_Chapter I_
IN MANILA
"For God's sake, do leave me in peace with your damned yellow monkeys!"cried Colonel Webster, banging his fist on the table so hard that thewhisky and soda glasses jumped up in a fright, then came down againirritably and wagged their heads disapprovingly, so that theamber-colored fluid spilled over the edge and lay on the table in littlepearly puddles.
"As you like, colonel. I shall give up arguing with you," returnedLieutenant Commander Harryman curtly. "You won't allow yourself to bewarned."
"Warned--that's not the question. But this desire of yours to scentJapanese intrigues everywhere, to figure out all politics by theJapanese common denominator, and to see a Japanese spy in every coolieis becoming a positive mania. No, I can't agree with you there," addedWebster, who seemed to regret the passionate outburst into which histemperament had betrayed him.
"Really not?" asked Harryman, turning in his comfortable wicker chairtoward Webster and looking at him half encouragingly with twinklingeyes.
Such discussions were not at all unusual in the Club at Manila, for theypresented the only antidote to the leaden, soul-killing tedium of thedull monotony of garrison duty. Since the new insurrection on Mindanaoand in the whole southern portion of the archipelago, the question as tothe actual causes of the uprising, or rather the secret authors thereof,continually gave rise to heated discussions. And when both parties, ofwhich one ascribed everything to Japanese intrigue and the other foundan explanation in elementary causes, began to liven up, the debate wasapt to wax pretty warm. If these discussions did nothing else, they atleast produced a sort of mental excitement after the heat of the daywhich wore out body and mind alike, not even cooling down towardevening.
The Chinese boy, passing quickly and quietly between the chairs, removedthe traces of the Webster thunderbolt and placed fresh bottles of sodawater on the table, whereupon the officers carefully prepared newdrinks.
"He's a spy, too, I suppose?" asked Webster of Harryman, pointing withhis thumb over his shoulder at the disappearing boy.
"Of course. Did you ever imagine him to be anything else?"
Webster shrugged his shoulders. A dull silence ensued, during which theytried to recover the lost threads of their thoughts in the drowsytwilight. Harryman irritably chewed the ends of his mustache. The smokefrom two dozen shag pipes settled like streaks of mist in the sultry airof the tropical night, which came in at the open windows. Lazily andwith long pauses, conversation was kept up at the separate tables. Thesilence was only broken by the creaking of the wicker chairs and thegurgling and splashing of the soda water, when one of the officers,after having put it off as long as possible, at last found sufficientenergy to refill his glass. Motionless as seals on the sandhills in theheat of midday, the officers lolled in their chairs, waiting for themoment when they could turn in with some show of decency.
"It's awful!" groaned Colonel McCabe. "This damned hole is enough tomake one childish. I shall go crazy soon." And then he cracked hisstanding joke of the evening: "My daily morning prayer is: 'Let it soonbe evening, O God; the morrow will come of itself.'" The jest wasgreeted with a dutiful grunt of approval from the occupants of thevarious chairs.
Lieutenant Parrington, officer in command of the little gunboat_Mindoro_, which had been captured from the Spaniards some years ago andsince the departure of the cruiser squadron for Mindanao been put incommission as substitute guardship in the harbor of Manila, entered theroom and dropped into a chair near Harryman; whereupon the Chinese boy,almost inaudible in his broad felt shoes, suddenly appeared beside himand set down the bottle with the pain expeller of the tropics beforehim.
"Any cable news, Parrington?" asked Colonel McCabe from the other table.
"Not a word," yawned Parrington; "everything is still smashed. We mightjust as well be sitting under the receiver of an air pump."
Harryman noticed that the boy stared at Parrington for a moment as ifstartled; but he instantly resumed his Mongolian expression of absoluteinnocence, and with his customary grin slipped sinuously through thedoor.
Harryman experienced an unpleasant feeling of momentary discomfort, but,not being able to locate his ideas clearly, he irritably gave up theattempt to arrive at a solution of this instinctive sensation, mumblingto himself: "This tropical hell is enough to set one crazy."
"No news of the fleet, either?" began Colonel McCabe again.
"Positively nothing, either by wire or wireless. It seems as though therest of the world had sunk into a bottomless pit. Not a single word hasreached us from the outer world for six days."
"Do you believe in the seaquake?" struck in Harryman mockingly.
"Why not?" returned the colonel.
Harryman jumped up, walked over to the window with long strides, threwout the end of his cigarette and lighted a new one. In the bright lightof the flaming match one could see the commander's features twitchingironically; he was on the warpath again.
"All the same, it's a queer state of affairs. Our home cable snapsbetween Guam and here, the Hong-Kong cable won't work, and even ourisland wire has been put out of commission; it must have been a prettyviolent catastrophe--" came from another table.
"--All the more violent considering the fact that we noticed nothing ofit on land," said Harryman, thoughtfully blowing out a cloud of smokeand swinging himself up backward on the window-sill.
"Exactly," rang out a voice; "but how do you account for that?"
"Account for it!" cried Colonel Webster, in a thundering voice. "Ourcomrade of the illustrious navy of the United States of America has onlyone explanation for everything: his Japanese logarithms, by means ofwhich he figures out everything. Now we shall hear that this seaquakecan be traced to Japanese villainy, probably brought about by Japanesedivers, or even submarine boats." And the colonel began to laughheartily.
Harryman ignored this attempt to resume their recent dispute, and withhead thrown back continued to blow clouds of smoke nervously into theair.
"But seriously, Harryman," began the colonel again, "can you give anyexplanation?"
"No," answered Harryman curtly; "but perhaps you will remember who wasthe first to furnish an explanation of the breakdown of the cable. Itwas the captain of the Japanese _Kanga Maru_, which has been anchoredsince Tuesday beside the _Monadnock_, which I have the honor tocommand."
"But, my good Harryman, you have hallucinations," interrupted thecolonel. "The Japanese captain gave the latest Hong-Kong papers to theHarbor Bureau, and was quite astonished to hear that our cable did notwork----"
"When he was going to send a cablegram to Hong-Kong," added Harrymansharply.
