Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1918-10-25

Now that he looked the matter square
" In the face. it seemed absurd to be-
lieve that tender girl like Rosa Va
roma could long have withstood the
hardships of this hideous place; strong
er people than she had succumbed, by
the hundreds. Even now the hospitals
We're full. the sick lay INTENDED in
their novels. No one so far as O'Reilly
knew, had undertaken to estimate how
fast they were dying or the number Of
dead which had already ridden out of
Matanzas in those rumbling wagons,
but there were many. What chance
was there that Rosa had not been
among the latter?
As he breasted the summit of La
Cumbre, O'Reilly beheld at some dis
lance bent figure of want. 1t was a
negro woman, grubbing in the earth
with a sharpened stick. After q sus-
picious scrutiny of him she resumed
her digging.
Nothing but heap of stones and
plaster remained of the Varona home.
The grounds, once beautiful even when
neglected as in Donna Tsabel's time,
were now a scene of total deSolation. A
few orange trees. to be sure, remained
standing, and although they were cool
and green to look at, they carried no
fruit and the odor of their blooms was
trial and a mockery to the hungry
visitor. The evidences of Cueto's van
dalism affected O'Reilly deeply; they
brought him memories more painful
than he had anticipated. Although the
place was well-nigh unacceptable,
nevertheless it cried aloud of Rosa,
and the unhappy lover could barely
control the emotions 1t awakened. 1t
was indeed morbid impulse which
had brought him thither, but now that
he was here he could not leave. I'M
consciously his feet turned toward the
ancient quarry which had formed the
sunken garden-his and Rosa's tryst-
ing place.
O'Reilly desired above all things to
be alone at this moment, and so he was
annoyed to discover that another per-
son was before nina woman, evident
ly some miserable pacifco like himself.
She, too, appeared to be looking for
roots, and he almost stumbled over her
as he brushed through the guava
bushes fringlng the depression.
His sudden appearance alarmed the
creature and she struggled, panic
stricken, out of his path. Her rags
could not conceal the fact that she was
deformed, that her back was crooked,
so he muttered a reassuring word to
her.
This place was more as he had left
it-there was the stone bench where
he had said good-by to Rosa; yonder
was the we'll
"Senorp Johnnie h ~ himself adj
dressed by the hunchba> ed woman.
Her voice was thin, tremulous, eager,
but his thoughts were busy and he
paid no heed. "Senorl Do you look
for something-some one"
"N-no. Yes" he answered, abstract
edly. "Yes, I am looking for some
thing-some one"
Something you have lost2"
Something 1 have losr| The Ques-
ton came to him family, but it was so
in tune with his unhappy mood that it
affected him strangely. He found that
his eyes were blurring and that an
aching lump had risen into his throat.
This was the breaking point.
O'Reilly's hearing. too, was going
wrong, for he imagined that some one
whispered his name. God This place
was not dead-it was aiive-terriby
alive with memories, voices, a pres
ence unseen yet real. He laid hold Of
the nearest bush TO steady himself, he
closed his eyes. only to hear his name
spoken louder.
"O'Rail-ye"
Johnnie brushed the tears from his
lashes. He turned, he listened, but
there was no one to be seen, no one.
that is, except the dusky cripple, who
had Strengthened herself and was fac
ing him, poised uncertainty. He looked
at her a second time, then the world
began to spin dizzily and he CROPPED his
way toward her. He peered again,
NitSSIy AOA ever lIAbS DS1oAC AAo N|NS
was swimming.
The woman was thin-Iittle more
than a skeleton--and so frail that the
wind appeared to sway her. but her
face. aplifted to the sun, was glori6ed.
O'Reilly stood rooted, staring at her
until she opened her eyes, then he
voiced a great cry:
"Rosaw What more he said he
never knew.
He took the misshapen figure into
his arms, ne rained kisses upon the
plnched. discolored face. But Rose
did not respond her puny strength
had flown and she lay inert in his en-
brace, scarcely breathing.
Dazed, doubling, astounded, It was
some time before Johnnie could con-
vince himself of the reality of this mo-
ment, and even then words did not
come to him, for his mind was in tur-
moil. JOY, thanksgiving, compassion
- "A olr,,offarc- y1ad in q sort