We were as prepared as we could be. Then we
waited. I checked my watch. It was a little after eleven o’clock.
We could hear explosions to the northwest, and every so often, a
new fire would break a few blocks from us. About an hour later, we
saw several dozen insurgents walking down the road in front of
Manfred’s house.
When they got to the gate, which we had
padlocked, they yelled something in Tagalog. I aimed my rifle at
them. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Let me.” It was Adaline. She stood up and
shouted something in Tagalog at the men milling around the gate.
One of them hollered something back. She answered again, and the
man responded. Then Adaline shouted again.
“What’s going on?” I whispered.
“I told them this was the home of one of
President Aguinaldo’s uncles
