he might not have disbelieved the statement--in fact, he had a vein -of superstition, or fatalism, which might have inclined him to believe -it--but he would have gone on just the same until the crisis arrived. - -Basil Hayle came of good stock on both sides. His father had been a -Virginian, his mother a Swedish girl, a combination which usually -turns out well, both the breeds being good ones. From his father -he had inherited his sense of chivalry, his inability to know when -he was beaten, and a certain deceptive strength which looked like -laziness; from his mother had come his tall figure, his fair hair, -and his unwillingness to cause unnecessary pain. - -When, on the outbreak of the war, Basil Hayle had volunteered for the -front, they had drafted him into the Garrison Artillery on account of -his size and apparent slowness, qualities which are usually considered -more suitable in garrison gunners than in any other branch of the -service; but they quickly discovered that they had misjudged their -man. The superfluous flesh he had recently acquired during a leisurely -trip to Europe was soon got rid of, his education raised him above the -level of the majority of his comrades, and before the transport left -San Francisco he was a full Serjeant. Still, he was in the Garrison -Artillery, and a garrison gunner he had to remain, kicking his heels -in a sweltering fort on the shore of Cavite Bay--with his largest -gun he could almost have thrown a shell on to the lower slopes of -Felizardo's mountains--whilst the other regiments were having a -splendid time amongst the insurrectos. - -As every one knows, the Americans went to the Philippines to -save the Filipinos from the Spanish tyranny; and, as is also well -known, the Filipinos responded in characteristic fashion. For a few -brief weeks, the agitators in the towns believed, and proclaimed, -that the millennium had come, the reign of Liberty, Equality, -and Fraternity--Liberty to do what was good in your own sight, -and evil in the sight of every decent man; Equality, so far as the -goods of a richer man than yourself were concerned; Fraternity in the -Cain-and-Abel sense. The tao repeated the words, taking them to mean -that the Presidentes and Tenientes would be hanged, and that there -would be cock-fights every day of the week; the ladrones took them to -mean the entire abolition of any form of police; but old Felizardo, -who was now sixty years of age and the wisest man in the Islands, -laughed scornfully. - -"The Americanos will let them bolo one another for a while," he said, -"then they will send an army to put those who remain in order. Still, -it is not my quarrel. I claim nothing beyond my mountains." - -None the less, he strengthened the outposts on the lower slopes of the -range, and when the Provisional Government in Manila sent envoys to ask -him to join them, the rather nervous mestizos who brought the message -were sent back, very flustered, with their mission unfulfilled. Then -came other envoys, truculent ones this time, with orders to Felizardo -to make his submission to the Sovereign People, the latter being -represented by a few score of coffee-coloured little men in khaki -uniforms, with huge red sashes, huge red epaulettes, and even more -huge sabres, which they loved to jangle over the cobble-stones of -the towns, greatly to their own glory, and much to the detriment -of their scabbards. Felizardo, hearing of them, laughed again--his -official uniform was a suit of white duck and a broad-brimmed straw -hat--then he said to Dolores, whose girlish prettiness had changed -now to a sweet-faced dignity: "The corporal of the Guardia Civil -at Calocan--you remember, the old one--would alone have put them to -flight, beating them with the flat of his sword. They tell me those -patriots have hewn down the gallows at Calocan. Well, it was old; -and, in any case, the Americanos would doubtless have put up a new -one--for these patriots." - -But when the second deputation, that to demand his instant submission -to the will of the Sovereign People, arrived, and Felizardo heard -that the envoys were generals, wearing that same gorgeous uniform, he -waxed wroth, and ordered that those distinguished soldier-diplomats -should be brought to him. "Bring them, sabres, revolvers, and all," -he said. "Let them climb the mountains, and climb rather fast, as I -am in a hurry to see the great sight." - -Possibly, his orders were taken too literally. At any rate, two of the -envoys fainted half way up the mountain-side, and had to be revived -with pricks from the point of a bolo; whilst even the third, who -was of a tougher breed, had none of his truculence left when he found -himself face to face with that quiet, wizened little man. Moreover, the -ends of the scabbards were worn and dented beyond all hope of repair, -and when, in obedience to Felizardo's order, the owners attempted to -draw their sabres in salute, not one of them could get the blade out. - -One or two of Felizardo's men--there were over a hundred clustered -round--laughed; but the chief himself looked grave. "Patriot generals -should do better than that," he said. "I fear you would be certain to -die for your country if an enemy were to meet you in that state. I -can remember the days when our people were content with a bolo in a -wooden sheath." - -A laugh went round the semicircle of his followers, each of whom -had one of the weapons in question strapped round his waist. But the -envoys did not laugh. Somehow, Felizardo's courtesy seemed to jar on -their nerves. - -"What do you want here, on my mountains? Where is the message you -have to bring me?" The chiefs manner changed suddenly. - -The envoys exchanged glances; then the eldest of them, rather -reluctantly, produced an official-looking document, decorated with -a large seal. Felizardo read the paper carefully, then handed it to -a youngster who was standing behind his chair. "Burn that, Enrique," -he said; and after that he turned to the envoys again. "What are your -names, O Generals of the Sovereign People?" he asked. - -They gave him names, and then, after telling the eldest to stand to -one side, he called to his men. "Do you know these two?" he asked. - -One they identified as the late door-keeper at the Palace, and the -other as a money-lender in a Manila suburb. - -Felizardo nodded; then he beckoned to the third man. "You are the son -of Cinicio Dagujob," he said. "You were one of the band of ladrones -which burned San Juan two years ago. Do not deny it. I know you." Then -he nodded to his men. "Hang him," he said curtly; and they led the -general away, sullen, defiant, unresisting, a ladrone to the end, -and hanged him, with his great sabre still on him. - -After that, Felizardo called up the other two. "You shall go back -to Manila, with this message from Felizardo.--Your government talks -of the will of the Sovereign People and the Law of Liberty. I, -Felizardo, say that here, in my mountains, where I am the sovereign -chief, there is only one law, the Law of the Bolo, to which every man -becomes subject the moment he sets foot on my land. Tell them that in -Manila. See that you tell it faithfully, lest I come down to Manila -and tell it them myself. And now, O Generals of the Sovereign People, -you shall be well flogged, so that you may remember Felizardo, and -then you shall go back with the message of the Bolo." - -The Provisional Government passed a resolution, or rather a series of -resolutions, on the subject of Felizardo, declaring him to be a rebel, -an outlaw, a tyrant, and an Enemy of the People, whilst a bishop -whom it had appointed--ratification from Rome was sure to come to -Catholic patriots--solemnly excommunicated the whole band; but when -they called for a volunteer to deliver copies of the resolutions to -Felizardo, none was forthcoming, even though they promised a general's -commission to any man who undertook the task. But they sent no force -against the chief of the mountains, and, almost before they had got -half-way through their discussions on the subject of dealing with him, -the American Army arrived and, as the soldiers put it, began to clear -up the mess. - -A few weeks later, the Provisional Government itself had taken to -the hills; and many a time, when the Americans were hard on their -heels, members of that same government looked longingly at Felizardo's -mountains, and thought of the shelter to be obtained there, or rather -of the shelter which might have been obtained there, had Felizardo -not been a tyrant and an Enemy of the People. Yet none even set foot -in his territory, for that message of his concerning the Law of the -Bolo had been repeated faithfully in Manila; and all men, at least -all Filipinos, knew that Felizardo was a man of his word. - -So the Americans chased the insurrectos--that is, the troops of the -late Provisional Government--and the ladrones, and the head-hunters -who were Felizardo's northern neighbours, gathered in the stragglers -on both sides, each doing in accordance with his customs; but the -mountains were left alone. Then, as all the world knows, or ought -to know, just as the army had the insurrectos nicely in hand, and -was about to capture, and hang comfortably, the worst offenders, -the exigencies of party politics in the United States led to the -institution of Civil Government throughout the Islands. The army -was withdrawn; the members of the late Provisional Government -were absolved of their murders and their rapes, and their other -abominations, and made governors of provinces, and commissioners, -and even judges; and from these the Civil Government first learned of -Felizardo and his wicked ways, how he had flogged, and even hanged, -pure Filipino patriots; and Mr Commissioner Furber, the head of the -new department of Constabulary and Trade--a rather infelicitous, -or invidious, combination--decided that Felizardo, the Enemy of the -People, must be rooted out and destroyed; for Mr Commissioner Furber, -like Mr Collector Sharler of the Customs, who had a native wife, was a -firm believer in that great and glorious and democratic doctrine, which -declared that the Filipino was the white man's Little Brown Brother, -whilst, obviously, this same Felizardo, whom the ex-generals declared -to be a common ladrone, had no fraternal feelings at all. So the doom -of Felizardo was signed and sealed, and the only thing remaining to be -done was the carrying out of the sentence--a small matter surely when -the latter had been pronounced by a Commissioner of great power. It is -at this point that Captain Basil Hayle of the Philippines Constabulary, -late Sergeant Hayle of the Garrison Artillery, U.S.A., comes into -the story; for he was the man deputed to carry out the dread fiat of -Mr Commissioner Furber, which led to his going up into the mountains -and learning the Law of the Bolo. - -Basil Hayle took his discharge from the Army in Manila at the earliest -possible opportunity. He was a little tired of garrison gunnery as -practised in the Islands, and was anxious to join one of the new corps -of native troops then being formed. The chance came quickly. The -Civil Government, desirous of proving to the Army how beautifully -it could manage without professional assistance, raised a force of -its own, the Philippines Constabulary, the rank and file of which -was composed of any stray natives who felt sufficiently energetic to -enlist, whilst the officers consisted mainly of discharged private -soldiers. The equipping of the Constabulary gave the politicians in -the Government offices the chance of their lives. The rifles were -Springfield carbines, manufactured in the early 'seventies; most of -the ammunition would not fire; whilst the clothing and boots were of -the very worst quality imaginable, purchased at the very best prices. - -It is one thing to raise officers for such a corps, quite another thing -to keep them. Basil Hayle, however, was amongst those who remained, -and, as a result, he quickly found himself promoted captain of a -company of some sixty surly, ragged little men, natives of Manila -and its immediate neighbourhood, who could neither drill nor shoot, -whose objects in life were to smoke cigarettes, play monte, and, -whenever the chance occurred, slip away to a cock-fight, from which -they generally returned penniless and incoherent. - -Basil did his best with them. He contrived to be sent to an -out-station, in the hopes of getting them in hand; but the sole -result was that five joined a local band of ladrones, taking their -carbines and their friends' money with them, whilst five more returned -hurriedly, and without leave, to Manila, to lay their grievances -before a fellow-countryman, an ex-colonel of the Army of Liberty, -who was now chief secretary to Mr Commissioner Furber. Meanwhile, -Captain Hayle's subaltern, a youth from Boston, had married a native -woman, a proceeding which aroused all Basil's bitterest Southern -prejudices. The incident moved him to speech, and he spoke with so -much emphasis, and so much effect, that from that time onwards he -was short of an officer. Then, to crown it all, a runner came in with -peremptory orders from the Commissioner for him to bring his company -back to Manila and explain his arbitrary proceedings. - -This time, there was no one to whom he could speak emphatically, save -the messenger, who knew no English, whilst, so far, his own knowledge -of Spanish expletives was limited; consequently, he had to keep it all -for the Commissioner, who, having regarded him hitherto as a silent, -docile man, even if he were a Southerner--Furber himself came from -Boston--was distinctly surprised and pained, as Basil had intended -he should be. Still, in the end, they parted, if not good friends, -at least with a temporary understanding. So many useful officers -had resigned recently that the Commissioner dare not let another go; -moreover, he had just been made fully acquainted with the evil deeds -of Felizardo, that enemy of Progress and the Sovereign People; and -Basil Hayle seemed a very suitable man to go and rout out the nest -of brigands in the mountains. - -Hayle accepted the commission joyfully, knowing nothing of Felizardo, -of whom he now heard for the first time. He was in the service -purely for the sake of excitement and experience, and this task of -clearing those mountains, which he had so often admired, of a gang of -brigands and murderers seemed to promise him both. That same night, -after dinner, he went to the Orpheum, the music-hall of Manila, -and, meeting Clancy of the Manila Star in the entrance, was taken -into the Press box, whence you can obtain the finest view of those -young ladies who are imported at vast expense, and apparently with -only part of their wardrobes, from Australia and the China Coast to -elevate and amuse the public of Manila. - -Clancy had known the Philippines in the Spanish days, and Basil turned -to him for information. - -"Ever heard of a ladrone called Felizardo?" he asked, - -"No"--Clancy had a passion for correct expressions--"but I have heard -of an old man called Felizardo, who for the last five-and-twenty -years has been recognised by the Spaniards as the chief of that -range of mountains over there. He was an outlaw, certainly, but a -regular ladrone, never. The Spaniards were too wise to worry him, -and he left them alone. Why, what's the matter with him now? Has he -been hanging any more patriots?" - -"No, only I've got to go out and catch him, and break up his -band." There was a note of defiance in Hayle's voice. He was young, -after all, a bare eight-and-twenty, and he did not like even the -possibility of ridicule. - -But Clancy was very grave now. "You are going up there?" he said. "You, -who are new at the game yourself, going up against Felizardo, with that -ragged crowd of yours? Why, man, it's absurd. Twenty companies like -yours wouldn't suffice for the job. Your people must be stark raving -mad"--Clancy was an Irishman. "Take my advice and go sick. You'll be -cut to pieces the moment you set foot on Felizardo's mountains," - -Basil got up stiffly. "Thanks," he said, "but I shall not take your -advice. I have been ordered to go, and I shall go--to-morrow, if -possible," and he went out. - -Clancy looked after him, and shrugged his shoulders. "A fool and -his folly," he muttered; "or, rather, fools and their folly. Still, -it is a pity." - -However, Captain Hayle did not start for the mountains the following -day, nor for many days after. Incautiously, or perhaps fortunately, -he mentioned their destination to his serjeant, who repeated the -news to the men, with the result that there were only three members -of the company, the serjeant and two corporals, old soldiers of the -Spanish times, who answered to the roll-call that evening. The rest -had found urgent business elsewhere, and half of them had forgotten -to leave their carbines behind. - -It was a very angry and shamed-faced Captain of Constabulary who -reported the occurrence to the Commissioner on the following morning; -but, greatly to his surprise, that official was almost sympathetic. - -"I cannot say I was altogether unprepared for it," he said. "In fact, -since I saw you, I have heard so many absurd stories concerning this -Felizardo, who seems to be a kind of supernatural person in the eyes -of the common people here, that I can understand your poor, ignorant -soldiers going." - -"They took twenty-eight carbines," Hayle interjected grimly. - -The Commissioner smiled. "My secretary assures me those will be -returned. There is no vice in those Little Brown Brothers of ours. It -is only men like this Felizardo who cause all the trouble.... Well, -Captain Hayle, there is a company in Manila now, one which was raised -in the Island of Samar by Captain Marten, who has just died. You had -better take command of that. You will find those Samar men are not -afraid of Felizardo." - -So Basil Hayle took over the sixty-five little brown men from Samar, -and spent the better part of a fortnight trying to instil some idea of -discipline into their heads; then, with infinite trouble, he managed -to get some tolerably reliable ammunition from the stores, and bought -boots for his men out of his own pocket, though he knew that the money -would be stolen. And after that he went back to the Commissioner, -and reported that he was ready, adding: "It would be as well if one -of these Manila men, who gave you the information about Felizardo, -came along as guide." But all those same Manila men had, it appeared, -very pressing private business which they could not leave, and, anyway, -as the Commissioner said: "If you search long enough, you are bound to -come on these outlaws;" whereat, Captain Hayle went out, shrugging his -shoulders. He had been making a few enquiries, from Spaniards and other -folk likely to know, and he had come to the conclusion that it was far -more probable that Felizardo would find him. Still, Clancy of the Star -had put him on his mettle, and he was determined to go through with it. - -At Igut, where the corporal of the Guardia Civil had landed thirty -years before, there was a garrison consisting of a company of the -Philippine Scouts, a force which held itself to be vastly superior -to the Constabulary, for, though the rank and file of both were drawn -from the same classes, the Scouts were under the Army, and so had food -and clothing and high pay, and other advantages, which, if given to -an Asiatic, tend to make him proud and mutinous and careful of his -own skin. They had rebuilt Igut since the corporal's day, and there -was now a regular plaza with half a dozen stone-built houses on it, -and a gaol and barracks and many nipa-shacks and a church; in fact, -there was accommodation for all classes of the community, save the -pigs, and fowls, and pariah-dogs, which wandered at large, spreading -disease. Still, even with these drawbacks, it was an important -place. The Presidente was an ex-member of the Provisional Government, -whom the army was just going to hang for torturing a bugler to death, -when the Civil Government saved him; the principal merchant was a -nephew of old Don José Ramirez of Calocan; whilst Captain Bush, the -officer in command of the Scouts, lived with his wife in the large -white-washed house at the top corner of the plaza. Igut had changed -greatly since the day when Felizardo had the heads of the ladrones -stuck on posts along the beach, and insisted on the corporal having -the credit for the victory. - -A wheezy little steamer took Captain Hayle and his men across the -bay. At first, the skipper suggested that he should land the party at -Igut; but, greatly to his disgust, Hayle declined. There was another -tiny harbour practically at the foot of the mountains, and there -was no sense in tramping ten miles or so through the jungle when you -could go much more comfortably by water. It was nothing to Basil if -the mestizo skipper happened to be in a hurry to get back in time for -a big cock-fight. So, in the end, they disembarked at the village of -Katubig, which consisted of a score of nipa-shacks along the edge of -the beach, the sort of place which could be burned with the greatest -ease any night, if you were not on good terms with the ladrones--or, -more important still, not under the protection of Felizardo--facts -which struck Captain Hayle at once, and made him very careful and a -little anxious. - -Felizardo had received ample warning of the coming of the Constabulary; -in fact, ten of the deserters from Hayle's old company had arrived, -with their carbines, and begged to be admitted to the band; but, -though the chief had retained the weapons, which would be useful, he -had declined the services of the men, arguing that if they had been -unfaithful to the Americanos, they would possibly be unfaithful to him. - -He was perfectly able to hold his own in the mountains, of that he had -no doubt; but still Hayle's expedition worried him, because it showed -that the Americanos did not mean to continue the sensible Spanish -policy of leaving him alone. For years past he had given up active -ladronism, having no further need to practise anything of the kind, -and he was both annoyed and astonished that the new authorities in -Manila should think of interfering with him. It never occurred to -him that, in addition to having incurred the enmity of the Manila -mestizos, he was also an anachronism--that he represented a condition -of affairs which Mr Commissioner Furber and his colleagues could not -allow to continue, that his personal independence was contrary to all -the accepted theories of law and order, as well as to the Declaration -of Independence, because, as the Commissioners had heard on the very -best authority, he was a tyrant and an Enemy of the People. - -If Felizardo had understood these things, he might have acted -differently, and have made his peace with Manila. True, he was growing -old, and a little weary, and old men are less ready for strife than -are the younger ones; but, at the same time, they are less ready to -change their points of view, and the one fixed idea in Felizardo's -mind was that the mountains belonged to him. Still, he did not want to -bring on a crisis; and so he sent word to his outposts on the lower -slopes, to the villages in the valley, and to the head-hunters on -the northern side, that the Americanos were to be turned back with as -little bloodshed as possible--which was fortunate for Captain Basil -Hayle and his men. - -The Constabulary remained one night at Katubig, the Teniente of which -proved to be a most courteous old native, very full of information -concerning Felizardo and his evil ways; in fact, so anxious was he to -see the band broken up, that he even offered to let his own servant -guide Hayle and his men to the brigands' camp, which, he said, was -some twenty miles away, towards the end of the range. For a moment, -Basil hesitated. It seemed a little too easy. Then he recollected -that his only alternative was to blunder forward without a guide of -any sort, and so he accepted the offer. - -Twenty miles may not seem a great distance in a civilised country, -where there are roads, or, at least, paths; but twenty miles along -the lower slopes of Felizardo's mountains, forcing one's way through -the dense jungle, with the necessity of being prepared for attack at -any moment, is a very different matter. It took two days to do the -journey, and when the column arrived, weary and hungry, at the spur -of the big volcano, just beyond which Felizardo's camp was supposed -to be, and camped down for the night, Basil discovered that the guide -had slipped away into the bush. - -The situation was not a pleasant one. The whole way they had seen no -trace either of ladrones or of tao. There was no chance of getting -another guide, no chance of obtaining information; whilst for lack of -cargadores, or carriers, they had only been able to take five days' -food supply with them. In the circumstances, most men would have made -their way straight back to Katubig, and then have started afresh; -but the idea was utterly repugnant to Captain Hayle. He felt that, -so far, he had shown himself a helpless amateur, and that to return -meekly would be to make a public confession of failure. He spent half -the night sitting beside the fire, smoking, and trying to think out a -plan. He realised now the extreme difficulty of his task, the absurdity -of it even--they had set a white man who had not the slightest idea -of the geography of the range to track down a native outlaw who had -spent thirty-five years there, and knew every inch of the ground. - -Nine Constabulary officers out of ten would have reported the job to -be hopeless. Basil Hayle happened to be the tenth man, and, before he -lay down to sleep, he had decided to do the thing scientifically--to -explore the range from end to end, even if he took months over doing -it, and then to ask for an adequate force with which to round up the -outlaws. It was the only way. - -In accordance with this plan, he did the one thing which neither -Felizardo, nor any one else, would have expected him to do--at the -first streak of dawn he started to climb straight up the mountain-side, -beyond the jungle, beyond the scrub which succeeded the jungle, -on to the rocky ground itself, and there he had his first fight. - -Afterwards, Felizardo hanged two of the survivors for not keeping a -proper lookout; but, though that prevented similar mishaps for the -future, it did not alter the essential fact that the outlaws were -badly beaten. They had a camp--it was one of their largest outpost -stations--on a great ledge of rock, from which, on a clear day, you -could see Manila itself. Two large caves furnished the main shelter, -but in addition to these there were half a dozen little huts, amongst -which the men were sitting, smoking and playing cards, when Basil -Hayle and his men suddenly appeared. For once, the rifle had its chance -against the bolo, or rather the bolo had no chance at all. Moreover, -the Constabulary were superior numerically. The first volley really -settled the question; and when a dozen bolomen did rally and attempt -a rush, half-heartedly, knowing that the bolo should be used in the -jungle or in the darkness, they were beaten back easily. - -Five minutes later, everything was over; and then Basil Hayle made -a discovery which was to alter the whole of his after-life. There -were half a dozen women and children in one of the caves, weeping -and clinging to one another. Basil drew back hurriedly. He did not -like to see things like that, especially as most of them were young, -and one, a mestiza, was extremely nice-looking. The position was -rather awkward, he told himself. He had not the slightest intention -of taking them along with him, and yet, if he left them up there, -on that ledge of rock, with three or four badly wounded outlaws as -their sole guard, no one could tell what might happen. Possibly, -Felizardo's main camp was twenty miles away, and, from what he had -heard of the old man's character, it was quite likely that none of -the few members of the outpost who had escaped unhurt would be in a -hurry to return to their leader. - -Basil pushed his hat back and scratched his head. What right had -women to be mixed up in an affair like this? Then, suddenly, his -eyes fell on the only unwounded prisoner, a sullen-looking youth, -who had been knocked down with the butt-end of a carbine. "Come here," -he said. "Do you know Felizardo's camp?" - -The boy looked at him suspiciously; then Basil went on: "Go and -tell him to come and fetch these women and the wounded men. See? Get -along now." - -He needed no second bidding. He had been expecting to be taken down -to the coast and hanged as a ladrone, and he did not feel quite -sure that such was not to be his fate until he was actually out of -sight round the next spur of the mountain; then he doubled back, -and re-passed the Constabulary out of sight, for, like a true outlaw, -he had taken the precaution of starting off in the wrong direction. - -Had Basil Hayle been a more experienced, or a less chivalrous man, -he would have waited, on the chance of Felizardo himself coming along -presently, in which case this story would have ended abruptly, so -far as the Constabulary officer was concerned; for the force which -presently arrived, expecting some such trap, had both rifles and -bolos, and crept in cautiously from all sides; but, by that time, -the Constabulary were miles away, scrambling over the rocks in great -good-humour, for had they not won their first fight, and acquired, -not only glory, but loot as well in the form of bolos, and playing -cards, and clothes, and, most important of all, cigarettes? - -The Captain, too, was satisfied, feeling he had made a good -start. Moreover, he had secured an additional two days' provisions, -and so would be able to explore the whole of one side of the range -before returning to Katubig. - -The Teniente of Katubig was very apologetic about the guide. It was -all a mistake, he said. The man had taken them to the foot of the -wrong volcano, and then, fearing to be punished, had fled. Still, -every one was glad to hear that the Senor Capitaine had inflicted a -severe blow on that villain, Felizardo, who would doubtless now see -the wisdom of submission to those great-hearted Americanos, who had -saved the Islands from the oppressions of both the Spaniards and the -insurrectos. As for the ladrones---- - -Basil cut his eloquence short. "How did you hear about our fight?" he -demanded. - -For an instant the Teniente looked troubled, then he laughed. "I -forgot. There is one here, a young tao by his appearance, who has -been waiting for three days past with a letter for you. He it was -who had heard of the fight." - -Hayle frowned. "Send him in to me," he said. The moment the messenger -entered, the American knew him again; but the Teniente, who was -watching closely, detected no sign of recognition; nor did Basil's -face give him any clue to the contents of the letter, which ran:-- - - - "Felizardo thanks the American captain for returning to him his - daughter, and the other women, and also the wounded men. That - is how brave men make war; and if at any time Felizardo has the - opportunity of doing a similar service, assuredly it will be - performed. On the other hand, in the mountains, which belong to - Felizardo, there is only one law, the Law of the Bolo, and those - who come as enemies will be met with the bolo. This was the word - Felizardo sent to the insurrectos, and he sends the same message - to the Americanos. Though, perhaps, some day he may be able to - show the captain of the Samar men that he can be an enemy and a - friend at the same time." - - -Captain Basil Hayle folded the letter carefully, and thrust it into -an inner pocket. "H'm!" he muttered, "Felizardo's own daughter--the -well-dressed, pretty mestiza, I suppose. I don't think I shall mention -this to Furber--or to any one else, for that matter, as they wouldn't -understand." - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -HOW MRS BUSH HEARD OF THE LAW OF THE BOLO - - -After he received the letter from Felizardo, thanking him for returning -his daughter, promising to repay the service when an opportunity -occurred, and threatening him with the Law of the Bolo if he dared -to come, as an American officer, on to his mountains, Captain Basil -Hayle spent three days in Katubig, resting his men, and preparing -to do the very thing which Felizardo had forbidden. His duty was to -destroy the community of outlaws in the mountains; yet, though at the -first encounter he had scored an easy victory, he was by no means -sure that he could repeat the process. It is one thing for troops -armed with carbines to surprise bolomen in the open, quite another -thing when the bolomen jump out on the troops in the dense jungle, -where you hardly have time to bring your carbine to your shoulder once, -much less have time to reload, before they are right on you, slashing -and jabbing with their hateful knives, under cover of the smoke. - -So far, Basil Hayle had had practically no experience of jungle -fighting, but he had a very shrewd notion of what it would be like; -and, whilst his little Constabulary soldiers were full of confidence -and ardour, as a result of their first victory, he looked forward -with a certain amount of misgiving, not because he was afraid--he -was physically incapable of fear--but because, having started the -hunting of Felizardo, he was anxious to see the job through to the end. - -He heard a good deal of Felizardo during those three days; for on the -night of his return a curious little tramp steamer wheezed into the -bay, and put ashore an equally curious old Spaniard, a hemp-buyer; -and from him Basil Hayle learned many things; for the newcomer had -known Don José Ramirez and the corporal of the Guardia Civil, and could -remember the building of what was then the new gallows at Calocan, on -which they had hanged Cinicio Dagujob the ladrone thirty-five years -before. Consequently, he was able to tell Basil, who was only too -ready to hear, all about how Felizardo had slain Pablo the priest, -and had run off with Dolores Lasara, and had taken to the mountains, -of which he was now the ruler. - -Basil Hayle asked many questions, and with each answer he grew -to have more respect for the power of the wizened little man whom -he was to hunt down--if he could. Of Dolores Lasara the Spaniard -could tell him little. "I saw her once, and--I was very young then, -younger than you are now--I thought her the most beautiful mestiza in -the Islands. Perhaps she was; at any rate, many men have died because -Felizardo loved her so well. She is still alive, they say; and I hear -there is a daughter." Basil coloured involuntarily. "How do I hear all -these things? Oh, now that they no longer have reason to fear us, we -Spaniards can go anywhere, just as the English have always done. The -Law of the Bolo is for other Filipinos, and for you Americanos"--he -laughed gently--"you will learn that law by and by. So far, you have -hardly begun to know it. If we had taken those insurrectos, those -generals and colonels and majors, we should have hanged them, and -finished all the foolishness. You create them judges and governors, -and make it worse. This same Felizardo knows better than that, even -though he may have been born a tao and have killed a priest." - -Just as the Constabulary were starting out on the fourth morning, -the old Spaniard gave their officer one last word of advice. "I say -you are mad to go on Felizardo's mountains at all--what harm does the -old man do to your American politicians in Manila?