The Woman with a Stone Heart

  CHAPTER VIII.

  THE GILMORE INCIDENT

  Marie reached her destination late in the evening of April 9th,and she at once notified the officers commanding the Filipinos whowere besieging Baler, what to expect. Knowing that with so small aforce, if the Americans undertook to relieve the Spanish garrison,it would necessarily have to be done by way of the Baler river--asthe town of Baler where the Spanish garrison was located is some twomiles up the river from where it empties into the Pacific ocean, andthe American troops were too greatly outnumbered by the Filipinos tomake a land expedition safe,--she suggested to them the advisabilityof fortifying the river at specific intervals along either bank andof taking the precaution to cover the fortifications with freshly-cutbrush so that the Americans could not locate them for the purpose ofbombarding them in case they saw fit to load some of the smaller cannonon cascoes and make their way up the river for an attack in that way.

  The Filipinos took her suggestions, and the entrenchments and placesfor the sentries were quickly, yet very wisely, arranged. It wasduring the dry season and the river was very low at the time. Thismade it possible to dig ditches on the sand bars which extended farout into the stream; and by throwing into the river the loose sandtaken therefrom, to conceal these entrenchments by strewing over themsome fresh-cut limbs and old under brush which had the appearance ofhaving drifted to their lodgment.

  The Yorktown arrived off the mouth of the Baler river, April 11, asscheduled. Ensign Stanley went ashore, under a flag of truce, where,to his surprise, he was cordially received by the Filipino officers;but their exceptionally good behavior and the twinkle of their eyestold only too plainly to the ensign that something was wrong. Hetherefore returned to the Yorktown without having accomplished anythingin particular.

  The next morning, at four o'clock, Lieutenant Gilmore and sixteenbrave associates left the Yorktown in a row boat, and entered themouth of the river. Ensign Stanley and Quartermaster Lysac were putashore to reconnoiter. In a few minutes daylight broke forth andthose left in the boat were discovered by the Filipino sentry whowas walking his beat along the shore. He gave the alarm. LieutenantGilmore and his party could easily have pulled out to sea and gottenaway, but humanity forbade it. What would become of the two scoutswho went ashore? Their comrades in the boat could not desert them,so they rowed up the river into the very jaws of impending danger.

  Presently out of a concealed trench hundreds of armed Filipinosopened a deadly fire on Gilmore and his comrades, at only fifty yardsdistance. The water at this point was shallow. The boat got stuck inthe mud. There was nothing to do but to fight. In a moment Morrisyfell dead, having been shot through the head; Dillon followed;then McDonald, then Nygard;--Marie was doing deadly work with herMauser rifle.

  The Americans returned the fire as best they could; but what wasthe use. They could see nothing to fire at, so perfectly had theFilipinos screened their trenches; besides, the Filipinos were usingsmokeless powder.

  Four of Gilmore's men were already dead, two were mortally woundedand begging their comrades to shoot them before they fell into thehands of the Filipinos, and two more were slightly wounded. Mostof the oars had been badly shattered by the enemy's rifle balls. Inthis moment of desperation, Ellsworth, Woodbury and Edwards jumpedoverboard and tried to push the boat out to mid-stream. It was no use;the tide was coming in and the current was so strong that they couldnot compete against it.

  Lieutenant Gilmore was firing his revolver. He decided to change anduse one of the dead men's rifles. As he picked it up he noticed thelock had been struck by a Remington ball and the clip had been jammedin. He handed it to an apprentice lad, named Venville, to be fixed.

  The boy had scarcely begun to examine the gun, when a bullet struckhim in the fleshy part of the neck. He had never been under firebefore. Looking up calmly, he said, "Mr. Gilmore, I'm hit."

  In a moment another bullet struck him in the chest and came out ofhis arm pit. With his attention riveted on his task, he remarked,"I'm hit again, Mr. Gilmore."

  Only a moment later another ball grazed the side of his head and cuta painful wound in his scalp. "Mr. Gilmore, they've hit me again,"he muttered, while he kept on working at the gun, with blood runningdown all over him.

  In a few minutes a fourth ball passed through the lad's ankle, one ofthe most painful parts of the body in which to get shot. This time,with a slight tremble in his voice, he said, "Mr. Gilmore, I'm hitonce more; but I've fixed your gun, Sir."

  Just at this moment the Filipinos saw that the Americans' fire hadpractically ceased. Throwing back from off their trench the limbs andunderbrush that had concealed them, the Filipinos, armed with guns,spears, bolos and clubs, made a bold dash for the boat and capturedthe entire crew.