Meade County news., 1918-07-04
40 lIukN0J
CHAPTER Xl-continued.

n StVSNT NI-SOHbtUbCus
3
But the time came when he could
walk no farther. He tried repeatedly
land failed, and uleanWhilea the earth
i&ERunueSen marvarhpidfyS threuteningutp
whiyl him Of into space, ,,It:was ter
ribls Sensation; Re lay down and
sshIsgeds the egrOund, / clinetdgs 10 roots
kRnf sQbbing weakly Rosa, shes skSpsw,
was Just around the next bend In the
Sstfail hesca4faastO ket,, bur Ash e ara not
esapsWer, and AspdaRdsnst ptteppt ito
hfaiii6gs Iii Saodid fsef his a1gers h sas sIi ssIip1
ssitfgl lslipplng$ HIS s'last thdukiA, al ne
-''Went whirllngSead over end ,thradgh
j. space, ives Of bis. sister,., She YQulhss
never know how hard he had tried to-
atfeachi ner. ~ W rrI 90 Et' "a fiyss ~
s,si&S, ~ 3sag
Late on the second day after the bat
tie Asensio returned to bis bohio. Rosa
and Evangeliia6 itilreAdy frantic at the
sdelayo heard him. crying to- them while
2 ne was stiil hfddeH III the WOODS, and
Nlshew ithat tAesworst' Iad thappened.
There was little need for HIM to, tell
his story, for he was weaponless
stained, and bloody. He had crossed
1.-THE hills on fogt aftegya miraculous es-
cape from thai ravihe,of death. SOfhis
Companions he knew nothing what
/, ever; theSmention Sof Esteban's name
caused him to beat his breast and cry
aloud. He was weak and feverlsh, and
his incoherent story Of the midnight
encounter was so highly colored that
Rosa nearly swooned with horror.
The girl stood swaying while he told
how the night had betrayed them, how
he had wrought incredible feats Of
valor before the shifting tide Of battle
had spewed him out the end Of the
sunken road and left him half dead in
the grass. Asenslo had lain there un-
til, finding himself growing stronger,
he had burrowed into a tangle Of vines
at the foot of a wall, where he had re-
NAMED until the fighting ceased. When
the Spaniards had finally discovered
their mistake and had ceased riding
one another down, when lights came
and he heard Colonel Cobo cursing
them like one insane, he had wrlggled
away, crossed the calzada, and hidden
z In the woods until dawn. He had been
walking ever since; he had come home
70 die. c r E
= Asensio recovered, but he was sadly
changed. There was no longer any
martial spirit in him; he feared the
Spaniards, and tales of their atrocities
cowed him.
Then Cobo came into the Yumuri.
The valley, already well-nigh deserted,
was filled to the brim with smoke from
burning fields and houses, and through
1t the sun showed like a copper shield.
Refugees passed the bohio, bound
farther into the hills and Asensio told
the two women that he and they must
also go. So the three gathered UP
!. what few things they could carry on
their backs and fed.
They did not stop until they had
gained the Businesses Of the Pan de
Matanzas. Here they built shelter
and again took up the problem of liv-
ing, which was now more difficult than
ever.
The Pan de Matanzas, SO called be-
cause Of Its resemblance to a mighty
loaf Of bread, became a mockery to
the hungry people covering In its shell
ter. Breadl Rosa varona could not
remember when she had last tasted
such luxury. Raw cane, coconuts,
the tasteless fruita bomba, roots, the
pith from palm tops, these were her
articles Of diet, and she did not thrive
upon them. She was always more or
! less hungry. She was ragged, too, and
she shivered miserably through the
long, chill nights. Rosa could measure
r. the change in her appearance only by
studying her reflection from the sur
face Of the spring where she drew wa
ter, but she could see that she had be-
come very thin, and she judged that
the color had entirely gone from her
cheeks. 1t saddened her, for O'Reilly's
sake.
Time came when Asensio spoke Of
giving up the struggle and going In.
They were gradually starving, he said
and Rosa was Ill; the risk Of discovery
was ever present. 1t was better to 90
while they had the strength than slow
ly but surely to perish here. He had
heard that there were twenty thousand
reconcentrados in Matanzas; Id such a
crowd they couiH easily manage to