line of argument seemed very reasonable to Archie, and he volunteered to go out and see if he could make any discoveries.  The colonel assured him that he would be in no danger, even if he were caught by the rebels, for they would never suspect a boy of Archie’s age and size of being a spy.  So the lad felt no fear at all, and made what few preparations there were to be made before starting.  He secured a knapsack from the commissary officer, and in this he placed what few belongings he wanted to take with him, together with his note-books and some provisions for the trip.  Then he secured a small pistol, which he carried in his hip pocket, and he was disappointed because the colonel would not allow him to carry a rifle.  And when he had everything ready he said good-bye to his friends in the regiment, and departed from the palace amid a multitude of cheers.  At the last moment the colonel tried to dissuade him from starting, for fear he might meet with some accident, but Archie was determined to make the attempt.

It was his plan not to go farther than fifty miles in the interior, for he thought that if he found no traces of the rebels in that distance there would be little use in going farther into the forest, for, it would be almost impossible to find them there.  So he set out gaily upon his trip of exploration, and Archie couldn’t remember when he had been so happy before, save on that day when he first visited the office of the Enterprise.  This adventure was exciting enough to please the wildest boy in America, and Archie could imagine how envious the other boys would be if they could but know the trip he was having.  It had an official air to it, too, for had not the colonel been most anxious, in the beginning, that he should go, and did he not say that he would reward him handsomely if he were successful in locating any of the insurgents, or in proving that he had been right when he said they were near Manila?  It was all as perfect an adventure as Archie could have imagined.  He could not have planned a better one if he had been able to select any trip he could think of.

He planned that it would take him at least three days to walk fifty miles, and perhaps longer, for the roads were not very good in some places.  He knew that he would find many villages and towns along the way, too, for the island was thinly settled in this neighbourhood.  So if he were obliged to rest, he would never be at a loss for a place to get a bed.  Archie couldn’t help thinking, as he walked along the road outside Manila, this first morning, that he might find a body of the insurgents in possession of one of these towns.  They were very bold, he had heard, and they probably knew that there were no American troops anywhere in the neighbourhood, outside the city of Manila itself.  And, knowing this, he knew they wouldn’t hesitate to camp at the very gates of the city, for they were marvellously successful in getting away into the interior whenever an American force made its appearance.