"To announce his arrival at Manila," remarked Colonel Webster dryly.
"And the Hong-Kong papers had already published descriptions of thedestruction caused by the seaquake, of the tidal waves, and theaccidents to ships," came from another quarter.
"The news being of especial interest to this archipelago, where we havethe misfortune to be and where we noticed nothing of the whole affair,"returned Harryman.
"You don't mean to imply," broke in the colonel, "that the news of thiscatastrophe is a pure invention--an invention of the English papers inHong-Kong?"
"Don't know, I'm sure," said Harryman. "Hong-Kong papers are nocriterion for me." And then he added quietly: "Yes, man is great, andthe newspaper is his prophet."
"But you can't dispute the fact that a seaquake may have taken place,when you consider the striking results as shown by the cableinterruptions which we have been experiencing for the last six days,"began Webster again.
"Have we really?" said Harryman. "Are you quite sure of it? So far theonly authority we have for this supposed seaquake is a Japanesecaptain--whom, by the way, I am having sharply watched--and a bundle ofworthless Hong-Kong newspapers. And as for the rest of myhallucinations"--he jumped down from the window-sill and, going up toWebster, held out a sheet of paper toward him--"I'm in the habit ofusing other sources of information than the English-Japan
esefingerposts."
Webster glanced at the paper and then looked at Harryman questioningly.
"What is it? Do you understand it?"
"Yes," snapped Harryman. "These little pictures portray our war ofextermination against the red man. They are terribly exaggerated anddistorted, which was not at all necessary, by the way, for the events ofthat war do not add to the fame of our nation. Up here," explainedHarryman, while several officers, among them the colonel, stepped up tothe table, "you see the story of the infected blankets from the feverhospitals which were sent to the Indians; here the butchery of an Indiantribe; here, for comparison, the fight on the summit of the volcano ofIlo-Ilo, where the Tagala were finally driven into the open crater; andhere, at the end, the practical application for the Tagala: 'As theAmericans have destroyed the red man, so will you slowly perish underthe American rule. They have hurled your countrymen into the chasm ofthe volcano. This crater will devour you all if you do not turn thoseweapons which were once broken by Spanish bondage against yourdeliverers of 1898, who have since become your oppressors.'"
"Where did you get the scrawl?" asked the colonel excitedly.
"Do you want me to procure hundreds, thousands like it for you?"returned Harryman coolly.
The colonel pressed down the ashes in his pipe with his thumb, and askedindifferently: "You understand Japanese?"
"Tagala also," supplemented Harryman simply.
"And you mean to say that thousands----?"
"Millions of these pictures, with Japanese and Malayan text, are beingcirculated in the Philippines," said Harryman positively.
"Under our eyes?" asked a lieutenant naively.
"Under our eyes," replied Harryman, smiling, "our eyes which carelesslyoverlook such things."
Colonel Webster rose and offered Harryman his hand. "I have misjudgedyou," he said heartily. "I belong to your party from now on."
"It isn't a question of party," answered Harryman warmly, "or ratherthere will soon be only the one party."
"Do you think," asked Colonel McCabe, "that the supposed Japanese planof attack on the Philippines, published at the beginning of the year inthe _North China Daily News_, was authentic?"
"That question cannot be answered unless you know who gave the documentto the Shanghai paper, and what object he had in doing so," repliedHarryman.
"How do you mean?"
"Well," continued Harryman, "only two possibilities can exist: thedocument was either genuine or false. If genuine, then it was anindiscretion on the part of a Japanese who betrayed his country to anEnglish paper--an English paper which no sooner gets possession of thisimportant document than it immediately proceeds to publish its contents,thereby getting its ally into a nice pickle. You will at once observehere three improbabilities: treason, indiscretion, and, finally, Englandin the act of tripping her ally. These actions would be incompatible, inthe first place, with the almost hysterical sense of patriotism of theJapanese; in the second, with their absolute silence and secrecy, and,in the third place, with the behavior of our English cousin since hismarriage to Madame Chrysanthemum----"
"The document was therefore not genuine?" asked the colonel.
"Think it over. What was it that the supposed plan of attack set forth?A Japanese invasion of Manila with the fleet and a landing force ofeighty thousand men, and then, following the example of Cuba, aninsurrection of the natives, which would gradually exhaust our troops,while the Japanese would calmly settle matters at sea, Roschestwenski'stracks being regarded as a sufficient scare for our admirals."
"That would no doubt be the best course to pursue in an endeavor topocket the Philippines," answered the colonel thoughtfully; "and theplan would be aided by the widespread and growing opposition at home tokeeping the archipelago and putting more and more millions into theAsiatic branch business."
"Quite so," continued Harryman quickly, "if Japan wanted nothing elsebut the Philippines."
"What on earth does she want in addition?" asked Webster.
"The _mastery of the Pacific_," said Harryman in a decided voice.
"Commercial mastery?" asked Parrington, "or----"
"No; political, too, and with solid foundations," answered Harryman.
Colonel McCabe had sat down again, and was studying the pamphlet,Parrington picked at the label on his whisky bottle, and the othersremained silent, but buried in thought. In the next room a clock struckten with a hurried, tinkling sound which seemed to break up the uneasysilence into so many small pieces.
"And if it was not genuine?" began Colonel McCabe again, hoarsely. Hecleared his throat and repeated the question in a low tone of voice:"And if it was not genuine?"
Harryman shrugged his shoulders.
"Then it would be a trap for us to have us secure our information fromthe wrong quarter," said the colonel, answering his own question.
"A trap into which we are rushing at full speed," continued Webster,laying stress on each word, though his thoughts seemed to be far inadvance of what he was saying.
Harryman nodded and twisted his mustache.
"What did you say?" asked Parrington, jumping up and looking fromWebster to Harryman, neither of whom, however, volunteered a reply. "Weare stumbling into a trap?"
"Two regiments," said Webster, more to himself than to the others. Andthen, turning to Harryman, he asked briskly: "When are the transportsexpected to arrive?"
