"Haven't you heard?" asked Corporal Hyman.
"Not a word," Hal declared.
"I haven't, either. But we heard that the 'Warren' came in this afternoon."
The "Warren" was the United States Army transport vessel that was much used in carrying troops between the different islands.
"We ought to be under way soon, then," Hal replied thoughtfully. "I suppose we're still slated to go down among the Moros."
"That's the talk in the regiment, anyway," replied Corporal Hyman.
"I hope it's true."
"You're one of the few that does, then," retorted Hyman, with a grimace. "In these islands the real fine place for a regiment to be stationed is right here on the outskirts of Manila. Plenty of grub, kitchen-cooked; little work to do, and no danger of anything except guard duty to call us out of our bunks."
"That's altogether too lazy for a soldier," objected Hal, with spirit. "I don't want to see any trouble start in these islands, but if there's going to be any campaigning, I want to see the Thirty-fourth right in the thick of it."
"You'll get over that, by and by, Sergeant," responded Corporal Hyman. "More than half of the fellows in the Thirty-fourth have been out here in other years, and have seen plenty of fighting. Now, getting shot at by a lot of strangers is all right enough for a soldier when it has to be done; but you'll find that the older men in this regiment are not doing any praying that 'Ours' will get more than its share of fighting."