my plan in taking up
my position on this hill. Do either of you guess it?"

"I think I do, sir," replied Lieutenant Prescott, after a pause.

"Very good, Mr. Prescott. What is my reason?"

"You were sent out, sir, to meet Datto Hakkut, fight him and disperse
his forces."

"Exactly," nodded the captain.

"This hill, sir, will be a hard nut for the brown men to crack. If he
hopes to do it, Hakkut must get every available fighting man here on the
spot."

"You're right," nodded Freeman.

"Thus, sir, you hope to force Hakkut to concentrate his whole fighting
force in this immediate country. If you get all the rascals in front of
you you'll have them all in one lot to whip."

"You've fathomed my plan very easily, Mr. Prescott, and you've exactly
stated it. Now, though I shall take pains to be sure that the Moros
remain in this neighborhood, I shall not force any very hard fighting
for two or three days. Our rations will last longer than that, with
care. After I've given Hakkut time enough to get his whole crew together
then I shall go after them as hard as I can considering the size of this
force. Also, by waiting, we shall give several of our wounded men time
to get back into fighting condition."

"But what, sir," broke in Lieutenant Holmes, "if the datto takes your
negative course for a confession of weakness, and attempts to carry this
hill by assault?"

"Answer that, if you can, Mr. Prescott," directed Captain Freeman,
turning to the other West Pointer.

"Why, I imagine, sir, that you hope your seeming inactivity _will_
provoke Hakkut into trying to carry this hill by assault. This hill,
defended by regulars, will be no easy place to take from us, and Hakkut
will lose so many of his men that the experience will be a good lesson
for him."

"That's the idea," nodded the commanding officer. "Now, gentlemen, you
understand the plan thus far. But there's another important point to
remember. If we are cooped up here for very many days, then the men will
have nothing left to eat but grass and gravel. So you will understand
that, presently, it is going to be a matter of prime necessity for us to
be able to leave here and forage. Therefore, during our comparative
inactivity, we must provoke Hakkut into as many assaults as possible
upon this position. The more attempts he makes the more his fighting men
will be demoralized when we at last fight our way through his lines."

During that night no attack was made, and