"The steamers with two regiments on board left 'Frisco on April 10th,therefore--he counted the days on his fingers--they should be here bynow."
"No, they were to go straight to Mindanao," said Parrington.
"Straight to Mindanao?" Colonel McCabe meditated silently. Then, asthough waking up suddenly, he went on: "And the cable has not beenworking for six days----"
"Exactly," interrupted Parrington, "we have known nothing, either ofthe fleet or of anything else, for the last six days."
"Harryman," said Colonel McCabe seriously, "do you think there isdanger? If it is all a trap, it would be the most stupid thing that wecould do to send our transports unprotected-- But that's all nonsense!This heat positively dries up your thoughts. No, no, it's impossible;they're hallucinations bred by the fermented vapors of this God-forsakencountry!" He pressed the electric button, and the boy appeared at thedoor behind him. "Some soda, Pailung!"
"Parrington, are you coming? I ordered my boat for ten o'clock," saidHarryman.
"As early as this, Harryman?" remonstrated Webster. "You'll be on boardyour boat quite soon enough, or do you want to keep a night watch alsoon your Japanese of the-- What sort of a Maru was it?" he broke off,because Colonel McCabe pointed angrily at the approaching boy.
"Oh, nonsense!" growled Webster ill-humoredly. "A creature like thatdoesn't see or hear a thing."
The colonel glared at Webster, and then noisily mixed his drink.
Harryman and Parrington walked along the quay in silence, their stepsresounding loudly in the stillness of the night. On the other side ofthe street fleeting shadows showed at the lighted windows of severalharbor dens, over the entrance to which hung murky lamps and from whichloud voices issued, proving that all was still in full swing there.There were only a few more steps to the spot where the yellow circle oflight from the lanterns rendered the white uniforms of the sailors inthe two boats visible. Parrington stood still. "Harryman," he said,repeating his former question, "do you believe there is danger----"
"I don't know, I really don't know," said Harryman nervously. Then,seizing Parrington's hands, he continued hurriedly, but in a low voice:"For days I have been living as if in a trance. It is as if I were lyingin the delirium of fever; my head burns and my thoughts always return tothe same spot, boring and burrowing; I feel as though a horrible eyewere fixed on me from whose glance I cannot escape. I feel that I may atany moment awake from the trance, and that the awakening will be stillmore dreadful."
"You're feverish, Harryman; you're ill, and you'll infect others. Youmust take some quinine." With these words Parrington climb
ed into hisgig, the sailors gave way with the oars, and the boat rushed through thewater and disappeared into the darkness, where the bow oarsman wassilhouetted against the pale yellow light of the boat's lantern like astrange phantom.
Harryman looked musingly after the boat of the _Mindoro_ for a fewminutes, and murmured: "He certainly has no fever which quinine will notcure." Then he got into his own boat, which also soon disappeared intothe sultry summer night, while the dark water splashed and gurgledagainst the planks. The high quay wall, with its row of yellow and whitelights, remained behind, and gradually sank down to the water line. Theyrowed past the side of a huge English steamer, which sent back thesplash of the oars in a strange hollow echo, and then across to the_Monadnock_.
Harryman could not sleep, and joined the officer on duty on the bridge,where the slight breeze which came from the mountains afforded a littlecoolness.
* * * * *
On board the _Mindoro_ Parrington had found orders to take the reliefguard for the wireless telegraph station to Mariveles the next morning.At six o'clock the little gunboat had taken the men on board, and wasnow steering across the blue Bay of Manila toward the little rockyisland of Corregidor, which had recently been strongly fortified, andwhich lies like a block of stone between gigantic mountain wings in thevery middle of the entrance to the Bay of Manila. Under a gray sail,which served as a slight protection from the sun, the soldiers squattedsullenly on their kits. Some were asleep, others stared over the railinginto the blue, transparent water that rippled away in long waves beforethe bow of the little vessel. From the open skylight of the engine roomsounded the sharp beat of the engine, and the smell of hot oil spreadover the deck, making the burning heat even more unbearable. Parringtonstood on the bridge and through his glass examined the steep cliffs atthe entrance to the bay, and the bizarre forms of the little volcanicislands.
Except for a few fishing boats with their brown sails, not a ship was tobe seen on the whole expanse of the water. The gunboat now turned intothe northern entrance, and the long, glistening guns in thefortifications of Corregidor became visible. Up above, on the batterieshewn in the rocks, not a living soul could be seen, but below, on thelittle platform where the signal-post stood near the northern battery,an armed sentry marched up and down. Parrington called out to thesignalman near him: "Send this signal across to Corregidor: 'We aregoing to relieve the wireless telegraph detachment at Mariveles, andshall call at Corregidor on our way back.'" The Corregidor batteryanswered the signal, and informed Parrington that Colonel Prettymanexpected him for lunch later on. Slowly the _Mindoro_ crept along thecoast to the rocky Bay of Mariveles, where, before the few neglectedhouses of the place, the guard of the wireless telegraph station, whichstood on the heights of Sierra de Mariveles, was awaiting the arrival ofthe gunboat.
The _Mindoro_ was made fast to the pier. The exchange of men took placequickly, and the relief guard piled their kits on two mule-carts, inwhich they were to be carried up the steep hillside to the top, where afew flat, white houses showed the position of the wireless station, thehigh post of which, with its numerous wires, stood out alone against theblue sky. The relieved men, who plainly showed their delight at gettingaway from this God-forsaken, tedious outpost, made themselvescomfortable in the shade afforded by the sail, and began to chat withthe crew of the _Mindoro_ about the commonplaces of military service. Ashrill screech from the whistle of the _Mindoro_ resounded from themountain side as a farewell greeting to the little troop that wasclimbing slowly upward, followed by the baggage-carts. The _Mindoro_cast off from the pier, and, having rounded the neck of land on whichMariveles stood, was just on the point of starting in the direction ofCorregidor, when the signalman on the bridge called Parrington'sattention to a black steamer which was apparently steaming at full speedfrom the sea toward the entrance to the Bay of Manila.
"A ship at last," said Parrington. "Let's wait and see what sort of acraft it is."
