Meade County news., 1918-07-25
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the fight at La Joya. was telling You
how tainted. Some good people found
me few hours after lost conscious
ness. They supposed 1 had been at
tackled by guerrillas and left for dead.
Finding that 1 still had life in me- they
took me home with them. They were
old friends from Matanzas by the
name of Valdes-cultured people who
had fled the city and were hiding in the
manigua like the rest Of u.s."
"Not Valdes, the notaryT
"The very same. Alberto Valdes and
his four daughters. Heaven guided
them to me. Alberto was an old man;
he had hard work to provide food for
his girls. Nevertheless, he refused to
abandon me. Oh, they were faithful,
patient peoplel You see, had walked
east instead Of west, and now 1 was
miles away from home, and the coun-
try between was swarming with Span
iards who were burning, destroying,
killing. You wouldn't know Matanzas,
O'Reilly. 1t is desert.
II finally became able to drag myself
around the hut. But had no means
Of sending word to Rosa, and the un.
certainty nearly made me crazy. My
clothes had rotted from me; my bones
were just under the skin. must have
been a shocking sight. Then one day
there came a fellow travelling east with
messages for Gomez. He was one Of
Lopez men, and he told me that Lo-
pez had gone to the Rubi Hills with
Maceo, and that there were none of
our men left in the province. He told
me other things, too. 1t was from him
that I learned" Esteban Varona's
thin hands clutched the edges of his
hammock and he rolled his head weak
ly from side to side. "It was he who
told me about Rosa. He said that Cobo
had ravaged the Yumuri and that my
sister-was gone"
"There, there We know better now,'
O'Reilly said, soothingly.
"It was q hideous story, a story Of
rape, murder. I wonder that didn't
go mad. 1t never occurred to me to
doubt, and as q matter Of fact the fell
low was honest enough; he really be-
lieved what he told me. After the
man had finished / felt the desire to
get away from all had known and
loved, to leave Matanzas for new fields
and give what was left of me to the
cause. I was free to enlist, since I
couldn't reach Lopez, and 1 came to
| 5nf1 oY1. fnrooc In fho Orinnt
"That is how you found me in this
province. Lopez man never delivered
these dispatches, for we were taken
crossing the trocha-at least / was
taken, for Pablo was killed. They'd
have made an end of me, too, l dare
say, only I was so weak. 1t seems
century since that night. My memory
doesn't serve me very well from that
point, for they Jailed me, enc ! grew.
worse. 1 was out Of my head D good
DEAL"
The two men fell silent for G. while.
Esteban lay with closed eyes. exhaust
ed. O'Reilly gave himself up to II own
ing thought. His thoughts were not
pleasant; he could not, for the Ike Of
him, believe in Rosa's safety SO i'm.
plicitly as he had led Esteban to sup
pose; his efforts to cheer the other
had sapped his own supply of hope,
leaving him prey to black misgivings.
He was glad when Norine Evans re-
turn put an end to his speculations.
"Have you narrowed this poor mans
feelings sufficiently for once?" she in
quired of O'Reilly.
IT have. I'll agree to talk about
nothing unpleasant hereafter"
Esteban turned to his nurse. "There
Is something want to tell you BOTH"
"Wait until tomorrow" Norine ad-
vised.
But he persisted: "No! I must tell
it now. First however, did either Of
you discover an old coin in any of my
pockets-an old Spanish doubloon?"
"That doubloon again!" Norine lift
ed her hands protestingly, and cast o
meaning look at O'Reilly. "You talked
about nothing else for whole week.
Let me feel your pulse"
Esteban surrendered his hand with
suspicious readiness.
"You were fiat broke when we got
you," O'Reilly declared.
"Probably. I seem to remember tina
somebody stole It,"
"Doubloonsl Pieces Of eight Gold.
en- guineas!" exclaimed Norine. "WhI
those are pirate coins! They remind
me Of Treasure Island; Of Long Johr
Silver and his wooden leg; Of Ben
Gum and all the rest"
Esteban smiled uncomprehendingly
eyes? Well, this has to do with treas
, ure of the Varonas. My father buried
1t. He was very rich, you know, and
he was afraid Of the Spaniards. O'Reil'
: ly knows the story"
Johnnie assented with a gruns
"Surel / know all about it."
ITO BE CONTINUED)