--but you will be -more than mad if you go round on the northern slopes." - -"Why?" Hayle demanded. - -The Spaniard smiled. "Head-hunters--hundreds of them they say, more -dangerous than any bolomen. I have never been there to see. No, Senor; -but I have heard often. What are they, Senor? How much you Americanos -have to learn about these Islands! Why, just savages--quite different -from the Filipinos--nearly naked. Their pleasure in life is to collect -heads, just as your great men collect millions of dollars." - -"What a pleasant notion!" Hayle's voice was quite cheerful. "No, Senor, -I am not going the head-hunters' direction this time; but I may do -so soon. Still, if I do, I shall come back to tell you all about it." - -The old man shook his head rather sadly as he walked away. "Perhaps," -he muttered, "perhaps--but first old Felizardo, then the head-hunters, -and only sixty half-trained Samar tao as his troops. They are rash, -very rash, these young Americans. A nice lad, too." He sighed heavily, -and went back to the weighing of his hemp. - -Captain Hayle had decided to explore the seaward end of the range, -where the mountains ran almost down to the shore of the great bay; -consequently, from Katubig he followed the coast until he came to -what looked like a suitable place for beginning his climb. Up to that -point, he had not seen a sign of any human being, not heard a sound, -save that of the waves breaking on the shore, and the wind murmuring -through the cocoa-nut palms; but no sooner had he started to force his -way into the jungle on the lower slopes, than a deep note boomed out, -apparently from the tree-tops a few hundred yards away; a moment later, -it was repeated, higher up the hill, and then again and yet again, in -a dozen places, until every native for miles round must have heard it. - -Basil stopped abruptly. "What is that?" he demanded of his serjeant. - -The man made an expressive gesture. "The Boudjon, Senor, -the alarm-horn. Now, every one of these ladrones knows we are -coming. Either we shall see none at all, or we shall see too many." - -Basil muttered an oath, then, "Come on," he said. "The quicker we -move, the better our chances;" but already his own hopes of another -successful fight had vanished. Obviously, Felizardo's men were not -to be caught asleep a second time. - -It had been raining all night, and as a result the slope, bad enough -at any time by reason of its horrible steepness, was now trebly bad -on account of the slippery red clay underfoot. There was no trail of -any sort; it was just a matter of forcing one's way through the dense, -soaking undergrowth, of fighting one's way upwards, half-blinded with -perspiration all the time, of dragging one's boots, which now seemed -to weigh a hundred pounds each, out of that horrible mire at every -step, and then sliding back half the distance one had advanced. It -was impossible to keep in any sort of order so as to be ready to meet -an attack. There were always stragglers, those who got tangled up in -the vines, or had their boots wrenched off by the mud. Basil Hayle -went ahead, and trusted that his men, who were born to the jungle, -were keeping up with him, for at no time could he actually see them -all, on account of the dense bush. - -They had gone, perhaps, half a mile up the hillside when he was -suddenly convinced that men were watching him, that in the jungle -ahead, and on both sides too, there were bolomen closing in. He paused -and looked round, and saw nothing; looked round again and caught a -glimpse of something white behind a bush. At the same moment, the -serjeant, who was just behind him, saw it too, and gave a shout. The -Constabulary tried to close up, but the last man was a full hundred -yards behind, down the slope, and it was too late. The bolomen broke -cover--a couple of hundred of them at least--whilst the Constabulary -were still a helpless rabble, and the ragged volley which the plucky -little Samar men let off only made matters worse. Possibly, it injured -some of the trees and bushes; certainly, one bullet did get a boloman -square in the throat; but under cover of the smoke, which hung like -a pall in that breathless atmosphere, the outlaws rushed in. - -The Constabulary died game. They were from Samar, Visayans by race, -and the outlaws were natives of Luzon, Tagalogs; and between Visayan -and Tagalog there is a never-dying blood-feud. Those who had bolos -dropped their carbines, and set to work in their national fashion; -those who had no bolos clubbed their carbines, and did their best -that way. All died standing up, and almost every Visayan killed or -wounded a Tagalog before he himself went down. They upheld the honour -of Samar that day on the slopes of Felizardo's mountains, when the -Tagalog outlaws were three to one, and had the additional advantage -of surprising a winded column. - -Basil found himself with a little group of some fifteen men. The -bolomen were in between him and the rest of his party, and so thick -was the smoke--for, despite his orders, those round him continued to -blaze away wildly--that he could see nothing of what was occurring -below. Only, knowing that the outlaws were in overwhelming force, -and hearing no more shots from the rest of his column, he could guess -with a fair degree of certainty. - -There were no bolomen above him now, so far as he could make out, -and when at last the smoke cleared away, he could see none on the -slope below. Nor could he see any of his other men, at least until -he went down to look for them. Then he found them, and every one he -saw was dead, usually with a dead outlaw somewhere near him. - -He did not stay to count the bodies; he did not even go through what -would have been the perfectly useless formality of ascertaining if -any were still alive. For some inexplicable reason the outlaws had -disappeared--they had not even made an attempt against him and his own -little group--but they might be back at any moment, and his first duty -was to get his pitiful handful of survivors into a place of safety. - -As they hurried down the hillside, Basil blamed himself savagely -for his folly. He had gone on blindly, in face of the warning of -the alarm-horn, in face of Felizardo's warning, taking his brave -little fellows to certain death; and then, in the end, he had escaped -without even one single boloman having attempted his life. Moreover, -he had remained where he was, whilst his men were being cut to pieces -below him. At first, this latter thought was the most bitter of all; -then suddenly he understood, with a great sense of relief--Felizardo -had ordered his life to be spared, and if he had led those last -fifteen through the smoke they, too, would have been sacrificed -uselessly. Still, it was galling to feel you owed your life to the -clemency of an old outlaw, whom you had been sent out to catch. - -He wondered what they would say in Manila. They would get his first -message, telling how he had surprised the outpost on the slope of the -volcano; and now he would have to send a second message--a message -of a very different character--reporting that he had lost fifty men -and fifty carbines, that the outlaws had scored a victory, the news -of which would carry hope and encouragement to the hearts of all the -criminal and all the disloyal elements in the Islands. - -He wondered too what his men would think of him. They were keeping -very close at his heels, expecting another attack any moment. He -glanced back over his shoulder, half-fearing to meet with scornful or -reproachful looks; but they were loyal little fellows, being simple -tao, and, in their half-savage way, they were very sorry for him. The -serjeant, a grizzled veteran who had received his first training at -Calocan, under the successor of the old corporal of the Guardia Civil, -tried to comfort him. "It is Fate, Senor. Why worry? Last time we had -the luck; to-day the luck is with those accursed ladrones. Doubtless, -next time we shall have our chance again. We could not help it. If we -had charged, instead of keeping where we were, they would have had -us too, and there would have been none to avenge our comrades. They -were three to one all the time; and they were fresh, whilst we were -exhausted with the climbing and the mud. It was their day to-day, -Senor; to-morrow, it will be ours!" - -The little men following behind grunted approval, which eased Basil's -mind considerably, knowing, as he did, that they were reliable judges. - -They saw no trace of the outlaws as they made their way down to the -beach, though three of the men whom they had reckoned dead, scrambled -through the jungle to rejoin them. Basil breathed more freely when -he found himself back in the cocoa-nut grove, off Felizardo's ground, -where, at least, one had a chance to shoot. - -"We will get to Katubig as quickly as possible," he said to the -serjeant. "I don't think they will follow us there; but, even if they -do, we can put up a fight in one of the houses." - -Five minutes later, however, he began to think his confidence had -not been justified; for one of the men, happening to look back, -caught sight of a figure moving along the edge of the jungle, where -the bush ended and the cocoa-nut grove began, and then they caught -fleeting glimpses of many, though all the time there was nothing at -which to shoot. - -Basil did the right thing. He led his men on to the beach itself, -where the boloman has to come within range of the carbines long before -he reaches you, and there is always sufficient breeze to clear away -the smoke. - -They marched quickly, or rather they hurried along--as Basil Hayle -told himself bitterly, they were the remnant of a defeated force -in full retreat--and all the time they were aware that the bolomen -were following just at the edge of the jungle; then, suddenly, they -rounded the point by Katubig, when you come in sight of the village, -and for a moment they forgot even the bolomen, for Katubig was in -flames. Half the nipa and bamboo houses, including that in which -the Constabulary supplies were stored, had already collapsed, whilst -another five minutes would see the rest practically gutted. - -Captain Hayle groaned. "Well, of all the infernal luck----" he began; -then he noticed that there was not a single native in sight, not a -single canoe left on the beach, and straightway he understood. Katubig -was practically one of Felizardo's villages--he was a fool not to -have thought of that before--and the old chief no longer intended it -to be used as a base for operations against himself. - -There was practically only one course open to Basil, and he -decided instantly to take it. He had no axes, no tools of any sort; -consequently, there was no possibility of making anything in the -way of a stockade, whilst to remain in the open with only eighteen -men was to invite a further and final disaster. No, he must cover -the ten or twelve miles to Igut, where there was a company of the -Philippine Scouts quartered. There he would be safe, and from there -he could send a report of his defeat to Manila. It was not a pleasant -prospect. The Constabulary and the Scouts did not love one another -overmuch, and it was humiliating to have to seek refuge with the -rival force. Still, he could see no alternative. Even as he decided, -he could catch glimpses of Felizardo's bolomen in the background, -dodging from bush to bush, never giving a chance for a shot, but -still driving him back from Felizardo's mountains. He glanced at -the sun. It was about one o'clock--Heavens, how much seemed to have -happened since sunrise!--if he went straight on, and there was no -sense in going into the burning village itself, he would be at Igut -by sunset, provided the path were not unusually bad. - -The men heaved sighs of relief when they learned their -destination. They had had enough of the mountains to last them for -a day or two; it was going to pour with rain again that night; and -the prospect of sleeping, or rather of trying to sleep, in the open -with Felizardo's bolomen prowling round, just outside the circle of -firelight, was not an exhilarating one. Consequently, they started off -for Igut very cheerfully. True, they had lost most of their comrades, -and had been badly beaten by the accursed Tagalog outlaws; but, after -all, what matter? They themselves were all right. They had plenty -of cigarettes for the march: they could buy plenty more in Igut, -in addition to spirits; whilst, doubtless, the Scouts would have -money to lose at monte; moreover, next time they met Felizardo's men, -the fight would go the other way--of that they felt sure.... - -Somehow, Igut seemed well-named. The word might mean anything, but the -sound expressed the town itself, at least to Western ears. The place -might appear picturesque, almost fascinating, to a chance visitor, -who knew that he was going to leave it in a few hours; but when you -had to live there, you quickly came to see it in a very different -light, as Mrs Bush, the wife of Captain Bush of the Philippine Scouts, -who had not been out of it for a whole year, could have told you. - -From the balcony of her house at the corner of the plaza, Mrs Bush -could survey the whole scene; and, as time hung very heavily on her -hands, she used to spend many an hour lying back in her long bamboo -chair, watching the view with languid disfavour, striving hard not -to resent the fate which had led her to bury her bright young life -in such a spot. - -There was so little worth looking at, when you got to know it. The same -tao were always asleep under the shade of the huge timber belfry in the -middle of the plaza, the same hungry dogs were always nosing round for -stray pieces of offal, the same shrill-voiced women wrangling with the -Chinaman who kept the general store at the far corner. The priest would -come out at a certain hour, meet the Presidente, and they would then -make their way together to the spirit shop next to the Chinaman's. A -little later, the Supervisor and the school teacher--white officials -these--would come round the corner and follow the others to the -same place, where presently her own husband would join them. Then, -just at sundown, a squad of Scouts would loaf across the plaza to -perform what they called mounting guard at the gaol. With that, the -day's activities would end, and the long, sweltering, breathless night, -when the mosquitoes and the heat, and perhaps, as in her case, your own -mental torment, would not allow you an hour's real sleep. On Sundays -the only difference was that every small boy in the place was allowed -to jangle those terrible bells in the plaza to his heart's content, -and the white officials went to the spirit shop earlier in the day. - -So much for the town. If you looked seawards--and from that balcony -you had an almost uninterrupted view--it was equally monotonous. The -palm-fringed bay, with its multicoloured coral bottom, and the vast -expanses of mangrove swamp, which, almost closing its entrance, -rendered it a safe anchorage, even when the monsoon was booming in -its fiercest, always seemed the same. True, every now and then, at -irregular intervals, a Government launch would come in with mails -or stores. More rarely still, a trading steamer, with rust-streaked -funnel and sides, a veritable maritime curiosity which would have been -condemned to the scrap-heap anywhere else, would wheeze and cough her -way up to the rickety wooden jetty in quest of a cargo of hemp; but -save on these occasions, the waters were disturbed only by the dug-outs -of native fishermen, who seemed to put to sea merely for the sake of -avoiding the flies on shore; at any rate, they always dozed off to -sleep the moment they had dropped the stones which served as anchors. - -Mrs Bush knew it all so well, and hated it as well as she knew it. Over -a year ago--twelve months and three weeks, to be correct--she had -left Manila; and, though the capital was only a few hours' steam away, -she had never been back, never spoken to a woman of her own race--for -her husband had been told pointedly by the general in command that his -only chance of retaining his commission was to remain at his station, -and get his men in hand again. Captain Bush had left the capital, -raging, and stayed at Igut, sulking; whilst his wife had been too -proud to suggest a trip for herself, and he had been too indifferent -to all that concerned her to offer it. - -There was not even male society, for the Treasurer, the Supervisor, -and the two school teachers, mere political nominees of small mental -attainments, had long since sunk to the point of mixing socially -with the natives, a thing from which her Southern blood recoiled -in horror. Once, and once only, had she turned on her husband, -and that was on the occasion when he brought the Supervisor and the -Presidente--the latter a mestizo--in to dinner. The experiment was -never repeated; possibly because Bush was really frightened at the -storm he had aroused, possibly because she frightened the guests -themselves; though in the end the latter had their revenge, or what -passed with them as revenge, by vilifying her on every possible -occasion, and rendering the breach between her and her husband -absolutely uncrossable. - -On the day of Basil Hayle's defeat on the mountain-side, Igut had been -panting and perspiring as only towns amongst the mangrove swamps can -perspire and pant. On the plaza nothing had stirred. The women in the -Chinaman's store had quickly grown weary of wrangling, and had settled -down to sleep in the doorway; even the dogs and the wolfish-looking -pigs had ceased to quarrel amongst themselves on the quayside. - -Evening brought little or no relief. Every few minutes, Mrs Bush -glanced towards the setting sun, longing for it to disappear behind the -line of mangroves, when there might be some chance of a slight breeze. - -She was, as usual, on the veranda, behind the light matting blind, -when an unwonted commotion made her start up quickly. The dogs -had awakened to fresh life, and were barking noisily. A native, -who had spread his net across the roadway that morning, with the -intention of repairing it, and had then gone to sleep over his task, -came to his senses suddenly, and began to gather in his property, -as a small party of native soldiers, headed by a white officer, -swung down the street. Mrs Bush lay back in her chair, and watched -through the blind with languid interest. There was something in the -manner of the officer which she liked. He seemed to know his own mind, -and when half a dozen natives gathered in his path, apparently with -the object of making the white man give way to them, and so raising -a snigger at his expense, he brushed them aside like so many flies. - -"He is from the South," she said to herself, and, almost unconsciously, -came to the rail of the balcony in order to see more easily. - -As soon as he reached the dusty patch of grass in the centre of the -plaza, Captain Hayle dismissed his men, who, after piling their arms -against the timbers of the belfry, threw themselves down on the ground -and produced the inevitable cigarettes. From the barracks at the upper -end of the plaza, a score of Scouts emerged, and regarded the newcomers -with marked disfavour, commenting on their torn, mud-stained uniforms, -and their generally-ragged appearance. - -"Only dam' Constabularios," sneered a serjeant, who prided himself -on his knowledge of English; but, despite the insults, Hayle's men -smoked on unconcernedly. Had they not great things to relate when -the women came round; whilst these Scouts, mere Tagalogs after all, -had never even set foot on Felizardo's mountains. - -Mrs Bush remained at the rail of the balcony. The evening breeze had -just begun to blow, and, moreover, she felt vaguely that she would like -to get a nearer view of the newly-arrived white man. A minute later, -her wish was gratified, for, after asking a question of one of the -Scouts, who came forward rather sullenly, Basil Hayle started to cross -the plaza towards her house. He was a little weary, his walk showed -that; but when he chanced to look up and their eyes met, he seemed -to pull himself together; then, probably because he had not expected -to see a white woman in Igut, he raised his well-worn felt hat. - -At the door, Basil found a sleepy muchacho, who, in reply to his -questions, answered that Captain Bush was out, adding gratuitously, -"As usual." Nor did he know where the Scout officer was, or when -he would be in. He was not at the barracks, nor at the spirit store -across the plaza. Still, the Senora might know; he would call her. - -From the glimpse he had obtained of her, Hayle had formed the -impression that Mrs Bush was pretty. When she came in, he saw that -he had been mistaken, if one judged by recognised codes, as no sane -man does judge, either of faces or of character, or--I say it even -with the fear of the Outer Darkness of the Podsnaps before me--of -morals. There are no rules in these matters, there can be no rules when -you are dealing with such infinitely complex subjects as human form -and human character. What is beauty in one woman is mere drabness in -another, for beauty is three parts soul and one part form to any one -but an animal-man, and animal-men should not count for anything--in -fact they should be eliminated whenever possible. The same applies to -morals. How can you lay down hard and fast rules when the Magdalen -is a Christian saint, and whilst those who revere her as such, and -dedicate churches to her, fall over themselves in their anxiety to -cast the first stone at her latter-day successors? But this is all -beside the scope of this story, which deals with the crude code of -the Bolo, the law with one clause only. - -"I am sorry I kept you," Mrs Bush said, with a soft Southern -drawl. "But I get so few visitors I am never ready to receive them." - -Basil flushed. "I only came to see Captain Bush on business. It wasn't -fair to worry you. I wanted to get him to lend me some food and kit -for my men--Felizardo's people burnt all theirs to-day--and I was -going to ask him about sending a dispatch into Manila. The boy said -you would know where to find him." - -Mrs Bush's face hardened momentarily, and she looked away quickly, -then, "No," she replied, "I don't know where--at least, I mean you -cannot find him now. But, if you don't mind waiting, he is sure to -be in soon. Perhaps you would like to come up on the balcony; it is -cooler there." - -When they had sat down, Basil laughed rather awkwardly. "I forgot to -tell you my name; it is Hayle--Basil Hayle of the Constabulary." - -Mrs Bush nodded. "I guessed that, when you mentioned Felizardo. We -heard something of your fight up on the volcano, from an old Spaniard -who came in to-day; but he said you had gone back there." - -The man laughed bitterly, and glanced down at his torn and mud-stained -uniform. "So I did, but I have come back quickly." - -She looked at him with ready sympathy. "Do you mean they drove you -back? What hard luck, after starting so well! But did you go with -just that handful of men?" - -Mrs Bush was sorry she had asked the question as soon as she saw the -look in his eyes. "No," he answered, "I went out with sixty-five men -this morning." - -"And the others?" She leaned forward anxiously. - -"The others are there still," he replied, with a catch in his -voice. "The bolomen were three to one, and they got us on a muddy -hillside, you understand." He was looking away, so he did not see -the pity in her eyes. - -"And the wounded?" she asked gently. - -Still, he did not face her. "Felizardo leaves no wounded." Then, -suddenly, his pent-up feelings broke out, as was inevitable they -would do when he met one of his own race, one to whom he could speak -freely. "Oh, I feel such a hound for leaving them. I was at the head -of the column, and the bolomen cut us off from the rest; and whilst -we, a dozen men and myself, were waiting for it to come, they were -boloing the others." - -"And then?" she asked. - -"Then? Then they just disappeared into the jungle, and we came back, -unharmed. They followed us almost to here, and they burned our stores -at Katubig--they burned Katubig itself in fact, but they never tried -to touch us. That's what makes me feel so bad. To think they wiped out -three-quarters of my men, and then let the rest of us go. They--other -men, I mean--are sure to say we ran at the start." - -Mrs Bush shook her head. "I hardly think so. They will say you were -splendidly brave to go up at all, and splendidly clever to get any -of your men safely out of it." - -Basil thanked her with his eyes; but still he was not comforted. "It -looks bad," he repeated. "And I can't explain. They wouldn't believe -the reason." - -"What was the reason?" she asked. "Tell me. I shall believe." - -He faced her now, fairly; and from that moment there was a new factor, -the All-important Factor, something infinitely greater than the Law -of the Bolo, in his life. In a flash, he understood how it was that -Felizardo had been ready to take to the hills for the sake of Dolores -Lasara. Then he told her of Felizardo's daughter, and of Felizardo's -letter. - -"Of course I believe," she said, when he had finished. "It is just -what one would expect of Felizardo.... Oh, we hear a great deal about -him here, from the servants. No, Captain Hayle, you must not worry, -really you must not. I know it is horrible, to lose your men in that -way; but you had to obey orders. Ninety-nine men out of a hundred -would have made an excuse for not going; but you are different." - -He did not answer her this time, but sat, staring out across the plaza, -thinking of his men, away there on Felizardo's mountain-side; at last -her voice recalled him. "You are from the South, Captain Hayle?" - -He clutched eagerly at the chance of changing the subject completely; -and from then, until her husband appeared, there was no more mention -of bolomen and their doings. - -Captain Bush proved to be a big man, as tall as Hayle himself, though -much heavier--flabby, most people would have said--good-looking in a -way, though his eye was watery and his chin weak. You could see at -a glance why they had transferred him from the Regular Infantry to -the Scouts, and sent him to an out-station. They do not like heavy -drinkers in the American Service, any more than they like amateur -soldiers, or brigadier-generals appointed from the circle of the -President's personal friends. - -Captain Bush had already heard something of Hayle's defeat, though -he did not explain how or where. Basil, on his part, did not trouble -to go into the story very fully. He had taken an immediate dislike -to Bush, and he felt that the latter was by no means grieved over -the disaster which had befallen the rival force. Still, the Scout -officer agreed readily enough to let him have the stores he needed, -and to allow the remnant of the Constabulary to occupy some vacant -quarters in the barracks. As soon as this was arranged, Hayle rose -to leave, but Mrs Bush detained him. - -"Oh, Captain Hayle, you must stay to dinner now. Mustn't he, John?" - -Bush nodded assent, but Basil looked down at his dirty, torn -uniform. "I don't think I can, really----" he began; but his hostess -cut him short. - -"You say they have burned all your kit, so how can you help that? And, -after all, one gets used to things in the Philippines. Where are you -going to stay in Igut? I wish we could put you up, but I'm afraid -it's quite impossible." - -"There's a Spaniard here I know," he answered. "Don Juan Ramirez. I -promised I would stay with him, if I ever came to Igut, and I sent -one of my men to tell him as soon as I got in. I really ought to go -there now, but, still, he will forgive me, I expect, when I tell him -that you insisted." - -Mrs Bush nodded. "He's a dear old man, quite different from----" -She broke off abruptly, and turned to her husband, who was tugging -moodily at his moustache. "John, I expect Captain Hayle would like -a wash and a drink before dinner." - -Bush brightened up considerably after the second cocktail, and after -the fourth--his fourth, Basil was more careful--he was quite familiar -and sympathetic. "Shame to send you up there," he said. "A rabble -like yours is no good. They ought to have sent a couple of companies -of Scouts. We should have cleaned them up, sure enough." - -Basil bit his lip, but did not reply. Afterwards, when he came to -look back on that dinner, it seemed to him one of the most miserable -experiences of his life. It was bad enough to sit down with a couple -who, as the husband made only too clear, had nothing in common; -but when that husband was also guilty of drinking far too much, -showing he had drunk too much, the position became unbearable. Still, -there was one redeeming feature--the way in which Mrs Bush tried -to make the best of the situation. She talked rapidly, nervously, -all the time, trying to avoid any topic which might possibly lead to -discussion; but Bush's temporary burst of good-nature quickly changed -to aggressiveness, then to actual surliness, and some of the things -he said made Basil go white with rage. The Scout officer's friends -had lost no opportunity of telling him that his wife's Southern pride -was the cause of his domestic unhappiness, and when he found that the -guest was also from the South, he felt he had discovered a legitimate -source of grievance. Had they been alone, there would have been a -fight; but Basil glanced at Mrs Bush, sitting white-faced and rigid, -and remembered the duty he owed to his hostess. - -At last the meal was over. Mrs Bush rose, and as Hayle opened the -door for her, "I think we had better go up on the balcony, Captain -Hayle. It will be pleasanter there," she said. - -Her husband got up too, then staggered, and went down on to his -knees. Basil turned to help him, but stopped when Mrs Bush laid a -restraining hand on his arm. - -"I will see to him, Captain Hayle," she said; "I was afraid he was not -very well to-night. Perhaps you had better go;" but she saw him out, -saying good-bye to him at the door, before she returned to the invalid, -who had got back into his chair and greeted her with a curse. - -Don Juan Ramirez, who was very like what old Don José had been thirty -years previously, shook his head when Basil mentioned that he had -dined with the Bushes. - -"Was he--was he as usual?" he asked. - -Basil's pent-up wrath broke out. "If being as usual means being a -foul-mouthed, drunken hog, with a wife a million times too good for -him, then he was!" - -The Spaniard nodded. "He seldom dines at home. Perhaps she thought -that, with a guest there, he would--he would be moderate. Poor lady! He -drinks all day with the Presidente, a mestizo insurrecto, and with the -Supervisor and the school teacher who came from his own State. Then -there is worse. There is a mestiza girl--under his wife's eyes." - -Basil Hayle walked up and down the room, raging, whilst the -old Spaniard watched him sympathetically, understanding, being a -worthy nephew of Don José of Calocan. Then, adroitly, he turned the -conversation on to the subject of that morning's fight. - -"You were rash," he said, when Basil had finished. "But you were -lucky to escape yourself. Why, Felizardo must have three hundred -bolomen--five hundred perhaps, as well as many rifles. My uncle knew -him well before he took to the hills. Old Don José did not love the -Filipinos--who could?--but he used to say always that Felizardo was -a gentleman, even though he had killed a priest. Your Government will -never catch Felizardo, Senor, never. They will waste lives and money, -and they will find that, in the end, Felizardo will be stronger than -ever. Why, to-morrow, when the news of your ill-fortune is known, -there will be hundreds of fresh recruits clamouring to join his band." - -In the morning Basil wrote his report to Mr Commissioner Furber, -telling the truth, plainly and baldly; then he sent it off by a -launch which happened to come in, and sat down to wait for the reply, -half-hoping that the latter would take the form of his dismissal. He -wanted to get right away, he told himself, not because of Felizardo's -bolomen, but because, as had been the case when Felizardo himself -had first met Father Pablo in San Polycarpio, the instinct to kill -had awakened in him. He had caught the spirit of the Islands, where -the Law of the Bolo is the natural code, and if he remained he knew -he should kill Captain Bush. - -He told himself that he was a fool, that, after all, they were -strangers with whom he had no concern, that he would avoid them in -future; and then, seeing Mrs Bush walking across the plaza, he took -his hat and hurried after her, completing the mischief, so far as he -himself was concerned--possibly, too, so far as she was concerned. - -The school teacher saw them out of the window of the spirit shop, and -winked at the Supervisor, who glanced out too, and then called to Bush. - -"Say, Captain. The Virginian seems to have cottoned on to your -wife. Two Southerners, eh?" - -Bush flushed, half-rose with the intention of having a look, then -resumed his seat; but he did not forget the words, thereby fulfilling -the intentions of his friends. - -That night, a messenger left Igut with a letter for Felizardo, -written by no less a person than the Supervisor's principal clerk, -who was also, in a sense, the Supervisor's brother-in-law. In that -letter the clerk, who was no mean observer, made some pointed, and, -as it happened, perfectly true remarks concerning Captain Basil Hayle's -feelings towards Mrs Bush--remarks which, as subsequent events proved, -Felizardo did not forget. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER V - -HOW MR COMMISSIONER GUMPERTZ AND MR JOSEPH GOBBITT TALKED OF HIGH -FINANCE - - -When Mr Joseph Gobbitt's friends heard that "Old Joe" himself was -going out to Manila to bring order into the chaos caused by the sudden -death of young Albert Dunk, they shook their heads gravely. It was -a foolish and unnecessary thing to do, they declared. The firm of -Gobbitt and Dunk had not a very large sum at stake in the Philippines, -and one of the other young Dunks, or even Pretty, the chief clerk, -would have been able to do all that was necessary. Mr Gobbitt, -however, knew his own mind, and, after only a week of preparation, -started overland, to catch the Hong Kong mail steamer. - -It is curious how some people get the names which suit them -exactly. Joseph Gobbitt was a case in point. Inevitably, you expected -a man of East Anglian tradesman stock; and the moment you set eyes on -him, you felt you had been right. Hosea Gobbitt, his father, had been -mayor and pork-butcher in a small Suffolk town, having risen to wealth -and position by what he called "judicious trading." "A little bit of -all sorts, for all sorts of people," he used to say to his particular -friends at the Tradesmen's Meetings--which meant that those customers -who were particular got meat for which he had to pay the farmers -what he considered a wholly outrageous price, showing a bare profit -of sixty per cent.; whilst those who were careless, or in his debt, -as well as those who ventured on sausages and similar mysteries, were -liable to get the product of those diseased swine which the inspector -was kind enough, and wise enough, to let him have for a few shillings -each. After all, what is the use of holding Municipal Office unless -you make something out of it to pay for your time? What tradesman in -England ever did--at least what tradesman of his, Hosea Gobbitt's, -ability? Footman the ironmonger, and Woods the grocer--"Sandy" Woods -they used to call him amongst themselves, because of his sugar, not -because of his hair--did very well over contracts, and there was no -reason why he should not do well over pork. After all, the inspector -was their servant; they could discharge him at any moment. - -Joseph Gobbitt learnt the rudiments of business in his father's shop; -but he had no intention of spending his life in a country town; -consequently, at the age of eighteen he went to London, and obtained -a junior clerkship in a Mincing Lane house. When he was thirty, he -entered into partnership with Henry Dunk, and proceeded to turn the -knowledge he had secured to such good use that, within five years, -he had pretty well ruined his former employers. When he was sixty, -he was reckoned, if not amongst the biggest men of Mincing Lane, -at least amongst the bigger ones. He had several branches in the -East, including one at Manila, which had been under the charge of -Albert Dunk, son of his late partner. Taken all round, matters were -going very well when, just about the time that Basil Hayle began the -campaign against Felizardo, Albert Dunk died suddenly, and, to Mr -Gobbitt's mind, mysteriously. Edward Dunk, the new junior partner, -Albert's elder brother, had volunteered to go out; but, greatly to -his surprise, Mr Gobbitt had declared his intention of going himself. - -"You can manage here by yourself, Edward," he said; "I have every -confidence in you, every confidence. The sea-trip will do me good, -and possibly there may be complications in Manila which we have -not foreseen." - -Edward Dunk, not unnaturally, took the latter sentence as a slur on his -brother's memory, as foreshadowing unpleasant discoveries, and he laid -his plans accordingly, with a view to repaying Mr Gobbitt in kind. As a -matter of fact, however, it was a chance conversation with an American -consular official which had determined the senior partner to go to -the East. "It's money they want out in the Islands," the American had -said. "There's lots of good things to be got cheap--concessions, hemp -lands, Church lands even; though our own people hold back, not knowing -if we shall stay out there, whilst the British banks and financiers -are too fastidious--won't grease the Commissioners' palms. There's -a fortune, sir, for the man who will risk his dollars. And it isn't -much risk, anyway. We are bound to stay in the Islands, now we've -been chuckleheads enough to take them." - -Mr Joseph Gobbitt pondered deeply over these words during the long -journey to Hong Kong, where, from his own manager, he obtained a -certain degree of confirmation; but before he had been in Manila -two days, he knew that they were true. He called officially on -Mr Commissioner Gumpertz, head of the Departments of Lands and -Registration, in the hope of obtaining full particulars concerning the -end of Albert Dunk, who had met his death somewhere near Hippapad, -which, of course, is on the other side of Felizardo's mountains, -a full ten miles--more, perhaps--to the north of the range. - -"The report was that he died of fever," the official said. "They -buried him where he died. Violence? Murder? My dear sir, no. The -Islands are pacified now. You could go from end to end of them -unarmed. Pay no heed to the wild stories you will hear, stories -circulated deliberately by our political enemies, and by the Army, -which is jealous of our success. You are sure to hear them all, perhaps -more than I hear." Unconsciously he slipped some blank sheets of paper -over a copy of Captain Basil Hayle's report, which he had just been -studying anew--the grim record of forty-seven men out of sixty-five -slaughtered on Felizardo's mountains by Felizardo's bolomen. "You will -hear them because you are the type of man, a broad-minded capitalist, -whom they are specially anxious to keep out." - -His words gave Mr Gobbitt his cue, and a few minutes later they were no -longer talking officially, but privately, about a railway concession -and a copra concession, but most of all about some hemp lands. Mr -Gobbitt was essentially a business man, and he put his finger on the -weak spot, or what seemed the weak spot, at once. "Why," he asked, -"if there is all this splendid hemp land vacant, have not people, -the natives for instance, or the Spaniards, made use of it?" And he -leaned back in his chair, twirling his gold-rimmed glasses. - -The Commissioner met his objections with an easy smile. "You know what -the Spaniards were. Did they make use of anything? Moreover, in their -days there were large bands of ladrones in the neighbourhood." Mr -Gobbitt knit his forehead, and was making a mental note of the -drawback, when the Commissioner went on: "But there are none now. We -have cleared them all out, all; and we have a company of Constabulary -under a most energetic officer, Captain Hayle, quartered permanently -in the district. Then, as to your other point, is it likely we should -allow any unauthorised person to seize this land?" - -Mr Joseph Gobbitt got up. He divined that, at the first interview with -a high official, it would hardly be diplomatic to talk of business, -of the sort of business which was obviously intended. "I will think -it over," he said. "Possibly I may hear from you." - -The Commissioner rose, too. "Very possibly some friends of mine might -call," he answered. - -Down at the Consulate, the Vice-Consul received Mr Gobbitt with what -that pillar of finance considered most unbecoming levity. "Got anything -out of old Gumpertz?" he asked. "I suppose you had a long lecture on -Liberty and Brown Brothers. No? You are lucky, then. He's not what you -might call inspired, unless it's on a question of dollars. He got his -job because he kept some big city solid for the Party, they say. He -owned, or bought up, all the bars in the place, lost his money over -it, and so, to keep him quiet and give him a chance to retrieve his -fortune, they sent him out here. He is retrieving fast, but he's really -still what he was by birth, a petty, huckstering tradesman. They say -that his father used to be a pork-butcher in the Happy Fatherland." - -Had it not been for the last few words, Mr Gobbitt might have paid -some attention to the rest; but those decided him. Obviously, the -whole thing was rank prejudice. He got up, waving aside a proffered -cigar. "Thank you. I do not smoke. Is the Consul in?" - -The Vice-Consul got up wearily. "Shan't I do? Oh, very well. I'll -see. He was having an extra siesta; didn't feel quite the thing after -tiffin. I'd be careful of the Club whisky, if I were you. Rotten -brand they've got on tap now;" and, without noticing Mr Gobbitt's -indignant looks, he lounged into the inner office. - -The Consul, or rather Acting-Consul, the regular Consul-General being -on leave, did not seem exactly delighted to see Mr Gobbitt. - -"Well, did you hear anything new from Gumpertz?" he asked. - -Mr Gobbitt shook his head. "He says Mr Dunk died of fever and was -buried in the jungle. That is all they know." - -The Consul yawned. "It's about their mark. The Army would have sent -out to see quick, and so would the Guardia Civil. Those people get -in a fluster if a native is killed, and don't worry about a white -man. Is that all? Find your books all right?" - -The visitor flushed. He did not like this man any better than he -liked the Vice-Consul. "They were correct," he said severely. "The -books of our firm always are. But there is one curious thing--the day -before he left Manila Mr Dunk drew ten thousand pesos from the bank; -and we cannot trace to whom he paid it." - -"Whew! Ten thousand pesos, eh?" The Consul whistled in what struck -Mr Gobbitt as a most undignified manner. "A big sum that. Was he--do -you think he was mixed up in any sort of graft here--corruption, -you'd call it--with the officials?" - -There was wrath on Mr Gobbitt's face as he got up from his chair. "Sir, -members of our firm are not mixed up in such things.... No, sir, -I do not smoke; nor will I have a whisky-and-soda. I, myself, drink -only at meals." - -When he had gone, with such dignity as a large and perspiring man, -who wears a frock-coat in the Tropics, can command, the Acting-Consul -yawned again. "Queer old chap. Isn't he in a paddy-whack!" Then he -went to the door and called the Vice-Consul. "I say, Blackiston, -come and drink the whisky-and-soda our heavy friend refused. Did he -slam the door as he went out?" - -Mr Joseph Gobbitt did not go to the English Club that night, partly -because he was unwilling to run the risk of further shocks to his -dignity, but chiefly because he thought it possible that some friends -of Mr Commissioner Gumpertz might chance to call on him. The latter -supposition proved to be correct. He had just finished dinner, and was -waiting on the veranda of the hotel for his coffee, when the waiter -announced two gentlemen, who introduced themselves as Mr William -P. Hart and Senor de Vega, the latter being a mestizo. Mr Gobbitt -received them graciously, scenting business, and it only needed two -liqueurs to produce a definite proposition. Mr William P. Hart was -not shy, whilst Senor de Vega backed him loyally in all he had to -say. There was this splendid stretch of hemp-growing land on the north -of the range of mountains, which Mr Gobbitt had doubtless noticed. Mr -Commissioner Gumpertz had the selling of it, and the Commissioner's -price would be so much for himself--or rather for himself, Mr Hart, -and Senor de Vega--and so much for the Government. There was no -useless beating about the bush, a feature which Mr Gobbitt rather -appreciated. It was, after all, a plain matter of business, and, as it -was shorn of all pretence and shams, a business man could discuss it. - -They came to terms, provisionally. Mr Gobbitt had made careful -enquiries as to the value of really good hemp land in that part of -the island, and he knew that, if he bought at the figure named, he -would be making an amazingly good bargain. Unfortunately, however, -he did not know good hemp land from bad--or, for that matter, from -any other sort of land; and much though he respected the cleverness, -the money-making genius, of Commissioner Gumpertz, he was not going -to take that gentleman's word for anything which involved financial -risk to himself. - -"I must inspect this land first, of course," he said. "That is only -a matter of common sense. I will find some reliable person who can -give me an expert opinion on it, and then, if he reports favourably, -I will come to terms with ... with your Government." - -"And the Commissioner?" Mr Hart asked, with a leer. - -The merchant bowed gravely. "And the Commissioner, of course. That -is understood." - -"Can't be done without him." Mr Hart was inclined to frankness. - -"It is quite unnecessary to tell me that." Mr Gobbitt spoke -severely. "I am accustomed to business." - -"There is one thing more." Mr Hart laid a hand which was none too -clean on his host's knee. "The Commissioner wants a deposit, so that -he has something to show the Government, in case another buyer happens -along. He wants six thousand dollars, gold, down; to be refunded if -you do not wish to complete the purchase at the end of three months." - -Mr Gobbitt frowned. It was a large sum; but then the value of the -land would be enormous. "Six thousand dollars. Humph! Twelve hundred -pounds--a great deal of money. If I considered the proposal--I do not -say I shall--I should require the proper receipt of the Department, -not the mere private receipt of the Commissioner." - -The readiness with which Mr Hart assented dissipated the other's -suspicions. "Certainly, sir, it would be an official receipt; and -any time you wished to call off you could get your money back. It -is proposed just in your interest, to give you a free run with no -competition." - -When they had gone, Mr Gobbitt sat for a long time deep in -thought. This was the sort of business he had come out hoping to do, -and therefore he was prepared to make certain allowances for the -weakness of those with whom he was dealing. When one is about to reap -huge profits, one cannot be over-censorious concerning those who are -assisting one. He thought the whole scheme out before he went to bed -that night, the sum he would expend on it--it would be his private -venture, nothing to do with the firm of Gobbitt & Dunk--the sum for -which he would float it as soon as he had got it into working order, -and the profits which he himself would make out of the flotation. It -was all very simple and straightforward. There was always a demand for -hemp, always would be a demand for it. No crop paid better to raise, -no crop, so far as he knew, involved less capital expenditure on -clearing the land and planting. As for security of title, he would make -certain on that point before he parted with any of the purchase-money, -whilst he was shrewd enough to see that there was no prospect of -the Americans withdrawing from the Islands for many years to come, -until long after he had floated his company. - -The matter of the deposit did not trouble him greatly. After all, -the sum was not a large one to him; he ran no risk of losing it; and -it would be a distinct advantage to have what would amount to a three -months' option. It was a cheap option, after all, a very cheap one; -and the more he thought of it, the more convinced he became that, -in the end, he would be able to get the better of Mr Gumpertz in -many ways. He, himself, would have insisted on a payment outright, -in addition to the deposit. - -In the morning, Mr Gobbitt set out to find a reliable man to advise him -on the question of the hemp lands. It was rather a delicate matter. He -did not want to advertise the fact that he had any business of the -kind in contemplation, yet, at the same time, he was anxious to -secure some one who would be thoroughly trustworthy. It would not do -to go to the new manager of the Manila branch of Gobbitt & Dunk, for -this was his personal affair--the Dunk family had done well enough -out of him already, even though old Dunk had found the capital in -the first instance--and he did not fancy the idea of consulting the -Acting-Consul. In the end, he decided to call on the bank manager, -to whom he could speak in confidence. - -The bank manager looked dubious. "Yes, I can get you a good -man--several, if you like, men you can trust. There's John Mackay, -a Scotchman, and Lucio Morales, a Spaniard--either would do well; -and I would take the opinion of either as final. Only, let me warn -you, Mr Gobbitt, that this is a risky form of speculation. Hemp pays -well enough until the insurrectos, or the pulajanes, or the ladrones -come along and burn your place and cut your men's throats. It's all -very well for Furber and Gumpertz and the rest to say the Islands are -at peace. Gumpertz may know all about pork-chops and public-houses, -but it doesn't follow he understands these things." - -The son of Hosea Gobbitt, pork-butcher and mayor, flushed. It was -only too clear that Mr Gumpertz had been right when he talked about -unreasoning prejudice and a desire to injure the Government. - -"I think I am fully aware of the conditions," he said severely. "I -have made the most exhaustive enquiries from those who should -know." Unconsciously he emphasised the last five words. "And now, if -you would give me the addresses of these two men, Mackay and Morales, -I will ask them to call on me." - -Senor Morales was the first to make his appearance at the hotel, -a grave young Spaniard, whose rather elaborate courtesy disconcerted -Mr Gobbitt somewhat; but when the proposition was put to him bluntly, -as such things should be put, he shook his head. "No, Senor. It is -impossible that I go. These Americans have got the country into such -a state, that----" He spread out his hands expressively, and rose -to leave. - -Mr Gobbitt rose too, a little annoyed at the waste of his time. "You -don't like the Americans?" he said, with what he took for sternness, -and the other for rudeness. - -The Spaniard laughed gently. "Why, no, Senor. Why should I, a -Spaniard, like them?" And he went out, leaving Mr Gobbitt more than -ever convinced of the intense prejudice against the administration. - -Mr John Mackay, who did not arrive till late in the afternoon, proved -to be more suitable. He was middle-aged and hard-faced, at least -when he was talking business, and he went to the root of the matter -at once--the question of his professional fee, which was finally -settled more to his own satisfaction than to that of Mr Gobbitt, who -had a distinct aversion to giving mere employés a chance to imitate -the late Jeshurun, of whom the one recorded fact is that "he waxed -fat and kicked." Still, John Mackay knew what he himself wanted, -and he had the knowledge which Mr Gobbitt wanted, so, for once in -his life at least, the merchant agreed to pay a fair wage. - -"And where are we going to?" John Mackay asked. - -Mr Gobbitt hesitated. "Well, I must tell you, I suppose; but it is -in confidence, the strictest confidence." - -The Scotchman gave a quick little nod; he was not prone to unnecessary -speech. - -"We land at a place called Igut, and from there make our way round -the end of that large range of mountains to some land on the northern -side. They tell me--Commissioner Gumpertz tells me--that the journey -will not be a difficult one. We keep in the valley for some twenty-five -miles, then cross at an easy pass." - -"Taking any escort?" the Scotchman asked. - -The merchant shook his head. "I am informed it is quite unnecessary; -though some of the native soldiers--Scouts, I think they are -called--will come along to help us with transport arrangements." - -John Mackay stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well, at least they all -know me well enough--Felizardo, and the others as well. I myself can -go anywhere;" a saying which gave food for thought to Mr Gobbitt, -who could not decide whether it was to be construed as encouraging -or otherwise. - -Commissioner Gumpertz received Mr Gobbitt very graciously when that -gentleman came to pay the deposit. "I am delighted, sir," he said, -"flattered to think you are taking my advice, which was given in -the interests of these Islands and their people, and proves, most -fortunately, to be in your interest as well. I might tell you, in -confidence, that there will be a bill before Congress next session -forbidding these large sales of land--a most unfortunate proposal; -but your business will be through long before then." - -When, however, Mr Gobbitt handed him a cheque, crossed, for the -deposit, the Commissioner looked doubtful. "I am afraid, sir, I -cannot take this--my dear sir, I mean no slight on yourself--but -the rules of the Department are very strict. No cheques taken, they -say. Still, would you write another one, a bearer cheque, and I will -send a messenger down to the bank with it. That will only take ten -minutes, and we can fix up the matter at once. If you will excuse me, -I will get the secretary to make out the receipt." - -He came back, a few minutes later, with the receipt which his -secretary, whose name was William P. Hart, had made out in due -form. It was already signed, and, as he handed it to his visitor, -the Commissioner for Lands and Registration remarked jocularly: "Now, -Mr Gobbitt, you have my receipt before I have the money. You have -only to stop the messenger on the way, and you can make six thousand -dollars out of the Department, or rather out of me, for they would -hold me responsible." - -Mr Gobbitt, who had assured himself at a glance that the receipt -was in due form, laughed too. "I don't think in my firm we do -things like that," he said. "We rather pride ourselves on being -old-fashioned--almost straight-laced, perhaps. My father always -impressed on me that honesty paid in the long run, and I have found -that he was right. I have no doubt your experience has been the same." - -The Commissioner nodded. This was a most admirable and tactful man -of business. It is always pleasant to keep affairs of this sort on a -certain high plane. If you talk of the Welfare of the People, or the -Will of the Multitude, or the Moral Aspect, you can make infinitely -more money than if you adopt a crudely-commercial tone, especially -if you have a William P. Hart in the background. - -The messenger returned with the package of notes, which he handed -to Mr Gobbitt, who in turn handed them to Mr Commissioner Gumpertz; -and then the two men parted. - -"The launch will be ready for you early to-morrow," the official -said. "I will send you down letters of introduction from Commissioner -Furber--you must meet him on your return--to Captain Bush at Igut, -and Captain Basil Hayle, who has a camp somewhere on the edge of -the jungle. Captain Bush will arrange all your equipment for you, -or at least he will get the local officials to do so. Now, good-bye, -Mr Gobbitt, and good luck. I shall look forward to your early return." - -Mr Joseph Gobbitt was an experienced business man. He prided himself -on the fact that there was little he did not know about certain forms -of finance; yet, had he learnt that, instead of being paid into the -account of the Government, those notes of his were, that very night, -distributed, at a slight discount, through some of the most shady, -and even improper, quarters in Manila, he might have found food for -much speculation and thought. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -CONCERNING MR JOSEPH GOBBITT, CAPTAIN BASIL HAYLE, AND THE HEAD OF -ALBERT DUNK - - -Mr Joseph Gobbitt was tall and stout, and possessed a pair of -side-whiskers of which he was distinctly proud; consequently, though he -certainly did appear impressive when carrying the bag--he was vicar's -churchwarden in a suburban church--he looked almost ridiculous when -he landed on the quay at Igut, attired in a very tight khaki suit, -with an immense khaki-coloured helmet on his head. At least, he -appeared ridiculous to Mrs Bush, who watched his arrival from the -balcony of her house, and, for the first time since Basil Hayle had -left, five weeks previously, her face lighted up with a smile. - -Basil Hayle had not been dismissed in consequence of his crushing -defeat at the hands of Felizardo's bolomen; in fact, greatly to his -surprise, he had not even been reprimanded. Commissioner Furber had -been quick to see that really he, himself, was to blame for having -sent the small force of Constabulary against the outlaws; and he was -not anxious to have Basil back in Manila, telling all men of what -had happened on the mountain-side. Consequently, he had sent Basil -fifty fresh men--from the Island of Samar, like those who had been -killed--and had ordered him to proceed to the northern side of the -range, and build a regular stockaded camp in the neighbourhood of -one of the villages; meanwhile, Captain Bush's Scouts were to watch -the southern side of the range, learning the lay of the country, -endeavouring to obtain information concerning Felizardo and his band, -and, as far as possible, preparing the way for a large expedition, -which the Government intended to despatch in a few months' time. - -From first to last, Basil Hayle had only remained ten days in Igut, -but the time had sufficed to complete his infatuation for Mrs Bush, and -to confirm his detestation of her husband. At first by accident, then -by design, he had met Mrs Bush practically every day, whilst he had -barely spoken to Bush or his white associates. Old Don Juan Ramirez, -the Spanish merchant, had told him all about the lives they led--of -the mestiza girls at the other end of the town, and the drinking -bouts in the spirit shop at the corner of the plaza; with the result -that Basil had considered himself perfectly justified in taking the -part of Mrs Bush against all the others, in showing his respect for -her, and his scorn for them--which was very chivalrous in theory, -and very injudicious in practice, as he had realised the moment he -received orders to leave Igut. Still, in the end, his parting from -her had been admirably unemotional; and if she did cry for hours -after he had gone, and if his feelings did find vent in Language, -no one in Igut had been aware of these facts. - -In Europe and America, where men and women are discreet, such things -do not happen--at least they are supposed not to happen--for fear of -the Law, or the Church, or of the Mightiest One of all, Mrs Grundy; -but in the Tropics, especially in the Philippines, and more especially -under the shadow of places like Felizardo's mountains, where Death -is stalking by your side all day, squatting just outside the circle -of firelight at night, conventions are apt to lose much of their -force. Basil Hayle was in love with Mrs Bush. That would have been -very wicked elsewhere, possibly it was wicked in Igut; but what was -wholly admirable was that, in the circumstances, Basil Hayle did not -become an open convert to the Law of the Bolo, and deal with Captain -Bush according to that code. But this is a view of the case which few -could understand, unless they had lived with bolomen as the background -of their lives. - -Basil Hayle had marched away up the valley to the end of Felizardo's -range, over the pass which formed the boundary of the old outlaw's -territory, and down into the rich hemp lands on the other side where, -near a village called Silang, he had built a stockaded post, after -the custom of the Islands--big nipa-covered shacks, surrounded at a -little distance by a high palisade, with a platform at a convenient -height, and little watch-towers at each corner; and then he had sat -down, and drilled his little brown men, and taught them to shoot, -and, incidentally, taught them to love him above everything else on -earth, and had waited patiently for the coming of Felizardo, or the -ladrones, or the head-hunters, or any one else who was in search of -trouble, being tired of looking for trouble for himself. Yet, all -the time, he was thinking of Mrs Bush, wishing he could write, but -not writing for fear of the letter going astray; though, had he but -known, she heard of him, of his safety and his continued good health, -every few days, and she concluded that the messages came from him, -never suspecting that the servant who delivered them received them -from a certain clerk in the Supervisor's office, the same clerk who -had sent word concerning Basil and Mrs Bush to Felizardo; and whence -that clerk now obtained the messages it is not hard to guess. Old -Felizardo or Dolores Lasara could have told you.... - -When he landed at Igut and found that there was no hotel in the place, -Mr Joseph Gobbitt turned angrily to John Mackay. "Most scandalous -thing! You should have warned me about this. We may be here a day, -even two days. What are we going to do?" - -The Scotchman answered without removing his cigar from his mouth--Mr -Gobbitt hated to see an employé, a mere paid person, smoking in his -presence, as Mackay had already divined. "I guess the Bushes will -put you up, whilst I shall go to old Don Juan's," he answered. - -Mr Gobbitt snorted, not liking the casual disposal of himself, and his -temper was not improved when, without the slightest warning, he found -himself the centre of an unusually vigorous dog-and-pig fight, none -of the combatants in which was over-clean. "Most scandalous thing," -he repeated, "most scandalous! I wonder what the police can be about to -allow it. I shall certainly summons the owners if I can.... I am sure -I see nothing to smile at, Mr Mackay," he added with great dignity. - -A moment later, Captain Bush lounged up, and nodded to Mackay. "Hullo, -John. What's on now? Coming across soon?" indicating the spirit shop -with a jerk of his thumb. He was passing on, to see if there were any -mails on the launch, when Mackay stopped him. "Here, Captain. This -is Mr Joseph Gobbitt of London, who has a letter of introduction to -you from the Commission." - -Captain Bush pulled himself together. "Glad to meet you, sir. If -you'll wait a moment, we might go up to the house together. It is -only a step. I suppose you're not going on. No? Well, you must stay -with us. My wife will be delighted. Here, muchachos, take the Senor's -luggage up to my house." - -Captain Bush was in an exceptionally good humour, having just won some -money off the Treasurer; but, in addition to that, he had understood -instantly that the stranger must be a man of position, probably a -wealthy English merchant and his own state of chronic insolvency made -it necessary for him to lose no chances. - -Perhaps Mrs Bush was not favourably impressed with this -suddenly-arrived guest; certainly, he was not favourably impressed -with her, or at least he did not like her. Amongst men, even amongst -those of far better social position than himself, he was able to hold -his own by reason of a certain aggressive strength of character; but -when he found himself in the company of a lady, he was hopelessly at -a loss, and, as is the way of his kind, revenged himself by abusing -her afterwards. - -Mrs Bush did not stay long in the room. "I see you have business to -discuss," she said, "so I will leave you till dinner. Be sure and -look after Mr--Mr Gobbitt, John." - -At first, Mr Gobbitt was not very communicative, telling his host -little beyond what was contained in the letter of introduction; but -after a while, under the Scout officer's skilful handling, he began -to thaw, and finally unfolded the whole of his scheme. After all, -he told himself, why not? This American had to give him active aid, -was bound to know everything very shortly, whilst his deposit of six -thousand dollars secured him against possible competitors. - -Captain Bush was a little puzzled. He was an experienced soldier, -despite his recently-acquired habits; he knew the Islands well, -and therefore could see various weak points in the business; on the -other hand, this man Gobbitt obviously had capital, obviously had -the Government behind him; and it would be most unwise to venture -on any interference at that stage. Later on, perhaps, there might -be a chance of turning the affair to account; but at the moment it -was safer merely to provide the carriers and equipment for which Mr -Gumpertz asked, and detail half a dozen Scouts to go along with the -party and keep the carriers in order. Once the expedition was across -the pass, it would be Basil Hayle's task to look after it, and Captain -Bush grinned to himself as he thought of the possible trouble which -this stout and pompous old man might cause the Constabulary officer. - -At dinner, Mrs Bush made an attempt to talk to Mr Gobbitt, then, -finding they had no interests in common, relapsed into silence. When -she rose to leave the room, somehow she had to open the door for -herself, whereat she raised her eyebrows slightly. Mr Gobbitt, deep -in conversation with his host, never seemed to notice her go. - -After a while, Captain Bush yawned. "It's slow here. Ever seen a -Filipino town at night? No, I don't suppose you have. Would you like -a walk round?" - -They went first to the spirit shop, where the Englishman became almost -jovial. It may have been the sense of being free for once from his -frock-coat; it may have been the cocktails on which Captain Bush had -insisted before dinner; it may have been the native spirit which -the Supervisor suggested he should taste; but whatever the cause, -time seemed to pass very quickly indeed, and when, about midnight, -the school teacher suggested they should have a stroll down to the -lower end of the town, Mr Joseph Gobbitt, merchant and churchwarden, -had no objection to make. - -When he awakened in the morning, in the big spare room which Mrs -Bush had prepared for him, he had rather a vague recollection of the -walk home. Other things were vague also, but of two things he was -certain--that he had a splitting headache, and that the beauty of the -mestizas was not overrated. When Captain Bush came in, the merchant -mentioned the former fact, whereat his host laughed, and went on to -refer to the latter, thereby making Mr Gobbitt rather uncomfortable. - -Mrs Bush did not come down to breakfast that morning, and she did -not trouble to make any excuses. She had heard certain rumours from -her maid, which had sent her white with passion. She was used to -her husband's ways--but her guest! It was absolutely abominable. Mr -Gobbitt, on his part, was thankful for her absence. He made no -reference to the fact, however, nor did his host; and as soon as -the meal was over, they went out together to make arrangements for -the carriers. - -"There's a road part of the way, twenty miles or so up the valley, -and you can ride so far in a bullock-cart"--Mr Gobbitt had declined the -offer of a horse--"but from there onwards it'll be a case of walking," -the Scout officer said. - -The merchant sighed. He was not a good walker; then he thought of -the profits he would make out of the trip, and straightway became -reconciled to the idea. - -The arrangements were quickly made, thanks to the help of the -Presidente, and Mr Gobbitt breathed more freely. He was anxious to -get away as soon as possible for various reasons, of which Mrs Bush -was one. - -As they walked back to the house, the Englishman remembered a question -he had meant to ask before. "Did you ever meet a son of my late -partner, Dunk--Albert Dunk, who was our manager in Manila? He died -near Hippapad some months back." - -The Captain shook his head. "He never passed through here. Probably -he landed at Catarman, further round the bay. You might have gone in -that way, too. I wonder old Gumpertz didn't suggest it.... No, very -little news of that sort drifts across the mountains to us. You see, -there're so few white men on that side for a good many miles; then, -of course, you get plenty again." - -Meanwhile, John Mackay had strolled out of the town, carrying a small -switch as his sole weapon. About a mile past the last shack, he sat -down at the edge of the cocoa-nut grove, lit a cigar, and puffed away -contentedly. A few minutes later, a little man, clad in blue jean and -wearing two formidable-looking bolos, emerged from the bush some twenty -yards away, looked cautiously up and down the grove, then came forward. - -"Good-morning, Senor," he said. - -John Mackay nodded. "Good-morning, Simon. Can a message go to the Senor -Felizardo? It is this--I am going round this side of his mountain and -across the pass with an Englishman. There will be six Scouts to look -after the carriers, that is all. He will leave us alone?" - -The little man grinned. "Assuredly he will leave the Senor alone, -as always. Only he will ask--where does the Senor go there?" - -"Down the northern valley. Not on to his mountains at all." - -"Very well, Senor. The message will go;" and the outlaw disappeared -as silently as he had come. - -Felizardo said afterwards that John Mackay should have been more -explicit as to his exact destination, in which case the latter part -of this story would have been very different.... - -Mr Joseph Gobbitt did not like the twenty-mile ride in the cart, -which was drawn by a couple of water-buffalo, beasts for which he -seemed to entertain a most wholesome dread. He was absolutely shaken to -pieces, as he told John Mackay, with what that naturally-silent person -seemed to consider wearisome persistency; yet he liked the climb over -the pass still less; and when they reached the northern valley, he -insisted on a rest of two days, despite the protests of John Mackay, -who urged: "Why, it's only some fifteen miles now to Hayle's stockade -at Silang. He can put you up comfortably there, whilst I have a run -round and look at the land. From what I can see, it is all right. We -are at a fair elevation, even here, quite high enough above sea-level." - -But Mr Gobbitt was firm. "I will rest here, and then we will go -straight on. I see no reason for wasting time going to this stockade, -which appears to be well off our route." - -The Scotchman shrugged his shoulders, and rested too; then, on -the third morning, they moved down the valley slowly, cutting -across from one side to another, so as to get an accurate idea of -the whole area. On the fifth morning their task was practically -complete. Mackay's verdict was wholly favourable. "It's valuable -land," he said--"as good as any I know, except, of course, that in -Samar. Only, it is curious no one has made use of it before. But I -suppose they were afraid of the ladrones or of old Felizardo." - -"Who is Felizardo?" the merchant demanded. - -The Scotchman jerked his thumb in the direction of the mountains. "He's -the chief up there. An outlaw." - -Mr Gobbitt flushed. "Rubbish! They assure me that all that sort of -thing has been put down, and I can see it now for myself." - -Mackay shrugged his shoulders. "Very well. I suppose you know best. You -are my employer, and I have come here merely to advise you on the -nature of the land;" and, from that point onwards, he declined to -discuss anything but hemp and hemp-growing. - -The following morning they decided to turn back. Mr Gobbitt was -now in great good-humour. There was no question that, at the price -arranged, including the payment to Mr Gumpertz, or rather to Mr Hart -on behalf of Mr Gumpertz, he would be making an extra-ordinarily good -bargain. He forgot the trials of the journey, that horrible cart, -his sore feet and aching limbs; and thought only of what those trials -would bring him ultimately. They were then taking a route slightly -different from that by which they had come, and were just thinking -of making a halt for breakfast, when, to the surprise of every one, -they saw the roofs of some nipa-shacks through the trees. - -The place proved to be the most miserable little village Mackay had -ever seen. There was not a soul in sight, and, as the carriers filed -in, they looked at one another with anxious, questioning faces. - -John Mackay turned to the serjeant of the Scouts. "What is this?" he -asked. Then, as the man shook his head, a sudden thought struck the -Scotchman, and he clambered on to the veranda of the largest house, -a dilapidated place of some size, pulled aside the matting at the door -and went in, revolver in hand. Half a minute later he came out again, -a little pale. "As I thought," he said. "Head-hunters." - -The natives looked at one another with wide-open eyes, whilst Mr -Gobbitt's jaw dropped suddenly. "What ... what do you mean?" he -quavered. "Head-hunters? What are they?" - -"People who hunt heads--your head and mine, for instance." The -Scotchman's temper was up. "There're a dozen heads hanging up inside, -if you want to see, including a white man's. We must get out of this, -quick." - -However, it was already too late. As he spoke a score of practically -naked savages, armed with spears and primitive bolos, appeared on -the edge of the clearing. "Up here, all of you." Mackay grasped -the situation instantly, but, even whilst the carriers and Scouts -were scrambling on to the platform of the shack, the enemy secured -two heads. - -Mr Gobbitt was one of the last up; in fact, had not three carriers -assisted him, he would have been in a bad case, for the little ladder -had given way, and climbing was impossible for him. - -Meanwhile, the Scouts had begun to blaze away, hitting no one, but -none the less preventing any rush; then Mackay himself took one of -the carbines, and dropped a head-hunter stone-dead--a lesson which -was not lost, for the rest promptly withdrew to cover. - -"They will wait till evening now," the serjeant remarked, "then they -will attack. They will not try and burn the place because of those," -pointing towards the ghastly trophies hanging from the roof. - -Mackay nodded, and went on with his task of making loopholes in the -walls, although, as he told himself, six carbines and a revolver -would not go very far as means of defence. - -Mr Gobbitt was lying back against some of the hastily-thrown-down -packs, panting. He had lost his helmet, and both his coat and trousers -were torn. "It's disgraceful," he said, "absolutely disgraceful! I -shall report it to the Consul or to the Foreign Office. Why, I actually -saw them kill two of the men in my presence." - -He spoke to nobody in particular, but Mackay overheard him and smiled -grimly, thinking of the killing which was yet to come; but, in spite of -that, when the merchant had recovered sufficiently to ask questions, -he spoke hopefully, though he added: "You see now why no one has made -use of this hemp land, and why they offered it to you cheaply." - -Mr Gobbitt's business instinct overmastered his fear, and he sat up -suddenly. "Do you mean that Mr Gumpertz knew?" - -Once again the Scotchman shrugged his shoulders. "It is quite -possible," he said dryly. "And if we had taken a slightly different -route, you would have bought it, not knowing." - -The merchant lay back again thinking of many things, of his present -danger, of his narrow escape from buying land having such undesirable -inhabitants, of his deposit which he might not return to claim. Then -he happened to glance upwards