While the _Mindoro_ reduced her speed noticeably, Parrington lookedacross at the strange vessel through his glasses. The ship had alsoattracted the attention of the crew, who began to conjecture excitedlyas to the nationality of the visitor, for during the past week a strangevessel had become a rather unusual sight in Manila. The wirelessdetachment said that they had seen the steamer two hours ago from thehill.
Parrington put down his glass and said: "About four thousand tons, butshe has no flag. We can soon remedy that." And turning to the signalmanhe added: "Ask her to show her colors." At the same time he pulled therope of the whistle in order to attract the stranger's attention.
In a few seconds the German colors appeared at the stern of theapproaching steamer, and the signal flag, which at the same time wasquickly hoisted at the foretopmast, proclaimed the ship to be the Germansteamer _Danzig_, hailing from Hong-Kong. Immediately afterwards a boatwas lowered from the _Danzig_ and the steamer stopped; then the whitecutter put to sea and headed straight for the _Mindoro_.
"It is certainly kind of them to send us a boat," said Parrington. "Iwonder what they want, anyhow." He gave orders to stop the boat and toclear the gangway, and then, watching the German cutter with interest,awaited its arrival. Ten minutes later the commander of the _Danzig_stepped on the bridge of the _Mindoro_, introduced himself to hercommander, and asked for a pilot to take him through the mines in theroads.
Parrington regarded him with astonishment. "Mines, my dear sir, mines?There are no mines here."
The German stared at Parrington unbelievingly. "You have no mines?"
"No," said Parrington. "It is not our custom to blockade our harborswith mines except in time of war."
"In time of war?" said the German, who did not appear to comprehendParrington's answer. "But you are at war."
"We, at war?" returned Parrington, utterly disconcerted. "And with whom,if I may be allowed to ask?"
"It seems to me that the matter is too serious to be a subject forjesting," answered the German sharply.
At this moment loud voices were heard from the after-deck of the_Mindoro_, the crew of which were swearing with great gusto. Parringtonhurried to the railing and looked over angrily. A hot dispute was goingon between the crew of the German cutter and the American sailors, butonly the oft-repeated words "damned Japs" could be distinguished. Heturned again to the German officer, and looked at him hesitatingly. Thelatter, apparently in a bad temper, looked out to sea, whistling softlyto himself.
Parrington walked toward him and, seizing his hand, said: "It's clearthat we don't understand each other. What's up?"
"I am here to inform you," answered the German sharply and decisively,"that the steamer _Danzig_ ran the blockade last night, and that itscaptain politely requests you to give him a pilot through the mines, inorder that we may reach the harbor of Manila."
"You have run the blockade?" shouted Parrington, in a state of thegreatest excitement. "You have run the blockade, man? What the deuce doyou mean?"
"I mean," answered the German coolly, "that the Government of the UnitedStates of America--a fact, by the way, of which you, as commander of oneof her war vessels, ought to be aware--has been at war with Japan forthe last week, and that a steamer which has succeeded in running theenemy's blockade and which carries contraband goods for Manila surelyhas the right to ask to be guided through the mines."
Parrington felt for the railing behind him and leaned against it forsupport. His face became ashen pale, and he seemed so utterly nonplussedat the German officer's statement that the latter, gradually beginningto comprehend the extraordinary situation, continued his explanation.
"Yes," he repeated, "for six days your country has been at war withJapan, and it was only natural we should suppose that you, as one ofthose most nearly concerned, would be aware of this fact."
Parrington, regaining his self-control, said: "Then the cabledisturbances--" He stopped, then continued disjointedly: "But this isterrible; this is a surprise such as we-- I beg your pardon," he went onin a fir
m voice to the German, "I am sure I need not assure you thatyour communication has taken me completely by surprise. Not a soul inManila has any idea of all this. The cable disturbances of the last sixdays were explained to us by a Japanese steamer as being the result of avolcanic outbreak, and since then, through the interruption of allconnections, we have been completely shut off from the outside world. IfJapan, in defiance of all international law, has declared war, we herein Manila have noticed nothing of it, except, perhaps, for the entireabsence, during the last few days, of the regular steamers and, indeed,of all trading ships, a circumstance that appeared to some of us rathersuspicious. But excuse me, we must act at once. Please remain on board."
The _Mindoro's_ whistle emitted three shrill screeches, while thegunboat steamed at full speed toward Corregidor.
Parrington went into his cabin, opened his desk, and searched through itwith nervous haste. "At last!" He seized the war-signal code and ranupstairs to the bridge, shouting to the signalman: "Signal toCorregidor: 'War-signal code, important communication.'" Then hehimself, hastily turning over the leaves of the book, called out thesignals and had them hoisted. Then he shouted to the man at the helm:"Tell them not to spare the engines."
Parrington stood in feverish expectation on the bridge, his handsclinched round the hot iron bars of the breastwork and his eyesmeasuring the rapidly diminishing distance between the _Mindoro_ andthe landing place of Corregidor. As the _Mindoro_ turned into thenorthern passage between Corregidor and the mainland, the chain ofmountains, looking like banks of clouds, which surrounded Manila, becamevisible in the far distance across the blue, apparently boundlesssurface of the Bay, while the town itself, wrapped in the white mistthat veiled the horizon, remained invisible. At this moment Parringtonobserved a dark cloud of smoke in the direction of the harbor of Manilasuddenly detaching itself from below and sailing upward like a fumaroleabove the summit of a volcano, where it dispersed in bizarre shapesresembling ragged balls of cotton. Almost immediately a dull report likea distant thunderclap boomed across the water.
"Can that be another of their devilish tricks?" asked Parrington of theGerman, drawing his attention to the rising cloud, the edges of whichglistened white as snow in the bright sunshine.
"Possibly," was the laconic answer.
The wharf of Corregidor was in a state of confused hubbub. Theartillerymen stood shoulder to shoulder, awaiting the arrival of the_Mindoro_. Suddenly an officer forced his way through the crowd, and,standing on the very edge of the wharf, called out to the rapidlyapproaching _Mindoro_: "Parrington, what's all this about?"
