Evening star., 1918-02-24
9 Q

tanzas: they are sick: they are dying IN
the streets"
"Tdon't eat much"
When Johnnie shook his head stub
borniy Jacket launched himself into .
torrent OF profanity the violence OF
which dried his tears. His vocabulary
was surprising. He reviied the Span
iards. OReilly. himself everybody and
woman who had come between him and
his beloved benefactor. The latter lis
tened good-naturedly.
you're a tough KID" he laughed, when
Jackets first cage had worn itself out
Il Ike you, and Id take you IL could
But this isn't an enterprise for o boy.
and it won't get you anything to keep up
this racket"
Jacket next tried the power Of argu-
ment. He attempted to prove that In .
hazardous undertaking of this sort his
assistance would be invaluable. He was.
so he declared, the one person In all
Cuba in every respect Qualffed to snare
OReillys perils. To begin with, he was
not afraid of Spaniards, or anything
else, for that nlatter-he dismissed the
subject of personal courage with con-
temptuous shrug. As for cunning. ga
gacity. prudence, resource. all-around
worth. he was, without doubt, uneQualed
in any country. He was veritabfe
Spartan, too. when it came to hardship
privation and suffering were almost to
his liking. He was DISQUALIFICATION
a diplomat-diplomacy being one OF his
most unique accomplishments. As for
this talk about hunger. O'Reilly need not
concern himself in the least on that
score, for Jacket was small eater and
could grow fat on a diet of dead leaves.
Disease? Bah, 1t made him laugh. His
experience with sickness was wider than
most fsicos. and he was better nurse
than Miss Evans would ever be. Jacket
did not wish to appear in the least
boastful. On the contrary, he was &C.
tually too modest, as his friends could
attest, but truth compelled him to ade'
NIT that he was just the man for O'Refl-
ly He found it impossible to recommend
himself too highly; to save his soul, he
could think of no qualification in which
he was lacking and could see no reason
proft by the free use OF his amaxing
talents The enterprise was difhcult: 10
would certainly fail without him.
Johnnie remained carefully attentive
sire even to smile. for the boys earnest-
ness was touching and it caused the
elder mans throat to tighten uncomfort-
ably. Johnnie had not realized before
youngster. And so, when the little fell
low paused hopefully, CReilly put an
arm around him.
I'm sure you are everything you say
you are. Jacket. and more. too. but you
can't CO."
and. stalking away. seated himself. He
took half-smoked cigar from the
pocket of his shirt and lit 1t. scowling
the while at his friend. More than
once during the evening O'Reilly de-
tected his sullen angry eyes upon him.
Gen. Betancourt and several members
of his staff were up early the following
morning to bid their visitor goodbye.
In spite of their efforts to make the
parting cheerful it was plain that they
had little hope of ever again seeing
this foolhardly American.
Johnnie's spirits were not in the least
affected by this ill-concealed pessimfsln,
for as he told himself. he had money in
his pockets and Matanzas was not many
part from Jacket he experienced
genuine disappointment. The boy.
strangely enough, was almost in
different to his leaving; he merely sx-
tended limp and dirty hand. and re-
piled to O'Reilly's parting words with
a careless "Adios,"
In hurt surprise the former inquired.
Don't we part good friends?"
"Sure" Jacket shrugged, then
turned away.
Jacket was a likable youngster: his
devotion was thoroughly unselfish: Il
had not been easy to wound him. With
keener regrets than he cared to ae-
knowledge, O'Reilly set out upon his
journey. following the guide whom
Gen. Betancourt had provided.
1t was a lovely morning, sufficiently
air was moist and fresh from a recent
shower. This being the rainy season.
the trails were soft, and where the
rich red Cuban soil was exposed the
travellers sank into it as into wet
putty.