The remaining companies had nothing to do now but lay about on the soft grass, and rest.  They were encamped in a stretch of grassy loam in the midst of what appeared to be a dense forest, and all about were evidences of the great fertility of the soil.  The vegetation was so dense that one could scarcely see through it, and the glade was cool and pleasant, though overhead the sun was shining as warm as ever.  It was a lovely oasis in a wilderness of undergrowth, and the men enjoyed it to the utmost.

About three in the afternoon the sound of firing was heard in the distance.  First there was one shot, then another, and several more at rapid intervals.  Archie was one of the first to jump to his feet, but in a second every man was at attention, with his musket in his hands.  The colonel listened closely for two minutes, and then the firing began once more, and this time it seemed nearer.  He hesitated no longer, but gave the order to march ahead.  “They’ve evidently found the cowards at last,” he muttered to Archie.  “You stay here, where you will be out of danger.”  But Archie was determined to do nothing of the kind.  He felt his pistol safe in his hip pocket, and when the companies swung out of the forest and into the road he was marching in his old place at the head of the column.  Again the colonel ordered him to remain behind, but Archie insisted that he would not, “Then go to the rear,” cried the colonel, angry for the moment.  “I will not have you shot down by a rebel sharpshooter the very first one.”  And Archie knew that he would have to obey.

The column went ahead at double-quick, and finally broke into a steady run.  Every minute the noise of rifle-shots sounded nearer, and it seemed probable that the two companies were retreating before the insurgents.  The men were wild to reach the scene of the firing, and the officers had all they could do to keep them in line.  All the time they were running hardly a sound was heard save the noise of their boots upon the soft earth, and they all knew that they could probably take the insurgents by surprise.

Archie’s heart was beating very hard as they drew nearer and nearer to the scene.  He felt that he was about to see his first fighting, and he determined not to miss any part of it.  So he gradually ran ahead until finally he was almost at the head of the column again.

The troops made so little noise that the two companies, retreating slowly, were upon them without knowing it.  But when they discovered that their comrades had come to their aid they set up such a cheering as Archie had never heard before, and immediately faced about and went ahead again.  The rebels were about a quarter of a mile behind, marching rapidly forward, and firing as they came.  Some of them were running among the trees at the roadside, firing incessantly, and hitting some poor soldier almost every time they fired.  They were the famous sharpshooters, of whom the soldiers in Manila had heard so much.