Ben's shoulder, to bury itself in
the fleshy part of one of his private's arms.

"'Tis my uncle!" cried the girl. "Oh, he will kill us all, I am sure
of it!" And she became so agitated that she sank down and could not go
another step.

Without hesitation, Ben ordered his men forward on the run, and away
went the detachment for the spot from whence the unexpected shot had
come. As the soldiers neared the wood they beheld a Filipino in the
act of running across a small opening.

"That's him, the rascal!" roared Dan Casey, and taking a hasty aim he
fired, and the rebel was seen to plunge forward on his face. When the
party came up they found that the man had been hit in the hip, and
that the wound, while not necessarily dangerous, was serious, and
would put the fellow out of the contest for several months.

"It serves him right," said Ben. "Poisoning drinking water is not fair
fighting."

The girl soon came up, crying bitterly. She wished to remain by her
uncle, but Ben made her understand that she must point out the
water-barrel first, and after that he would have two soldiers remove
the wounded man to the cottage.

Ten minutes later the rear road was gained, and here the water-barrel
was found, set up on end, with the top knocked out. It was
three-quarters full of water, and a dozen or more soldiers were
drinking and filling their canteens.

"Stop drinking!" ordered Ben, when still at a distance. "That water
has been doctored and will make you sick." He refrained from saying
the water was poisoned for fear of creating a panic.

The water was at once poured out on the ground and the barrel smashed
up. Then a surgeon was found, to whom Ben related the facts of the
case. A canteen of the water was examined, and the surgeon decided to
give the man who had drunk the stuff an emetic. A few of the soldiers
were taken with cramps inside of an hour afterward, and two of them
were seriously sick for a week; but no lives were lost. But if the
soldiers could have got at the Filipino who had poisoned the water,
they would have shot him on the spot.

As soon as the danger was over, Ben returned to the wood, and had two
men carry the wounded man back to the cottage, where he was left in
charge of his wife and his niece. Through Gilbert it was learned that
the wife had also remonstrated against using the poison, so it was
fair to suppose that the aunt would protect her niece to a certain
degree. "But she'll have a hard time