“Take the trail and join the Americans,” he ordered his sister. “Come,” he commanded, selecting a score of men by a motion of his hand. In another minute Gregorio, followed obediently by his selected followers, had plunged through the dense woods straight down the mountainside toward the avenue of escape over which Espinosa would soon be traveling, while Maria and her guard left their place of vantage and headed for the distant mountain top now in the hands of Captain Blynn and his victorious men. Laboriously, but spurred forward by the eagerness of their leader, Gregorio and his small band toiled through the dense jungle. The distance was slowly covered and, almost exhausted, they were finally rewarded by reaching the trail leading from the stronghold to the northward. Gregorio uttered an exclamation of surprise as his knowledge of woodcraft told him that a large force of men had recently passed over this road. Surely he had seen but a few score escape from the plateau. Nothing daunted, in the lead, he urged his men forward. He would attack, no matter what were the odds against him. Espinosa should not escape! After several hours of strenuous marching a straggler was found on the side of the trail and after a hasty interview gave the anxious native the good tidings that Lopez was ahead on the same quest as himself. Hurrying forward, most of the time on a run, he overtook his father’s faithful servant just before darkness arrived, and together, unsparingly, they urged onward their tired men. Gregorio’s keen eyes were ever on the trail; in his heart was a desperate resolve. The thought of escape of Espinosa maddened him beyond endurance. The newly made grave in the family burying grounds spurred him on to almost superhuman exertions. Lopez, hardened as he was to toil in the fields, kept pace with his untiring young master, but many of the pursuing natives were left far behind. “We are nearly to Banate,” Lopez said intensely as they saw the high jungle slowly merge into nipa swamp. The cocoanut palms were becoming more and more infrequent and the mud of the trail clung to their tired feet. So silently had they approached the little settlement at the foot of the hills rising from the delta of the river that the sudden barking of a dog caused them to stop in consternation. With eyes open wide with anxiety and apprehension, Gregorio and Lopez pressed onward through the narrow street. They saw the natives were not as yet awake, the houses were closed and no human being was visible. On the ocean beach they saw many native boats hauled high above the tide. Anxiously they visited each in turn, but all were abandoned. The sandy soil gave them no news of their quarry. Many footmarks were evident, but the tracks were so crossed and recrossed that even Gregorio gave up all hope of learning from them the direction taken by Espinosa and his men.