Page:Under MacArthur in Luzon.djvu/258

230 Walter had disappeared, and he still hoped, though faintly, to obtain some tidings of his lost brother. He felt especially lonely, now that Larry, too, was gone.

"It's the uncertainty that hurts," he said one day, to Gilbert. "If Walter is alive, who can tell what he is suffering, as a prisoner of those savage Filipinos? You know how brutally they have treated some of their prisoners."

"You must hope for the best, Ben," replied the young Southerner, kindly. "And above all, don't allow your mind to brood over this too much." And he did his best to cheer the captain up.

The march of the regiment was a little to the east of the Manila-Dagupan railroad, over paddy fields and through low brush which had something of a familiar look to Ben, who had covered the territory before. At a small village on the bank of a creek, running parallel to the tracks, the soldiers turned off, with orders to take the town of Magalang, where the rebels had some strong intrenchments. It was hardly presumed that the Filipinos would offer any resistance, and when they opened a sudden fire, it came somewhat as a surprise.

"We are up against it once more!" cried Major