and received the greatest shock of -his life, for there, amongst those grisly treasures of the village, -was the head of Albert Dunk. - -John Mackay looked round sharply at the cry, and hurried to his -employer's side. As soon as the Scotchman could make sense out of the -other man's almost incoherent utterance, he reached up and pulled -down the trophy, which he placed beneath a blanket in the corner; -then he gave Mr Gobbitt half a glass of neat brandy, the only liquid -they had, and strove, without much success, to calm him down. - -"We shall get out of it all right, we shall get out of it," he -repeated. "And then we'll get Basil Hayle to come along, and clear -out this gang." - -"Can't we go now?" the merchant asked feebly. - -"And be cut to pieces before we've gone a quarter of a mile? No, -we must stay here, and chance beating them off when they attack -to-night. Then they'll probably leave us alone altogether." - -It is always a weary job, waiting for savages to come and attempt -to kill you, but it becomes even more than a weariness when you are -half-mad with thirst, when you know there is water near by and you dare -not go to it. John Mackay found it long; and the Scouts and carriers -found it long; but it is doubtful whether Mr Joseph Gobbitt, lying in -the corner, was conscious of the passage of time. His thoughts were -just one long nightmare, in which Albert Dunk's head, Commissioner -Gumpertz, two dead carriers outside, and a bearer cheque for six -thousand dollars played the principal parts. Once only was his mind -clear for a few minutes; and that was when he remembered Albert Dunk's -bearer cheque for ten thousand pesos--five thousand dollars. That had -been cashed just as the drawer was starting for this same district. How -he wished that head could speak! Then he fell a-shuddering at the idea. - -John Mackay watched the sun set with unusual interest, possibly because -he did not expect to see it rise again. "The attack will come soon -now," he remarked to the serjeant, who was endeavouring to smoke, -despite his parched mouth. - -The little man nodded. "Yes, Senor. I, for one, am glad I went to Mass -last Sunday. There was a girl who asked me to meet her afterwards"; -then, for the fiftieth time, he tried the action of his carbine.... - -"The head-hunters have them in the big shack. They will kill them all -soon after sunset." There was a perfectly matter-of-fact ring in the -messenger's voice. - -Felizardo knit his brows. He had given certain orders to the -head-hunters, and he was not used to being disobeyed; moreover, he -had a very kindly feeling towards John Mackay, who had once done him -a good turn; consequently, he did not share the messenger's cheerful -frame of mind. - -"What are you at the outpost doing, that you allow this?" he -thundered. "You know the orders I have given to those savages, to -leave all Englishmen alone. I suppose they think that, because I left -them unpunished last time, I shall do the same again. Go down now, -at once, and tell Manuel to make them withdraw, and then go to the -Constabulario at Silang, and tell the Captain to come and fetch Senor -Mackay and the fat fool away. Of course, you will tell the Captain -you come from me. What else would you say? I can trust him." - -The result was that dawn found the little garrison, half-dead with -thirst, but still awaiting the attack; and an hour after dawn John -Mackay caught sight of Captain Hayle's tall figure coming through -the trees, with thirty of his men at his heels. - -When Mr Gobbitt had swallowed a quart or so of water, followed by -some brandy, his courage began to revive. "I told you we should be -all right," he said peevishly to Mackay; "I never thought they were in -earnest"; then he remembered the two carriers, slain in his presence, -and that ghastly head, and he went a little pale, though the shuddering -had ceased. - -They buried the heads--a useless formality, for the head-hunters -unearthed them within a few hours--and then Basil Hayle escorted the -party back to his stockade, to rest for a day or two. That evening, -whilst Mr Gobbitt was having a much-needed wash and change, Mackay -turned suddenly to his host. "By the way, I've got a message for -you from Mrs Bush. She says she is very well, and hears of you often -through the natives." - -Basil did not look up from the cigar he was cutting. "Thanks very -much," he said briefly. - -Mr Gobbitt felt much better after the evening meal, so much better, -in fact, that he could discuss matters calmly. "And did you know -anything of the fate of my late partner's son?" he asked. - -"Of course I did," Hayle answered promptly. "Didn't they tell you in -Manila? It was before I came to this side of the range; but Lieutenant -Stott at Catarman told me, and I saw the copy of the report he sent -to the Commission. He asked permission to hunt those savages down, -but he never got any reply. Oh, all the Commissioners knew, and I -supposed it had been made public." - -The merchant got up suddenly and began to pace the rather rickety -floor. "I see it now," he growled, "I see it all. Either I am to buy -this land which no one else will look at, because of these abominable -persons who tried to take my head; or else I shall not come back at -all, and they will keep the deposit. I will lay the matter before -the Consul--no, I will lay it before the Foreign Office. I will have -compensation. I--I----" and he spluttered with rage. - -Mackay winked at Basil, who smiled in return, unseen by the merchant, -who went on. "It is scandalous, an outrage. I can see how I have been -misled. They say the Islands are at peace; and yet two men are killed -actually in my presence, and no arrests are made. Whilst the head of -my late partner's son is used as a trophy! Abominable! Even in Igut, -when I wished to summons the owners of those most offensive pigs, -they laughed at me. Which is my quickest way back to Manila?" - -"Through Catarman," Basil answered. "That is the route you should -have come, only in that case Stott would have told you of Mr Dunk's -death. Do you see?" - -Mr Gobbitt's first visit in Manila was to the Consulate, when he -demanded to see the Acting-Consul instantly. The Consul received him -without effusion. - -"Had a good time in the bush, Mr Gobbitt? You look a bit thinner--yes, -a lot thinner. What can I do for you?" - -"It is a long story," Mr Gobbitt began; whereupon the Acting-Consul -put his feet on the table, and selected an extra large cigar. - -"Fire away," he said; but before the merchant had got very far -the cigar had been allowed to go out, and the official was all -attention. When it was finished, he drew a deep breath. "You had a -lucky escape, a very lucky escape;" there was no levity in his voice -now. "But you must admit that I warned you against Gumpertz. And I -am afraid we can do nothing in the matter." - -"Why? What are you here for then, sir?" It was the voice of the -British tax-payer talking to his employé. - -The Consul explained patiently. "As regards the negotiations. You were -alone, were you not? Yes, your word, the word of an unknown man--pardon -me, I mean unknown in America--against that of a high official. And I -take it--I must speak plainly--you offered something in the nature of -a bribe. You did? A present." He smiled a little grimly. "The price -asked shows that, and it comes to the same thing. Graft, they call -it here. That fact destroys your case at once." - -Mr Gobbitt breathed heavily. "And how about my deposit of six thousand -dollars? The receipt is at the bank." - -"Then ask the bank to collect it," answered the Consul; "they may -succeed." - -"May succeed, sir! They must succeed." Again there was the British -tax-payer note. - -The Consul smiled. "We will say we hope they succeed. Still, after -your other experiences----" - -"They've had the old boy this time, Blackiston," the Consul said -to the Vice-Consul, when the visitor had departed. "Proper murder -trick. Seems to have shaken his nerves badly. It would have shaken -mine, too. Head-hunters--ugh!" - -The Vice-Consul closed the letter-book wearily. "Serve him right. He -shouldn't be so cock-sure and pompous." - -One of the senior clerks from the bank took the receipt of Commissioner -Gumpertz to the Palace, presently returning with a grave face. "They -know nothing about any such sum, sir; and it is neither a regular -official receipt, nor is it the Commissioner's signature." - -Mr Gobbitt gasped. "Why, he gave it to me himself! There must be -some mistake." - -The clerk shook his head. "They are positive, sir." - -"Did you see him sign it?" the manager asked, a little coldly. - -The merchant mopped the perspiration off his forehead. "No, I cannot -say I did. He went into another room. But your cashier can identify -the messenger--one of those belonging to the Palace." - -When the cashier came, he remembered the incident perfectly. "It was -a large sum, and I should not have handed it to a strange native; -but I knew the porter at the hotel was reliable." - -It was the last straw, so far as Mr Gobbitt was concerned. "They have -swindled me out of twelve hundred pounds," he groaned, fanning himself -with his handkerchief the while; then a thought struck him. "You have -the numbers of the notes? You can trace them?" - -The manager looked doubtful. "Some, perhaps. We will do our best. Come -in again to-morrow, Mr Gobbitt. Meanwhile, if I were you, I should -say nothing, and stay indoors. You need rest." - -In the morning, the merchant found the bank manager very cold and -distant in his manner. "We have traced several of the notes," -he said. "In each case they have come from most questionable -places--places of no repute, in fact. I presume you have witnesses -to prove where you were that night." - -"I was in my room at the hotel. I went to bed very early, as I was -starting early next morning." - -"Ah!" There was no mistaking the tone. "So no one saw you after -dinner. That is a pity." - -Mr Gobbitt brought his hand down on the table with a thump. "Do you -mean to insinuate, sir, that I myself passed those notes at those -infamous places? Never in my life"--he had forgotten Igut--"never in -my life was I in one." - -"I mean to insinuate nothing," the manager answered wearily. "Only -you cannot prove that you were not out, and, if you make a fuss, -the Commissioners will quickly prove that you were. They will get -police, native officials, and perhaps even a native judge or two, -to remember having met you. You can do nothing, and I can do nothing, -and, if you will excuse me, I am very busy. Good-morning." - -Basil Hayle spent several hours in drawing up a report concerning -Mr Gobbitt, the head-hunters, and Felizardo, then he read it through -again, and straightway destroyed it. - -"The less said, the better," he muttered. "They'll never believe -anything to the old man's credit, and they might shift me over it." - -So, instead of sending the report, he marched out by night to the -head-hunters' village, hoping to catch them there; but only found -the ashes of the houses, and had one of his men wounded by a spear -thrown in the darkness. Then he went back to his stockade at Silang, -where he sat down, and thought of Felizardo and of Captain Bush, -and most of all of Mrs Bush, and cursed at the dreary inaction, -and prayed that the ladrones would come along and give him a fight. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -HOW THEY REBUILT THE GALLOWS AT CALOCAN - - -During the two months following Mr Gobbitt's adventure, things -were very quiet in the neighbourhood of Felizardo's mountains. The -old outlaw kept to his policy of trying to avoid trouble by acting -strictly on the defensive; and, as neither Captain Bush nor Captain -Hayle received orders to make an attack, during the whole of that time -not a shot was fired in anger, and Captain Bush's Scouts grew so fat -and soft, and got so completely out of hand, that they were hardly fit -to do even one day's work in the field--unlike Hayle's Constabulary -at Silang, who had much less to eat and were given much more to do, -which was good, both for them and for the service. - -In Manila, however, neither Commissioner Furber nor the late members -of the Provisional Government had forgotten Felizardo. The Commissioner -was smarting over the failure of his plans. The ex-insurrecto generals -and colonels had not forgiven the old chief, who, besides refusing help -at a critical juncture, had also hanged ignominiously an envoy of the -Sovereign People. Consequently, having the ear of the Commissioner, -they lost no opportunity of relating the evil deeds of Felizardo; -and when their imaginations failed them, they ascribed to him some of -their own abominable doings during the rebellion. Mr Furber believed -it all--were they not his Little Brown Brothers?--and he found an -ally in Commissioner Gumpertz, who also had reason for feeling sore -against Felizardo; but one or two of the other Commissioners shook -their heads. "What harm does the old man do?" they asked. "As it is, we -have to waste enough money on active ladrones, and a small war of this -kind would not leave much balance"--which, being interpreted, meant -"much to be divided amongst the faithful supporters of the Party." - -So Commissioner Furber had to give way, for a time at least; and -the ex-generals and colonels gnashed their teeth with rage, for, -in addition to the old scores, they had one or two new plans, the -preliminaries to a fresh insurrection, which might be nipped in the -bud if Felizardo came to hear of them, as he probably would do. So -they put their heads together, smoking many cigarettes and drinking -much spirit during secret conclaves in closely-shuttered old houses -in the Walled City--which is the name for Old Manila--and at last -they evolved a scheme which seemed to them excellent. - -"It will set the Americanos against Felizardo," they said. "Nothing -enrages them so much as to have their women carried off. Then there -will be a long and expensive war in the mountains, with the loss of -many men; and our doings will not be noticed--until we are ready." - -So they appointed a committee, including, amongst others, Senor -Guiterrez, Mr Furber's secretary, and Senor Vagas, an assistant -collector of Customs, brother-in-law to Chief Collector Sharler, -and Senor Talibat, the judge; and, after that, they dispersed, in -great good-humour, feeling sure that, before many months had passed, -they would once more be wearing large red epaulettes and large red -sashes, and trailing huge cavalry sabres behind them. - -However, you cannot arrange matters of such grave national importance -in a few days; consequently, weeks went by before anything could be -attempted in the Islands themselves. There were funds to be collected -and sent to other Brown Brothers in Hong Kong, who, after taking -as much as they thought would not be noticed--patriots are never -greedy--handed the balance to certain discreet Chinamen, wherewith -to purchase certain articles, which, packed in small and convenient -cases and crates, were presently put on board the German steamer -Bertha Helwig and dispatched to Manila. - -Chief Collector Sharler was a young man with a clean-shaven face, -gold-rimmed spectacles, and ideas. It is the latter only which -are really important so far as this story is concerned. His -appearance certainly suited his theories; but had he been gross -and sensual-looking like Mr Gumpertz, or lean and wolfish like Mr -Furber, and still held those same theories, the result would have -been the same. - -The Chief Collector had come out from the United States full of ardour -for the cause of the Filipino victims of Spanish tyranny. When I -said he had ideas, perhaps I was wrong; certainly, I understated -the case. He had obsessions, the chief of which was the doctrine -of Racial Equality, which may be quite harmless when practised in -a small American city, where there is no native problem, but becomes -positively and actively dangerous when preached in the Tropics. Another -obsession of his, a very strange one in the eyes of his colleagues, -was his objection to all forms of corruption, a doctrine which is -admirable everywhere, and practised in very few places. - -Mr Sharler had not been in the Islands long before he showed his -faith in the first of his theories by marrying a mestiza, the sister -of Enrique Vagas, then one of the junior clerks in his office. It -cannot be said that this practical demonstration of his principles -was welcome, even to those other heads of the Civil Service who had -been the loudest in their praise of the "Little Brown Brother" policy -of the Governor-General. It made things awkward with their own wives, -they said; whilst, as for the Army, orders were given to the porters -of the Military Club that no one was to be permitted to bring Mr -Sharler into the building again as a guest. The result of all this -was that the Chief Collector went more and more into the society of -his wife's own people, and became more and more rabid on the subject -of Racial Equality, discovering in his new relatives virtues which -they themselves, even in their wildest moments, had never imagined -they possessed--such as truthfulness, for instance. - -The other white members of the Customs staff encouraged their Chief -in his obsession, and all those who had not actually got their white -wives on the spot went through forms of marriage with mestizas; -moreover, the Chief's earnestness on this question left him less -time for translating his other theory, his objection to graft, into -practice, so for a time things went very smoothly, and bank balances -grew at a most pleasant rate. Then, one day, Enrique Vagas, having -been soundly and deservedly kicked by an irate white chief assistant, -suddenly remembered many instances of corruption, and straightway -related them to his brother-in-law and superior officer. After the -enquiry, there was a considerable number of vacancies, and what was -more natural and fitting than that Enrique Vagas, and those other -incorruptible Brown Brothers who had helped him track the offenders, -should be promoted to the posts? From that time onwards, whatever -the importers might say, matters went smoothly in the office. The -Chief Collector heard not a single rumour of graft now, save from -interested parties outside, and, so convinced was he of the integrity -and loyalty of everybody, that more than once, at the suggestion of -Vagas, he attempted to secure the withdrawal of those officious and -useless military detectives who were detailed to watch for smuggled -arms. But on that point he failed signally. "We have had some before," -the General answered curtly. "Good-morning." - -By a curious coincidence, the Bertha Helwig happened to arrive early -on the morning of a public holiday. It was equally curious that Senor -Vagas had arranged an outing for that day. One of the large Customs -launches was to convey a party, of which the Chief Collector was -to be a member, to a charming spot some fifteen miles away, where -everybody would land and have lunch, and afterwards talk of Equality -and the Rights of the People. - -When the other guests assembled on the quay, they found Senor Vagas -in the highest spirits. "Congratulate me," he said. "My fiancée -has returned on that steamer, the Bertha Helwig. We will fetch her, -and some other friends of mine who are aboard, and take them with us." - -The Chief Collector beamed through his glasses. "It was a good idea," -he said, and ordered the launch to go alongside the German steamer. As -they went out--the Bertha Helwig was some distance from the shore--they -passed close to the police boat, whose captain, seeing the Chief -Collector in the other craft, paid no more attention to her and her -doings, as was but natural, and very convenient for Senor Vagas, -who would have been watched had he been alone, and would have been -stopped had he headed away up the bay when he left the Bertha Helwig. - -As it was, there was plenty of time to transfer all those cases -and crates, which the discreet Chinaman in Hong Kong had shipped, -from the steamer to the launch, whilst the Chief Collector was in the -little saloon, going through a series of introductions, and drinking -the beer of the Fatherland with the skipper. By the time he came on -deck again, everything had been stowed out of sight on the launch, -which then made her way to the appointed landing place. The next -transfer of those cases took place a couple of hours later, whilst -the party was lunching in a charming little banana grove, about -half a mile away. This transhipment, like the other, did not take -long. Two large dug-outs appeared from out of what was apparently an -impenetrable mangrove swamp, took the cases aboard, and in the space -of a few minutes had vanished again down the narrow passage from which -they had emerged. Later on, when their crews opened those cases and -crates in the moonlight, they unpacked a hundred small-bore rifles, -and many thousands of rounds of ammunition, a fact which goes to prove -the statement that Mr Sharler's views were a danger to the community. - -Neither Basil Hayle nor Captain Bush had any system of Intelligence -worth mentioning; and, as their official reports were the only source -of information the authorities had, it follows that the latter knew -as little, less perhaps, than they did of what was happening in that -part of the Island. True, each of the officers did his best according -to his lights--rather dim lights in the case of Captain Bush--but the -results obtained were quite out of proportion to the trouble taken, -because nineteen statements out of every twenty collected were untrue, -and the twentieth was usually valueless. Practically every native in -the district was in sympathy with the old insurrecto party, or else -was one of Felizardo's agents; consequently, it was absurd to blame -either of the officers for not hearing of the landing of the guns, -or for not being forewarned concerning the schemes of Senor Vagas -and his fellow-patriots. - -On the other hand, Felizardo heard about the guns, and sent fifty -of his best bolomen to try and borrow them; but they were just -too late, for when they reached the town of San Francisco, which -is some fifteen miles inland from Igut, the weapons were already -stored in the house of the Presidente, who was a former member of the -Provisional Government, and a cousin of the wife of Chief Collector -Sharler. Felizardo had forbidden his men to make an attack on any of -the towns, so they were compelled to leave the guns alone; but they had -a little compensation, for they came on two ex-members of the band, -who had deserted to the insurrectos, and these they hanged during -the night, on the great timber belfry in the middle of the plaza, -facing the Presidente's house. - -Felizardo paid well for information, and he usually eliminated those -who played him false; consequently, he was not long in obtaining an -insight into the plans of the patriots. Men of his, who had been with -him for years, said they had never before seen him so angry. Even -Dolores Lasara was unable to calm him down. For half a day he sat -alone, smoking innumerable cigarettes, and thinking out schemes of -revenge; then suddenly he came back to the camp, apparently calm, and -gave his orders. There were to be outposts all round San Francisco -and its neighbourhood, and a chain of boudjon-blowers to pass any -alarm back to the mountains, and another chain across the pass, up -to Basil Hayle's stockade at Silang, where the last man was to have -a letter ready to deliver to the Constabulary officer as soon as he -heard the warning notes on the horns. Then the old chief himself, -with fifty of his best men, all of whom had rifles as well as bolos, -shifted down to the outpost nearest to Igut, and waited patiently for -the maturing of the scheme of Senor Vagas of the Customs, and Senor -Guiterrez the secretary to Mr Furber, and Senor Talibat the judge, -each of whom would probably have taken the first steamer to Hong Kong, -had he known of the plans of this Enemy of the Sovereign People. - -Basil Hayle was sitting in his quarters within the stockade, reading, -when he caught the sound of a boudjon--faint, two miles away perhaps, -but perfectly distinct. He put his book down quickly, and went out on -to the platform of the stockade, where he found the Serjeant of the -guard listening intently. A minute later, another boudjon sounded, -very loud and clear, within a few hundred yards this time, evidently -answering the other. - -Basil and the Serjeant exchanged glances. This was the first hint -of anything in the nature of hostilities they had received since Mr -Gobbitt's adventure with the head-hunters. - -"Pretty close, that," the Captain said. - -The serjeant nodded. "Yes, Senor. But it does not mean an attack. They -would not warn us beforehand in that way. Possibly, it means a -message. We shall see." - -A quarter of an hour later, his prediction was justified, for a -native, an ordinary tao by his dress, strolled up to the gate of the -stockade, announced that he had a letter for the Senor in command of -the Constabulario, delivered the envelope to the corporal of the guard, -then, without another word, strolled back into the bush. - -The corporal lingered a few moments, until the expression on Basil's -face told him what he wanted to know. "The cooks might hurry on the -dinner," he said, as he got back to the little guard-house; "we shall -be going out. It was from Felizardo. I recognised the messenger. He -was in the fight on the hillside." And, having the first information, -he set to work to borrow as many cigarettes as possible, so as to be -well supplied for the march. - -Basil read the note once, rapidly; then re-read it very carefully, -and immediately made up his mind. It ran:-- - - - "The Senor Felizardo, Chief of the Mountains, sends a greeting to - the Chief of the Constabulario. This morning a band of a hundred - men, all formerly of the foolish insurrecto army, started from - the neighbourhood of San Francisco. At dawn to-morrow morning - they will burn Igut. They wish it to be thought in Manila that - the Senor Felizardo has done this thing, so that the Government - will send an army against him, and, meanwhile, they will be able - to prepare another rebellion, unobserved. - - "If the Captain of the Constabulario marches quickly, he may - take them in the rear. His stockade at Silang will be safe, - on the word of Felizardo. - - "They wish to kill all at Igut, save the Senora, who is promised - to one Juan Vagas, the leader, brother to Enrique Vagas in the - Customs." - - -Then followed a brief supplementary note on the way in which the -rifles had been introduced. - -Basil Hayle did not hesitate. Had it been his first experience -of Felizardo, he would have feared a trap. As it was, however, no -suspicion of that kind entered his mind. All he thought about now was -to be in time, to take those insurrectos in the rear, just as they were -attacking, and himself to kill Juan Vagas. He was more like a wild -beast than a man when he thought of what Felizardo really meant--but -a dangerously quiet wild beast, one which means to kill. The Law of -the Bolo had come into his life now, fully, absolutely displacing -all other rules of conduct. There was to be no quarter this time, -as he told the serjeant, who grinned in great appreciation. - -In little over twenty minutes the column had started, leaving only -five sick men in the stockade. So far as the latter was concerned, -Basil trusted to Felizardo's word. He could not spare enough men to -defend it, so he decided, very wisely, to leave it undefended. - -They wasted no time on the road, and before sundown they were across -the pass, where they found a solitary boloman seated on a large rock, -apparently awaiting them. - -"I am the guide," he said briefly. "There is a short cut. The ladrones -passed down two hours ago." - -Most men would have called Basil Hayle a rash fool when he nodded and -said: "Very well. Lead on;" but it was a question of taking risks, -or of allowing the promise to Juan Vagas to be kept. - -They halted once, and once only, during the night, and then it was -at the suggestion of the guide. "We shall be in time," he said; -"the soldiers might rest a little." - -The men threw themselves down, and smoked and chattered in undertones -about the great killing they were going to do; but Captain Basil -Hayle stalked up and down, chewing fiercely on the end of his cigar. - -After a while, the guide spoke again. "We should be going now. One -thing first, though. Tell your soldiers that the ladrones all -have rifles, and are dressed in blue, like Felizardo's men usually -are. Possibly, however, there will be bolomen dressed in white come -out of the jungle to help you. Tell your men, so that they will know." - -The little soldiers grinned, understanding who those bolomen would -be. "He, the old chief, might be there himself," they whispered to -one another. "Who knows? We might even see him." - -Half a mile from Igut, the guide brought them back into the main -road. "They have passed already," he said, pointing to the spoor. - -They went on very cautiously then, for there was just the faintest -hint of dawn in the east, and they knew it was only a question of a -few minutes before the attack would begin; in fact, had the patriots -been bolomen, it would have begun already, but it is different when -you have rifles. - -The enemy had no rear guard, partially because they had no thought -of being attacked, partially because each man was so anxious for his -share of the glory and of the loot. Consequently, Basil Hayle was -quite close behind them when they entered the plaza and slew the -sleeping Scout sentry--so close, in fact, that his men managed to -get a most telling volley into the crowd of patriots bunched in the -gateway of the barracks. - -After that, it did not take very long. True, half a dozen Scouts -were killed before the rest could awaken and start shooting; but the -sudden attack from behind had paralysed the patriots, and, after the -second volley from Hayle's little men, they broke and fled. It was -then that those bolomen in white appeared, seemingly from nowhere, -at the corners of the plaza, and got to work quietly. - -Basil Hayle stood in the middle of the plaza, repeating shot-gun in -hand, wondering whether by any chance Juan Vagas had been trapped in -the barracks. He had no orders to give his men--he had given the only -one necessary immediately after the last volley--"No quarter"--and he -knew that the fight, if fight it could be called, had passed clean out -of his control. It was getting light now, and he looked round towards -the Bushes' house--the house he had saved--and saw a white-clad figure -standing on the balcony, watching him. - -Instantly, he forgot everything, even Juan Vagas, and ran across the -plaza. Mrs Bush gripped the balcony to steady herself. "You!" she -cried. "You! Thank God! What is it all? Oh, what is it?" - -He told her in a few brief sentences. "I was only just in time," -he added. - -They were still killing patriots at the lower end of the plaza, -Constabulary and Felizardo's men in white working together. She gave -one glance in that direction, then covered her face. - -"Who are those in white, and the man on the grey horse?" - -It was light enough now to see fairly distinctly, and Basil realised -at once who the little horseman, calmly smoking a cigarette, watching -the killing, must be. - -"It is Felizardo himself," he said; then, thinking the other was -looking, he raised his hand in salute. Instantly, the broad-brimmed -hat was swept off in reply. Captain Hayle turned round quickly; -they had seen one another now, as friends; and he must not know -officially that the outlaw was there. When he looked round again, -the killing was finished; the Constabulary were collecting together -the weapons of the fallen; and both grey horse and white-clad bolomen -had disappeared as suddenly as they had come. - -"Captain Hayle, have you seen my husband?" - -Basil started. "No, I never thought--Oh, there he is," as the Scout -officer came hurrying up one of the streets, accompanied by three -more breathless white men. - -Hayle went to meet them. "Mighty close shave, Captain," he said. - -Bush looked at him with wild eyes. "What is it all? What's -happened? What are you doing here? I was in the Treasurer's--we had -been playing cards late--when we heard the shooting, and saw the -streets full of bolomen. I suppose this is Felizardo's doing." - -"No, it isn't," Basil answered curtly; he had detected the lie. "It -was the old insurrecto gang. If I had been ten minutes later they -would have wiped out Igut;" and he gave the other a brief outline of -what had occurred, omitting all mention of Felizardo. - -Bush flushed. "I reckon my men would have put up a fight," he said -ungraciously, whereupon Basil turned on his heel and left him. Already, -the serjeant had reported that, though there were five dead insurrectos -in the barracks, there were six dead Scouts, not including the sentry; -though the Constabulary had only lost one man, and Felizardo had -lost none. - -Whilst Bush was going up to the barracks, Basil glanced towards -the balcony again; but Mrs Bush had disappeared. Still, he had the -knowledge that he had saved her, and, what was better still, he had -the memory of her grateful look. - -Suddenly, it struck him that he was deadly weary. They had been -marching since midday the previous day, and it was now about six in -the morning, doing a forced march through jungle, without stopping to -cook food. He leaned against the timbers of the belfry and beckoned to -the serjeant, who was examining a small-bore rifle he had captured. "I -don't see the bugler anywhere, serjeant; but get the men together, -and tell them all to pile their arms here and dismiss. They must be -hungry and tired, and the Scouts can do the rest." - -The serjeant grinned. "We have left no 'rest' for them to do, Senor." - -It was not very dignified to be leaning against one of the posts of -the belfry, so Basil tried to stand up erect, whilst waiting for his -men; but the sudden relaxation of the strain had left him a little -dazed, and, almost unconsciously, he sat down on the ground, with -his shot-gun across his knees and his head forward. The thought which -had kept him up so far, the memory of Mrs Bush's look, had now been -replaced by another, which drummed through his brain with maddening -persistency--"Why had Bush himself been allowed to escape?" A stray -shot, a chance slash with a bolo, and---- - -"Captain Hayle, what do you mean by this? Come into the house at -once. You must be absolutely done up after that awful march from -Silang." Basil felt a hand laid gently on his shoulder, and scrambled -to his feet at once. - -"Mrs Bush! Oh, I'm all right, really, but tired, you know." Even -her touch had not quite cleared his mind yet, then, with an effort, -he pulled himself together. "I am waiting for my men, and I am afraid -I was almost asleep. No, I don't think I will come in. Captain Bush -seemed a little annoyed, you know." - -Mrs Bush looked him square in the eyes. "Captain Hayle, I ask whom -I think fit into my house. You will come now. You know your men can -look after themselves. I have already sent word to Ah Lung to let -them have what they want. The Scouts can guard Igut--now." - -He followed her in without a word. First she brought him brandy -and soda water; and then she glanced at his torn and muddy uniform, -and his soaking boots, one of which was minus a heel. - -"I like you in those," she said suddenly. "They tell me--they tell -me--many things. Only, you must change. I will put some other clothes -in the spare room for you." - -When he came out again, dressed in a white suit of Captain Bush's, -she had some breakfast ready for him, but he could not touch it for -sheer weariness; whereupon she made a couch for him on one of the -long cane sofas in the drawing-room, and then she left him. Within -a couple of minutes he was fast asleep. Mrs Bush opened the door -quietly, looked in, went on tiptoe to his side, and, stooping down, -kissed his hair lightly. - -"I know you did it for me, dearest," she murmured; then she went -out, just as her husband came into the house, accompanied by the -Treasurer and the Supervisor. They were talking loudly, and did not -appear to notice Mrs Bush until she spoke. "Please be more quiet," -she said. "Captain Hayle is asleep in the drawing-room." - -The Treasurer and the Supervisor exchanged sheepish glances, but Bush -flushed. "I never asked him in here." Then he was sorry he had spoken, -for her answer came, cutting like a lash: "I asked him. But for him, -none of us would be asking any one anywhere now." - -"There were the Scouts----" her husband began, but she did not let -him finish. - -"The Scouts! And where was the Scout officer, and the other white -heroes, who would have saved Igut?" She turned away scornfully and -swept upstairs. - -"I say, Bush, we had better get out; we aren't exactly welcome. The -Virginian seems to be first favourite." The Supervisor was already -moving towards the door, when Captain Bush stopped him. - -"You stay here. This is my house, and if I want to ask you in for a -drink, I will." - -But both the others declined. "We'd sooner not. She may come back. And -the spirit shop's open now." So, in the end, Bush had to give way; -and, instead