Page:Under MacArthur in Luzon.djvu/143

Rh "Yes. We'll have to try another tree, or work our way to the other side of this hill. Come."

And they lost no time in descending to the ground. Both were tremendously hungry, but there was nothing at hand with which to satisfy the cravings of their stomachs, and neither was inclined to waste time in hunting something up. "The ship—let us get back to that, and we'll have all we want to eat," said Walter, and Si agreed with him.

To work their way around the hillside was not easy, for here the long and entangling vines were again in evidence, while at some points the undergrowth was so thick they could not see a dozen feet in front of them.

"This must be like the jungles Ben mentioned in his letter," said Walter. "He told me they were ten times worse than those in Cuba, and he is right. An army couldn't get through a mile of this in a week."

"How far do you reckon we are from the battlefields he mentioned?"

"Oh, a good many miles, Si—probably over two hundred."

"Those rascals didn't look like much of fighters—I mean soldiers."