"It's true, every word of it," roared the latter through the megaphone."The Japanese are attacking us, and the German steamer over there is thefirst to bring us news of it. War broke out six days ago."
The _Mindoro_ stopped and threw a line, which was caught by many willinghands and made fast to the landing place.
"Here's my witness," shouted Parrington across to Colonel Prettyman,"the commander of the German steamer _Danzig_."
"I'll join you on board," answered Prettyman. "I've just despatched thenews to Manila by wireless. Of course they won't believe it there."
"Then you've done a very stupid thing," cried Parrington, horrified."Look there," he added, pointing to the cloud above the harbor ofManila; "that has most certainly cost our friend Harryman, of the_Monadnock_, his life. His presentiments did not deceive him after all!"
"Cost Harryman, on board the _Monadnock_, his life?" asked Prettyman inastonishment.
"I'm afraid so," answered Parrington. "The Japanese steamer whichbrought us the news of the famous seaquake has been anchored beside himfor four days. When you sent your wireless message to Manila, theJapanese must have intercepted it, for they have a wireless apparatus onboard--I noticed it only this morning."
The _Mindoro_ now lay fast beside the wharf, and Colonel Prettymanhurried across the gangway to the gunboat and went straight toParrington's cabin, where the two shut themselves up with the Germanofficer.
A few minutes later an excited orderly rushed on board and demanded tosee the colonel at once; he was let into the cabin, and it was foundthat he had brought a confirmation of Parrington's suspicions, for awireless message from Manila informed them that the _Monadnock_ had beendestroyed in the roads of Manila through some inexplicable explosion.
Parrington sprang from his chair and cried to the colonel: "Won't you atleast pay those cursed Japs back by sending the message, 'We suspectthat the Japanese steamer anchored beside the _Monadnock_ has blown herup by means of a torpedo?' Otherwise it is just possible that they willbe naive enough in Manila to let the scoundrel get out of the harbor.No, no," he shouted, interrupting himself, "we can't wait for that; wemust get to work ourselves at once. Colonel, you go ashore, and I'llsteam toward Manila and cut off the rogue's escape. And you"--turning tothe German--"you can return to your ship and enter the bay; there areno"--here his voice broke--"no mines here."
Then he rushed up on the bridge again. The hawsers were cast off infeverish haste, and the _Mindoro_ once more steamed out into the bay atthe fastest speed of which the old craft was capable. Parrington hadregained his self-command in face of the new task that the events justdescribed, which followed so rapidly upon one another's heels, laid outfor him. An expression of fierce joy came over his features when,looking through his glass an hour later, he discovered the _Kanga Maru_holding a straight course for Corregidor.
As calmly as if it were only a question of everyday maneuvers,Parrington gave his orders. The artillerymen stood on either side of thesmall guns, and everything was made ready for action.
The distance between the two ships slowly diminished.
"Yes, it is the Japanese steamer," said Parrington to himself. "And nowto avenge Harryman! There'll be no sentimentality; we'll shoot themdown like pirates! No signal, no warning--nothing, nothing!" hemurmured.
"Stand by with the forward gun," he called down from the bridge to themen standing at the little 12 pounder on the foredeck of the _Mindoro_.The _Mindoro_ turned a little to starboard, so as to get at thebroadside of the Japanese, and thus be able to fire on him with both theforward and after guns.
"Five hundred yards! Aim at the engine room! Number one gun, fire!" Theshot boomed across the sunny, blue expanse of water, driving a whitepuff of smoke before it. The shell disappeared in the waves about onehundred yards ahead of the Japanese steamer. The next shot struck theship, leaving in her side a black hole with jagged edges just above thewaterline.
"Splendid!" cried Parrington. "Keep that up and we'll have the villainin ten shots."
Quickly the 12 pounder was reloaded; the gunners stood quietly besidetheir gun, and shot after shot was fired at the Japanese ship, of whichfive or six hit her right at the waterline. The stern gun of the_Mindoro_ devoted itself in the meantime to destroying things on theenemy's deck. Gaping holes appeared everywhere in the ship's side, andthe funnels received several enormous rents, out of which brown smokepoured forth. In a quarter of an hour the deck resembled the primevalchaos, being covered with bent and broken iron rods, iron plates riddledwith shot, and woodwork torn to splinters. Suddenly clouds of whitesteam burst out from all the holes in the ship's sides, from theskylights, and from the remnants of the funnels; the deck in the middleof the steamer rose slowly, and the exploding boilers tossed broken bitsof engines and deck apparatus high up into the air. The _Kanga Maru_listed to port and disappeared in the waves, over which a few stragglingAmerican shots swept.
"Cease firing!" commanded Parrington. Then the _Mindoro_ came about andagain steered straight for Manila. The act of retribution had beenaccomplished; the treacherous murder of the crew of the _Monadnock_ hadbeen avenged.
When the _Mindoro_ arrived at the harbor of Manila, the town was in atremendous state of excitement. The drums were beating the alarm in thestreets. The spot where only that morning the _Monadnock_ had lain inidle calm was empty.
* * * * *
Th
e explosion of the _Monadnock_ had at first been regarded as anaccident. In spite of its being the dinner hour, a number of boatsappeared in the roads, all making toward the scene of the accident,where a broad, thick veil of smoke crept slowly over the surface of thewater. As no one knew what new horrors might be hidden in this cloud,none of the boats dared go nearer. Only two white naval cuttersbelonging to the gunboats lying in the harbor glided into the mist,driven forward by strong arms; and they actually succeeded in saving afew of the crew.
