It was a great sight to see the two regiments, with the prisoners, march out of the town at five the next morning.  They made a fine appearance in their well-brushed uniforms and bright equipment.  The townsfolk watched them out of sight, and then most likely cursed them for a lot of vagabonds, but the soldiers didn’t mind their curses.  They were all very happy at the prospect of getting back to Manila again, and no one was more glad than Archie.  He had somewhat recovered from his wound now, and rode in his old place at the head of the column, where he was the centre of interest to every one.  The men congratulated him on having proved such an excellent mascot, and he laughed and talked with them until he was tired.

The outskirts of the city were reached about five in the afternoon, and as they marched through the streets to headquarters a band of music preceded them, playing popular and patriotic airs.  The sidewalks were crowded with people, and Archie felt happier than for a long time, because every one was curious to know who that boy could be riding at the head of the troops, alongside the colonel.  He was known to most of the other troops in Manila, and received many a cheer from them as they saw his arm in a sling, and when they finally reached the general’s headquarters, he was honoured with a handshake and the congratulations of the commander himself.  This was the climax to a very happy day, and Archie went to bed in his little old bunk feeling that he was a very lucky boy for having been wounded in battle.

Of course the next few days were very busy ones for all the men, and for Archie, too.  He was obliged to tell, over and over, the story of his experiences, and how he had managed to escape from the rebels when they had him.  This story always made the men roar with laughter, and increased their already strong contempt for the Filipino army.  He told, too, about brave Bill Hickson, and that gentleman’s cot was always the centre of an admiring throng of visitors, who shook his hand and told him how proud they were of what he had accomplished.  And all the poor hero could do was to smile feebly, for he was still too ill to talk much.

Archie felt that he had almost volumes to write about his experiences in battle, and he did send a very long account of this encounter to Mr. Van Bunting.  It was written in his boyish way, but one of the officers who read it said that it was the best thing of its kind he had ever read, so he wasn’t at all backward about mailing it.  All the other newspaper correspondents in Manila were wishing they had gone with the regiment and witnessed the battle, but they had stayed in Manila, thinking that this would be like the other expeditions of the kind, a mere wild-goose chase, which wouldn’t amount to anything at all.  They were all very anxious to get the details of the affair from Archie, but he was shrewd enough not to tell them anything of value.  And the other correspondent of the