Page:At the Fall of Port Arthur.djvu/209

Rh A little while later the detachment came in on foot, looking somewhat tired and dusty from a long tramp through an exceedingly rough country. As the soldiers came to a halt in the public square of the seaport village, Larry uttered a cry of amazement:

"Ben!"

"Why, Larry, can it be you?" came in a tone of astonishment, and on the instant Ben Russell rushed forward and caught his brother by the hands. "I must be dreaming!"

"I guess I'm dreaming myself!" said Larry, and gave his brother a warm hug. "This beats the Dutch! I thought you were at Liao-Yang. How are you and how did you get here?"

"One question at a time, please," returned Ben, with a happy smile. "I'm pretty well, although I had a little dose of fever a couple of weeks ago. Our Japanese doctor fixed me up in double-quick time. Our command was ordered down here to look after a powder train. There was a report that either the Russians or the Chunchuses were going to try to capture it or blow it up. Now, how have you been, and what are you doing here? I thought the old Columbia was at Nagasaki."

"You want to know as much as I do, Ben." There was a pause and both laughed merrily, they