Close secrecy was maintained with regard to it.

Captain Hedworth Lambton, of the British cruiser _Powerful_, then lying in Manila Bay, exacted a promise from me that I would tell him if I found out when the advance was to begin, so that we might go to Caloocan together and watch the fighting from the church tower, which commanded a magnificent view of the field of operations.
I finally heard a fairly definite statement that our troops would move the following morning.

I rushed to General Otis's office and after some parleying had it confirmed by him.

It was then too late to advise Lambton, and in fact I could not properly have done so, as the information had been given me under pledge of secrecy.

Accompanied by my private secretary, Dr.P.L.Sherman, I hastened to Caloocan, where we arrived just at dusk, having had to run the gantlet of numerous inquisitive sentries _en route_.
We spent the night in the church, where General Wheaton and his staff had their headquarters, and long before daylight were perched in a convenient opening in its galvanized iron roof, made on a former occasion by a shell from Dewey's fleet.
From this vantage point we could see the entire length of the line of battle.