e 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 quantities, 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 grass 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 kill