of seeing to his wounded, and investigating the whole -affair, sat drinking himself into a sodden state, and listening to -the vile insinuations of his civilian friends. There was no gratitude -to Basil Hayle for having saved the lives of all of them, only bitter -jealousy and resentment, coupled with a little fear, at least on the -part of the civil officials, who, on the occasion of his former visit, -had heard his candid opinion concerning the lives they led. - -Meanwhile, out on the plaza the serjeant and half a dozen men were -keeping guard over four prisoners. The rest of the Constabulary were -scattered. Some were still feeding in Ah Lung's store, some were -sitting in the shade of the belfry smoking, but most had drifted away -in search of sleeping places. But the serjeant and his little guard -remained, for they had received those four prisoners from no less -a person than Felizardo himself, who had handed them over with the -words: "Tell your captain these must be hanged." And the serjeant, -who had been in the Spanish Service, had saluted, and had taken his -prizes to the plaza, and trussed them up securely, and then had sat -down to wait until it should please his captain to reappear. He knew -who those prisoners were. One was Juan Vagas himself, whilst the -other three had been majors in the insurrecto army. - -Presently there came along the Presidente and many tao, with carts -drawn by water-buffalo, and started collecting the dead. Eighty-one -they found out of the hundred who had come in--which, as the serjeant -said, was a good killing. And when that task was finished the -Presidente chanced to notice those four trussed-up prisoners beside -the belfry, and came to inspect them; but when he saw their faces he -seemed to shiver a little, and a quick glance passed between him and -Juan Vagas. Then he spoke in the voice which had so often made the -tao themselves shiver, and pay fines without asking for receipts. - -"What are you doing with those men? If they are prisoners, why have -you not handed them over to me, so that I can put them in gaol? I -will send my police for them at once." - -But the serjeant cared for no Presidentes; moreover, he had seen that -glance of recognition between Juan Vagas and the official. "These -are the prisoners of the Constabulary," he said. "They remain here -until I receive orders from my captain." - -The Presidente used unofficial language. "I will send my police for -them," he retorted, and departed, storming. - -When the serjeant saw a dozen or so ragged civil police approaching, -he nodded to his men. "Load," he said curtly, and the police halted -forthwith. - -Once more, the Presidente came forward; it was a matter of absolutely -vital importance for him to get possession of those prisoners, even if, -as was possible, they did happen to escape during the night. "Where -is your captain?" he demanded. - -The serjeant pointed with his revolver towards the Bushes' house. "In -there," he said. - -The Presidente bit his lip. He was not really anxious to meet -Basil Hayle, and he was much less anxious to meet Mrs Bush; so, as -a compromise, he went to the spirit shop to consult Captain Bush, -who did not receive him cordially. - -"What have I got to do with it?" the Scout growled. "I'm a soldier, -not a forsaken police-man like Hayle. If I had taken them, I should -have shot them out of hand, to save the trouble of hanging them. Are -they friends or relatives of yours?" Usually he and the Presidente -were on very good terms, but to-day his nerves were shaken. He knew he -deserved, and might possibly get, his dismissal from the Service--that -is, if Basil Hayle told the whole truth. - -He had got to go to Basil Hayle and ask his forbearance--that was the -most bitter thought of all. He was completely in the hands of this -Constabulary officer, whom, perhaps, he hated more than any other man -living. They could not blame him for not knowing that the attack was -coming, but they could, and would, blame him for not being prepared -for an attack; whilst, if they learnt that he had been one of the -last men on the scene---- He made a grimace at the thought. - -It was midday when Basil awakened, wondering at first where he could -be; then, as he looked round, he remembered suddenly. A few minutes -later Mrs Bush came in. "You look better now," she said. "You were -dreadfully tired this morning. You ought to have something to eat, -though, before you go out. One of your serjeants has been asking for -you; and I have been watching the Presidente stalking up and down in -front of the house like a maniac." - -Basil shrugged his shoulders. "They can wait," he said. "I really am -hungry now." - -Whilst he was eating, he gave her a few more details of the night's -adventure. "It was Felizardo who really saved you," he said, whereat -she shook her head. "Yes, it was," he went on. "But for him, I should -still have been at that dreary hole, Silang." - -"Was it very dreary?" she asked. - -He looked away. "Of course it was. I never hated a place so much in -my life. You see----" He broke off suddenly, and for a few minutes -there was silence; then he got up rather abruptly. "If you'll excuse -me now, I must see what the serjeant wants." - -As he went out, the Presidente stopped him. - -"May I speak to you a moment, Captain?" the official began, but Basil -cut him short. - -"Yes, in a few minutes. I must see to my men first. I'll come to your -office, if you like." - -The serjeant grinned as he saluted. "I wanted to see you about those, -Senor," jerking his thumb in the direction of his prisoners. "I -received them from--from the Chief of the Mountains himself. He said -they must be hanged. One is Juan Vagas, and the other three are his -chief lieutenants." - -Basil drew a quick breath. Juan Vagas! So he had him, after all. He -strode over to them, and, when Juan Vagas saw the look in his face, -he knew that there would be no escape this time. - -The serjeant, who was standing beside Captain Hayle, nodded with a -kind of grim satisfaction. "Doubtless they will rebuild the gallows -at Calocan now, Senor. You do not remember the old ones on which -they hanged Cinicio Dagujob and his friends many years ago, when I -first came to this island from Samar. I was only a little boy then, -but I can recall how this same Felizardo, who is now in the mountains, -fought the ladrones behind old Don José's warehouse, and how the old -corporal of the Guardia Civil had to hurry on the hanging of those -Felizardo had wounded. Without question, these ladrones here will meet -Cinicio in purgatory, somewhere near the big fire." Then he drew his -officer to one side and spoke very gravely. "Senor, the Presidente -has been trying to get the prisoners. I had to tell the men to load -with ball cartridge. That Vagas is a friend of the Presidente's, -and if they got them into the gaol there would be an escape to-night." - -"I understand," Basil nodded; he realised now that this attack on Igut -was only a part of a widespread conspiracy against American rule, and -the moment he had seen the prisoners he had decided himself to take -them into Manila, and fight the question out there. "I understand, -serjeant," he repeated. "They are to be delivered to no one without -my orders. Where is Serjeant Reyes? Tell him to get ten men and take -the prisoners into that shed at the back of Ah Lung's store. You and -these other men had better go and get some rest now. I will see the -Presidente myself." - -The Presidente was pacing up and down his room when Basil entered. The -Constabulary officer wasted no words. "I hear you have demanded those -prisoners, Senor. By what authority do you threaten my men?" - -The official stuttered a little. "I--I represent the civil arm, Senor, -and these--these ladrones should be lodged in gaol." - -Basil laughed in a rather disconcerting fashion. "I, too, represent -the Civil Government," he retorted; "and I am going to take those -prisoners into Manila. I have heard of escapes from Igut Gaol." His -tone suddenly became severe, almost fierce. "Take care, Senor. Be -very careful. I am inclined to carry you along with me as a prisoner -too. Probably I shall come for you later, unless you can clear yourself -meanwhile. And now you will send to the gaol for four sets of irons, -and have them delivered, without delay, to Serjeant Reyes, in the -shed at the back of Ah Lung's store." - -The Presidente gave the order with shivering reluctance; then Basil -seated himself at the table, in the official's own chair. "Have you -a return of the dead found this morning? Let me see it." But the -moment he set eyes on the document, he tore it across. "You head it -'List of Felizardo's brigands killed by the Town Police, the Scouts, -and the Constabulary'!" he stormed. "How dare you! You know as -well as I do that they were insurrectos, and nothing whatever to do -with Felizardo. As for your Town Police and Scouts----" He laughed -scornfully. "And now make me out a proper return and sign it." - -When, half an hour later, Captain Hayle took his leave, he left a sad -and perspiring Presidente behind him, one who had reached the point -of wondering whether it would not be wiser, after all, to retire -to Hong Kong. In the end, however, the official decided to stay, -mainly because he knew that the next coastguard steamer, that which -was expected in during the course of the afternoon, would inevitably -have as passengers Basil Hayle and Juan Vagas. - -Basil went down to Ah Lung's store and saw his prisoners safely ironed, -then ordered from the Chinaman sufficient stores to last his men for -three days, and sufficient cigarettes for a month, and after that sent -for the old serjeant. "Serjeant," he said, "I am going into Manila, -taking Serjeant Reyes and ten men as guard for the prisoners. You -will take command of the rest, and start at dawn for the stockade -at Silang. Ah Lung will give you supplies for the journey. Also some -cigarettes. Have the 'Assembly' sounded. I want to speak to the men." - -Perhaps it was not entirely by accident that they fell in opposite the -Bushes' house, though for that the old serjeant was responsible. Mrs -Bush, sitting as usual on the balcony, behind the matting blind, could -hear every word of his short speech, a little broken when he came to -thank them for their loyal devotion of the night before, but ringing -out clearly when he expressed his conviction that, during his absence, -they would take every order the old serjeant gave as coming direct -from himself. Two months previously, when they were just raw tao from -Samar, they would have ended by breaking ranks and clustering round -him; now there was nothing more than a murmur, which swept along the -line, and was infinitely grateful both to him, and to the woman who, -unknown to him, was listening from the balcony behind. - -This time, there were no Scouts clustering in the gateway of the -barracks, making disparaging remarks on "dam' Constabulario." They were -all inside, wondering how they would explain matters to the girls of -Igut. There was to be a fiesta, and, of course, a cock-fight on the -following day, which meant that many questions, awkward to answer, -would be asked. - -As Basil dismissed his men, the expected coastguard steamer came in -sight round the point, greatly to his relief. True, she would not -go out until the morning, but, once his prisoners were aboard, he -knew they would be safe. He waited on the quay until she had come to -an anchor, then went off to her, calmly taking the Presidente's own -boat, and explained matters to her skipper. Half an hour later the -Presidente, watching from his window, saw Juan Vagas and his comrades -marched down to the quay, bundled, none too gently, into a boat, and -taken aboard the coastguard. He drew his hand across his forehead, -and found it damp with a cold sweat. If one of those four, young -Pablo for instance, turned informer to save his own neck, how many -other necks would be in danger? - -After seeing his prisoners aboard, Basil walked back slowly to the -Bushes' house. He had to say good-bye to Mrs Bush, and, for all he -knew, it might be many months before he saw her again. At the back of -his mind there was still that haunting sense of resentment against -Fate for allowing Bush to escape. The ethical side of the question, -the morality or immorality of it, never occurred to him, as was but -natural in a district where the Law of the Bolo was the only code -which had any force. He hated the Scout officer because he knew what -sort of man he was, and he would have welcomed Bush's death, because -he believed it would take a load of misery and humiliation off Mrs -Bush's shoulders; but, in justice to him, it must be said that he had -never thought of gaining any personal advantage from the disappearance -of the Captain. Mrs Bush had never given him any reason to suppose -that she regarded him otherwise than as a chance acquaintance, whom -the accidents of life, as represented by the insurrectos, had raised -to the level of a friend. - -Rather to his surprise, he met Bush himself at the doorway of the -house; and, even more to his surprise, the Scout officer treated him -with rather sheepish cordiality. "Come in, Hayle," he said. "Glad you -called back before you went. I hear you sent your prisoners aboard the -coastguard. You're a wise man. The Presidente wanted me to rescue them -for him, and I told him to go somewhere hotter.... Have a drink? My -wife will be down in a few minutes." After he had mixed the cocktails -and finished his at a gulp, he seemed to get a fresh grip on his -own nerves. "I'm sorry if I was a bit short this morning," he said, -"but the thing upset me, the suddenness of it; and I thought at first -that you might have sent me warning. Now, I hear that there was no -time for anything of that sort. Eighteen hours from Silang, most of -it in the darkness! It was a thundering good march." For a moment, -the soldier in him--and he had been a soldier of no mean quality--got -the upper hand of his more recently-acquired personality. "I wish I -had had the chance, and I wish I had been in the fight." For a space -he stared out through the window, then he faced round again. "Look -here, Hayle, what are you going to tell them in Manila about me?" - -Basil flushed. It was an awkward question, one not to be answered -off-hand. Had he believed that Bush's absence was due to anything in -the nature of cowardice he would have spared him nothing; but, so far -as that point was concerned, he had gauged the man accurately. Sober -or drunk, Bush was brave enough. And the real reason was ugly, -horribly ugly; moreover, if it came out, it would give the natives -just cause for scoffing at the white man, and, what was of infinitely -greater importance in his eyes, it would deal a deadly blow to Mrs -Bush's pride. - -"I shall report what my men did," he said at last, "and say that -your Scouts were fully occupied with those who tried to rush the -barracks. If they ask me concerning you, I shall merely say I had -no time to speak to you until it was over. On the other hand, I want -you to make a deal. If I do that for you, you are to say nothing of -Felizardo being here." - -Captain Bush stared at him with wide-open eyes. "Felizardo! Felizardo -here! What do you mean, man?" - -"Felizardo was at the lower corner of the plaza this morning. It was -he who sent word to me at Silang, his men who cut up the insurrectos -as they fled. We've got to thank him, and no one else, that Igut wasn't -burned." But Captain Hayle said nothing of Mrs Bush and the promise to -Juan Vagas. He himself was going to see to the settling of that score. - -Captain Bush mopped his forehead. "Old Felizardo himself here, in -Igut!" he repeated; then a thought struck him. "Why didn't he send -me warning?" he demanded, with sudden suspicion. - -Basil looked out of the window at the Presidente, who was just crossing -the plaza. "If you had shown a sign of being prepared, the insurrectos -would have become suspicious, and would not have come in. As it was, -my fellows never entered into their calculations at all." - -The explanation satisfied Bush. "It sounds all right," he began, -then he was cut short by the entrance of Mrs Bush. - -For a while, they talked on indifferent subjects, then Basil rose to -leave. "I think I shall go aboard now," he said--he had arranged for -his men to spend the night in the Scout barracks. "I haven't got over -my long march yet, and the coastguard is sailing at dawn." - -Both Captain Bush and his wife accompanied their guest to the door. "We -shall see you again?" Mrs Bush asked. - -Basil nodded. "Yes, I am sure to call in here on my way back; and very -possibly I shall go through to Silang this route. It is as short as the -other way, through Catarman"--a statement which was not strictly true. - -Mrs Bush smiled. "So it's only au revoir?" - -"Yes, only au revoir," he answered.... - -The coastguard steamer entered Manila, flying a signal for the police -launch, which presently arrived in a great hurry. Basil went aboard -her at once. - -"I want to speak to you, Jimmy," he said to the captain, who had -been one of his fellow-non-commissioned officers in the Garrison -Artillery. When they were in the little cabin, "Is there any special -news in Manila?" he demanded. - -"A story about a big fight at Igut," the other responded promptly, -"or rather a lot of stories. The first was that old Felizardo had -burned the place, massacred every one, except the Scout officer's -wife, whom he had carried off. Now they say he was beaten, after -all. Do you know anything?" - -Captain Hayle smiled. "A little. It was my fight," then, in the -briefest terms, he outlined the story. "And now," he added, "you -had better get ashore ahead of us, and telephone up to have these -fellows, Enrique Vagas and the others, watched right away. And tell -them to send down a strong guard for my prisoners. I don't want to -march through the streets with every one staring at me; besides, -my little chaps are in rags. We'll give you half an hour's start." - -It did not take long for the news to travel round Manila. Commissioner -Furber heard it by telephone from the police, and was dumbfounded. "Do -you think it can be true?" he asked of Senor Guiterrez, his secretary, -who had gone deadly pale. - -"Shall I go and find out more details? I might go down to the -coastguard, and tell Captain Hayle to come up at once," the secretary -murmured, and, barely waiting for a reply, he hurried away, though -not in the direction of the coastguard quay. He took a carromato, -which is the local libel on a cab; but, on looking back, he saw that -another carromato was following his. He told the driver to take a -sharp turn into the Walled City, and found the other vehicle took -the same turn; then, realising that the game was up, he took a very -small revolver out of his hip-pocket, and shot himself dead. - -Down at the Custom House, Senor Enrique Vagas heard the news, -and suddenly discovered that he had left some papers aboard the -Hong Kong mail steamer, which was just leaving. He slipped out of a -side entrance, of the existence of which the detective, who had just -arrived, did not know, got aboard the mail-boat unperceived, and from -that point onwards he disappears from the story. Senor Simeon Talibat, -the judge, heard the news, and merely smiled, knowing well that they -dare not indict him. - -Commissioner Furber was sitting very grim and silent when Basil Hayle -was shown in. This was, without exception, the worst blow the Civil -Government had received, and in the first outburst of bitterness he -felt he would sooner that Igut had been destroyed, so that the blame -could have fallen on Felizardo, rather than have had this exposure of -the treachery of his Little Brown Brothers. Any sort of concealment was -practically impossible now, in view of the suicide of his secretary, -of which he had just heard. The whole city had heard of it too, and -had put its own construction on it. Consequently, he did not feel -kindly towards Captain Basil Hayle, and showed so by his manner. The -wonderful forced march from Silang, over the pass to Igut, the sudden, -paralysing attack, the relentless justice meted out to the insurrectos, -were, he knew, things which would appeal to the mob; but they left -him and his colleagues cold. They were contrary to the interests of -the Party--and of themselves. - -The interview with Basil was a brief one. Basil himself had come -intending to say nothing of Felizardo's intervention, feeling certain -that, by mentioning it, he would only increase the bitterness against -the old chief, and lay himself open to suspicion, which would result -in his removal from the district. He had ample proof that it was -the insurrectos who had made the attack--proofs, in the form of -certain papers found on the prisoners, which he did not mention to -the Commissioner. - -"Make out a formal report, and let me have it as soon as possible," -the Commissioner said, after Basil had given him an outline of what -had occurred. - -Basil got up. "And the prisoners?" he asked. - -"They will be brought to trial, of course," the other snapped. "I -presume you have good evidence." - -"We took them red-handed," Basil answered grimly, and prepared to -go out. - -The Commissioner called him back for a parting shot. "How many did -you kill?" he asked. - -"We found eighty-one dead out of a hundred." - -"It is abominable!" Mr Furber's voice shook with indignation. "You -should have taken them prisoners. Probably, most of them were poor -misguided peasants, who thought they were serving their country. You -must have had a carnival of bloodshed. It is monstrous." - -Basil did not trouble whether the door banged behind him or no. - -Half the non-official white population of Manila seemed to be out -in the street waiting for him--the captain of the coastguard steamer -had been talking freely, as had also the Constabulary soldiers--and Mr -Commissioner Furber could hear the cheers, even after he had closed the -windows of his office. When Clancy of the Manila Star, and Johnson of -the Herald, and Hurd of the Record, ran Basil to earth in his hotel, -he found that they knew as much, or more, of the story than he did--in -fact he begged them to delete certain portions relating to himself; -but one point he did ask them to emphasise--that, if successful, -the raid would have been ascribed to Felizardo. - -"Where did they get the guns?" Clancy asked suddenly. "They say they -were all new small-bores." - -But Basil would not tell him. "Wait for the trial," was all they -could get from him. - -When the trial came, however, that point, and a great many others -as well, did not come out. Juan Vagas and his comrades were tried as -ordinary ladrones. No reference was made to any political conspiracy, -and the evidence was merely of a formal nature. It was a matter of -common knowledge that tremendous efforts had been made to save the -accused at any cost, on account of their family connections; but, -though the Commission would have given way gladly enough, it dare -not face the storm of indignation which would have been aroused -amongst the white population. So, in the end, Juan Vagas and the -three ex-majors were condemned to be hanged by the neck as common -highway robbers--which they were not. - -Still, the subterfuge did not prevent people from talking; because -there were the suicide of Mr Furber's secretary, and the disappearance -of Chief Collector Sharler's brother-in-law to be explained; also -that matter of the smuggling of the rifles, and one or two other -little things. But the Commissioners were true to the Party, and to -themselves, all through. The Chief Collector continued collecting and -preaching Racial Equality; Senor Simeon Talibat continued judging, -and often sentencing, honourable men, some of whom were white; and -the only unfortunate thing was that Vagas and his friends had to be -hanged. Moreover, it had been hinted unmistakably that they must be -hanged publicly, so that all men might be sure of their death. - -It was over that execution that Commissioner Furber sought to have -his revenge on Captain Basil Hayle for the trouble he had caused. "You -brought them in. They are your prisoners. You shall have the hanging of -them," he snarled, looking to see the Virginian flush with rage. But -therein he was disappointed, not knowing of the score against Juan -Vagas. - -"Where shall I have them hanged?" Basil asked calmly. "On the Luneta, -in front of the band-stand? All Manila could see there." - -Again Mr Furber snarled. "Of course not. Take them out to Calocan; -and do it very early one morning. I'll leave it all to you, as you -seem ready enough to do the job." - -Basil Hayle looked him squarely in the face, which was a thing -the Commissioner himself never did to a man. "I would hang them, -and a dozen more, some insurrectos, some white men who are traitors -to their race, if I could," he said very quietly. Then he went to -Calocan, and arranged for the building of a new gallows on the site -of the old one, opposite what had once been Don José Ramirez's store, -and was now the store of Lippmann and Klosky, American citizens. - -No man except Basil Hayle and the prison officials knew where the -prisoners were spending the night before the execution. As a matter of -fact, however, they were on board a large launch, which was moored a -mile from the shore, and the party of patriots, who were in ambush -on the road, with the idea of rescuing their brethren, merely got -wet and cramped as a reward for their devotion. Still, there was a -crowd of two or three hundred on the plaza, of whom at least half -were wearing bolos. - -Basil's total force consisted of his own ten men, with twenty more -Manila Constabulary under a lieutenant, and even this reinforcement -had been granted to him grudgingly. - -"There are the local police," the Commissioner had said, to which -Basil had replied in practical fashion by taking all the rifles away -from those police on the night previous to the execution. Still, -despite this precaution, matters looked dangerous when they marched -the prisoners ashore. They had roped in a space over night, and in -that space Basil posted the Constabulary, in front of the new gallows, -facing the crowd, and told them to load with ball, so that all men -might be warned; but he noticed one, at least, of the Manila men slip -in a blank cartridge, which made him feel more uneasy than ever. - -"We're in for it, properly," he whispered to the lieutenant; then he -went to the two ex-soldiers who had volunteered to act as hangman, -the insurrectos having roasted some of their chums to death during -the war. "Be as quick as you can," he said. "And if we haven't time -to hang them, shoot them. I'll take all responsibility." - -He had hardly spoken the words before he caught the flash of a bolo -being drawn in the crowd. Vagas was then at the foot of the gallows, -and Basil was by his side in a moment, pressing the muzzle of his -revolver against his head. "Go up the ladder," he said; then he saw -another bolo being drawn, and another, and yet another. The crowd was -swaying now. "Steady! steady!" he called to his men. "If they break -the ropes or cut them, fire at once." - -Those in front, against the ropes, heard his words, and seeing the -revolver at Juan Vagas's head, tried to draw back, knowing that -they would have been the sufferers from the one volley which the -Constabulary could have hoped to get off. But those behind, the -mass of the crowd, having no such fears, struggled and fought to get -forward, or to force the others forward. There were a hundred drawn -bolos now. A few seconds more, and the ropes would have been down, -when a boudjon brayed out with startling suddenness from the line -of bush which formed the top end of the little plaza, and, as men -looked round in astonishment, they saw what seemed to be innumerable -white-clad bolomen, jumping up out of the long grass into which they -had crawled from the jungle, whilst, in the background, was a little -old man on a grey horse. - -Twice more the boudjon sounded, and then the word passed from man to -man in the crowd. "Felizardo! Felizardo himself! He has sworn they -shall be hanged, because of what they had planned to do." Before the -third blast had died away, every bolo had been sheathed, and every -man was standing still, shivering a little. - -Basil Hayle thrust his revolver into his holster again, and came back -to his place in front of his men, where he stood very still whilst -they did justice on Juan Vagas and his fellows. Then, when it was -over, for the second time in his life, he raised his hand in salute -to the little old man on the grey horse, and also for the second time -Felizardo lifted his hat. A moment later the bush had swallowed up -him and his men. - -There were three reporters at the execution, and the copy they handed -in rejoiced exceedingly the hearts of their respective editors. But Mr -Commissioner Furber and Mr Commissioner Gumpertz and one or two other -Commissioners used violent language. "The scoundrel's impertinence -must be stopped at once," they said; whilst, in the Walled City, the -ex-generals and colonels and majors of the patriot forces gnashed their -teeth with fury, and began to evolve new schemes against Felizardo. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -HOW MR COMMISSIONER FURBER MET FELIZARDO - - -The night after the hanging of Juan Vagas, the insurrecto, who had -tried to raid Igut and carry off Mrs Bush, Basil Hayle dined at the -Military Club, where they made much of him, although, as a rule, the -Army regarded the Constabulary much as it regarded the Civil Service, -as being beneath its notice, which was quite unjust--so far as the -Constabulary was concerned. - -It was well after midnight when Basil left the Club in the company -of old Major John Flint of the Infantry. They were both staying at -the same hotel, and their way back led through the narrow streets -of the Walled City, and thence across the Bridge of Spain, into -the newer part of Manila. They passed one or two native police -slouching along, looking what they really were, more like thieves -than thief-takers. With the exception of these, however, the streets -seemed to be absolutely deserted; consequently, when, from out of -a dark gateway, a couple of natives, or rather mestizos, armed with -knives, sprang at Basil and his companion, the white men were taken -absolutely unawares. - -Basil dodged to one side as his assailant struck, and the knife merely -caught him a glancing blow on the ribs, doing little damage; then he -himself got a grip on the mestizo's throat, lifted him bodily off -the ground with the other hand, and flung him at the man who was -attacking Major Flint. The second mestizo staggered, dropped his -knife, then took to his heels and fled down the street, right into -the arms of a gigantic Sikh watchman from a neighbouring Government -building--you can make your Little Brown Brother into a judge of the -High Court, but you cannot trust him to guard Government stores--who, -hearing shouts, had hurried up. The Sikh did not waste either time -or words. He took that mestizo by the collar of his coat with one -hand, and by his belt with the other hand, and forthwith dashed his -brains out on the pavement, then tossed the body into the middle of -the street, and began to wonder how he should purify himself after -having touched such an unclean thing. - -Basil was binding his handkerchief round an ugly flesh wound in the -major's forearm, and keeping his foot on the neck of the other mestizo, -when the Sikh came up and saluted. - -"I have killed the one, Sahib," the watchman said. "Shall I----?" he -nodded expressively towards the other would-be murderer, who, hearing -the words, squirmed. - -Basil smiled and shook his head. "I think not, serjeant. But I wish -you would look after him whilst we go along the street and see if we -can find some of the police. How about the other one?" - -The Sikh saluted again. "I caught him trying to break into the -Government store-house. He attacked me with a knife, and in the -struggle I happened to kill him. So I shall report to-morrow, Sahib. It -will save trouble," he added simply. - -"Curious dearth of police," Basil remarked to the major as they -walked up the street after leaving the Sikh in charge. "It rather -looks as if they didn't want to be about. I shouldn't have had much -of a show if I had been alone, as I suppose they expected me to -be. Hullo! what's that building lighted up? The Manila Star, isn't -it? We might go in and see Clancy, and get him to telephone for a -carromato for you. That hand of yours ought to be seen to at once; -and I expect he's got a drink there." - -Clancy was just preparing to leave. He had just sent his paper to -press--he was his own chief sub-editor--but he went back to his room -when he saw his visitors. - -"Hullo!" he exclaimed, "what's this? You've got it in the hand, major; -and you seem to have got it in the ribs, Hayle," pointing to a wet, -dull red patch on Basil's tunic. - -Basil looked down in surprise. "I didn't even know the little beast -had got through my clothes," he said. "It can only be a scratch. I -wish you would telephone to the livery stable for a carromato, and -then to the police." - -Whilst they were waiting, Basil gave the editor an outline of what -had occurred. Clancy groaned. "My luck. If it had been half an hour -earlier, it would have been a fine scoop for the paper. 'Vengeance -for Vagas'--there's a snorting good headline for you." - -They saw the major off to the hospital in the carromato, and -then Clancy walked down the street with Basil to the scene of the -attack. The Sikh was still on guard, having secured the prisoner with -his belt. - -"Let's have a look at this chap," Clancy said, but when he had -scrutinised the mestizo's features, he shook his head. "I don't know -him at all;" then they went over to where the other lay, in the middle -of the road, and Clancy gave a low whistle. "This one I do know, -though. He is, or rather he was, in the Education Department, one of -Dr Charburn's especial pets--in fact, I heard they were going to make -him headmaster of some Government school. There'll be a vacancy now, -I guess." - -A few minutes later the police came along, three natives, and took -over the prisoner with an air of surly indifference to the whole -matter. Even the sight of the Constabulary officer's uniform was -insufficient to make them outwardly civil and respectful. As they were -moving off, Basil caught the word "hangman," and flushed crimson. Then -he called them back. - -"When I come round to-morrow morning I shall report you for not -saluting. Do you hear? I will take no insolence from you. Now get -along quick, or there'll be more trouble for you." - -Clancy smiled. "You needn't worry to go to the station in the -morning. That prisoner will escape." - -He proved to be a true prophet. When Basil was shown into the police -captain's room, the latter gave him a queer look. "Want me on business, -Captain Hayle?" he asked. "Or is this just a friendly social call?" - -Basil understood. "Has he got away?" - -The police captain nodded and pushed the box of cigars across to his -guest. "It never happened. Major Flint had an accident to his hand, -and you--well, your ribs don't show. The night captain called up -Some One; and he said that, with the Vagas and Guiterrez business, -they had had about enough to be going on with for some time; so your -friend was let loose, and has probably bought a new knife by now." - -"Who was he?" Basil asked. - -The captain mentioned the name of a well-known mestizo planter. "His -youngest son, just back from London, where they seem to allow any -fool-doctrine to be taught to coloured men. Pity the Sikh didn't -finish him too whilst he was about it." - -"I'll make sure myself next time," Basil said grimly; "one gets tired -of this sort of business. What did they do with the other fellow?" - -"That carrion?" The police captain was a man of plain speech. "The -night captain proposed to tie a stone to it and drop it over the Bridge -of Spain, into the Pasig; but he got orders to discover an accidental -death, a fall from an upper window--you understand?