days immediately following the fall of
Malolos were not of special activity. The hard, running fight along
the railroad through Caloocan, Polo, and other places, had all but
exhausted the army under General MacArthur, and when the insurgents'
capital was taken, it was felt that the soldiers had earned a
well-needed rest. Moreover, many had been wounded and many more were
down, suffering from the heat and tropical fever, and these had to be
cared for in the temporary hospitals established at various points in
the neighborhood. In the meantime the railroad was repaired and
Malolos was made a new base for supplies. There were several
skirmishes in the neighborhood north and northeast of Malolos, and in
these the rebels were compelled to fall back still further, yet the
outbreaks amounted to but little.

In the meantime, the Philippine Commission of the United States issued
a proclamation, translated into the Spanish and Tagalog languages,
calling upon the insurgents to throw down their arms and promising
them good local government, the immediate opening of schools and
courts of law, the building of railroads, and a civil service
administration in which the native should participate. This
proclamation was widely distributed, yet it did little good; for the
common people of the islands were given to understand by their leaders
that the Americans did not mean what they said, but had come to their
country only to plunder them, and would in the end treat them even
worse than had the Spaniards.

It was no easy work to repair the railroad running from Manila to
Malolos Station, which was some distance from the town proper. All
tools and equipments had to be brought up from Manila and from Cavite,
and soon the engineering corps found themselves harassed by some
rebels in the vicinity of Marilao and Guiguinto. At once General
MacArthur sent out a force to clear the ground, and several sharp
attacks ensued, which resulted in the loss of twenty-three killed and
wounded on the American side, and double that number to the enemy. In
the end the rebels fled to the mountains to the eastward and to
Calumpit on the north.

"We are going out to-morrow," said Gilbert, as he came to see Ben on
the day following the engagements just mentioned. "General Wheaton
says he is going to drive the rebels straight into the mountains--and
I reckon he'll keep his word."

Ben was at once anxious to go along, but this was not yet to be, and
he was fo