persons, and the wrecking of the bank meant untold
hardships for them." The wounded brother sighed deeply. "If that money
isn't recovered, we'll be as badly off as we were when we first came
to Manila," he concluded.

Ben Russell was the eldest of three brothers, Walter coming next, and
Larry being the youngest. They were orphans, and at the death of their
widowed mother had been left in the care of their uncle, Job Dowling,
a miserly man whose chief aim in life had been to hoard money, no
matter at what cost, so long as his method was within the limit of the
law.

The boys were all sturdy and had been used to a good home, and Job
Cowling's harsh and dictatorial manner cut them to the quick. A clash
between guardian and wards had resulted in the running away of the
three youths, and the guardian had tried in vain to bring them back.
Larry had drifted to San Francisco and shipped on a merchantman bound
for China. He had become a castaway and been picked up by the Asiatic
Squadron of the United States Navy. This was just at the time of the
outbreak of the war with Spain, and how gallantly the young tar served
his country has already been told in detail in "Under Dewey at
Manila."

Ben had found his way to New York, and Walter had drifted to Boston.
After several adventures, the war fever had caught both, and Ben had
joined the army to become "A Young Volunteer in Cuba," as already
related in the volume of that name, while Walter had joined the
armored cruiser _Brooklyn_ and participated in the destruction of the
Spanish fleet in Santiago Bay, as told in "Fighting in Cuban Waters."

While the three boys were away from home, Job Dowling had overreached
himself by trying to sell some of the Russell heirlooms which it had
been willed the lads should keep. The heirlooms had been stolen by a
sharper, and it had cost the old man a neat sum of money to get them
back. The experience made him both a sadder and a wiser man, and from
that time on his manner changed, and when the boys returned from the
war they found that he had turned over a new leaf. In the future he
was perfectly willing that they should "do fer themselves," as he
expressed it.

After a brief stay in Buffalo, Walter had left, to rejoin the
_Brooklyn_, which was bound for a cruise to Jamaica and elsewhere.
At this time trouble began to break out between the United States
troops in the Philippines and the insurgents who had been fighting
the now-conquered Spa