--and they're going -to have a big funeral to-day, all the Education Department, wreaths, -speeches, flourishing career cut short, and so on. Makes you smile, -doesn't it?" - -Basil Hayle thought of the knife which had glanced along his ribs, -and the big gash in the old major's hand, and the Sikh wondering -how he could purify himself after having touched such vermin, but -most of all he thought of the shame and the danger to his country, -and therefore he did not smile. - -As he got up to leave, a sudden thought struck him. "Clancy knows," -he said. "Clancy was on the spot a few minutes afterwards." - -The police captain nodded. "I've just seen him, and, as a favour to -the force, he is going to forget it. But he wouldn't have done so for -Furber; no, sir. Awkward sort of an Irishman, unless you handle him -right. They'd have deported him long ago, if he had been an American -citizen. Well, so-long, Captain. I'd be careful, if I were you, -at nights. You might have a worse accident next time." - -"I'm leaving for Igut by the coastguard steamer this afternoon," -Basil answered. - -Commissioner Furber made no reference to the incident of the previous -night when Basil called on him to see if there were any further orders, -nor did the Captain himself allude to it. - -"You will go back to your post at Silang," the Commissioner said, -"and police that district, endeavouring to obtain as much information -as possible concerning Felizardo. One thing more--remember you are -posted on the northern side of the mountains, and there you are -to remain. We want no more of these theatrical marches, ending in -massacres of deluded peasants. I have had reports from the Presidente -and other local officials, as well as from some friends in Manila, -which go to prove that Igut was never in any real danger. I might add -that the Governor-General is extremely annoyed at your conduct. You -know his constant endeavour has been to gain the confidence and -good-will of our Little Brown Brothers." - -It was one of Mr Commissioner Furber's customs never to look a man -in the face; consequently, he missed Basil's expression, though, -perhaps, the way in which Basil strode out of the room may have told -him something. - -Mr Furber sighed. "A most dangerous, insolent Southerner," he -murmured. "And yet, whilst he is a hero in Manila it would be unsafe -to dismiss him. I could almost wish that those men last night----" -He broke off suddenly, conscious that he was lapsing from those strict -Methodist principles in which he had been brought up. - -Mr Commissioner Gumpertz, on the other hand, had fewer religious -scruples, having been in politics much longer than his colleague. "I -wish to blazes they had knifed the swine," he said. "He's put a stop -to the sale of that hemp land. I can't get any one to go out and have a -look at it now. They just shake their heads, and say, 'Head-hunters.'" - -Mr William P. Hart, to whom he spoke, expectorated carefully at a -lizard on the window-sill. "Furber will give him plenty of chances of -getting his throat cut. Furber's a bit pious, but he don't forget all -the same, nor does Sharler. This Vagas business has hit 'em hard; -and Mrs Sharler, Vagas's sister you know, has a tongue. It's not -nice for a Chief Collector of Customs to have his brother-in-law -hanged publicly. Did you hear they burned the new gallows at Calocan -last night?" - -Basil heard the same news as he was going aboard the coastguard -steamer, and laughed grimly. "A bit futile, isn't it?" he remarked -to his informant. "They had served their purpose already." - -Basil only stayed a few hours at Igut, just long enough to see -Mrs Bush, and tell her what had occurred in Manila. She shuddered -a little when she heard how he had been ordered to superintend the -executions. "How horrible!" she said; "and what an abominable insult -to you. I wonder you did not refuse." - -He shook his head. "It was meant as an insult, I know; but I was glad -to do the job." - -"Why?" She looked at him in amazement, and he thought a little -coldly. "Why, Captain Hayle? You say you were glad to be a kind -of hangman!" - -"I did not mean Juan Vagas to escape," he answered. "I had sworn he -should die, if I had to go into the prison and shoot him myself." And -there was a look on his face which showed her he meant what he -was saying. - -"But I don't quite understand why you should have been so bitter -against him personally. What was the reason?" - -Basil was staring out of the window. "I can't explain now; perhaps I -will, some day, later on." And with that she had to be content for the -moment, though, by dint of questioning her maid, who in turn questioned -others in the town, she got some clue to the truth a few days later, -and found much food for thought therein. She began to understand what -had kept Basil going through that terrible march from Silang. - -Captain Bush came in just before Basil left. The Scout officer was -grateful for what the other had not said in his report, and expressed -his thanks with what was for him almost heartiness. - -"Going to stay to-night?" he added. "We can put you up." - -"Sorry it can't be managed," Basil answered. "I brought my ten men -back with me, and I want to get across to Silang as soon as I can. No, -I must go." He stared out of the window again. - -Mrs Bush, watching him, understood what an effort it was costing him -to say those words, and honoured him in her heart accordingly. - -"I am going to have a try at Felizardo. They are sending Vigne's -company of Scouts round to co-operate with mine." Bush's voice recalled -Basil suddenly. "We are going to try and show you Constabulary how -to do things." - -Basil gripped the arm of his chair at the thought which immediately -flashed through his mind. "Bush is going up to Felizardo's -mountains. Would Bush ever come back?" He, Basil Hayle, knew only -too well what the dangers of the expedition would be. - -For an instant Basil thought of saying nothing, of letting the other -go to his fate; then he remembered that, though Bush might be a man -he loathed, Bush was also, and above all things, an officer in the -service of the United States, so he spoke very gravely. "I have been -up there, Bush, and I know what it means. Two companies of Scouts -are utterly useless for the job. You will be able to do practically -nothing, and you'll be lucky if you don't get cut to pieces as soon -as you are well into the jungle. It is sheer lunacy sending you up." - -Bush flushed crimson. "When I want your advice----" he began, then -checked himself. "Thanks for the information," he went on more quietly; -"but Scouts are not Constabulary." - -Unconsciously, perhaps, Basil glanced towards Mrs Bush. She was leaning -forward, with her chin resting on her hand, and he thought he read an -appeal in the look she gave him. He got up at once. "No," he said, -"Scouts are not Constabulary, so you may have different luck from -what I had. I hope so." Bush, ashamed of his outburst, muttered some -thanks, but Mrs Bush, pondering over it afterwards, was not quite -sure whether he had understood the other man's meaning aright, for -had not Basil been up the mountains, and come back, unharmed?... - -Basil Hayle found the stockade at Silang in perfect order. The five -sick men he had left in it when he made the forced march to Igut -were all well again, and back at duty. No one had interfered with -them during the days when they had formed the sole garrison; rather -otherwise, in fact, for a party of Felizardo's men had actually come -down and made a camp a few hundred yards away, thus preventing -any possibility of attack from a wandering band of ladrones, -or from those abominable head-hunters. For the first few hours, -the five had been distinctly alarmed, then some of the outlaws -had come forward and explained matters. After that, everything had -gone very smoothly. Felizardo's men had plenty of fresh meat, the -Constabulary had some especially choice cigarettes; consequently, -it was no difficult matter to do a deal. On the second morning, -three of the soldiers were actually guests in the outlaws' camp, -but a return invitation was declined. The chief had given definite -orders on that point. Then, suddenly, there had come the news of the -killing at Igut--wonderful, splendid news, which had made the five -rejoice greatly one moment, and the next moment gnash their teeth with -envy of their comrades who had been in the fight. The fact that they, -themselves, must inevitably have fallen out long before the column -had reached the head of the pass was entirely forgotten. Half an -hour before the serjeant and the other men had returned, a boudjon -had sounded a mile or so away, and when, a few minutes later, one -of the five had glanced towards the outlaws' camp, not a trace of -Felizardo's men was to be seen. Their special mission was concluded. - -From that time onwards, matters had gone very smoothly. Possibly, -the serjeant's rule had been a little lax, but, none the less, it had -been effective, and, even if the tao of Silang had seen a good deal -of the Constabularios, more perhaps than they wanted, guards had been -mounted regularly, and every man had slept within the stockade. - -The little men were unaffectedly glad to see their officer back, and -Basil, on his part, was by no means sorry to settle down again. So -much had happened since he had left Silang that the prospect of a -rest was not unwelcome, even though it entailed being practically -cut off from the outer world, which, to his mind, now meant from -Mrs Bush. Unfortunately, however, his contentment did not last very -long. Before he had been at Silang a week, he had begun to hunger for -news from the other side of the mountain range, especially for news of -the Scout expedition against Felizardo, which was due to start about -that time. Yet, though he sent messenger after messenger to his brother -officer, Lieutenant Stott, at Catarman, he learned nothing definite. - -"Vigne's Scouts haven't turned up yet at Igut," was all that Stott -could report, whereat Basil had raged, knowing that every day of -delay must make disaster more certain. Then suddenly a messenger had -come in from Catarman, bringing news, not only of the starting of -the expedition, but also of its return.... - -Mrs Bush had watched the Scouts march out dry-eyed. The parting between -her husband and herself had been unmarked even by the formality of -a hand-shake, for she had heard already of another parting which had -taken place in the lower end of the town an hour previously, and he had -divined that she knew. Still, there had been something almost wistful -in the man's eyes, some hint of the lover which had been, and a word, -the right word, would have changed everything. She had thought, -too, that she was giving him a chance to say it when she pleaded: -"Do be careful, John, won't you? Don't do anything rash. Remember -how they cut Captain Hayle's force to pieces." - -The mistake had lain in mentioning Basil, as she realised -immediately. Bush's face had grown dark at once, and he had muttered a -curse on the Constabulary in general, and Basil Hayle in particular; -then with a curt "Good-bye" he had stalked out into the plaza, where -Lieutenant Vigne was awaiting him. Mrs Bush had kept her tears back -until they were out of sight, then she had hurried to her room, -wondering why people were allowed to be so wretched. - -It was a cargadore, one of Bush's carriers, who brought in the first -news. He arrived about noon on the following day, breathless, in rags, -with a slight bolo-cut in his shoulder. He was the sole survivor, -he declared to old Don Juan Ramirez, who cross-examined him. Was he -quite sure of that? They gave him a much-needed glass of spirits and -a cigarette, and then asked him again. Was he still sure there were -none others? No, now he came to think of it there were some left, -a little group, which, with Bush as its rear guard, was retreating -down the hillside, fighting all the way, when he himself managed to -dive into the jungle. There were many wounded too, very many, and -the other officer was dead. He, Pedro, had actually seen his head -cut off with a bolo. On that point he was certain. - -Don Juan had heard enough. He sighed, put on the black silk jacket he -kept for ceremonial occasions, and went to pay one of his rare visits -to Mrs Bush, whom he admired as much as he loathed her husband. She -came down to meet him, white-faced and trembling, having seen the -cargadore arrive. "They are coming back," Don Juan said. - -She drew a deep breath. "Ah! And Captain Bush?" - -Don José prided himself on his knowledge of womankind, but he could -not decide what her tone meant. "Captain Bush is bringing them back. I -hear, though, that there are many wounded. I have told them to clear -out my big warehouse to serve as a hospital. Perhaps you would honour -me by coming to see to the arrangements?" - -She clutched eagerly at the chance of having something to do, and -when, just before sundown, the remnant of the column crawled in, with -half a dozen badly wounded on rough stretchers, and only fifteen -unwounded out of the forty-eight survivors, it found everything -ready. The surgeon, who had come up with Lieutenant Vigne, and had -himself escaped untouched, forgot half his weariness when he glanced -round. "Thank God!" he said. "I was afraid there might be nothing, -not even hot water. Do you think you could help me, Mrs Bush? Can -you stand the sight of it? Very well." Then he stripped off his coat, -rolled up his sleeves, and barely said a word till midnight, when he -straightened himself up, and after that staggered a little. "That is -all, Mrs Bush. Now, could you give me a drink?" - -She brought him the bottle and a glass. He poured out nearly half -a tumblerful of brandy, and drank it off like water. "You can do -that when you've been through Hell, Mrs Bush," he said, noticing her -look. "I think I'll have a sleep now," and he rolled his jacket up -for a pillow, and put it in one of the corners. - -She laid her hand on his sleeve. "But you can't do that, doctor. You -must come to the house. I have a room ready for you." - -He bent down and kissed her hand, being overwrought. "One of those -men will certainly die before dawn, two others are just on the border -line. If I am here, I may save them. The orderlies will call me when -the crises come." - -Mrs Bush went out, returning a couple of minutes later. The doctor -was already asleep, so she took a blanket from a pile behind the -door, and covered him over very gently; then she went back to the -house to look for her husband, whom, so far, she had only seen for -a moment--just long enough to make sure that he was unwounded. But -Captain Bush was not to be found. - -"He went out with the Treasurer and the Supervisor, Senora," a very -sleepy muchacho informed her. - -Like the doctor, Mrs Bush was deadly tired, and yet it was almost -dawn before she went to sleep; this was the final, the most abominable -insult of all. Next morning she took a definite step, writing a long -letter to Captain Basil Hayle, giving him an account of the expedition -as she had heard it from the doctor, in itself a perfectly harmless -letter, and yet one the sending of which amounted to a repudiation -of her husband's right to control her. He had his friends; she would -have hers. - -The story of the fight had been the story of Basil's defeat of two -or three months previously over again; only, this time, no boudjons -had given warning; and the attack had begun with a volley poured in -at twenty yards range by riflemen hidden amongst the undergrowth. The -Scouts, winded by the long climb up the muddy hillside, had been able -to put up no effective resistance against the bolomen, who came in -under cover of the smoke. Those who did escape, leaving some seventy -of their comrades, including Lieutenant Vigne, dead in the jungle, -owed their safety to the fact that they had been able to keep together -in a bunch; but, even then, it had been a running fight all the way -back to the level ground, a fight in which Bush had showed a savage, -dogged courage, being himself the last man the whole time. - -The Philippine Scouts though often, as in this case, loaned to the -Civil Government, form part of the United States Army; consequently, -it was impossible for the Commission to do as it had done in the case -of Basil Hayle's disaster, suppress news of the whole affair. The Army -had the best of reasons for despising and detesting the politicians -at the Palace, so it was not long before all Manila was in possession -of the facts. - -Mr Commissioner Furber waxed exceeding wroth, and proceeded to make -matters much worse for his colleagues and himself by attempting to -blame the Scouts. - -"Felizardo has only some fifty followers in all," he declared to a -representative of the leading mestizo paper, which reproduced his -remarks. "We have that on the best authority. It seems amazing that -the Scouts should have retreated before such a small body, leaving -so many dead behind them. The Governor-General is most perturbed -about the affair, fearing that people at home may imagine that the -culprits are some of our Little Brown Brothers, instead of being a -gang of thieves and murderers." - -During the following months, expedition after expedition was dispatched -against Felizardo, each larger and more costly than the last; yet -each came back with a story of hardship and disaster. If Felizardo -did allow it to get above the jungle on to the open mountain-side, -it was sniped at, every foot of the way, by unseen riflemen, until -its nerve was gone, and it decided to return to the cover of the bush, -where the bolomen speedily got to work on it. No trace of a permanent -camp was ever found, the enemy was never seen, save when he himself -had chosen the time and place. It was inglorious, nerve-shattering, -futile; and when the last expedition, which had consisted of some four -hundred Scouts and Constabulary, returned with twenty men short and -nearly fifty wounded, there was a very general feeling that Felizardo -should be left alone for the future. - -"After all," as the General in command of Manila said to the Governor, -"what harm does the old man do to us? I understand that, from the -first, he has only asked to be left alone. I know he hanged some of -your Brown Brothers--a good thing too. I wish he had hanged every -insurrecto. They all deserved it." - -Whereupon, the Governor, who had never been in the war, and knew -his Brown Brother only as a useful pawn in a certain political game -in the United States, grew angry, and as soon as the plain-spoken -General had gone, sent for Mr Commissioner Furber and one or two -distinguished officials who had held great positions under the -insurrecto Government, and with these he took counsel, and, after -much discussion and deliberation, there was evolved a great scheme, -which seemed certain to succeed. - -"I will go out myself," Mr Furber said, "then I shall know that no -chance of escape is being allowed to the old villain." - -The scheme, like that of the late Juan Vagas, took a little time to -prepare. "We must get some source of information from within," the -Commissioner declared, and, with that end in view, he gave two of his -mestizo assistants a free hand to buy the help of one, or, if possible, -more of Felizardo's men. The first pair of mestizos drew five thousand -pesos for a start, then, probably in a fit of mental aberration, -wandered aboard the Hong Kong steamer, and were seen no more in the -Philippine Islands. The second pair were more successful; in fact, -possibly because they were escorted as far as Igut, the men did their -work extremely well. Mr Furber never enquired into the means employed, -and no explanation was volunteered. Still, as the reports which came -in showed, two of the band had unquestionably turned traitors. The -Commissioner was well pleased; it was a good start. - -Then, from all parts of the Islands, native troops, Scouts and -Constabulary, every man who could be spared from his district, began -to come in to Manila, until there were fully three thousand of them -ready, if not exactly eager, to start on the great rounding up of the -outlaws. Only Basil Hayle and his company seemed to have been left out. - -"There is always trouble where that man goes," the Commissioner said -to the Governor-General. "We had better let him stay at Silang. He -must be pretty weary of the place by now, and he may resign. I hope -so," a view with which the other, who had no fondness for soldiers -and men of action, agreed. - -They made a base camp at Igut, greatly to the astonishment and profit -of the people of the place. Mr Commissioner Furber stayed with the -Presidente, and was not introduced to Mrs Bush, although he had -expressed a desire to meet her. - -"Tell him," Mrs Bush said to a mutual acquaintance who mentioned the -matter to her, "tell him that if he chooses to stay in a native's -house, he can remain with the natives. I have a prejudice in favour -of my own colour," words which, when repeated to Mr Furber, tended -to confirm his prejudice against women from the South. He, in turn, -repeated the words to the Presidente, who thereupon made a remark -about Mrs Bush and Captain Hayle which would have caused most white -men to throw him out of the window, and would inevitably have made -Basil Hayle kill him. But Mr Commissioner Furber, being of the Brown -Brother school, listened to it all, and congratulated himself on -having got a new weapon against the Constabulary officer. - -They distributed a thousand men along the northern side of the range, -and a thousand along the southern side, whilst a thousand more went up -on to the pass which you crossed going to Silang, and started to sweep -the upper heights, whilst the others closed in gradually. They were -going to drive the outlaws into that same patch of jungle where Basil -had met with defeat, at the seaward end of the range, near Katubig. - -Mr Furber himself took up his quarters near the site of the latter -place, whither the Presidente of Igut accompanied him, rather -reluctantly, feeling, perhaps, that he was going rather too near -to Felizardo's country, though he did not like to say so much to -the Commissioner. - -It is one thing to order troops to sweep the heights of a mountain -range, and then yourself to go down to the coast and wait for results; -it is quite another matter for the troops themselves, especially -when none of the men happen to be mountaineers by birth. Still, the -little fellows did their best, despite the constant loss from snipers, -who never save a chance of a shot in reply; and the officers were -satisfied that none of the outlaws had slipped through the line. - -The men on the northern slope met with no resistance, although, -when the roll was called, it was obvious that, somehow or other, the -head-hunters had secured twenty-four fresh trophies from stragglers; -whilst the party on the south side never even fired a shot. - -On the fourth morning, they reported to Mr Furber that they must have -driven the outlaws down on to the seaward slope, and that it was -now only a case of closing in and capturing, or slaying, the whole -band. The message had hardly been delivered when another came in, this -time from one of those two traitors in Felizardo's own camp. The band -had broken up suddenly the previous night. The outlaws, feeling the -game was hopeless, had gone, each his own way, slipping through the -cordon of troops in the darkness, singly, and leaving old Felizardo -alone with the two traitors. The three were now hiding in a small -patch of jungle, almost on the same spot where Basil had his fight, -and, if the troops closed in quickly, they would be certain to get -the old chief. - -Mr Furber's heart rejoiced, whilst a load of anxiety seemed to slip -from the shoulders of the Presidente. - -"Let them close in at once," Mr Furber said. "They must lose no time, -and when they have him, let them bring him down here, to Katubig. I -have had a set of irons brought. As for the two--the two men who -have been aiding us"--traitor is an ugly word--"see that they are -not injured in the excitement." - -The troops moved quickly. They were utterly weary of their task, -believing in their own minds that it must prove futile, but the -unexpected news passed out by the traitors put fresh heart into -them. They were going to capture the great Felizardo, after all; -and each man would be able to declare to the girls in his village -that it was he who had done the deed. They surrounded that stretch -of jungle on every side, and they drew in the cordon until the men -were almost touching one another, hand to hand; and yet there was -never a sign of life from inside the ring. - -A queer nervousness ran through them all, white officers and natives -alike. Was he still there, the terrible little old man? Was he really -going to be captured at last, after nearly thirty-six years? What was -he doing now? What would he do? What---- And then Felizardo himself -answered all the questions. - -A grey horse seemed to spring from nowhere, and the look on the face -of his rider was like nothing else any of them had ever seen. It was -before that look that they cowered, rather than before the revolver in -the outstretched hand. The horse went through the line as if no one -were there, though one of its hoofs cracked the skull of a serjeant -of Constabulary, who was standing, open-mouthed, in its course. - -From first to last, it was a matter of seconds, twenty yards of open -jungle at the outside, and both the grey and its rider were out of -sight before the belated volley rattled harmlessly after them. They -passed the word round the cordon, and the white officers sat down and -mopped their foreheads, and wondered what Commissioner Furber would -say. Then a thought struck one of them. "Where are those two spies -of Furber's? I wonder whether----" He did not finish the sentence, -but took half a company and went to investigate for himself. After -a while, he found them both, hanging from the branch of a tree, with -the torn fragments of the banknotes which had been the price of their -treason scattered over the ground beneath them. - -The officer exchanged glances with his serjeant. "He has done it, -single-handed," he said in an awestruck voice. - -The serjeant drew a deep breath. "It is ill work to betray Felizardo, -Senor." - -Mr Commissioner Furber and the Presidente of Igut were sitting in -the cool, nipa-thatched shack which served them as headquarters, -waiting for news of the capture of Felizardo, when one of the -half-dozen members of the Igut police, who were serving as escort, -suddenly tumbled up the little ladder into the shack, and tried to -hide himself in a corner. "There are bolomen," he gasped. "They have -taken the others prisoners." - -The Presidente of Igut sat rigid, apparently glued to his chair, -staring through the doorway at a little man on a grey horse, who -had just ridden into the clearing, followed by a score of bolomen; -but Commissioner Furber stood up to face the danger, like a white -man should. It was, in a sense, the supreme moment of his life, and -the good blood which was in him proved stronger than the effects of -the evil training he had been given. - -He had left his revolver hanging on one of the posts of the little -veranda, which was fortunate for him; otherwise, he would have started -to shoot, and they would have had to kill him. - -Felizardo brought his horse right up to the foot of the little ladder, -and then he spoke. "You are the Senor Furber? Good! I am Felizardo. I -was told you wished to see me, so I have come. What is it you would -say, Senor?" - -For the first time for many years, Commissioner Furber was at a loss -for words. "I ... you"--he stammered a little--"you are at war with -the Government, and it is my duty to have you captured." - -The old man smiled. "But no, Senor. The Americanos make war on me, -which is very different. I am the Chief of these mountains. All I -wish is to be left alone, as I have said many times." - -Greatly to his own surprise, Mr Furber felt a keen desire to argue -the point with this outlaw and Enemy of the Sovereign People. "It is -impossible," he said. "The whole island must be under our law." - -"There is only one law here," the other retorted, "the Law of the -Bolo. Will you carry that word back to Manila?" Furber flushed -slightly; so his life was to be spared. "You are in my power. Your -troops cannot be here for at least an hour, time enough in which to -kill many men; but I will let you go, because, after all, I want -peace. Will you take my message to your people?" And Mr Furber -promised. - -Felizardo beckoned to a couple of his men, then turned to the -Commissioner again. "There is justice to be done, though, on the -Presidente of Igut. He was in league with the band of Juan Vagas. Read -that, Senor," and he handed a letter to the white man, who, after -having read it, looked very sternly at the trembling magistrate of -Igut. Somehow, Mr Furber's views had changed greatly during the last -few minutes. He turned to Felizardo again. "I will deal with him, -Senor, on my honour," he said, and for a moment there was a spark of -hope in the Presidente's heart. - -But Felizardo said: "He is my prisoner, Senor Furber. Besides, it will -save time and trouble." Then he nodded to his two men, who dragged -the Presidente out of the shack. The shivering wretch caught hold -of Furber's leg as he was hauled past, but the Commissioner shook -himself free, and went inside, so that he should not see what they -were going to do. - -It was, as Felizardo had predicted, an hour later when the first of -the troops came back. Whilst the men were cutting down the body of -the Presidente, the officer in command hurried to the shack, where -he found the Commissioner sitting at the table with his head buried -in his hands. He looked wearily up as the other came in. - -"We have lost him, after all, sir," the officer reported. - -He had expected an outburst of wrath, but instead of that the -Commissioner said, very quietly: "I know. Felizardo himself has been -here to tell me." - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -HOW MR COMMISSIONER GUMPERTZ OFFERED A REWARD - - -In his stockade at Silang, Basil Hayle waited anxiously for news of -the result of the great expedition against Felizardo. As an officer -of the Philippines Constabulary, he felt he ought to hope that the -band of outlaws would be broken up, and their chief either captured -or killed. As a man, he could not disguise from himself the fact that -he would be extremely sorry were any ill-luck to befall the old chief, -who had proved his friend on so many occasions. The idea of Felizardo -being taken and hanged, as Juan Vagas had deservedly been hanged, -was absolutely repulsive to him; though on that point he had not much -fear, feeling certain that they would never take the outlaw alive. - -Basil knew perfectly well that he had been excluded from all -participation in the movement purposely, with a view to hurting his -pride, by forcing him to remain in a state of inglorious inaction, -a few miles from the scene of hostilities, whilst Constabulary from -other parts of the Archipelago were brought in to do the work. But he -took the slight philosophically, feeling that, as a matter of fact, -he would much sooner not have anything to do with the hunting down of -Felizardo, a view in which his men concurred heartily. He knew Bush -and his company were going--Mrs Bush had told him so, in the latest -of those letters which were now the great interest of his life--but -the news did not move him, knowing, as he did, that the chances of -any fighting were extremely small. - -It was two days after the meeting between Felizardo and Commissioner -Furber that Basil heard the result of the expedition. Even then, -all he got was a brief note from Lieutenant Stott at Catarman:-- - - - "Felizardo escaped after all, simply laughed at them, and rode down - to Furber's camp, where he gave the Commissioner the fright of his - life, and hanged your old friend, the Presidente of Igut. That is - all I know yet. Will let you have details when they come in. They - are sending all the troops back to Manila." - - -Basil laid the note down with a sigh of relief. He knew now which -way his sympathies really lay. After all, life at Silang would have -seemed very drab and dreary had the fierce, chivalrous little man up -on the mountain-side been killed, or, worse still, captured. - -It was from Mrs Bush that he received the first detailed account -of the great drive, and he smiled grimly to himself as he read of -the dramatic ending of it all, the sudden dash on horseback through -the cordon of troops, the equally sudden appearance at Commissioner -Furber's camp, the execution of the Presidente of Igut. - - - "My husband and his men saw nothing and did nothing, save force - their way through jungle and scramble over rocks. They all came - back very tired and cross. In fact, every one is tired and cross, - and in favour of leaving Felizardo alone for the future. Still, - the man who must decide, the Commissioner, says nothing. Somehow, - he seems to have changed, and every one is wondering what he said - to Felizardo, or what Felizardo said to him; but the only witness, - that hateful Presidente, cannot tell us now." - - -Basil read the letter several times; then sat down and cursed things -in general, and Silang in particular, which was extremely illogical. If -he had cursed anything, he should have cursed his own folly in falling -in love with a married woman, who was far too proud ever to be more -than a friend to him; but, as I said before, when men, and women -too, live under the shadow of a place like Felizardo's mountain, -and have the Law of the Bolo as the background of their lives, -they are apt to become illogical, or even rash, and to do things -which are never supposed to be done in civilised countries. Basil's -conduct was the more foolish, and therefore the more indefensible, -because he was convinced that, even if Bush were to be eliminated -by means of the bolo, he himself would be no better off--worse even, -for Mrs Bush would then go back to the States, and he would see her no -more. All these things he would have seen and reasoned out, had he been -amongst ordinary surroundings; or, at least, he ought to have done so, -just as Mrs Bush would have seen the danger, and impropriety even, of -writing to a man her husband loathed; but the fact remains that they -did these unwise things, and were very miserable in consequence. They -could not settle their love affairs as Felizardo had settled his, -many years before, with a slash of the bolo.... - -When Commissioner Furber got back to Manila he set his face hard, -expecting to meet with veiled jeers and gibes; but, though men -did rejoice over his failure, they did not do so in his presence, -possibly because they saw that, for the time at least, he was a -broken man. Even his colleagues showed considerable forbearance, -saving only Commissioner Gumpertz, who, having discovered that the -operations against Felizardo had already cost three million dollars, -which might have gone to more deserving objects, such as himself, -was mightily annoyed, and went to Mr Furber's office to tell him so. - -However, he did not say it all; in fact, he had hardly got into his -main argument before he found it wiser to stop altogether, though, -instead of taking his colleague's advice and finishing it outside -the door, he hurried back to his own office and vented his spleen on -his clerks. None the less, he scored off Commissioner Furber at the -meeting of the Commission on the following day. - -The Governor-General himself brought up the question of -Felizardo. "What do you propose as your next move, Commissioner?" he -said to Furber. - -The latter did not hesitate. "I have no further move in contemplation," -he replied. - -Mr Gumpertz leaned forward. "May I ask why?" he enquired with dangerous -politeness. - -The Commissioner for Constabulary and Trade addressed his answer -to the Governor, ignoring the other. "I see no use in further -expeditions. They will do no good. We have done our best; but we have -been mistaken all along. Felizardo would have done us no harm had we -left him alone. He is an old man now, as I have seen for myself. He -wishes for peace, and I should grant it to him." He spoke slowly, -coldly, decisively, as a man whose mind was made up. - -The other Commissioners exchanged glances, and the Governor spoke -in an unusually severe tone. "It was your department, Commissioner, -which started these expeditions." - -Furber nodded. "Yes, my department. I myself take full responsibility -for them, though I have been misled all through by some of our native -officials here in Manila. It is to them that I shall give my attention -now. I learnt a good many things whilst I was out this time. We have -carried our philanthropy too far." - -Again the Commissioners exchanged glances. Could this be the same man -who had been the one really sincere and pro-native amongst them, at -whom they had always laughed amongst themselves, because he thought -of his principles and not his pocket? But the Governor-General was -growing angry. He, at least, had to stand or fall by the Little Brown -Brother theory of Radical Equality. - -"Supposing, Commissioner," he said, with a veiled insult in his voice, -"supposing the Commission decides not to make peace with this old -scoundrel, but to continue operations. It will still be the work of -your department to carry those out." - -The Commissioner laid his winning card on the table. "My department -will carry out no more expeditions of the kind whilst I remain head of -it. I should resign first." He spoke very quietly, knowing well that -they dare not force his resignation, and so allow him to return to the -United States, and tell many things to the President, whose personal -friend he was, or, more terrible still, tell them to the Press. - -But though he could refuse to send out further expeditions--and he -knew well that the Army authorities would refuse too--he could not -open peace negotiations without the consent of the Commission, and -that question was adjourned indefinitely. - -Commissioner Gumpertz tried one parting shot. "What about the three -million dollars your 'mistake' has cost?" he demanded. - -His colleague's composure remained unruffled. "They are spent," -he answered. - -The Governor-General corrected him mildly. "Wasted, you mean, perhaps?" - -Furber smiled. "I thank you, Governor. They have been wasted, -I