Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-03-17

the rest of eternity"
o'Reilly was by this time suffering
the full reaction from the events of
the past half hour and he was nearer
exhaustion than he dreamed, but, con-
quering his repugnance for his unes-
capable task. he lowered himself once
more into the we'll. His arms were
weak, however, and his fingers numb,
so he fell rather than slid the length
OF the rope He managed to open the
door of the treasure chamber, then
entered and loaded his pockets with
gold. He sent up the jewel box at the
end of the rope. dragged the body of
Cobo into the cave, then wedged the
barricade back into place. 1t required
the combined strength of Rosa and
Jacket to help him the last few feet of
HIS climb
Now fetch stones. rubbish. anything
and throw it in there he gasped-
The boy and the girl fell to with a
will. and after a time Johnnie Joined
them. Slowly. laboriously, the three
of them carried debris from the edge
of the quarry and bricks from the
ruined house: they scraped up armfuls
of leaves and trash anything. in fact.
which would serve 10 raise the bottom
of the shaft and conceal the entrance
to their enemys resting place. 1t was
slavish work, but O'Reilly kept them
at it until they were ready to drop.
Daylight overlook them at their task.
They were weak, sick. deadly tired;
they could barely shuttle a few yards
Asensio's hut; nevertheless there was
hope in their hearts. for O'Rei1ly's
ragged clothes sagged with the weight
of gold pieces and the little metal box
he carried was heavy. Nor were they
greatly concerned about the safety of
the treasure they had left behind, for
the entrance to the cavern lay deeply
buried, and Cobo. the guerrilla. stood
guard over the chests of plate and the
casks of coin.
EvangeIina, vastly bewildered at the
sight of the coin which was forced into
her palm. went for food and spent
most of the day in cooking it. The
treasure hunters alternately slept and
ate. 1t was not until well along to-
ward evening that Rosa and OReilly
felt any desire to take stock of the
with heads together and with backs
to the door Of the bohio. they made
furtive examination. 1t was a task
that held them spelIbound. for there
were loose gems of many varieties,
some well. some badly cut; there were
pieces of antique Spanish jewelry, val
liable mainly by virtue of their an
tiquity, clumsy settings Of silver and
gold containing. dead: uninteresting
stones; others of the finest and most
delicate workmanship. Some of the
pieces were like glittering cobwebs
enmeshing sparks of fire and drops of
blood They found emeralds and sap
phires the value of which they did not
attempt to estimate. and, besides these,
a miscellaneous assortment of semi
precious stones There was a fine col
lection of opais of every size and color,
among which were number of huge
fiat black ones, indescribably gorgeous
with their eyer-changing peacock hues.
But finest of all the lot were the pearls
Where old Don Esteban had secured
these latter was a mystery, for he had
not been a widely travelled man. They
were splendid, unrivaled in size and
luster. Some had the iridescence of
soap bubbles. others ranged from pink
to deepest chocolate in color. To
touch them was like sacrilege.
O'Rei1ly realized vaguely that he held
in his lap fortune greater than his
widest dreams had ever comprised.
These were the Jewels of a rajah 1t
seemed incredible that this ragged girl
beside him was a regal heiress, the pos
SCISSOR of a treasure such as kings
might envy. After time he realized
that the mere possession of these gems
constituted a new and Overwhelming
menace.
All that evening he and Rosa cow
cred in the darkness. whispering fur
lively. their nerves on edge, their senses
strained. 1t seemed to them that new
and unsupported perils stalked abroad
through the night.
Morning found all hands more nearly
rational and feeling the first cravings
of a healthy hunger. Even Asensio
confessed to a quite miraculous i'm
provement. While Evangelina prepar-
ed breakfast the lovers agreed upon a
story to explain the origin of that
mysterious gold piece, and later john
ME warned Jacket for a second time
to keep his tongue between his teeth
we will have to be doubly careful
now he told the boy. IAN unguarded
word or an incautious move would be
the end of u.s."
Jacket nodded his complete compre-
hension. Sure! All spaniards are rob
bers and they'd kill US for a peso
Yes. and the pacificos are no better
tell you we need to get out of this
place.
II intend to arrange it at once, but
the sight of those jewels has frightened
me. If we are searched-if we are even
suspected@
"oh, Rosa wouldn't have any more
use for her pretty trinkets. Shed be
in heaven before you could scratch
your nose"
o'Reilly frowned. "she isn't at all
strong yet. I'm wondering if she can
endure the hardships we'll encounter
when. or If. we get away"
Exactly what I was thinking. I'VE
been considering another plan"
Indeed o'Reilly scanned the face
of his young friend with interest He
for Jackets capabilities, and the boys
exploit of the night before certainly
entitled him to be heard upon any sub
ject.
4 told you about my friend at the
market" the latter continued We'll.
he is miserable Spaniard, but he has
a son in the manigua.''
"One of us?' Johnnie was surprised
Yes. The old fellow owns a volandra
in which he brings charcoal from the
eastward twice a month"
There was a moment of silence; then
O'Reilly said. slowly. as if hesitating
even to voice such a suggestion. You
mean-he might take us out of here
on his schooner
who knows? He's not a bad old
fellow and he likes me. But there
would be no place for women"
How well does he like your"
''Oh, we are like two thieves
After another period of thought
O'Reilly said. Take me to him, and
remember I'm your brother Juan"
The Matanzas market did not present
scene of great activity when the
two friends skunk into it. 1t was mid
day, and what food had earlier been
offered for sale had for the most part
long since disappeared. All but a few
OF the stalls were empty. and number
OF emaciated reconcentrados were
searching listlessly among them for
neglected scraps, or imploring aid from
such marketmen still fingered about
Like most Spanish markets. the build
ing was far from clean and housed
odors unpleasant even to starving
people. In the smelliest section, at
one of the fish stalls, Jacket accosted
VillainOuS old brigand in a rough