One of the rescued men told the following story: About two minutes afterthe _Monadnock_ had received a wireless message, which, however, wasnever deciphered, a dull concussion was felt throughout the ship,followed almost immediately by another one. On the starboard side of the_Monadnock_ two white, bubbling, hissing columns of water had shot up,which completely flooded the low deck; then a third explosion, possiblycaused by a mine striking the ammunition room and setting it off,practically tore the ship asunder. There could be no doubt that thesetorpedoes came from the Japanese steamer anchored beside the_Monadnock_, for the _Kanga Maru_ had suddenly slipped her anchor andhurried off as fast as she could. It was now remembered that theJapanese ship had had steam up constantly for the last few days,ostensibly because they were daily expecting their cargo in lighters,from which they intended to load without delay. It was therefore prettycertain that the _Kanga Maru_ had entered the harbor merely for thepurpose of destroying the _Monadnock_, the only monitor in Manila.Torpedo tubes had probably been built in the Japanese merchant steamerunder water, and this made it possible to blow up the _Monadnock_ themoment there was the least suspicion that the Americans in Manila wereaware of the fact that war had broken out. Thus the wireless messagefrom Corregidor had indeed sealed the fate of the _Monadnock_. The_Kanga Maru_ had launched her torpedoes, and then tried to escape. Themeeting with the _Mindoro_ the Japanese had not reckoned with, for theyhad counted on getting away during the confusion which the destructionof the _Monadnock_ would naturally cause in Manila.
As a result of these occurrences the few ships in the roads of Manilasoon stopped loading and discharging; most of the steamers weighedanchor, and, as soon as they could get up steam, went farther out intothe roads, for a rumor had spread that the _Kanga Maru_ had laid mines.The report turned out to be entirely unfounded, but it succeeded incausing a regular panic on some of the ships. From the town came thenoise of the beating of drums and the shrill call to arms to alarm thegarrison; one could see the quays being cleared by detachments ofsoldiers, and sentries were posted before all the public buildings.
American troops hurried on the double-quick through the streets of theEuropean quarter, and the sight of the soldiers furnished the firstelement of reassurance to the white population, whose excitement hadbeen tremendous ever since the alarm of the garrison. The old Spanishbatteries, or rather what was still left of them, were occupied byartillerymen, while one battalion went on sentry duty on the ramparts ofthe section of the town called _Intra muros_, and five other battalionsleft the town at once in order to help garrison the redoubts and fortsin the line of defense on the land side.
The town of Manila and the arsenal at Cavite, where measures for defensewere also taken, thus gave no cause for apprehension; but, on the otherhand, it was noticeable that the natives showed signs of insubordinationtoward the American military authorities, and that they did not attemptto conceal the fact that they had been better informed as to thepolitical situation than the Americans. These were the first indicationsas to how the land lay, and gradually it began to be remembered thatsimilar observations had been made within the last few days: forexample, a number of revolutionary flags had had to be removed in thetown.
The Americans were in a very precarious position, and at the council ofwar held by the governor in the afternoon it was decided that should theFilipinos show the slightest signs of insurrection, the whole militarystrength would be concentrated to defend Manila, Cavite, and the singlerailway running north, while all the other garrisons were to bewithdrawn and the rest of the archipelago left to its own devices. Inthis way the Americans might at least hope, with some chance of success,to remain masters of Manila and vicinity. The island was, of course,proclaimed to be in a state of siege, and a strong military patrol wasput in charge of the night watch.
A serious encounter took place in the afternoon before the Governmentbuilding. As soon as it became known that proclamation of martial lawhad been made the population streamed in great crowds toward theGovernment buildings; and when the American flag was suddenly hauleddown--it has never been ascertained by whom--and the Catipunan flag,formerly the standard of the rebels--the tri-color with the sun in atriangular field--appeared in its place, a moment of wild enthusiasmensued, so wild that it required an American company with fixed bayonetsto clear the square of the fanatics. The sudden appearance of this hugeCatipunan flag seemed mysterious enough, but the next few days were todemonstrate clearly how carefully the rebellion among the natives hadbeen prepared.
When the officers of the garrison assembled at the customary place onthe evening of the same day, they were depressed and uneasy, as men whofind themselves confronted by an invisible enemy. There was no longerany difference of opinion as to the danger that threatened from theMongolians, and those officers who had been exonerated from the chargeof being too suspicious by the rapid developments of the last few hourswere considerate enough not to make their less far-sighted comrades feelthat they had undervalued their adversaries. No one had expected acatastrophe to occur quite so suddenly, and the uncertainty as to whatwas going on elsewhere had a paralyzing effect on all decisions. Whatone could do in the way of defense had been or was being done, but therewere absolutely no indications as to the side from which the enemy mightbe expected.
The chief cause for anxiety at the moment was furnished by the questionwhether the squadron which had started for Mindanao was already aware ofthe outbreak of war. In any case, it was necessary to warn both it andthe transports expected from San Francisco before they arrived atMindanao. The only ships available for this purpose were the few littlegunboats taken from the Spaniards in 1898; these had been made fit forservice in all haste to be used in the harbor when the cruiser squadronleft. Although they left much to be desired in the way of speed--ahandicap of six days could, however, hardly have been made up even bythe swiftest turbine--there was nevertheless a fair chance that theseinsignificant-looking little vessels, which could hardly bedistinguished from the merchant type, might be able to slip past theJapanese blockading ships, which were probably cruising outside ofManila. This, however, would only be possible in case the Japanese hadthus far ignored the squadron near Mindanao as they had Manila, for thepurpose of concentrating their strength somewhere else. But where? Atany rate, it was worth while taking even such a faint chance of beingable to warn the squadron, for the destruction of the _Monadnock_ couldhave had no other reason than to prevent communications between Manilaand the squadron. The enemy had evidently not given a thought to therickety little gunboats. Or could it be that all was already at an endout at Mindanao? At all events, the attempt had to be made.
Two gunboats coaled and slipped out of the harbor the same evening,heading in a southeasterly direction among the little islands straightthrough the archipelago in order to reach the eastern coast of Mindanaoand there intercept the transport steamers, and eventually accompanythem to Manila. Neither of these vessels was ever heard from again; itis supposed that they went down after bravely defending themselvesagainst a Japanese cruiser. Their mission had meanwhile been rendereduseless, for the five mail-steamers had encountered the Japanesetorpedo-boats east of Mindanao three days before, and upon theirindignant refusal to haul down their flags and surrender, had been sunkby several torpedoes. Only a few members of the crew had been fished upby the Japanese.