should have said; and also many good lives. But"--and for once -he looked them all squarely in the face, with flashing eyes--"I am -not the only man here who has made mistakes, and wasted money and -lives. And"--his glance travelled from the Governor to Commissioner -Gumpertz, and from Commissioner Gumpertz to Commissioner Johnson, -and on to Commissioner George--"I have never been accused of graft;" -then, regardless of etiquette, he got up abruptly and left the room. - -"I am afraid his nerves have been a little tried by his recent -experiences." The Governor-General sighed. "He must see a doctor. And -now has any one a proposition to make regarding this Felizardo?" - -Commissioner Gumpertz had been building great hopes on the capture of -Felizardo, arguing that, once the band of outlaws was destroyed, the -destruction of the head-hunters, who had so nearly secured a trophy at -the expense of Mr Joseph Gobbitt, would become a simple matter. Then, -those hemp lands on the northern side of Felizardo's mountains would -acquire a commercial value, which meant that he himself would rake -in a very considerable sum over the selling of them. Consequently, -he was very greatly opposed to the principle of leaving Felizardo -alone. "There is a way," he said, in answer to the Governor-General's -question. "We should offer a large reward for the old brigand's head, -say five thousand dollars, gold. We know that Commissioner Furber's -department managed to bribe two of the band to give information; and -a big reward like this should soon bring in the scoundrel's head. It -is far cheaper than expeditions." - -They discussed the matter, not at very great length, and the result -of their discussions was seen the following morning, when bills were -posted in Manila itself offering five thousand dollars, United States -currency, for the head of Felizardo, the outlaw of the mountains; and -other copies of that proclamation were sent to Igut, and Catarman, and -Silang, though at the latter place they went straight on to the fire. - -The Army, seeing the bills, shook its head. "It's properly low down," -it said--"a pitiful confession of weakness. As if there wasn't enough -treachery already, without making it into a profitable trade!" - -Commissioner Furber, interviewed by the Press on the subject, -declined to make any statement. "I have nothing to say," he answered -to the enquiries. "The proclamation does not emanate from my -department.... No, I have no opinion to offer." - -The change in the Commissioner's views had, perhaps, been too sudden -to last long. The shock of the meeting with Felizardo, the contact -with a personality infinitely stronger than his own, the striking -contrast between the old outlaw and the servile, lying mestizos of -Manila, could not fail to leave some permanent result behind, some -readjustment of his ideas on the native question; whilst the discovery -of how he had been deceived and misled as to Felizardo's character -and the strength of his band, with the consequent waste of money -and lives, was always a very bitter memory to him, as the mestizos -found to their cost. On the other hand, the public saw little outward -signs of change; he was too deeply, and it must be said, sincerely, -committed to the Party and its policy, to make any open renunciations, -and it was only in the higher official circles, and in the councils -of the insurrecto leaders, that they realised how great an effect the -interview with Felizardo had produced on Commissioner Furber. Basil -Hayle, however, perceived it on the occasion of his next interview -with his official chief, and wrote of it to Mrs Bush, who replied:-- - - - "I knew when he came back from Katubig that time, after he had - met the old chief, that he was a different man." - - -Weeks passed without any news of Felizardo; and the Commission was -beginning to fear that its offer for his head had been made in vain, -when, in some mysterious way, rumours began to float round concerning -the breaking-up of the band. The old man had grown so suspicious, -it was said, that the others would stand him no longer, and now he -was practically alone. The hopes of his enemies rose high at the news, -which was confirmed a few days later by the announcement that overtures -for pardon had actually been made by the mutineers. - -"It is the beginning of the end," Commissioner Gumpertz said to his -secretary, William P. Hart. "When Felizardo is finished with, we can -get the head-hunters cleared out, and then sell that hemp land. It'll -be easy as falling off a log then." - -It was a week after these words were spoken that two natives, ordinary -tao by their appearance, came in with a large native basket, made -their way to the Police headquarters, and asked for the captain. - -"Well, what is it?" the latter demanded. - -The elder of the strangers pointed to the basket. "We have brought -the head, Senor, the head of Felizardo." - -"Holy Moses!" The captain jumped out of his chair. "What do you bring -the beastly thing in here for? Never mind, though. Wait a minute," -and he went to the telephone-box, where he rang up Commissioner Furber. - -The answer came back in a curt tone. "The matter is nothing to do -with this department. I will not interfere, nor must you. Send them -with a guide over to Commissioner Gumpertz' office. I believe he has -the affair in hand." - -The police captain whistled. "Phew! He's in a sweet temper. Glad I -didn't go and see him myself;" then he called a native constable, -and put the two tao and their ghastly burden in his charge. - -Mr Gumpertz was pleased--in fact he was more than pleased, delighted; -but, none the less, he did not care to inspect the trophy. Instead, -he sent for his secretary. - -"Who can identify this thing, Hart?" he asked. - -Mr Hart scratched his head. "Well, there's Furber, of course, but I -guess he wouldn't. He's mighty sore about it all. See here, I'll get -De Vega to have a look round. There must be some one in the town who -knew him by sight." - -It was curious how many people there were who had actually seen, -and even spoken to, Felizardo; some had been prisoners in his camp, -others had done business with him during the Spanish times. Senor de -Vega picked six out of twenty or so, all men he knew personally, for -whose honour he could vouch, and brought them back to the Palace. Then -they took the basket into a small room, and set the head on a table, -and all of those six reliable witnesses declared on their oath that -it was the head of Felizardo. So there was great rejoicing, and the -Press published obituary notices, and the two tao received much praise, -and five thousand dollars in United States currency. Yet, curiously -enough, those two tao did not go back to the unnamed village whence -they had come; but instead made their way to a house in the suburbs, -where, that same evening, they were joined by Senor de Vega and -all the six witnesses, and the five thousand dollars were forthwith -divided into nine parts. Then each man went on his way rejoicing, -his pockets bulging with notes. - -Up in the Palace, however, Commissioner Furber was almost unsafe to -approach, though both the Governor-General and Commissioner Gumpertz -were more than usually genial. A week later the position of affairs -was somewhat different, for Basil Hayle had sent in a certain dispatch -through Lieutenant Stott at Catarman. It ran:-- - - - "The report of Felizardo's death as having occurred some ten - days ago is untrue. I have the best of reasons for knowing, as, - only this morning, I received a communication from him, warning - me that certain mestizos and natives of Manila had secured the - head of a cousin of his own, who had recently died at Calocan, - and that they were bringing this in with the idea of claiming the - reward for his, Felizardo's, head. I am sending this by special - runner to Catarman, and trust it will reach you in time." - - -When the secretary came in a few minutes later in answer to his chief's -bell, he found the Commissioner actually smiling. "Make copies of this -letter, Jones," he said--he had finished with mestizo secretaries--"and -send one to each member of the Commission." - -At the next meeting of the Commission, the Governor-General brought -up the subject. "It was rather an unfortunate proposal of yours, -Commissioner Gumpertz. It is a pity that when you made it, you did -not think of a contingency like this. We left it to you, as you will -remember. Most unfortunate, throwing good money after bad; and, though -we know, or think we know, the culprits, we should all look foolish if -we were to prosecute. It is obvious we can accomplish nothing in this -way; and though I do not think we should go as far as Commissioner -Furber suggests, and make peace with Felizardo, I think that, for -the time being at least, it would be wiser to suspend all operations, -and only attack him if he leaves the mountains." - -And so, for a space, Felizardo was left alone. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER X - -HOW FELIZARDO WENT BACK TO SAN POLYCARPIO - - -One of the results of the new policy towards Felizardo was a decision -to abandon the post at Silang, which, never of any great value, -had now become quite useless. - - - "You will take over the command at Calocan," Commissioner Furber - wrote to Captain Hayle. "The officer who is there now is going - to the Island of Leyte, and you will replace him. There are good - quarters in what used to be the barracks of the Guardia Civil. You - had better march overland, as we cannot spare a coastguard steamer - at the moment." - - -Basil received the news joyfully. He was utterly weary of doing -nothing, and seeing nobody, at Silang; moreover, at Calocan he would -at least be in touch with Igut, where Mrs Bush was; whilst, most -important of all, the route overland to Calocan lay through Igut. His -men also were pleased. There were stores and spirit shops at Calocan, -institutions conspicuous by their absence at Silang, whilst some of -the company, at least, had already made an impression on the local -inhabitants of the new station, when they had acted as guard during -the hanging of Juan Vagas and his fellow-insurrectos, loading with -ball cartridge to keep the swaying crowd in order. They would be -able to swagger through the streets, and attract the attention of all -the prettiest girls, especially if, as seemed likely, their captain -succeeded in getting new uniforms issued to them. - -"We had better burn the stockade, Senor," the old serjeant said, when -he was told of the forthcoming move. "If we leave it, who knows but -that some ladrone band may use it as headquarters, and then it will -be no easy task to retake it." So they collected brushwood and grass -and piled it high against the walls, and when the last man had left, -Basil himself set fire to it, greatly to the disgust of some of the -young men of Silang village, who had already decided to make the -place into a robbers' castle. - -Up on Felizardo's mountains they saw the smoke, and reported the -fact to the old chief, who nodded and said: "I am glad. Silang was no -place for a brave man like that. Down at Calocan, which I know well, -he may find work to do. There are insurrectos in the town itself, and -ladrones in the bush, the two working hand in hand. Possibly, he may -build up the gallows again, for the third time. Who knows? There are -many in Calocan who need hanging, even as it used to be thirty-six -years ago, when I worked in the warehouse of Don José Ramirez. The -old corporal of the Guardia Civil kept order well in those days, -and I think this young captain of the Constabulario will keep order -too. They need a strong man. There should always be a gallows at -Calocan, as I, Felizardo, have reason to know." - -Basil halted for the night at Igut, staying with Don Juan Ramirez, -but he did not have a meal in Mrs Bush's house, nor did she ask him -to stay for one, Captain Bush himself being away at San Francisco, -higher up the valley. Still, they had a long talk, sitting out on -the balcony, where all men might see them. - -"I am glad you wrote," he said suddenly. "I wanted to do so myself -often, but, somehow, I was afraid to begin. What made you do it?" - -She looked away towards Felizardo's mountains. "I had news for you," -she said in a low voice, "the news of what had happened up on the -mountain-side, where my husband and Lieutenant Vigne went after -the outlaws." - -For a while neither of them spoke. Then "They are the only letters -I get," he said abruptly. "There is no one else, there never was any -one else, and there never will be." - -Mrs Bush did not look round. It was the first time he had given any -hint of his feelings, at least in words, and she dare not let him see -her face, distrusting herself. When at last she did speak it was of her -husband. "I am sorry John is away," she said; "you might have liked -to hear his account of the great and inglorious expedition against -Felizardo.... And so you are going to Calocan. It will not be so dull -there as at Silang. You will be much nearer Manila. Calocan--was not -that where they executed those insurrectos who tried to burn this -town? Yes, I thought so. You were going to tell me one day why you -were so bitter against that man Vagas." - -Basil muttered something inaudible, and got up suddenly, whereupon -Mrs Bush, feeling she had already punished him sufficiently for -his outburst, for which she was partially responsible, made him -sit down again, and from that point onwards they avoided dangerous -subjects. Only, when he got back to Don Juan's, the old Spaniard's -quick eyes saw that there was something wrong, and knowing -much concerning Captain Bush, was sorry for Mrs Bush and Basil -Hayle. Still, as he said to himself, it was a good thing that the -Constabulary officer was not quartered in Igut itself, for any man -with eyes in his head could see that, perhaps unknown to himself, -Basil Hayle had become a convert to the code of the Bolo, and that, -sooner or later, he would kill Captain Bush. His very quietness was -in itself a dangerous sign; or at least old Don Juan, who knew most -things connected with such matters, looked on it in that light. - -Basil saw Mrs Bush once more, early on the following morning. He had -drawn his men up in the plaza, and was about to start, when he caught -sight of her in the doorway of her house. He told the old serjeant -to march the company off down the Calocan road, then himself went -across the square to say farewell. - -"Is it au revoir again?" he asked. - -Mrs Bush nodded. "Of course. It is always au revoir--with you." - -"Will you send to me if anything happens? I can get over in a few -hours by boat," he said suddenly. - -Mrs Bush tried to smile. "What should happen? And yet," her eyes -grew suspiciously soft, "you came once before, when I had not sent, -on the morning of the great fight in the plaza here, and saved us all." - -Basil flushed. "So you will send?" he persisted. - -She held out her hand. "Yes, I will send--if necessary." - -Then he hurried after his men, and in due course marched them into -Calocan, where he took possession of the old barracks of the Guardia -Civil, in which the Spanish corporal had lived for many years. The -people of Calocan had hewn down and burned the new gallows, which -he had caused to be erected a few months before; and when he made -his first tour of inspection round the town, the men shambled -away, cursing under their breath, whilst some of the women shouted -"Hangman." But Basil did not trouble, remembering who it was he had -hanged--Juan Vagas, whose share of the plunder of Igut was to have -been Mrs Bush. His men, on the other hand, did not take matters so -quietly, and there were many bruised heads and sore backs in Calocan -before an understanding was reached. - -Before Basil had been at Calocan a week, the old Spanish priest died, -and there came to replace him a young American, Father Doyle. As the -latter was the only other white man in the place--unless one included, -as no sane man would do, Messrs Lippmann & Klosky, who now occupied old -Don José's premises, opposite the site of the gallows--there presently -sprang up a great friendship between the Constabulary officer and the -padre, and, although they were of different creeds, the priest soon -learnt of the great secret, or rather the great sorrow, in the other's -life, and, being broad-minded, sympathised with him deeply, which, -possibly, like Basil's infatuation itself, was most wrong and improper. - -Father Doyle had been in Calocan a couple of months when the chance of -his lifetime came. Probably most men, nine out of ten perhaps, have one -great chance, sooner or later; and yet it is doubtful whether one in -ten realises when that chance has come, and whether one in a hundred -profits by it to the full. Some are so amazed that they rush off to -discuss it with their friends, or stay at home and ponder over it, -until the psychological moment has passed; others are too dull, or too -heart-broken, to understand that it has come at all, having often got -beyond the stage when hope is a living thing; whilst yet others are -suddenly filled with a blind self-confidence which ruins everything. - -Father Doyle's chance came in the form of a message from Felizardo, -brought to Calocan by no less a person than old Don Juan Ramirez, -the nephew of that Don José Ramirez whose junior clerk Felizardo had -once been. Dolores Lasara was dying, and Felizardo wanted a priest--a -white priest, not a mestizo like the padre at Igut, or like Father -Pablo, whom Felizardo himself had slain in the house of the Teniente -of San Polycarpio. - -Don Juan found Father Doyle in the old barracks, dining with Basil -Hayle, and delivered his message at once, adding: "I have a launch -waiting to take you as far as Katubig. A Scotchman, John Mackay, -a hemp-planter, will be waiting there to go up with us." - -Father Doyle, who had risen from his seat, looked from Don Juan to -Basil Hayle, a question in his eyes. "But this Felizardo----" he began. - -"The old chief's word can be trusted. He will not harm you," Basil -said, and then was sorry he had spoken, for that was not the question -at all. - -"I was not thinking of that. It never occurred to me," the priest -answered simply. "I was thinking that this man had killed a priest, -and was outside the Church." - -Don Juan, understanding the momentary confusion in the other's mind, -laid a hand on his arm. "Dolores Lasara never killed a priest, Father," -he said, "and it is Dolores who is dying." - -Ten minutes later the launch was on its way to Katubig. Basil went -down to the beach to see them off. He was longing to ask Don Juan -about Mrs Bush; but, somehow, he could not get the words out, and the -old Spaniard, being fully occupied with the matter in hand, forgot to -mention the Scout officer's wife; although he had intended to tell -the Constabulary officer how, on hearing that Dolores Lasara was -at the point of death, Mrs Bush had volunteered herself to go up to -the mountains and nurse her, knowing, as she did, of the great love -there had been between Felizardo and the daughter of the Teniente -of San Polycarpio. But if Don Juan did not tell Basil Hayle then, -he told Felizardo himself later, and the old chief did not forget, -as he proved afterwards. - -At Katubig, which was now being rebuilt, they found John Mackay, -who had been Mr Joseph Gobbitt's companion in the adventure of the -head-hunters. Also, they found half a dozen of Felizardo's men and -three horses. - -"It is not far," the leader of the outlaws said. "If the Reverend -Father and the other Senors do not mind travelling in the dark, we -shall be there in two hours. The road is easy enough for horses--when -one knows it." - -So they rode into the darkness, up the mountain-side by an easy -trail, the existence of which no man would have suspected, and at -last they came to Felizardo's own dwelling, a large cave with an -entrance screened by great boulders. Inside, a number of rooms were -partitioned off, and in the largest of these Dolores Lasara lay dying. - -Felizardo himself met them outside, looking as an old man does look -when the greatest sorrow of his life is coming upon him; but his -eyes brightened when he saw the priest. "I thank you, my friends," -he said to Don Juan and John Mackay. Then he saluted the priest. "You -are an American, Father?" he asked. - -Father Doyle nodded. "I am an American, yes; but first I am a priest -of the Holy Church." - -"I am glad"--the old man spoke almost dreamily--"I am glad, because -the Americans are a strong people, who will rule these Islands well -in the end, when they have learnt----" Then suddenly he pulled himself -together. "I have sent for you to marry me, Father," he said. - -Don Juan and John Mackay exchanged looks of utter surprise; but the -priest kept his composure. - -"How can I?" he said. "You are at war with the Holy Church. How can -I give you absolution after you have killed a priest?" His voice was -very low, and full of pity and a bitter sorrow. - -Felizardo's tone also was low when he answered: "I will confess, -Father, and when you have heard all you will give me absolution. I -swore, when I slew Father Pablo, that I would never have aught to -do with priests again; but now it is for the sake of Dolores, and -that alters everything." For the first time since he had taken to the -hills, Felizardo's voice broke a little; then, after a pause, he went -on proudly, almost defiantly: "But first I will ask some questions -of these Senors, who, as you know, would not lie, even though I, -Felizardo the outlaw, might do so." - -Father Doyle sat down on one of the boulders, and rested his chin -on his hand. He, at least, was amongst those who know when a great -chance has come, and he listened with almost breathless anxiety for -the questions and the answers. He was a judge of men, as a priest -should be, and he realised that, as Felizardo had said, neither the -Scotchman nor the Spaniard would lie. Curiously enough, the fact -that they were in the outlaw's own camp, with probably hundreds of -bolomen within call, struck none of them. They never gave a thought -to the idea of treachery on the part of Felizardo. - -"What happened in Calocan, Senor, the night I left there? You were -young then, very young, but perhaps you remember." Felizardo looked -at Don Juan as he spoke, and the old Spaniard in turn looked towards -the priest when he replied. - -"You fought the ladrones, Cinicio Dagujob's band, fought them -single-handed, and saved the life and the money of my uncle, Don -José Ramirez." - -"And when I slew Father Pablo, the priest of San Polycarpio, whom did I -slay also?" There was a note of fierceness in the old man's voice now. - -The answer came at once, spoken slowly and deliberately, so that each -word should tell. "You slew a man who, besides being a priest, was -also one of the leaders of the band of Cinicio Dagujob, the ladrone, -who sought to put shame on Dolores Lasara." - -"And since I have been on the hills have I ever harmed the tao? Even -in the first years did I not only levy tribute on those who were -oppressing the people?" - -Don Juan nodded. "That is so;" and John Mackay nodded too. - -Father Doyle rose. "It is enough," he said; and he went into the cave -with Felizardo, and, having heard his confession, gave him absolution, -being a man who, having no other interest in life save the service -of his Master, was not afraid of what other men might say concerning -him. So, at last, after thirty-six years, Dolores Lasara was married -to Felizardo by Father Doyle, the American priest, in the presence of -old Don Juan Ramirez the Spaniard, and John Mackay the Scotchman. Then -the two latter went outside, and sat by a fire in the open, and waited -for dawn, when Father Doyle came out and told them that the gentle, -faithful soul of the wife of Felizardo had gone to its own place. - -Presently Felizardo came out also, looking a very old man for -his years, and saw to their wants with a grave courtesy, making no -mention of his loss until he had arranged everything for them; then, -"I shall bury my wife at San Polycarpio, where she was born," he said -very quietly. - -Don Juan gave an exclamation of surprise, foreseeing the difficulties, -but Father Doyle nodded sympathetically, whilst John Mackay rose -from his seat at once. "Then I had better see Basil Hayle," he -said. "Calocan is but a mile or two by water from San Polycarpio." - -"And how about the Scouts at Igut?" Don Juan's voice was full -of anxiety. "If they heard and made an attack, what would happen -then? Why not tell Captain Bush also?" - -Felizardo shook his head. "They will not hear. We shall pass Igut in -the night; and even if they did attack--well, there will be bolomen, -though I want peace above all things, if only for this journey. You -say, 'Tell Captain Bush,' Senor. No, he is not like the Captain of -the Constabulary. He could not understand, treating his own wife as -he does. I know, Senor, even about that." - -So no word went down to Igut concerning the death of Dolores and -Felizardo's intention of burying her in her own birthplace, San -Polycarpio; but John Mackay hastened to Calocan, and saw Basil Hayle, -to whom he told the whole matter. - -Basil stroked his moustache thoughtfully. "I shall be there myself," -he said at last, "and I will take those of my men who escaped from the -fight on the hillside, when Felizardo cut my company to pieces. They -will go, not as guard to me, but as a guard of honour to the body of -Felizardo's wife." - -John Mackay looked at him curiously. Somehow, he had never suspected -Captain Hayle of being sentimental, but at that time he had heard -nothing concerning the friendship between Mrs Bush and his host; -otherwise, he would have known that any man who honoured his own wife -was Basil Hayle's friend, just as Captain Bush was his enemy. - -It was late in the afternoon when they started down the mountain-side -with the body of Dolores, and it was already dark when they skirted -round Igut town. There were nearly a hundred bolomen in the procession -when it left the mountains, and ten more joined it from Katubig, -and twenty from Igut itself, greatly to the surprise of old Don Juan, -who recognised two of his own warehousemen amongst them. The Spaniard -was going through to San Polycarpio, because Felizardo was an old -acquaintance, almost an old friend, because Felizardo and Dolores -Lasara had, somehow, always been in the background of his life, -and because now he felt that a definite factor had gone out of his -life. He sighed heavily as he thought of it. Like Felizardo, he was -growing old. It was time he went back to Spain. He had one advantage -over the outlaw, he told himself, in that he had no wife whose death -would make the rest of his existence a mere waiting for death, in the -hope of reunion. Then suddenly it struck him that, after all, Felizardo -was more fortunate, for he had a child, whilst Don Juan Ramirez of Igut -was the last of the family. All those things the Spaniard thought of, -as he rode by Father Doyle's side through the long night. - -Father Doyle went with the procession because it was his duty. It -was therefore a matter of total indifference to him whether or no -the Government learnt of his action and showed its annoyance. He was -not responsible to the Philippine Commission for what he did in his -capacity as priest. He owed allegiance to a very different Power. As -for his actions of the previous night, his mind was at rest on that -point. He had acted according to his own conscience, and he told -himself with a sigh that if he could have given absolution to the -Commissioners themselves with as little hesitation as he had given -it to Felizardo the outlaw, it would have been a good augury for the -future of the Islands. - -It was three o'clock in the morning when they reached San -Polycarpio. Felizardo drew a deep breath, possibly to choke back a -sob, as he looked round in the moonlight. He had not been there for -thirty-six years, not since he had fled to the bush, carrying Dolores -Lasara in his arms, after having slain Father Pablo, the parish -priest and ladrone. It still looked the same. It had been just such -another moonlight night on that occasion. There seemed to be no new -buildings; no more bush had been cleared. The village was sleeping -as it had slept that night, whilst he was doing the deed which was -to make him an outlaw. Nothing had changed in San Polycarpio--only -he was an old man, and Dolores his wife was dead. That was all. - -They had brought spades and pickaxes to dig a grave, but when they -arrived at the burial-ground, lo, there was one ready, on a rise, -under a big tree, with its foot towards Felizardo's own mountains, -behind which the sun would rise. - -A tall man and a short, stout priest were standing near the grave, -whilst in the background were some fifteen native soldiers, who -saluted as the body went by. - -Felizardo dismounted and came forward. The priest began to tremble, -having heard of what had happened to a certain predecessor of his when -Felizardo was last in San Polycarpio; but Basil Hayle held out his -hand, and he and the outlaw actually met at last, yet, even now, there -was no word spoken, though they walked side by side to the church. - -Then Basil fell behind and whispered to Father Doyle: "I made the -parish priest come out--he was half-dead with fear--because I was -not sure if you would be here." - -Father Doyle nodded. "It was his duty in any case. This is his parish, -not mine." - -So they buried Dolores, the wife of Felizardo, in the graveyard of San -Polycarpio, with her face towards the mountains where her womanhood had -been passed. Dawn was just breaking when they had finished, and then -they all drew back, and left the old chief kneeling beside the grave, -where he remained until the first ray of sunlight came from behind the -mountains and struck the newly-turned earth, when he got up and came -towards them, and they saw that there was a look of peace on his face. - -Then he shook hands with Father Doyle and with Don Juan and with -Basil Hayle, and disappeared with his men into the bush, taking a -circuitous route back to the mountains, which was fortunate, for -Captain Bush, having heard a rumour of his going to San Polycarpio, -and being still sore over his own defeat, had arranged an ambush for -him, of which Felizardo heard in due course, and did not forget. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -HOW THE BOLO OF FELIZARDO CUT A KNOT - - -Many things which happen in the jungle can be kept secret; but a -matter like the burying of Dolores in the graveyard of San Polycarpio -must become known. They heard of it in Manila the following day, -from native sources, and the Press made out of it a great story, -which was also perfectly inaccurate, as is usually the case when the -information comes through mestizos, people to whom truth is a thing -either hateful or unknown. - -Felizardo had descended on San Polycarpio with the whole of his band; -he had slain the local police, and confined the inhabitants to their -houses; had taken the parish priest from his bed, and compelled him, -at the point of the bolo, to read the Burial Service; then he had -hanged the Teniente of San Polycarpio over the grave, and after that -had departed, swearing to return and burn the village itself, if any -one dared to interfere with the body of his wife--such was the gist -of the first account circulated round Manila. - -The insurrecto party, which had sorrowed greatly over the suspension -of operations against Felizardo, and over Commissioner Furber's -new attitude of suspicion, held a special meeting to discuss the -situation, seeing a chance of forcing on a fresh campaign against the -Chief of the Mountains, who was such a deadly enemy of the Sovereign -People. It was even suggested that the Teniente of San Polycarpio -should actually be hanged, in order to give an air of reality to the -whole story. Unfortunately, however, the ex-general of the Army of -Liberty, who made the proposal, forgot, or did not know, that the -man sitting opposite to him happened to be a brother to that same -Teniente. They got the knife away from the Teniente's brother before -any serious harm was done; but, none the less, the meeting broke up -in disorder, without having arrived at any definite decision. - -The Herald and the Record seized on the story eagerly. Copy was short -that day, and this news seemed to offer such splendid opportunities -in the way of headlines; but Clancy of the Star was suspicious, and -would not use it without confirmation. "Get a launch and go across -to Calocan," he said to his most reliable reporter. "You may induce -Basil Hayle to talk. He is sure to know all about it, in fact there's -a rumour that he himself was at the burial. If he won't tell you -anything, which is very probable, go on to San Polycarpio itself, -and see the priest. I would sooner have the right story to-morrow -than use any of this rubbish to-day." - -The news caused a good deal of commotion in official circles. The -Governor-General looked worried, thinking of the hopeless state into -which the finances had got--as was inevitable, considering the class of -man which the Party was sending out--and wondering whether it would -now be necessary to resume those ruinously expensive expeditions -against the outlaws, in which case some of the officials would have -to be content with their bare salaries, as there would be nothing -else left to divide; and that, of course, would mean trouble, and -complaints to the Party managers. Already, Commissioner Gumpertz was -showing a nasty spirit, as was also Commissioner Johnson, and it had -been necessary to give them, or rather their nominees, a contract for -a long and utterly useless road to the hills, in order to keep them -quiet. Moreover, as that road had to be paid for by loan, the Press -had got early information of it, and had said some things concerning -the contract which were very unpleasant, because perfectly true. Now, -if, as was rumoured, Felizardo was actually out on the warpath himself, -there would be fresh expenses, fresh anxieties about money matters. - -Commissioner Gumpertz, on the other hand, having nothing to do with the -finances, except as regarded the share of them which he himself got, -was by no means displeased to hear of Felizardo's supposed raid. He -had never given up hope of being able ultimately to sell that hemp -land on the northern side of the outlaw's mountains; and if he could -revive the campaign against the old chief, he felt certain in his -own mind that this time it would be carried through to the end, even -though the President had to order the Army to assist. Incidentally, -too, the reopening of hostilities would be deadly to the prestige -of Commissioner Furber, and might possibly lead to his resignation, -in which case Mr Gumpertz was in hopes that the vacant post would -be filled by a certain ex-partner of his own, a most admirable -arrangement. As a result of these views, the Commissioner of Lands -and Registration was very ready to be interviewed by the Press on -the subject of Felizardo's latest exploit, and expressed his opinions -most forcibly. He had always been opposed to the new policy of leaving -this brigand alone, he said; and this outrage at San Polycarpio went -to prove that he had been right. It would be necessary now to resume -operations on a larger scale than ever. The Regular Army would have -to be called upon to provide troops, its chiefs being shown plainly -that they were, after all, merely the servants of the State, and that -it was not for them to say whether they would, or would not, assist -the Civil Government. The Commission must be supreme. No individual -member of it must be allowed to dictate to his colleagues, and no -murderer and outlaw, like Felizardo, must be allowed to remain in a -state of insolent independence. The present state of affairs was an -insult to the Flag, a violation of all the great principles for which -the Party stood. - -True, the Herald headed its report of the interview, "Commissioner -on the High Horse," "Gumpertz gets on the Great Gee-Gee," and thereby -spoilt a good deal of the effect; but still the Commissioner for Lands -and Registration had the satisfaction of knowing that he had got in -the first blows both at his own colleague and at Felizardo. Lower -down on the same page the Herald announced that Mr Furber declined -to be interviewed. "The Commissioner looked cross," it stated, for -once telling the crude truth; but it did not dare to reproduce the -remarks which a certain highly-placed Army officer had made to its -reporter concerning Mr Gumpertz and his views. - -Still, enough was published that day to set all Manila talking, and -when, on the following morning, a launch came in from Igut, bringing -Captain Bush's report of the affair, the sensation was even greater; -for Bush, having conveniently forgotten the good turn Basil Hayle had -once done him in suppressing all mention of his absence from the great -fight in the plaza of Igut, now told the story of how the Constabulary -officer had been present at the burial of Dolores, actually assisting -Felizardo, instead of endeavouring to arrest him. It was a venomous, -damning report, full of the jealousy which the man who had been a -soldier felt of the man who would always be a soldier, and, more -important