Meade County news., 1918-05-16

hand, and of the town and harbor on
the other; no one ever climbed the hill
from the city to gaze over into that
hidden valley without feeling pleas
urable surprise at finding 1t still there.
We are accustomed to think of perfect
beauty as unsubstantial, evanescent !;
but the Yumuri never changed, and in
that lay Its supremest wonder.
Through what had once been we'll
tended grounds, O'Reilly made his way
to sort of sunken garden which, in
spite of neglect, still remained the
most charming nook upon the place /;
and there he sat down to wait for Rosa.
The hollow was effectually screened
from view by growth Of plantain,
palm, orange, and tamarind trees; over
the rocky walls ran a profusion of
| Towering plants and vines; in the cen
ter of the open space was an old well,
its masonry curb all but crumbled
away.
When Rosa at last appeared, O'Rellly
felt called upon to tell her, somewhat
| dizzily, that she was beyond doubt the
sweetest flower on all the Qulnta de
Esteban, and since this somewhat hack
neyed remark was the boldest speech
he had ever made 10 her, she blushed
prettily, flashing him a dimpled smile
of mingled pleasure and surprise.
"Oh, but l assure you I'm in no
sweet temper" said she. "Just pow I'm
tremendously angry"
"Why2"
"It's that tepmother-ISabel. If she
dreamed that l see you as often as l
| do Well" Rosa lifted her elo-
quent hands and eyes heavenward. 81
suppose that's why enjoy doing it,
so dearly love to spite her."
81 see" O'Reilly. puckered his
brows and nodded. "But why, In that
case, haven't you seen me oftener? We
might just as well have made the
good lady's life totally unbearable."
"Silly! She knows nothing about
It," With a flirtatious sigh Rosa add
ed: "That's what robs the affair of its
chief pleasure. Since it does not bother
her in the least, / think l will not al
low you to come any more"
After judicious consideration, O'Reil-
ly pretended to agree.
There's no fun in wreaking a hor-
rlble revenge, when your enemy isn't
wise to it," he acknowledged. "Since
it's your idea to irritate your stepmoth-
er, perhaps 1t would annoy her If l
made love directly to her."
Rosa Uttered, and then inquired,
naively, Can you make love, senor"
Can 1? It's the one ability an
OReilly inherlts. Listen to this now"
Reaching forth, he took Rosa's fingers
in his: "Walt !" he cried as she resist
ed. pretend that you're Mrs. Varona,
your own stepmOther, and that this is
her dimpled hand I'm holding"
"Oh-h" The girl allowed his grasp
to remain. "But Isabel's hand isn't
dlmpled: it's thin and bony. I've felt
it on my ears often enough"
Don't interrupt" he told her. lisa
bel, my little darling"
TsabePw exclaimed a voice, and
the lovers started guiltily apart. They
turned to find Esteban, ROsa's twin
brother, staring at them oddly. Elsa
bel?" he repeated. "What's this?"
"You interrupted our theatricals. I
was rehearsing an impassioned pro-
posal to your beloved stepmother,"
O'Reilly explained, with a pretense of
annoyance.
"Yes, Senor O'Reilly believes he can
lnfuriate Isabel by laying siege to her.
He's Abolish person" Rosa's
cheeks were family flushed and her
color deepened at the amusement in
Esteban's eyes. "He makes love
wretchedly."
"What little overheard wasn't bad"
Esteban declared; then he took
O'Reilly's hand.
Esteban was a handsome boy.
straight, slim and manly, and his re-
semblance to Rosa was startling.
With a look engaging in its frank d.
TectueSS, He sulu oOSu tolu me uDOut
your meetings here and | came to
apologize for our stepmother's discour-
tesy. I'm sorry we can't invite you
into our house, but-yOu understand?
Rosa and ] are not like her; we are
quite liberal in our views; we are al
most Americans, as you see. dare
say that's what makes Isabel hate
Americans so bitterly"
wouldn't it please her TO know that
I'm becoming Cubanized as fast as
ever l CAM" ventured the caller.
"Oh. she hates Cubans, tool" laughed
the brother. "She's Spanish, you know.
Well, it's fortunate you didn't see her
today. Bril- What a temperI Shell