Presently an old woman came running out of one of the huts. She yelled at the two Spaniards in her own tongue and pointed at the warehouse. Evidently she had seen Larry and Luke, but had been afraid to expose herself. The strangers listened to the old woman with interest, then began to talk to each other. "Perhaps we can get some information, Jose," said one, in Spanish. "Perhaps we shall get a bullet," answered his companion, grimly. Nevertheless, he consented to enter the building, and both passed through the great doorway of the warehouse. Hardly knowing how to receive the newcomers, Larry stepped for a moment behind a bin of rice. But then, as the pair moved toward where Luke lay, he raised his gun threateningly. "Halt!" he called, as sternly as he could. "Halt, or I shall fire!" "We are betrayed!" roared one of the Spaniards, in his native tongue. "No shoot! no shoot!" he added, in broken English. "We mean you no harm." "Up with your hands, then," went on Larry, resolved to make the most of the situation, even though the gun was empty; and four hands went promptly into the air, for the two men before him were as cowardly as they were unprincipled. There was an awkward silence for several seconds, while boy and men surveyed each other. Larry lowered the gun slightly, but still kept his finger on the trigger. He noted that the newcomers appeared to be unarmed, although they had both knives and pistols hidden upon their persons. "You are an _Americano_ sailor, not so?" asked one of the Spaniards. "I am," was Larry's prompt reply. "Are you one of Aguinaldo's rebels?" "No, no! We are no rebels--we are peaceful Spanish gentlemen," put in the second Spaniard. "Do you belong here?" "I belong here," said the man who had first spoken. "My brother, he belongs at Manila." The brother mentioned shot an angry glance at the speaker. "Yes, I come from Manila," he said. "But I belong truly in Spain, being a merchant of Madrid." "Well, our war with you folks is over," said Larry, slowly, hardly knowing how to proceed. "If you are not going to help the rebels, you ought to help us. We are doing all we can for your prisoners out here," he added, meaning the Spaniards that were being held by the forces under General Aguinaldo--soldiers who were captured during the struggle between Spain and her Philippine colonies. "We can do but little," came with a shrug of the shoulders. "We are not armed, and if we help the _Americanos_, Aguinaldo says he will behead all the Spanish prisoners he is holding." Such a threat was actually made, but it is doubtful if the Filipinos would have been base enough to carry it out. "We came in here not to make trouble," went on the second Spaniard. "We came to learn what the firing means. Are the _Americanos_ coming here in force?" "They are."