As a reward for his decisive action in destroying the _Kanga Maru_, thecommander of the _Mindoro_ was ordered to try, with the assistance ofthree other gunboats, to locate the c
ommander of the cruiser squadronsomewhere in the neighborhood of Mindanao, probably to the southwest ofthat island, in order to notify him of the outbreak of the war and tohand him the order to return to Manila.
The gunboats started on their voyage at dawn. In order to conceal thereal reason for the expedition from the natives, it was openly declaredthat they were only going to do sentry duty at the entrance to the Bayof Manila. Each of the four vessels had been provided with a wirelessapparatus, which, however, was not to be installed until the ships wereunder way, so that the four commanders might always be in touch with oneanother, and with the cruiser squadron as well, even should the latterbe some distance away.
The next morning the gunboats found themselves in the Strait of Mindoro.They must have passed the enemy's line of blockade unnoticed, under thecover of darkness. At all events, they had seen nothing of the Japanese,and concluded that the blockade before Manila must be pretty slack. Onleaving the Strait of Mindoro, the gunboats, proceeding abreast at smalldistances from one another, sighted a steamer--apparently anEnglishman--crossing their course. They tried to signal to it, but nosooner did the English vessel observe this, than she began to increaseher speed. It became clear at once that she was faster than thegunboats, and unless, therefore, the latter wished to engage in auseless chase, the hope of receiving news from the English captain hadto be abandoned. So the gunboats continued on their course--the onlyships to be seen on the wide expanse of inland sea.
In the afternoon a white steamer, going in the opposite direction, wassighted. Opinions clashed as to whether it was a warship or amerchant-vessel. In order to make certain the commander of the _Mindoro_ordered a turn to starboard, whereupon it was discovered that thestrange ship was an ocean-steamer of about three thousand tons, whosenationality could not be distinguished at that distance. Still it mightbe an auxiliary cruiser from the Japanese merchant service. Thecommander of the _Mindoro_ therefore ordered his vessels to clear foraction.
The actions of the strange steamer were followed with eager attention,and it was seen that she continued her direct northward course. When shewas about five hundred yards to port of the _Mindoro_, the latterrequested the stranger to show her flag, whereupon the English flagappeared at the stern. Eager for battle, the Americans had hoped shewould turn out to be a Japanese ship, for which, being four against one,they would have been more than a match; the English colors thereforeproduced universal disappointment. Suddenly one of the officers of the_Mindoro_ drew Parrington's attention to the fact that the whole buildof the strange steamer characterized her as one of the ships of the"Nippon Yusen Kaisha" with which he had become acquainted during hisservice at Shanghai; he begged Parrington not to be deceived by theEnglish flag. The latter at once ordered a blank shot to be fired forthe purpose of stopping the strange vessel, but when the latter calmlycontinued on her course, a ball was sent after her from the bow of the_Mindoro_, the shell splashing into the water just ahead of the steamer.The stranger now appeared to stop, but it was only to make a sharp turnto starboard, whereupon he tried to escape at full speed. At the sametime the English flag disappeared from the stern, and was replaced bythe red sun banner of Nippon.
Parrington at once opened fire on the hostile ship, and in a few minutesthe latter had to pay heavily for her carelessness. Her commander hadevidently reckoned upon the fact that the Americans were not yet awareof the outbreak of war, and had hoped to pass the gunboats under coverof a neutral flag. It also seemed unlikely that four little gunboatsshould have run the blockade before Manila; it was far more natural tosuppose that these ships, still ignorant of the true state of affairs,were bound on some expedition in connection with the rising of thenatives. The firing had scarcely lasted ten minutes before the Japaneseauxiliary cruiser, which had answered with a few shots from two lightguns cleverly concealed behind the deck-house near the stern of theboat, sank stern first. It was at any rate a slight victory whichgreatly raised the spirits of the crews of the gunboats.
Within the next few hours the Americans caught up with a few Malayansailing ships, to which they paid no attention; later on a little blackfreight steamer, apparently on the way from Borneo to Manila, came insight. The little vessel worked its way heavily through the water,tossed about by the ever increasing swell. About three o'clock thestrange ship was near enough for its flag--that of Holland--to berecognized. Signals were made asking her to bring to, whereupon anofficer from the _Mindoro_ was pulled over to her in a gig. Half an hourlater he left the _Rotterdam_, and the latter turned and steamed away inthe direction from which she had come. The American officer had informedthe captain of the _Rotterdam_ of the blockade of Manila, and the latterhad at once abandoned the idea of touching at that port.
The news which he had to impart gave cause for considerable anxiety. The_Rotterdam_ came from the harbor of Labuan, where pretty definite newshad been received concerning a battle between some Japanese ships andthe American cruiser squadron stationed at Mindanao. It was reportedthat the battle had taken place about five days ago, immediately afterwar had been declared, that the American ships had fallen a prey to thesuperior forces of the enemy, and that the entire American squadron hadbeen destroyed.
At all events, it was quite clear that the squadron no longer needed tobe informed of the outbreak of hostilities, so Parrington decided tocarry out his orders and return to Manila with his four ships. As theflotilla toward evening, just before sunset, was again passing throughthe Strait of Mindoro, the last gunboat reported that a big white ship,apparently a war vessel, had been sighted coming from the southeast, andthat it was heading for the flotilla at full speed. It was soon possibleto distinguish a white steamer, standing high out of the water, whosefighting tops left no room for doubt as to its warlike character. It wassoon ascertained that the steamer was making about fifteen knots, andthat escape was therefore impossible.
Parrington ordered his gunboats to form in a line and to get up fullsteam, as it was just possible that they might be able to elude theenemy under cover of darkness, although there was still a whole hour tothat time.
Slowly the hull of the hostile ship rose above the horizon, and when shewas still at a distance of about four thousand yards there was a flashat her bows, and the thunder of a shot boomed across the waters, echoedfaintly from the mountains of Mindoro.
