"American men-o'-war?" I put in, with interest.
"Yes, five or six of them, commanded by Commodore Dewey."
"Where are the ships?"
"Here at Hong Kong, presumably awaiting orders from Washington."
"And have the Spaniards any war vessels about the Philippines?" asked Dan.
"Yes, they have a fleet under the command of a certain Admiral Montojo."
"And what if these two fleets meet?"
"There will be a big fight, my boy, and who will come off victorious there is no telling."
"We'll win!" I cried. "I don't believe those Spaniards can whip us."
"We mustn't be over-confident, Oliver, even if we hope for the best. But this war is a bad thing for our house, and the loss of those documents you were carrying makes matters still worse." Mr. Holbrook scratched his head in perplexity. "I am afraid our Manila connection will become a total loss to us."
"Have we much money invested there?"
"Something like forty or forty-five thousand dollars. The Spanish sugar planters who have bought machinery of us won't pay a dollar now."
"Unless we come out ahead in this war—and
