It was hard, too, to leave
the dear old palace in Manila, through which he had wandered so often,
and every room of which had for him some story of a Spanish prince or
a great governor-general, wealthy and wise. There would be none of all
this at home or in New York, but then there would be something better;
there would be mother, and the old grape arbour, and the Hut Club.
On investigation, Archie found that the quickest way to get home would
be to travel by way of Hong Kong and Yokohama, taking the steamer from
there to San Francisco. It would take him more than a month to make
the trip, and, as it was now the second week in March, he could hardly
expect to reach New York before the first of May. He at once cabled
Mr. Jennings that he would leave at once for Hong Kong, and received
an answer telling him to do so by all means, and to continue to write
letters describing his trip. Archie knew that these letters would
probably not reach New York any sooner than he would, but he did write
them, anyhow, and he did see some of them appear in the paper after
his arrival.
Archie was overjoyed to learn one day that Bill Hickson had received
permission from the commanding general to return to the United States,
and he at once hunted up the bashful hero, and insisted that he leave
at once, and make the trip with him. This was finally agreed to, and
when it was settled that the two old chums were to travel homeward
together the whole camp in Manila was interested in the news.
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