By and by the stars in the lane of sky above grew dim, and a stronger
light, which faintly illuminated the river gorge, told him that
the full moon had risen, although not yet high enough to light his
course directly. After a time the gorge grew wider and its sides less
steep and high; and then, at last, he heard the roar of the falls,
and found the village, and had landed.

What time it might be now the sergeant did not dare to guess. A sleepy
native pointed out to him the path, stared, when the stranger said
he must hurry on to Ilo Ilo that night, and flatly refusing to be
his guide, went back to bed.

The forest path was rankly wet with night dew, and dimly lighted
by the moon. The soldier hurried forward, only to find that in his
haste he had missed the main path. Slowly and anxiously he retraced
his way until he found the right road again, and then went forward
slowly enough now to go with care.

And so, at last, he saw before him the city of Ilo Ilo, only to learn,
when he was challenged by a picket, that it was one o'clock and that
the Utica had steamed out of the harbour an hour before.

Useless as he feared the dispatch might be now, Sergeant Johnson
insisted that it be delivered at once, and that he be given an
opportunity to ask to be allowed to tell the general why he was so
late. When that officer, roused from sleep, had read the dispatch and
heard the story briefly, for there were other things to be thought of
then, he told the young man, "You have done well," for he knew the
ways of Filipino "tulisanes," "and after all perhaps you may not be
too late."

But before he explained what he meant by the last part of his sentence,
the general called for one of his aids, and as soon as the man could
be brought, hastily gave him certain orders with instructions that
they were to be communicated to the officers whom they concerned,
as quickly as was possible, regardless of how sound asleep those
gentlemen might be.

Then, because he was at heart a kindly man, and because he felt that
the water-soaked, thorn-torn soldier before him, pale with weariness
and anxiety, had done his best, the general told him what was the
nature of the dispatch, and why, even then, he might yet be in time.

For by another of the fortunate dispensations of providence, or if
you please, by a strange coincidence, that very afternoon another
American gunboat had unexpectedly steamed into the harbour of Ilo
Ilo and dropped anchor.