the "Macks" having been drilled on the way up, each and all, in the story they were to tell at the first village near Casiguran Bay, and everywhere thereafter, to the effect that they had come across country, and en route had met ten American soldiers out map-making, and had killed two, wounded three, and captured five. They were to point to General Funston and the four other Americans in corroboration of their story. Speaking of himself and his four fellow "prisoners," General Funston says, "We were a pretty scrubby looking lot of privates." The villagers received the patriot forces, thus flushed with triumph, in an appropriate manner, and supplied them with rations and guides for the rest of their 100-mile journey to the headquarters of the "dictator." General Funston is even at pains to say for the village officials that they were very humane and courteous to himself and the other four American "prisoners." They reached Palanan Bay, eight miles from Palanan, on March 22d. Here Hilario Tal Placido, the ex-insurgent officer whose role in the present thrilling drama was that of "commanding officer" of the expedition, sent a note to Aguinaldo, stating that he had halted his command for a rest at the beach preparatory to marching inland and reporting to the Honorable Presidente, that they were very much exhausted, and much in need of food, and please to send him some. Of course that was the natural card to play to put Aguinaldo off his guard. The food came, and the bearers returned and casually reported to the Honorable Presidente that his honorable reinforcements would soon be along, much to the honorable joy--to make the thing a little Japanesque--of the president of the honorable republic. This incident has been since made the occasion of some criticism--that it was contrary to decency to accept Aguinaldo's food and then attack him afterwards. General Funston very properly replies in effect that the case would have been very different had he thrown himself on Aguinaldo's mercy, taken his food, and used treachery afterwards, but that his conduct was entirely correct, under the code of war, for the reason that should he and his command be captured while personating enemy's forces, Aguinaldo would have had a perfect right, under the rules of the game, to shoot them all as spies. He adds rather savagely, concerning "certain ladylike persons in the United States" who have censured his course in the matter, that he "would be very much interested in seeing the results of a surgical operation performed on the skull of a man who cannot readily see the radical difference between the two propositions," and that he doubts if a good quality of calf brains would be revealed by the operation.