of
land.

Leave it to the lads themselves, and this was a Boy Scout expedition,
although there was a serious purpose behind it. Ned Nestor and Jimmie
McGraw were members of the Wolf Patrol, Ned being the Patrol Leader,
while Frank Shaw and Jack Bosworth were members of the famous Black Bear
Patrol, both of the city of New York.

Those who have read the first two books of this series[1] will readily
understand the object of this journey to the Philippines, but for the
information of those who have not read the books it may be well to state
here that while in Mexico and the Canal Zone Ned Nestor had been able to
render valuable services to the United States government.

[Footnote 1: Boy Scouts In Mexico; or, On Guard with Uncle Sam. Boy
Scouts in the Canal Zone; or, The Plot Against Uncle Sam.]

At the close of his work in the Secret Service department of the Canal
Zone government, he had been invited to accompany Major Ross to the
Philippines for the purpose of assisting in the uncovering of an alleged
treasonable plot against the peace of the Islands and the continued
supremacy of the United States Government there.

Knowing little of what there was to be done, or of what was expected of
him, Ned had accepted the invitation to enter the Secret Service,
stipulating only that his chums should be permitted to accompany him to
Uncle Sam's new and somewhat unruly possessions in Asia.

"I won't go if we can't make a Boy Scout outing of it," he had insisted.
"I shall be glad to be of service to the government, but I want the boys
to have a jolly time, too. There must be plenty of opportunities for
adventure in the Philippines," he had added, thinking of the many odd
customs of the tribes of natives on the twelve hundred islands that
constitute the group.

"I shall be only too glad to have your friends go," the Major had
replied, "for I understand that they contributed not a little to the
success of your efforts in Mexico and the Canal Zone."

"I couldn't have done a thing without them," had been Ned's generous
reply, and so it was all arranged.

However, only three of the boys who had accompanied Ned from New York to
the Canal Zone had been at liberty to go to the Philippines, the others
reluctantly turning back home. The three to go were now assembled in the
cabin occupied by Frank Shaw, looking out to the dim line of land.

Frank Shaw was the son of the owner and editor of an influential daily
newspaper in New Y