"They're too far away," said Parrington, as the enemy's shell splashedinto the waves far ahead of the line of gunboats. A second shot followeda few minutes later, and whizzed between the _Mindoro_ and her neighbor,throwing up white sprays of water whose drops, in the rays of thesetting sun, fell back into the sea like golden mist. And now came shotafter shot, while the Americans were unable to answer with their smallguns at that great distance.
Suddenly a shell swept the whole length of the _Mindoro's_ deck, on theport side, tearing up the planks of the foredeck as it burst. Thingswere getting serious! Slowly the sun sank in the west, turning the skyinto one huge red flame, streaked with yellow lights and deep greenpatches. The clouds, which looked like spots of black velvet floatingabove the semicircle of the sun, had jagged edges of gleaming white andunearthly ruby red. Fiery red, yellow, and green reflections playedtremblingly over the water, while in the east the deep blue shadows ofnight slowly overspread the sky.
The whole formed a picture of rare coloring: the four little Americanships, pushing forward with all the strength of their puffing enginesand throwing up a white line of foam before them with their sharp bows;on the bridges the weather-beaten forms of their commanders, and besidethe dull-brown gun muzzles the gun crews, waiting impatiently for themoment when the decreasing distance would at last allow them to usetheir weapons; far away in the blue shadows of the departing day, like aspirit of the sea, the white steamer, from whose sides pouredunceasingly the yellow flashes from the mouths of the cannon. Severalshots had caused a good deal of damage among the rigging of thegunboats. The _Callao_ had only half a funnel left, from whichgray-brown smoke and red sparks poured forth.
Suddenly there was a loud explosion, and the _Callao_ listed to port. Asix-inch shell had hit her squarely in the stern, passing through themiddle of the ship, and exploded in the upper part of the engine-room.The little gunboat was eliminated from the contest before it could firea single shot, and now it lay broadside to the enemy, and utterly at thelatter's mercy. In a few minutes the _Callao_ sank, her flags waving.Almost directly afterwards another boat shared her fate. The other twogunboats continued on their course, the quickly descending darknessmaking them a more difficult target for the enemy. Suddenly a lanternsignal informed the commander of the _Mindoro_ that the third ship hadbecome disabled through some damage to the engines. Parrington at onceordered the gunboat to be run ashore on the island of Mindoro and blownup during the night. Then he was compelled to leave the last of hiscomrades to its fate. His wireless apparatus had felt disturbances,evidently caused by the enemy's warning to the ships blockading Manila,so that his chances of entering the harbor unmolested appearedexceedingly slim.
The Japanese cruiser ceased firing as it grew darker, but curiouslyenough had made no use whatever of her searchlights. Only the flyingsparks from her funnel enabled the _Mindoro_ to follow the course of thehostile vessel, which soon passed the gunboat. Either the enemy thoughtthat all four American ships had been destroyed or else they didn'tthink it worth while to worry about a disabled little gunboat. At allevents, this carelessness or mistake on the part of the enemy proved thesalvation of the _Mindoro_. During the night she struck a northwesterlycourse, so as to try to gain an entrance to the Bay of Manila from thenorth at daybreak, depending on the batteries of Corregidor to assisther in the attempt. Once during the night the _Mindoro_ almost collidedwith one of the enemy's blockading ships, which was traveling withshaded lights, but she passed by unnoticed and gained an entrance at thenorth of the bay at dawn, while the batteries on the high, rockyterraces of Corregidor, with their long-range guns, kept the enemy at adistance. It was now ascertained that the Japanese blockading fleetconsisted only of ships belonging to the merchant service, armed with afew guns, and of the old, unprotected cruiser _Takatshio_, which had hadthe encounter with the gunboats. The bold expedition of the latter hadcleared up the situation in so far that it was now pretty certain thatthe entire American cruiser squadron had been destroyed or disabled, andthat Manila was therefore entirely cut off from the sea.
The batteries at Corregidor now expected an attack from the enemy'sships, but none came. The Japanese contented themselves with anextraordinarily slack blockade--so much so that at times one couldscarcely distinguish the outlines of the ships on the horizon. As allcommerce had stopped and only a few gunboats comprised the entire navalstrength of Manila, Japan could well afford to regard this mockery of ablockade as perfectly sufficient. Day by day the Americans stood attheir guns, day by day they expected the appearance of a hostile ship;but the horizon remained undisturbed and an uncanny silence lay over thetown and harbor. Of what use were the best of guns, and what was thegood of possessing heroic courage and a burning desire for battle, ifthe enemy did not put in an appearance? And he never did.
When Parrington appeared at the Club on the evening after his scoutingexpedition he was hailed as a hero, and the officers stayed together along time discussing the naval engagement. In the early hours of themorning he accompanied his friend, Colonel Hawkins of the TwelfthInfantry Regiment, through the quiet streets of the northern suburbs ofManila to the latter's barracks. As they reached the gate they saw,standing before it in the pale light of dawn, a mule cart, on which layan enormous barrel. The colonel called the sentry, and learned that thecart had been standing before the gate since the preceding evening. Thecolonel went into the guard-room while Parrington remained in thestreet. He was suddenly struck by a label affixed to the cask, whichcontained the words, "From Colonel Pemberton to his friend ColonelHawkins." Parrington followed the colonel into the guard-room and drewhis attention to the scrap of paper. Hawkins ordered some soldiers totake the barrel down from the car and break open one end of it. Thecolonel had strong nerves, and was apt to boast of them to the novicesin the colonial service, but what he saw now was too much even for suchan old veteran. He stepped back and seized the wall for support, whilehis eyes grew moist.
In the cask lay the corpse of his friend Colonel Pemberton, formerlycommander of the military station of San Jose, with his skull smashedin. The Filipinos had surprised the station of San Jose and slaughteredthe whole garrison after a short battle. Pemberton's corpse--his lovefor whisky was well known--they had put into a cask and driven to theinfantry barracks at Manila. Parrington, deeply touched, pressed hiscomrade's hand. The insurrection of the Filipinos! In Manila the bellsof the Dominican church of _Intra muros_ rang out their monotonous callto early mass.