than that, of the jealousy which the man who had made Mrs -Bush's life utterly miserable felt of the man who could have made her -happy. True, some of the details given in the first rumours, such as -the hanging of the Teniente and the holding up of the village, were -not mentioned in the Scout officer's version; but these omissions -were hardly noticed in view of the intensely interesting character -of the rest. - -"They will certainly give Hayle the sack, even if they do not bring -him to trial," was the general opinion of Manila men who, in most -cases, added their conviction that Captain Bush was a low-down -cur, for, despite Basil's reticence, it had long since leaked out -unofficially that the Scout officer had been missing on the occasion -of the insurrecto attack, and had only appeared after the killing was -finished. Moreover, they knew his character pretty well in Manila, -and did not admire it greatly. - -Bush himself had acted deliberately in the matter. He intended to -ruin Basil Hayle's career if possible, and the report had been the -result of the joint efforts of the Supervisor, the school teacher, -and himself. Its compilation had entailed the consumption of a good -deal of spirits, but when it had been finished, and sent down to the -skipper of the waiting launch, they all felt pleased with themselves, -for the Supervisor and the school teacher hated the man who had saved -their lives from Juan Vagas and his band almost as bitterly as did -the Scout officer, remembering what he had once said concerning white -men and mestizos. And then the school teacher said, jerking his head -in the direction of the lower end of the town: "Shall we go and tell -them? They'll be mighty pleased to hear it." - -But Bush got up, a little unsteadily, perhaps. "No; that'll do by -and by. I'm going to tell my wife first;" which seemed to the others -such a good idea that they laughed immoderately, and insisted that -he should have another drink first. - -"You'll need it, old man," the Supervisor said; and the Treasurer, who -came in at that moment, and had the matter explained to him, agreed. - -Mrs Bush listened to her husband in absolute silence, in fact so -still did she sit that he finished lamely, almost apologetically: -"It was my duty to report it," he said. - -Then her anger blazed out, and he cowered before it. "Oh, you -coward! Your duty! Did he feel it his duty to report you when he saved -the town you were supposed to be defending, when he saved your wife's -honour at the hands of those brown fiends? Did he go into Manila and -tell where you had been that night, and why you were the last man -on the scene? To think I should have married you, when there are so -many real men in the world! Oh, go away, and never dare to speak to -me again. Go to the friends who are worthy of you--and to the woman -you have put in my place, the coloured woman." - -Possibly, for the first time, Bush realised something of the deadly -insult he had put on his wife, for he tried to defend himself in a -guilty man's way, with a counter-charge. - -"You are in love with Hayle. That's what makes you so mad," he growled. - -She turned on him in superb scorn. "And if I am, have you any right to -complain? Have you any right to speak to a white woman--you cur!" And -then, in his rage, he struck her twice on the mouth. She staggered -back and sank into a chair, whilst he went out, with an attempt at a -swagger, forgetting that the natives in the plaza--there were three -sitting in the shade of the belfry--could have seen all that had -occurred on the balcony. - -When he rejoined his friends in the spirit shop, they noticed that -he was flushed and his hand was a little shaky. "I told her, and -she didn't like it," he said briefly. The school teacher sniggered, -whereupon Bush turned on him savagely. "Confound you, what are you -laughing at?" - -The others exchanged glances, and hastened to start some entirely -fresh topic of conversation. Obviously, Bush had one of his bad fits -coming on, and they knew by experience how nasty he could be. More than -once, they had feared that he was going to quarrel with them finally, -which might have resulted in his making peace with his wife, in which -case many privileges they now enjoyed would have been curtailed, -if not actually withdrawn. So they endeavoured to smooth him down, -and after a while succeeded in their aim. - -Mrs Bush did not cry, at least not at first. Instead, she went to -her room, and, after dabbing a little blood off her mouth, examined -her lip to see how badly it was cut, doing it all very quietly, as -though she were dazed. Then she sat down to think it out, right from -the beginning. - -In a way, she blamed herself. She had known when she married John Bush -that the curse of drink was in his family; but she had been very young -then; she had believed she loved him; and believed, too, that she could -keep him straight. But she had found out her mistake as soon as she -rejoined him in Manila after the war. He was a marked man even then, -in the Service, as the old General had told her very gently; and, -what was even worse, finding himself shunned by his brother-officers, -he had got into the hands of the baser class of civil officials, -who had not the slightest compunction about separating him from his -wife when it suited their ends to do so. - -Mrs Bush had always made excuses for him to herself, so long as it -was only a case of that miserable hereditary tendency. She would get -him back to the States before long, and then she would be able to -reassert her influence over him; but when, through the introduction -of the school teacher, the other woman came on the scene, there, in -Igut itself, practically under her own eyes, she realised that any -further efforts of hers would be useless; the end of their married -life had come; although, until he came to boast to her that he had -ruined Basil Hayle's career, no mention of that other woman had passed -her lips. Even now, she was sorry she had demeaned herself by having -spoken as she had done. Probably, he would glory in the knowledge of -how sorely he had wounded her pride. - -As for the blows on her mouth, they seemed, somehow, to be matters -of secondary consideration; in fact, when she came to think of them, -she was almost glad he had struck her. Relations between them were -now on a definite basis, the most definite basis of all, for no -reconciliation was possible. There would be no more need to keep up -appearances, to meet him, if not as a husband or lover, at least on -terms of politeness. That stage had been passed, as she told herself -with a sigh of relief. - -But when she thought of her own future movements the prospect was far -less satisfactory. She could see no way out of her difficulties. She -had not even the money to take her back to the United States; and even -if, as was probable, the General were to grant her free transportation, -she had no relatives who would give her a home. Two aunts and half a -dozen cousins were the only members of her family she knew, and with -these she had never been on good terms. She had very few acquaintances -in Manila, having been in the city but a few weeks; in fact, the only -friend she had, the only real friend, was Basil Hayle, and to him -she could not appeal, even though, in her own mind, she was certain -that his chivalry would prevent him from thinking any evil. It was -because she loved him, because she was not sure of herself, that she -could not ask him for aid. - -She had promised to write to him "if necessary," and now, when a -crisis which neither of them had foreseen had come, she could not -keep her promise. - -There was one thing she could do, however, one thing she must do--write -and warn him concerning her husband's report. She glanced out towards -the harbour. The launch had already gone, but the sea was like a -mill-pond, and it would not take a canoe long to reach Calocan. - -She sat down and wrote hurriedly, in a tone very different from that -of her ordinary letters to Basil, for she was hot at the thought of how -her husband was repaying the other man's services. The result was that, -quite unconsciously, she betrayed her feelings to the man she loved, -and showed him that the breach between her husband and herself was -now wider than ever, so wide that it could never be crossed. But she -did not say a word of his coming to Igut, nor hint at the terrible -problem of her future which now had to be faced. - -Still, none the less, Basil understood, and cursed the fate which -made it impossible for him to offer assistance, at any rate at -the moment. He was by no means a poor man, even though he might be -serving as an officer in the Philippines Constabulary, and he had -but scant regard for most conventions. On the other hand, he had -the very greatest regard for Mrs Bush's feelings, and he realised, -instinctively, that an offer from him might seem almost an insult, -a suggestion that she should put herself under his protection. When he -could see her it would be different, but that was also an impossibility -for the time being, especially as he felt certain he would be summoned -to Manila to explain the part he had played in the cemetery at San -Polycarpio. - -For the greater part of the night, Basil sat, smoking innumerable -cigarettes, and conceiving, and then rejecting, innumerable plans. In -the end he wrote two letters, one to Mrs Bush and one to old Don Juan -Ramirez. The former was the most difficult he had ever attempted; he -wanted to say so much, and dared to say so little, the result being -that, as in her case, he unconsciously told everything, which was, -of course, extremely wrong, and must be attributed to the influence -of the Law of the Bolo. - -To Don Juan he also told a great deal, this time with intention, -and, perhaps for that very reason, did not tell it well; although, -as he had foreseen, the old Spaniard knew most of it already, and was -deeply touched by the confidence. Basil wanted to learn exactly how -matters stood, what had occurred recently, how Mrs Bush looked, where -Bush spent his time and took his meals--a whole host of questions, -which caused Don Juan to knit his brows, and to wonder how many he -dare answer. - -"If I tell him the whole truth, he will certainly come and kill the -Scout officer, which would be very foolish." The Spaniard sighed--he -had heard what those natives who were sitting in the shadow of the -belfry had seen occur on the balcony--"So I will tell him part, -and leave the rest to fate. Who knows? Matters may adjust themselves." - -So he wrote discreetly, making the best of things, and after he -had sent the letter, called on Mrs Bush and tried to comfort her, -speaking as one who was almost old enough to be her grandfather, -and was also a gentleman of Spain, could speak; but when he came to -mention Basil Hayle he realised that this was a matter in which words -were not of much avail, for, possibly, again, because of that most -demoralising Law of the Bolo, Mrs Bush was losing all sense of the -sanctity of conventions. Still, the visit was not a waste of time, -for, when he took his leave, she knew that she had yet another very -sincere friend, one who was always close at hand. - -Don Juan's letter followed Basil to Manila, whither he had been -summoned to give an explanation of his doings on the night Felizardo -buried his wife. Basil smiled grimly as he opened the envelope. He -had been expecting something of the kind from the outset, and he was -quite ready to face the trouble. When Father Doyle came in later that -evening, Basil tossed the paper across to him. "What do you think of -that, Father?" he asked. - -The priest's face grew grave. "I am sorry. It may be unpleasant for -you. And you need not have gone. I was there because it was my duty; -but you----" - -Basil cut him short. "It was my duty, too. But for Felizardo, I do -not suppose I should be here now. They would have killed me that day -we hanged Juan Vagas, and--and there were other things as well." - -"Perhaps you are right. It does not follow that because you -seem indiscreet you are wrong," Father Doyle answered, speaking -slowly. "They say, too, that I was indiscreet--and unpatriotic." - -The other looked up quickly. "Who says so? The Church?" - -Father Doyle shook his head. "No--the Church understands, of -course. But Commissioner Gumpertz says I was wrong," and he smiled, -possibly because he was thinking that the censure of the Head of -the Department of Lands and Registration was but a small matter when -one had the approval of the Church, as Mr Gumpertz himself presently -found to his cost, when, on his own authority, he made a statement -to the Press that the Commission would take steps against Father Doyle. - -The following afternoon Basil called on Commissioner Furber, expecting -a stormy interview, but found himself mistaken. The Commissioner -was cold and severely official in manner, though, as the visitor was -quick to note, there was none of that personal hostility which had -marked their former meetings. - -"I sent for you at the request of the Commission," Mr Furber -said. "This is not a departmental matter, or, rather, they will -not have it treated as one. Therefore, I can say nothing about it -yet. Possibly, they may call you before them, or they may communicate -with you by letter at your hotel." - -Basil got up to take his leave, but, as he reached the door, the -Commissioner called him back. "Captain Hayle," he said a little -haltingly. "We have not agreed too well in the past; and I will admit -that in some things I have been wrong, or unjust. But this is not -my doing. I, also, have met Felizardo, and--and I understand why you -went to San Polycarpio that night." - -In the end, they did not summon Basil before the Commission, for -what seemed to them a good and sufficient reason. Clancy of the Star -had cabled the story of the funeral at San Polycarpio to a certain -great newspaper in New York, and the editor of that paper had decided -forthwith to make Captain Hayle the hero of the hour. Consequently, -as even Commissioner Gumpertz had to acknowledge, it would have been -a most injudicious thing to take any steps against the Constabulary -officer; in fact, before the matter had come up again for discussion, -there had arrived peremptory cables from Washington ordering them to -leave Basil Hayle alone, not because Washington admired the conduct -of the latter, but because, as ever, Washington's main consideration -was the question of the votes it might lose at the next election. - -Still, Basil was not allowed to go scot-free. The Governor-General and -Commissioner Gumpertz saw to that; the former because he was galled -at the interference from Washington; the latter because it was Captain -Hayle who had rescued Mr Joseph Gobbitt, and so allowed possible buyers -to know that there were head-hunters living on that most desirable -tract of hemp land to the north of Felizardo's mountains. Had Mr -Gobbitt's head been permitted to hang from the ridge pole of a shack, -beside that of Albert Dunk, no one in Manila would have known his -fate, and the succession of would-be purchasers, willing to deposit -five or six thousand dollars each, might have remained unbroken, -greatly to the profit both of himself and of the head-hunters. - -The result of the feeling against Basil was that he could not obtain -permission to return to his post. Day after day went by, and still he -was detained on futile excuses, until he began to realise that they did -not intend him to go back to duty at Calocan. Moreover, there had been -no further word out of Igut, either from Mrs Bush or from Don Juan, -and the silence was driving him mad. At last, in sheer despair, he -called on Commissioner Furber. That official looked at him curiously. - -"You don't know why they dropped all idea of open proceedings against -you?" he asked. "Well, it is because they have made a hero of you in -the States," and the flicker of a smile crossed his face. "It wouldn't -have been wise, you see. As regards the future, I may as well tell -you plainly. You are a marked man, and your chances in the Service -are nil. I have done what I can for you, because I believe I owe you -some reparation; but I must not strain things too far; in the end, -that would benefit neither of us. I may tell you that if you remain in -the Service you will be sent to one of the outlying islands, and that, -I believe"--he spoke meaningfully--"would not suit you. Moreover, -one is apt to meet with accidents in those places, as perhaps one of -my colleagues, Mr Gumpertz, could tell you. Speaking unofficially--in -fact you must regard all this as unofficial--I should advise you to -resign. It would be wiser--and safer." - -Basil drummed on the table with his fingers. At last, "Yes," he said -slowly, "I think you are right. Can I do it now? I suppose it will -be to you that I hand my resignation?" - -So Captain Hayle resigned, and his resignation was accepted -immediately, and then he went back with his successor to hand over -the Government property in his charge, and to bid farewell to his -plucky little men, who had fought under him on Felizardo's mountain, -followed him in the forced march over the pass, carried out the great -killing in the plaza at Igut, and stood firm when the mob at Calocan -threatened to rescue Juan Vagas from the gallows. He had to do those -two things, and after doing them he would be a free man again, free -to go to Igut if he wished, or rather if he thought it wise so to do, -for his wish was always to be there. - -It was not an easy thing to say good-bye to his men, after all. Like -so many of their kind, they had come to regard themselves as being in -his personal service; the State was a thing of which they knew nothing, -towards which they felt no kind of loyalty; consequently, his departure -filled them with absolute consternation; and though his successor was -as lax and easy-going as the most tired Filipino could wish an officer -to be, half his company was missing before the end of a fortnight, -greatly to his disgust. But when he reported the fact to Commissioner -Furber, the latter took it very quietly. "They were Hayle's men," -he said. "And, from the first, I was doubtful whether they would -stay with any one else. He was a man of rather an uncommon type;" -then, as if thinking he had said too much, he went on curtly. "Let -them go. Don't worry to fetch them back, so long as they've taken no -carbines. I will send you some recruits to take their places." - -Basil Hayle did not actually break down after he had bidden farewell -to his men, but he went so near to it that he would not trust himself -to accept his successor's offer, and stay the night in the barracks. - -"No," he said. "I've got through with it now, and it will only reopen -the sore if I stay here. I will go across to Father Doyle's." - -The new officer, who had never got down to crude things, such as the -fight on Felizardo's mountain, or the march over the pass, looked at -him in astonishment. - -"I should have thought you would have been glad enough to be -clear of the outfit. I know if I could afford to resign I should go -to-morrow. There's not much pleasure or glory in commanding a company -of savages, who will probably bolt at the first shot and leave you -to be boloed." - -Basil shrugged his shoulders, and then crossed the plaza to Father -Doyle's house, where he took off his uniform for the last time, -presently coming down in civilian clothes. - -"It's over now," he said briefly, as he selected a cigar from his -host's box. - -Father Doyle nodded. "When I first met you I knew it must come to -this before long. There was never room for you in the Service. What -are you going to do now?" - -Basil stared out across the bay towards Felizardo's mountains. "I -am not quite sure yet," he answered slowly. "But I think--I think I -shall go to Igut first." - -The priest had been expecting that answer, and had given much thought -to the question of how Basil's going was to be prevented. He had -conceived several good schemes for delaying him; but now that it -had come to the point, none of them seemed likely to be of the -slightest avail. It was not an easy matter in which to interfere, -especially as Basil, though perhaps his closest friend, was not one -of his flock. So finally he said nothing about it, trusting that by -the morning something might occur to make his intervention possible. - -"I should like to see Felizardo again," Basil went on: "It is curious -how he and I have come into one another's lives," and then, suddenly, -he began to tell the other man the whole story, beginning with the -fight on the slope of the volcano, when he surprised the outpost and -captured Felizardo's daughter, and carrying it down to the time when -Father Doyle himself came into it; only, he omitted all mention of -Mrs Bush, though he did not gloss over the ways of Bush himself; -and both what he left out, and what he said, made the priest more -than ever anxious to stop him from going to Igut. - -The sun was just setting when he finished, and a dozen or so tao -passed the house on their way up from the beach; then, following them, -came two strange natives, one of whom was carrying a heavy basket. A -moment later, "They are coming here. They look as if they wanted you, -Hayle," the priest said. - -They came on to the veranda of the house, took off their hats, then the -elder of them presented a letter to Basil. "From the Senor Felizardo," -he said. - -Basil opened it, wondering; then, as he read, the wonder changed to -utter astonishment, for it ran:-- - - - "The Senor Felizardo sends his compliments to the Captain of - the Constabulary, who, as he hears, will no longer be his foe - in the field, but can now be his friend in all things. That is - good. But he hears with grief that the Captain will be leaving - the Islands; and that is bad. Therefore, Felizardo hastens to - pay his debts. Once, many months ago, the Captain returned to - him his daughter, whom, next to his wife, he loved best of all - things in this world; and Felizardo promised then to repay the - good deed. Now he sends, in this basket, the thing the Captain - most desires to have." - - -Captain Hayle handed the note to the priest, then he turned to the -messengers. "Open the basket," he said. - -But they shook their heads. "Not here on the balcony, where the tao -can see. It should be taken inside the house, Senor." - -They set it on a table, and then they withdrew, whilst Basil was -undoing the cords, which held down the lid. First he came on a layer -of leaves, which he threw on the floor, then he raised a white linen -cloth, and sprang back with a cry of horror; for there, livid and -ghastly, was the head of John Bush, late of the Philippine Scouts. A -few minutes later, when he went to look for the messengers, they were -gone, although he could see a canoe with two men in it being paddled -in leisurely fashion across the bay. - -Basil took the ghastly trophy to an outhouse, thinking as he went, -"The head-hunters would treasure this," for there was not a spark of -pity in his mind, even though he had yet to hear of those two blows -which Mrs Bush had received on the mouth; then he went back to the -veranda where Father Doyle was waiting. - -"It served him right," he said curtly; and, after a pause, he added: -"I was going to kill him myself. Felizardo says the only law that -counts is the Law of the Bolo, and he is right." - -Father Doyle did not reply, having no answer ready, and knowing, -in his own heart, that what had happened was for the best. - -"I must go to Igut," Basil spoke suddenly; and now the priest nodded -in approval. - -"Yes, you should go first thing in the morning. She will need you." - -But that was not Basil's meaning. "I shall go to-night," he said. "And -if the tao will not take me across in a canoe some of my men--some -of my old company, I mean--will do it." - -The tao refused, fearing the dark, and not loving him on account of -the hanging of Juan Vagas; but when, after obtaining the permission -of his successor, he asked for four men to paddle and one to steer, -every member of the company stepped forward to volunteer. He selected -the old serjeant, and four of those who had been with him on the -mountain-side when Felizardo's bolomen killed three quarters of his -force; and they started out through the night to paddle to Igut. - -After a while, he turned to the serjeant, who was steering. "The -Captain of the Scouts at Igut has been killed," he said. - -The serjeant nodded. "I know, Senor. I heard the news an hour ago. I -was expecting it," he added calmly. - -Basil looked at him in astonishment. "You were expecting it? Why?" - -The little man smiled meaningfully. "Just after they buried the wife of -Felizardo, over there in San Polycarpio, Captain Bush struck his wife -twice on the mouth. They were on the balcony, and down in the plaza, -sitting in the shadow of the belfry, were three of Felizardo's men, -who saw it all. Hearing that, and knowing how Felizardo had loved his -own wife, Dolores--did he not take to the hills for her sake?--I knew -that Captain Bush must die by the bolo." - -Basil clenched his hands. So he had struck her, in the sight of -natives, too! And she had never given him a hint of it, nor had Don -Juan Ramirez. Then, very reverently, he thanked God that he had not -known; for, had he heard of it before, he would assuredly have shot -Captain Bush like a dog; and that, as he realised now, would have -made matters infinitely worse. - -The night seemed very beautiful as they paddled across the bay. Just -before they came to the entrance of Igut harbour, the moon rose from -behind Felizardo's mountains, and Basil found himself wondering how -he could ever have regarded the range as a place of horror and death, -in which you set foot at the risk of your life. Surely all that must -have been an evil dream. - -Igut was asleep when he landed there, and no light was showing in -Mrs Bush's house; but old Don Juan was still sitting up. "I thought -you might come," the Spaniard said. "Two men, who landed a couple of -hours ago, said they had seen you, and you had heard the news." - -But Basil wanted to hear one thing first. "How is she?" he demanded. - -"They say she is better now, although the shock was great. It was -I who had to break the news to her.... They killed him down at the -lower end of the town, outside the mestizo's house. We suppose it -was the head-hunters, for we never found the head." - -"I have the head, at Calocan," Basil said and told him of Felizardo's -letter. - -Before they went to bed that night, they had arranged the -matter. Amongst white men, Basil and Father Doyle and Don Juan Ramirez -alone knew the truth, and there was no reason why any one else, save -perhaps Mrs Bush, need know. So, officially, Captain Bush met his -end at the hands of a stray party of head-hunters whilst going his -rounds; and they granted a pension to the widow, which, afterwards, -she refused to take. - -Mrs Bush rose with a cry of glad surprise when they told her -Basil was downstairs; and she hurried into the room with hands -outstretched. "Oh! I was praying you would come when you heard of it," -she said. "I should have gone mad with no one to speak to." - -He bent down and kissed her hands. "My Lady," he said. - -And then they understood one another at last, because the bar to -their understanding, that which would have made it a sin before, -had been removed, in accordance with the Law of the Bolo. - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -HOW FELIZARDO MADE PEACE - - -It was six months after Mrs Bush had become Mrs Basil Hayle that a -new Governor-General arrived in Manila. Much had happened since the -day when the High Gods at Washington had ordered the Commission not -to prosecute Captain Hayle for the part he had taken in the funeral -at San Polycarpio. There had been scandals and rumours of scandals, -especially in connection with that contract for a road to the hills -which had been granted to the nominees of Commissioners Gumpertz and -Johnson; and though no less than three editors had been sentenced to -long terms of imprisonment, apparently for having discovered the truth, -the stories had quickly found their way to the United States, where -it is not so easy to arrange for the sentence on a journalist before -you even issue the warrant for his arrest. Moreover, not only was the -annual deficit in the revenue increasing, but fresh insurrections -had broken out in two of the southern islands, whilst the sedition -amongst the mestizos in Manila was now apparent to all men. - -As a consequence, Washington came to the conclusion that a change was -imperative, unless votes were to be lost in the States at the next -election; so the old Governor-General went home, rich in dollars -if not in honour; and a new Governor-General, who thought little of -dollars and much of honour, came out to take his place, greatly to the -satisfaction of the non-official white population, and greatly to the -grief of Commissioner Gumpertz, who had not yet succeeded in selling -that hemp land on the northern side of Felizardo's mountains. In fact, -so deeply was he pained, so apprehensive of the way in which true -patriots would be treated under the new régime, that he sent a very -strong remonstrance to the Party managers, who, sympathising with him, -found him a post as one of the auditors of the National Finance, -an appointment for which his gifts and previous training rendered -him admirably suited. - -Chief Collector Sharler also left the Custom House at the same time, -having come into a large property from his father. Incidentally, he -obtained a divorce from his mestiza wife, not because he had changed -his opinions on the subject of Racial Equality, but because he had -changed his opinion concerning her, and did not want to take her -and her relations back with him to the United States. Mrs Sharler -herself acquiesced in the arrangement readily, having another -husband in view, so all was for the best. Unlike his predecessor, -the new Chief-Collector had no theories or obsessions; only, he had -a predilection in favour of men of his own colour; consequently, all -the mestizo assistant collectors retired into private life and became -converts to the insurrecto policy; whilst, as was but right, the spoils -of office went to certain faithful, if somewhat obscure, persons, -who had served the party well in the States. Yet, though such a great -clearance was made, the importers remained dissatisfied, and that ugly -word "graft" continued to be amongst those most frequently on their -lips--which goes to show that some people are confirmed grumblers. - -Commissioner Furber, on the other hand, retained his office rather -to the regret of the new Governor-General, who did not like him -personally; but, though the Commissioner was fully aware of this -feeling, the fact did not weigh with him in the least degree. There -were certain things he had determined to do before he quitted office; -and, with the obstinacy of a narrow-minded man, he did not intend to -be turned from his purpose. - -One of these things was the settlement of the Felizardo question. If -any one else had proved, or attempted to prove, to him that his -first policy had been wrong, Mr Furber would probably have set -his face and continued on the same lines, or would have declined -to have anything more to do with the matter. As it was, however, -it was he himself who had made the discovery of his own mistakes, -and he was sincerely anxious to set these right; consequently, -as soon as the new Governor-General had settled down to his work, -Commissioner Furber laid the whole question before him. - -"We have had no fighting now for nearly a year," he said, "and I -see no reason why there should be any more. We wasted a great deal -of money and a good many lives over it, without injuring Felizardo -in the least--in fact he gained both recruits and rifles--and I am -anxious it should not happen again." - -The Governor-General looked at him keenly. "I have been going into -the matter, and I find that it was you yourself who advised these -expeditions." - -If he expected excuses from the Commissioner, he was mistaken in his -man. "That is so," Mr Furber answered curtly. "It was my doing. I -was entirely wrong in my policy." - -The other man regarded him with a degree of respect he had never shown -before. "I see. And what do you propose to do now? What do you wish -me to do?" - -"I want to make a formal peace with Felizardo. He is an old man, -and he is averse to any further trouble. If we arrange matters now, -during his lifetime, the band will break up in the natural course of -events, as soon as its military character has gone; but so long as -we let the present state of affairs continue, keeping them always on -the defensive, they must be a danger." - -"Who would go out to the mountains and treat with these people?" the -Governor-General asked. - -The answer came promptly. "I would, if necessary." - -The Governor shook his head. "It would be dangerous," he said. - -The Commissioner flushed. "I am not afraid," he answered coldly. - -The other hastened to explain. "I was thinking of the possibility -of his holding you as a hostage, and demanding all sorts of -concessions. No, Commissioner," he spoke decisively, "I will not -consent to that, though I appreciate your offer. Is there any one -else you can suggest?" - -"There is Captain Hayle. He knows Felizardo well, and would go -willingly. We can trust to his discretion." Mr Furber's opinion of -Basil had changed considerably. - -"Where is he?" the Governor asked. "In the States?" He looked -dubious. "That means a great deal of expense. Would no one else do?" - -"It would be cheaper than another expedition," the Commissioner -retorted. - -And so, that very day, the Philippine Commission sent a long cable -to the ex-officer of Constabulary whom it had once forced to resign -his commission because he had gone to the funeral of Dolores, the -wife of Felizardo, asking him to return and arrange terms of peace -with the outlaws in the mountains. - -As soon as Basil had read the cable he went in search of his -wife. "Shall I go, dearest?" he asked. - -She smiled as she saw the eager look on his face. "'Shall we go?' you -mean. Of course. I think we owe something to Felizardo." - -The next mail steamer took them to Manila, where Basil had a long -interview with the Governor-General and Commissioner Furber; and then -he and his wife went by launch to Katubig, avoiding Igut because of -its evil memories. - -They found Katubig rebuilt, and found also the same old Teniente who -had once sent the Constabulary off on a futile errand. Now, however, -he received Basil as if no such event had ever occurred; and when he -heard of what the business in hand was, he promised to send word to -the old chief, with the result that, on the second morning, Felizardo -himself came in. - -"I am glad," the outlaw said. "There have been many letters between -the Commissioner and myself; but I said always that it must be you -who came to arrange matters, because of the respect there is between -us. So he promised," which was news to Basil, and would have been -news to the Governor-General. - -It did not take them long to come to terms, each side being ready for -a lasting peace. Practically, it came to a general amnesty for the -whole band, and an undertaking on both sides to cease from all acts -of hostility, though, as Felizardo said concerning the latter clause, -"I could fight no more now, because, once the whole country is open -to them, all my young men will go. It is dull work on the mountains -to-day, with no fighting, no outpost duty; and there are few young -women amongst us. There will remain only the old men, who, like myself, -are waiting for death." - -They offered to give him the title of Governor of the mountains, but -he shook his head. "What difference would it make? I shall be the Chief -still until I die. Then they can make a Governor if they wish it." - -On the question of laws, he would not give way, as Basil had -foreseen. "No," he said. "The Law of the Bolo has served here for -many years; and that, too, can remain in force till I die. After all, -what do we, old men, want with laws?" - -So they signed the treaty, which, unlike most of its kind, was destined -to be kept; and then it came to a question of bidding farewell, -which, for Basil at least, was very hard--harder even than when he -had parted from his men at Calocan, for he knew he would never see -Felizardo again. They shook hands in silence, with the grip of strong -men, and Felizardo kissed the hand of Mrs Hayle. Then he turned once -again to Basil, saying: - -"May she always be as dear to you, Senor, as Dolores Lasara, for -whose sake I took to the hills, and whom I hope to rejoin very soon, -was to me." And after that they saw Felizardo no more. - - - - THE END. - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Law of the Bolo, by Stanley Portal Hyatt - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAW OF THE BOLO *** - -***** This file should be named 55526-8.txt or 55526-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/5/2/55526/ - -Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project -Gutenberg (This file was produced from images generously -made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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