Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1918-05-16

TO which you lave no r1gnty"
"Have I lost my reason?" gasped the
widow. "No right?"
"At least no better right than I.
Don't you understand? You have no
title to these plantations! They are
mine, for l have paid the taxes out of
my own pockets now these many
years."
"Taxes! What do you mean?"
II paid them. The receipts are in
my name"
"Heaven! Such perfdy! And you
who knew him!"
1.-THE deeds have been lost for so
long that the property would have re-
verified to the crown had it not been
for me. You doubt that, Ell? Well, ap-
peal to the court and you will find that
it is true. Now, then, let is be frank.
Inasmuch as we're both in much the
same fix, hadn't We better continue
our present arrangements?" He stared
u%nblinkingly at his listener. ooh, I
mean it! Is it not better for you to
be content with what my generosity
prompts me to give, rather than to
risk ruin for both by grasping for too
| much?"
"The outrage! I warrant you have
grown rich through your stealing"
Isabel's voice had gone flat with con-
sternation.
erich? Well, not exactly, but COM
fortably we'll off," Cueto actually
smiled again. "No doubt my frankness
Is a shock to you. You are angry at
my proposition, eh? Never mind. You
will think better Of it in time, if you
are a sensible woman. But now, since
at last we enjoy such confidential re-
l%ations, let us have no more Of these
Let us entirely forget this unpleasant
misunderstanding and be- the same
good friends as before"
Having said this, Pancho Cueto stood
silent a moment in polite expectancy;
then receiving no Ineligible reply, he
bowed low and left the room.
To the avaricious Donna Isabel Cue.
to's frank acknowledgment Of theft
was m%addening, and the realization
that she was helpless, nay, dependent
upon his charity for her living, fairly
crucifed her proud spirit.
All day she brooded, and by the time
evening came she had worked herself
into such a state of nerves that she
could eat no dinner. Some time during
the course Of the evening a wild idea
came to Isabel. Knowing that the
ager would spend the night beneath
her roof, she planned to kill him. AT
first 1t seemed a simple thing to do
merely a matter of a dagger OF a pis.
tol, while he slept-but further thought
revealed appalling risks and difficult
ties, and she decided to wait. Poison
was far safer.
Constant brooding over the treasure
had long since affected Donna Isabel's
brain, and as a consequence she often
dreamed about it. She dreamed about
1t again tonight, and, strangely enough,
her dreams were pleasant. Sebastian
appeared, but for once he neither
cursed nor threatened her; and Este.
ban, when he came, was again the
lover who had courted her in Ha.
bana. 1t vas amazing, delightful.
Esteban and she were walking through
the grounds Of the quinta and he was
telling her about his casks Of Spanish
soverelgns, about those boxes bound
with iron, about the gold and silver or
naments of heavenly beauty and the
pearls as large as plums. AS he talked
Isabel felt herself grow hot and cold
with anticipation; she experienced
spasms Of delight.
Then Of a sudden Isabel's whole
! dream-world dissolved. She awoke, Oh
thought she did, at hearing her name
shouted. But although she underwent
the mental and the physical shock of
being startled from slumber, although
she felt the first swift fright of a per,
son aroused to strange surroundings,
she knew on the instant that she must
still be. asleep; for everything about
her was dim and dark, the air was cold
and damp, wet grass rose to her knees,
Before she could half realize her COM
dition she felt herself plunged into
space. She heard herself scream
hoarsely, fearfully, and knew, too late,
that she was indeed awake. Then
whir!ing chaos A sudden, binding
crash of lights and sounds Nothing
morel
Esteban Varona sat until a late hour
that night over a letter which required
the utmost care in its composition. It
was written upon the thinnest Of pa
per, and when it was finished the
writer inclosed 1t in an envelope Of the
same material. Esteban put the letter
in his pocket without addressing 1t,
Letting himself out into the night, he
took the path that led to the old
sunken garden. He passed close by
the we'll, and its gaping mouth, only
half protected by the broken coping,
reminded him that he had promised
Rosa to cover 1t with planks. In its
present condition 1t was a menace ia
animals, If not to human beings who