Judsonia weekly advance., 1918-09-18

were few providers within the lines, hunger having robbed the reconcentra- dos of the spirit to venture forth. and in consequence Spanish vigilance had relaxed; it was now confined to the far-flung girdle of intrenchments which encircled the city. The trio encoun- tered no one.
 Leaving Jacket on guard at the crest of the hill, O'Reilly stationed Rosa at the mouth of the well, then lowered himself once more into it. Lighting his candle, he made a careful eXami- nation of the place, with the result that Esteban's theory of the missing riches seemed even less improbable than it had earlier in the day. The masonry work, he discovered, had been done with painstaking thoroughness which spoke of the abundance of slave labor, and time had barely begun to affect 1t. Here and there piece of the mortar had loosened and come away. but for the most part it stood as solid as the stones between which it was laid. Shoulder-high to O'Reilly there appeared to be a section of the curbing less smoothly fitted than the rest and through an interstice in this he detected what seemed to be damp wooden beam. At this point he brought his iron bar into play.
 It was not long before he discovered that his work was cut out for him. The cement was like flint and his blunt makeshift implement was almost use less against it. An5le-deep in the muddy water he patiently pecked and pounded and clipped, endeayoring to enlarge the crevice so as to use his bar as a lever. The sweat streamed from him and he became dismayed at his own weakness. He was forced to rest frequently.
 Rosa hung over the orifice above, en- couraging him, inqriring eagerly as to his progress. During his frequent breathing spells he could discern her white face dimly illumned by the candle light from below.
 After he had worked for an hour or two, he made a report: Tt begins to look as if there really was a bulkhead or door in there"
 The girl clapped her hands and laughed with delight. Do hurry dear i; I'm dying of suspense"
 O'Reilly groaned: "That fellow, Se- bastian, knew his business. This ce- ment is like steel, and Pm afraid of breaking my crowbar."
 Rosa found leaf, folded kiss into it, and dropped it to him. "That will give you strength" she declared. O'Reilly lost all count of time after while and he was incredulous when Jacket came to warn him that daylight was less than an hour away. "AVhy, 1 haven't started!' he protested. He discovered, much to his surprise, that he was ready to drop from fatigue and that his hands were torn and blis- tered; when he had climbed the rope to the upper air he fell exhausted in the deep grass. "I-Tm not myself at all," he apologiZed; nothing to eat, you know. But the work will go faster now, for Pve made beginning"
 Do you still think-"Rosa hesitated to voice the question which trembled on her lips.
 "Pll know for sure tonight" He directed Jacket to replace the blanks over the well; then the three of them stole away.
 O'Reilly spent most of that day In a profound stupor of exhaustion, while Rosa watched anxiously over him. Jacket, 1t seemed, had peacefully slumbered on picket duty, so he occu- pied himself by grinding away at his knife. The last scraps of food dis appeared that evening.
 When night fell and it came time to return to the top of La Cumbre, O'Reilly asked himself if his strength would prove sufficient for the task in hand. He was spiritless. sore. weak he ached in every bone and muscle, and it required all his determination to propel himself up the hill. He won- dered if he were wise thus to sacrifice his waning energies on hope so for lorn as this, but by now he had begun to more than half believe in the exist ence of the VarOna treasure and he felt an almost irresistible curiosity to learn what secret, if any, was concealed be- hind those water-soaked timbers at the bottom of the well. He realized. of course, that every hour he remained here. now that food and money were gone. lessened the chances of escape: but. on the other hand he reasoned, with equal force, that if he had indeed! stumbled upon the missing hoard sal vation for all of them was assured. The stake, it seemed to him, was worth the hazard.
 Given tempered tools fo work uftb