he volunteered to go out and see if he could
make any discoveries. The colonel assured him that he would be in no
danger, even if he were caught by the rebels, for they would never
suspect a boy of Archie's age and size of being a spy. So the lad felt
no fear at all, and made what few preparations there were to be made
before starting. He secured a knapsack from the commissary officer,
and in this he placed what few belongings he wanted to take with him,
together with his note-books and some provisions for the trip. Then he
secured a small pistol, which he carried in his hip pocket, and he was
disappointed because the colonel would not allow him to carry a rifle.
And when he had everything ready he said good-bye to his friends in the
regiment, and departed from the palace amid a multitude of cheers. At
the last moment the colonel tried to dissuade him from starting, for
fear he might meet with some accident, but Archie was determined to make
the attempt.

It was his plan not to go farther than fifty miles in the interior, for
he thought that if he found no traces of the rebels in that distance
there would be little use in going farther into the forest, for, it
would be almost impossible to find them there. So he set out gaily upon
his trip of exploration, and Archie couldn't remember when he had been
so happy before, save on that day when he first visited the office of
the Enterprise. This adventure was exciting enough to please the wildest
boy in America, and Archie could imagine how envious the other boys
would be if they could but know the trip he was having. It had an
official air to it, too, for had not the colonel been most anxious,
in the beginning, that he should go, and did he not say that he would
reward him handsomely if he were successful in locating any of the
insurgents, or in proving that he had been right when he said they were
near Manila? It was all as perfect an adventure as Archie could have
imagined. He could not have planned a better one if he had been able to
select any trip he could think of.

He planned that it would take him at least three days to walk fifty
miles, and perhaps longer, for the roads were not very good in some
places. He knew that he would find many villages and towns along the
way, too, for the island was thinly settled in this neighbourhood. So if
he were obliged to rest, he would never be at a loss for a place to
get a bed. Archie couldn't help thinking, as he walked along t