Part 10 (1/2)

”San Rafael will soon be ours,” said one of the officers of the staff.

”See, the enemy are retreating!” he cried enthusiastically.

At that moment an orderly dashed up, carrying an order from General Otis. The order read that the column must rest at Angat until supplies could be forwarded from Malolos. A shadow fell over the commando's face. Another victory was at hand--but orders were orders, and must be obeyed. Slowly the retreat was sounded, and the insurgents were left in possession of the field. They thought the Americans were being forced back on account of a heavy loss, and went almost wild with delight, proclaiming the encounter a great victory for the Filipino cause.

CHAPTER XI

THE CROSSING OF THE RIO GRANDE RIVER

”For gracious' sake, what did we want to retreat for?” demanded Ben, as soon as the command halted and Major Morris had come within speaking distance. The young captain had been at the very front of the firing line, and had seen that complete victory was only the work of a quarter of an hour or less.

”Orders from general headquarters,” replied the major, in a low tone.

”I fancy the staff is pretty angry, too,” he added.

”We could have whipped them with ease.”

”So we could, captain, but--” And Major Morris finished with a shrug of his shoulders which meant a good deal.

”I don't believe General Otis would have given such an order had he been here to see what was going on,” continued Ben, earnestly.

”Well, we're ordered back to Angat, and that is all there is to it.

The army must have supplies, you know.”

”Hang the supplies!” muttered Gilmore, but under his breath. ”We can get all the supplies we want as we go along.” And Ben was rather inclined to agree with him.

There was no help, however, for the turn in the situation; and with crestfallen faces the soldiers moved still further back and went into temporary camp. Only a few had suffered, and the wounded ones were promptly cared for by the hospital corps.

”And how do you feel?” asked Gilbert, as he came up to see Ben. ”Does the wound hurt still?”

”It itches, that's all,” answered Ben. ”But this retreat--”

”Makes one feel sore all over, doesn't it?” finished the young Southerner. ”I must say I don't understand it at all. If we are going to round up any of these rebels, we can't do it by falling back and waiting for supplies.”

Impatient as they were, however, the troops had to wait for two days before another movement was made. During this time supplies were hurried forward in large quant.i.ties, that there might be no more delays in the future.

In the meantime the troops under General MacArthur were by no means idle. They consisted of two brigades, that of General Hale on the right wing, and that of General Wheaton on the left wing. Of these troops the first advance was by some men of the Fourth Cavalry, who went forward to reconnoitre the enemy's position near Quingua. The start was made during the early morning, and before long the insurgents opened a heavy fire which the Americans returned with difficulty, as the rebels were well concealed by the tall gra.s.s and their intrenchments. To aid the cavalry a number of other troops were hurried forward, also several field-pieces; and in the end the Filipinos were forced from their position, with a heavy loss. In this battle the Americans lost six killed and forty wounded. Among the killed was Colonel Stotsenburg, commanding the First Nebraska Volunteers, who, after most gallantly leading his men, was shot down in the final rush upon the enemy's earthworks.

From Quingua the whole of General Hale's brigade moved down the Quingua River to Pulilan. Here no resistance was encountered, and after a brief rest the brigade pushed on toward Logundi. That town was not yet reached when the advance guard reported a breastwork across the main road, running to the river on the west and into the jungle on the east.

”Never mind, we'll go ahead anyhow!” shouted the soldiers of the Nebraska regiment; and go ahead they did, with the South Dakota and Iowa troops beside them, and several guns of the Sixth Artillery protecting their advance. The fight at the earthworks was a fierce one, some of the Filipinos refusing to surrender even when they knew they were beaten; and as a consequence many of them were slain whose lives might otherwise have been spared to them.

A short distance to the northwest of Logundi, the Quingua and the Bagbag rivers join in flowing into the Calumpit. The railroad crosses the Bagbag but a short distance away, and at this point General Hale's command reunited with that of General Wheaton, which had come up along the tracks from Malolos without difficulty. General Wheaton had with him the troops from Montana and Kansas, some Utah artillery, and one or two other commands, along with two armored cars, fitted out with Gatling and Hotchkiss guns and six-pounders.

It was soon discovered that the rebels had built strong breastworks in a semicircle along the north bank of the Bagbag and the western bank of the Calumpit Rivers, and had injured the railroad track for a distance of several hundred yards, and also the bridge spanning the river. As the approach to both rivers was largely an open one, how to dislodge the Filipinos became a serious problem.

”Forward with the armored cars!” was the cry, and they were rushed ahead as far as the torn-up condition of the railroad tracks admitted.

A cannonading lasting for half an hour followed, in which one of the batteries on the highway also took part. The aim of the gunners was good, and soon the insurgents were seen to be pouring from the trenches, which were getting too hot to hold them. Yet a fair number held their ground, and when the troops on foot advanced they opened a blistering fire which laid not a few Americans low. But the victory was ours, and soon the followers of Old Glory were wading or swimming the river, while the engineering corps set to work to repair the damage done to railroad and bridge, so that the armored and baggage cars might pa.s.s through.