The Campaign of the Jungle; Or, Under Lawton through Luzon — John Shaqi
The Campaign of the Jungle; Or, Under Lawton through LuzonStratemeyer, Edward
History
The Campaign of the Jungle; Or, Under Lawton through Luzon
Stratemeyer, Edward
Philippines -- History -- Philippine American War, 1899-1902 -- Juvenile fiction
"Here is a rope--we can use that," answered the boy, pointing out the
article around several small boxes. While Luke pried away the bars of
one of the rear windows he possessed himself of the rope, and tied it
fast to a bar which was not disturbed. As soon as the opening was
sufficiently large to admit of the passage of each one's body, Luke
swung himself over the window-sill.
"Come on," he cried softly, and slipped from view. Never had he gone
down a ship's rope quicker, and never had Larry followed his friend
with such alacrity. Both felt that life or death depended upon the
rapidity of their movements.
The ground was hardly touched by Luke when a Filipino boy appeared at
the entrance to the stable. For an instant the youth stared in
opened-mouthed astonishment, then he uttered a yell that would have
done credit to an Indian on the war-path.
"The jig's up!" cried the Yankee tar. "Come, Larry, our legs have got
to save us, if we're to be saved at all."
He leaped across the yard and for the corner of the stable, where he
collided with a Tagal soldier, who was coming forward to learn what
the yelling meant. Down went both the sailor and the guard; but the
rebel got the worse of it, for he lay half stunned, while Luke was up
in a trice. As the soldier fell, his gun flew from his hands, and
Larry tarried just long enough to pick the weapon up.
Behind the stable was a narrow, winding street, lined on either side
with huts and other native dwellings, with here and there a barnlike
warehouse. Into this street darted our two friends, and there paused,
not knowing whether to move toward the wharves or in the opposite
direction.
"Look out!" suddenly yelled Larry, and dropped flat, followed by the
Yankee tar. A sharp report rang out, and a bullet whistled over their
heads, coming from the prison yard. On the instant Larry fired in
return, and the prison guard disappeared as if by magic. Long
afterward, Larry learned that he had hit the Tagal in the arm.
There was now a general alarm throughout the prison, and the two
escaped prisoners felt that any other locality would be better for
them than the one they now occupied. "Let us try to find our
soldiers," said Luke, and once again they started to run, this time up
the road where, far away, they could make out a forest of some sort.
Then came a second report, and Luke Striker staggered back, hit in the
shoulder.
"Luke! Luke, you are struck!" gasped Larry. His heart seemed to leap
into his throat. What if his dearest friend had been mortally
wounded?
"I--I--reckon it--it ain't much!" came with a shiver. The sailor
straightened himself up and started to run again. "They are after us
hot-like, ain't they?"
A turn in the road soon took them out of sight of the prison, and they
breathed a bit more freely. But the strain was beginning to tell upon
Luke, and watching him, Larry saw that he was growing deathly pale.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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