The Woman with a Stone Heart

  CHAPTER VII.

  OFF FOR BALER

  That night Marie had a good rest. The next morning, fired with ambitionand discontent, she lit her accustomed cigarette and started forManila. Instead of going overland, she went in a row boat via thePasig river which drains the lake into Manila bay and which flowsthrough the city of Manila situated at its mouth.

  While stealthily prowling around through Manila during the next fewdays, Marie accidentally discovered that plans were being carriedout by the Americans to relieve the remnant of the old Spanishgarrison of fifty men stationed at the little town of Baler, nearthe eastern coast of Luzon. This garrison was of course surrenderedto the American forces with the remainder of the Spanish army onAugust 13, 1898, but as all lines of communication with them had beendestroyed by the Filipinos they had never been officially notifiedof the capitulation. Scouting parties brought in the information thatthey were being besieged by a horde of blood-thirsty Filipinos whichoutnumbered them ten to one, and that it was only a question of timebefore all would be exterminated.

  Accordingly, Admiral Dewey and General Otis decided that somethingmust be done at once to relieve them. A rescuing party was formed andplaced aboard the "Yorktown," which carried them around the southernpoint of Luzon and then northward to the mouth of the Baler river.

  Marie, nerved by the thought of a new exploit, forgot her oath notto take up arms against the Americans again during the insurrection,and hastily departed overland for Baler to notify the besiegingFilipinos of what was to take place, and to help them as best shecould to resist the advance of the rescuing party.

  Although Baler is situated on the Baler river, near the eastern coastof Luzon, and Manila is on the west side of the island Baler is,nevertheless, almost directly north of Manila. This is caused by thedeep indention of Manila bay, on the extreme eastern side of whichManila is situated, and by the abrupt inclination to the westward ofthe eastern coast line of Luzon directly above a point straight eastof Manila.

  In starting on her journey Marie left Manila by a little Filipinofoot-path which enters the city in the northeastern part near theSan Sebastian church. She followed it to Block-house No. 4, which issituated about three miles north and a trifle east of Manila. At thatpoint she took a road which veered off perceptibly to the east for ashort distance and which was made by the Americans' commissary trainon the morning that the advance was begun toward Malolos, March 25,preceding.

  She had gone but a quarter of a mile when her attention wasattracted to a board used as the head-stone for a grave only a fewfeet distant from her pathway. She walked over to in and found thesewords inscribed thereon:

  "R. I. P. D. O. M.

  Wat Erbuf Falo

  Born -- (?) Died, February 12, 1899.

  To those who bring flowers to this lonely grave, Some facts on its headstone we wish to engrave; If this mound could speak no doubt it would tell Bill Sherman was right when he said, 'War is Hell.' He charged on two pickets whose names are below; They took him for niggers,--poor wronged buffalo. As to the way he met death, everybody knows how; As to whom he belonged we don't caribou.

  Signed: Barney and Barkley, Co. "M," 1st. Col. Vols."