“It’s Lieutenant Tillotson,” Phil whispered, “inspecting sentries; he’s officer of the guard to-night.” After the officer had passed, the party waited anxiously for several minutes and then a native appeared walking slowly toward them from a cross street. He stopped fifty yards away and beckoned; then turned quickly and walked away. Phil and Sydney leading, they followed the vanishing figure ahead of them. He guided them through street after street, leading farther and farther away from the occupied part of the city. Suddenly the native stopped, beckoned with his hand, and entered a doorway of a pretentious Filipino dwelling. “Your men must wait here, señor; it is the señorita’s order,” the native told the lads. “The officers are to come with me.” He raised his finger to his lips to caution silence. “If we are discovered it will mean death, señor.” “What’s the game, sir?” O’Neil asked eagerly, not having heard the whispered words of the native. “You’re to stay here out of sight,” Phil explained quietly. “If we need help I’ll fire my revolver.” With a parting caution the midshipmen stealthily followed their guide up the street, hugging the dark shadow of the houses, and entered the wide archway of a large native building. Inside was total darkness, and it needed all their confidence in the girl who had invited them to come to still their awakening suspicions. The guide gave a low whistle and the slight sound caused their hearts to beat faster amid the profound silence within. “Señores, you have come,” a woman’s musical voice dispelled their fears. “Please step this way; I am sorry there can be no light.” Phil quietly led the way in the direction of the voice, and his eyes soon discerned the figure of the girl, a darker object among the surrounding gloom. He felt a warm, confiding hand in his, and allowed himself to be led deeper into the blackness of the building. The midshipmen followed blindly; their eyes, unaccustomed to the darkness, could see nothing. They knew from an occasional contact with a wall that they were in a narrow passage and from the damp odor they knew it must be some depth below the ground. Several times their heavily shod feet slipped on the muddy floor, and occasionally they could hear the tinkly drip of water. The passageway led gradually downward, the dampness increasing. Finally the girl stopped and the sound of the heavy breathing of the four people filled the narrow limits of their surroundings.