He dwelt particularly upon the bravery of Bill Hickson,
and held him up as a model for all the men to follow. "And now three
cheers for Bill Hickson and our boy reporter again," he cried, when he
had finished, and they were given with a will by all the men.
The regimental officers held a short consultation, and it was decided,
on the strength of the news brought by Archie, to push on after the
rebels as fast as was possible. But it was now sunset, and there was
no use trying to go farther to-night, so it was agreed that the best
plan would be to give the men a good rest overnight, as they had made
the entire march from Manila since five o'clock in the morning. "They
will do all the better to-morrow for the rest," said the colonel.
Archie was valuable in being able to guide the officers to the
building where he had been confined, assuring them that they would
find everything needful there in the way of food, and a place to
sleep. Some of the soldiers were quartered in various houses of the
town, for the people had soon turned out into the street again, and
had expressed their friendship for their "masters," as they called
them. Archie could hardly refrain from laughing as he saw some of
those who in the morning had bowed down to Aguinaldo vowing
everlasting allegiance to our flag, and he assured the colonel that he
couldn't be too careful while in the town to guard against surprises.
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