Page:Under MacArthur in Luzon.djvu/161

Rh "I'm not going to give up yet, Si. Remember, even if it is over two hundred miles to Manila, we've both got a stout pair of legs and our health—"

"Gosh, do you calkerlate to walk that distance?" And Si's eyes opened wide. "Across mountains an' all, and in the enemy's country? I reckon you'd have your hands full, an' more."

"Have you anything better to propose?"

"I must allow I have not."

"And you don't want to stay here, do you?"

"But think of it, Walter, a journey of which we know absolutely nothing," said Si, with great deliberation.

"We know we want to strike out south-southwest."

"And how are you going to do it without a compass?"

"We'll have to guess at it. I know how the sun and compass stood a few days ago, and I think I can hit it pretty closely."

"But there are mountains to cross, aren't there?"

"Yes, this range behind us, called the Sierra Madre. To the west of the mountains is the Cagayan River, and if we followed that, it would bring us about half the journey."