me plan for speedy descent on the opposite side of the mountains.

The advance party started out early on foot, taking with them such
a supply of rice and bananas as they could carry. Only three miles
farther up they entered a canon whose rocky walls, at places almost
perpendicular and seeming to form pillars for the sky, were so close
together at their base that it would have been impossible to have used
the ponies for travel, even though they had not retreated in the storm.

Good progress was made, and by sun-down, December 20, they had reached
the upper rivulets of what afterwards proved to be the north fork of
the Rio Masagan, instead of the south fork which she had previously
followed. The beautiful valleys below them were plainly visible as
the sun sank to rest over the distant hills. A small native village
could be seen on the bank of the stream a few miles ahead. The party
bivouacked for the night.

Early the next morning, after a light lunch of cold rice, Marie was
off on her important mission.

Her two escorts made their way back to the old church, where after
another night's rest, the five undertook their return journey to
the sub-base at the spring far down the mountain side. When they
reached this camp they found their ponies all returned to it; and
their comrades, thinking they had all been captured or slain by the
Americans, were hastily preparing to retreat. The entire party, except
Marie, got back to Aguinaldo's camp at Palanan, on Christmas Day.

Marie, was therefore, left to arrange for her own return, after her
spy work had been completed. She contemplated securing help from
the natives at Ilagan, among whom she had previously lived for a
few months.

CHAPTER XIII.

COMPENSATION

On the evening of December 24, 1900,--one of those dark nights in
the Philippines when the air seems so dense that you can almost
take hold of it with your hands--when the heavy clouds blanket the
earth so closely that the terrible thunders seem to shake the earth
in its orbit, with the deep-toned diapason of their melody--when
the lightening bugs flutter from twig to twig, revealing their
lanterned wings--when the human heart beats with a conscious thump
in anticipation of something awful--when those who are out alone
whistle to give themselves courage--when the zigzag openings rent
through the clouds by the vicious lightning flashes almost reveal
Eternity;--Christmas Eve, that sacred occasion which we a