Meade County news., 1918-08-08

was uuLuOVcus
BE quiet" he told the boy. II
won't let you go with me, and that
ends 1t. 1t will be hard enough for one
man to slip through; two would be
sure to fail"
"Those Spaniards will skill you'll"
jacket walled.
$50 much the more reason for you
to stay here"
At this the boy uttered a louder
cry. He stamped his bare feet In a
frenzy Of disappointment. you das-
sent leave me-you dassentl"
Listen, people are starving in Ma
tanzas; they are sick; they are dying
In the streets"
IT don't eat much"
When Johnnie shook his head stub
bornly Jacket launched himself into a
torrent Of profanity the violence Of
which dried his tears. His vocabu-
larry was surprising. He revlled the
Spaniards, O'Reilly, himself, everybody
and everything; he leveled anathemas
at that woman who had come between
him and his beloved benefactor. The
latter listened good-naturedly.
you're a tough KID" he laughed,
when Jackets first rage had worn It.
self out. II like you, and I'd take you
II could. But this isn't an enterprise
for a boy, and 1t won't get you any
thing to keep up this racket"
Jacket next tried the power Of ar
gument. He attempted to prove that
In a hazardous undertaking Of this
sort his assistance would be invalu-
able. He was, SO he declared, the one
person in all Cuba in every respect
qualified to share O'Reilly's perils. To
begin with, he was not afraid Of Span
iards, or anything else, for that mat
ter-he dismissed the subject Of per-
sonal courage with contemptuous
shrug. AS for cunning, sagacity, pru-
dence, resource, all-around worth, he
was, without doubt, unequaled in any
country. He was veritable Spartan,
too, when 1t came to hardship-priva-
ton and suffering were almost to his
liking. He was Decentralization
was something he had inherited; he
was 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 a small
eater and could grow fat on diet Of
dried leaves. Disease? Bah! 1t made
him laugh. His experience with sick
ness was wider than most flsicos, and
he was better nurse than Miss Ev-
ans would ever be. Jacket did not wish
to appear In the least boastful. On
the contrary, he was actually too mod
est, as his friends could attest, but
truth compelled him to admit that he
was just the man for O'Reilly. He
found It impossible to recommend him
self too highly; to save his soul he
could think of no qualification in which
he was lacking and could see no rea-
son why his benefactor would not
greatly profit by the free use Of his
amazing talents. The enterprise was
difficult; 1t would certainly fail with
out him.
Johnnie remained carefully atten-
tive during this adjuratiOn. He felt no
desire even to smile, for the boys ear
nestness was touching and 1t caused
the elder mans throat to tighten un-
comfortably. Johnnie had not realized
before how fond he had become Of this
quaint youngster. And so, when the
little fellow paused hopefully, O'Reilly
put an arm around him.
"Tm sure you are everything you
say you are, jacket, and more, too, but
you can't gol"
With that jacket flung of the en-
brace and, stalking away, seated him
self. He took half-smoked cigar
from the pocket Of his shirt and lit 1t,
scowllng the while at his friend. More
than once during the evening OReilly
detected his sullen, angry eyes upon
him.
General Betancourt and several men,
bers of his staff were up early the fol-
iOWluB mOTuluB W uiu thSh NSAeOA
good-by. In spite of their efforts to
make the parting cheerful It was plain
that they had but little hope Of ever
again seeing this foolhardy American.
Johnnie's spirits were not in the
least affected by this ill-concealed pes
slmism, for. as he told himself, he had
money In his pockets and Matanzas
was not many miles away. But when
he came to part from Jacket he expert
enced genuine disappointment. The
boy, strangely enough, was almost in
different to his leaving; he merely ex-
tended limp, dirty hand, and replied
to O'Reilly's parting words with
careless "Adiosl"
In hurt surprise the former inquired,
Don't we part good friendsf"
"Surep Jacket shrugged, then
turned away.
Jacket was a likable youngster; his
devotion was thoroughly unselfish; 1t
had not been easy to wound him. With
keener regrets than he cared to ac-
knowledge OReilly set out upon his
journey, following the guide whom
General Betancourt had provided.
1t was lovely morning. sufficiently
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