surrender," came in bad English from back of the fence.
"Surrender quick, or we shoot both dead on the spot!"

CHAPTER V

AN ENCOUNTER AT THE RIVER

To say that both Larry and his old friend were surprised at the sudden
demand which had been made upon them would be to put the truth very
mildly. They had been of the firm belief that the insurgents had
retreated, and to find themselves in a "reg'lar hornet's nest," as
Luke afterward expressed it, dumfounded them.

"Do you surrender, or not?" came the words, after an awkward pause.

It was dark about the huts, yet not so dim but that they could see the
barrels of several Mauser rifles thrust toward them. The sight made
Larry shiver, for he had never before met the rebel soldiers at such
close quarters.

"We're in a box," muttered Luke. "Somethin' wrong somewhar--our
soldiers didn't come this way, ye kin reckon on thet."

"I move we run for it," whispered Larry. "If they take us prisoners--"
He did not finish, but his silence was more impressive than mere words
would have been. He had heard many stories of terrible cruelty
practised by the insurgents on their prisoners, and whether these
tales were true or not, they had had their full effect on both him
and his shipmates.

"Where are ye goin' to run to, lad? We don't want to run an' be shot
down in cold blood."

"Get in front of me and take to the woods opposite, Luke," was the
hurried reply. "Here goes! I don't think they'll fire now!"

As Larry concluded, he sprang to the side of one of the native women
standing nearest to him. Before the woman could resist, he had her in
his arms behind him and was running off as speedily as the weight of
his living load permitted. Seeing this, Luke scuttled off before, and
away they went for the woods, not twenty yards distant.

A howl arose on the night air, and one gun went off, but the bullet
did no damage. Then the leader of the rebels was heard, calling to his
men not to fire, for fear of killing the woman, who chanced, by good
luck, to be a close relative; for the soldiers behind the bamboo fence
were part of a home guard brought out that very afternoon to defend
the road and Santa Cruz.

The woman on Larry's back shrieked in terror and clawed at his neck
and hair, causing him considerable pain. But he held his burden tight
until the shelter of the trees was gained, when he let her slip to the
ground and darted after Luke, who was running with all the speed