Page:Under MacArthur in Luzon.djvu/146

122 Negritos, and for the minute the rest were paralyzed with fear and ran for the shelter of the trees.

"Good!" shouted Si, enthusiastically. "Give it to the beggars! Wipe 'em out!" And his face beamed with pleasure.

But the natives were not yet beaten, and as the boat from the transport touched the beach, a larger band than before dashed out on the sands, and a fierce hand-to-hand encounter ensued, in which several on both sides went down. But finally the Negritos were beaten back, up the beach, and then another shot from the ship, followed by a shell, put them to flight. By this time the Americans had had enough of the encounter, and all made a rush for the boat, carrying the wounded with them. Some could not get aboard, but had to hold on to the gunwale, and thus the rowboat put off for the ship.

No sooner had the boat left the shore than the natives came out a third time, and arrow after arrow was sent after the craft, but with uncertain results. Soon, however, the rowboat was out of range, and then more shots from the ship caused a wild scamper of the Negritos to shelter.