The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1918-07-19

0OAAAA OOS S$OAsSA =" 80
NIT! Are you madi Deedsi What
are you talking abont?" Her eyes met
his bravely enough. but he could feel
her lips trembling loosely.
Casting aside all pretense. the over
seer exclaimed: "Por el amor de Diosi
An end to thisl know why you sent
for me. You think l have been rob
bling you. Well. to be honest. so I
have. Why should I toll as I do while
you and those twins live here In lux.
ury and idleness. squandering money
to which you have no right?"
"Have l lost my ~reason2" gasped the
widow. mo right?"
"At least no better right than I.
Don't you understand? You have no
title to these plantationsi They nre
mine, for l have paid the taxes out Of
my own pockets now these lnany
years."
"Taxesi What do you mean7"
II paid them. The receipts are in
my name."
"Heavenl Such peridyi And you
VINO knew 0lIn ]!
1.-THE deeds have been lost for 20
long that the property would have re-
verified to the crown had It not been
for me. You doubt that, eh1 Well. ap-
peal to the court and you will find that
It is true. Now. then, let rs be frank.
1nasmuch as we're both In much the
same tx, hadn't we better continue
present arrangementsf" He stared
unblinkingly at his listener. "Oh, /
mean I'll Is Il 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?"
1.-THE outrage! I warrant you have
grown rich through your stealing"
Isabel's voice had gone fiat with con-
%sternation.
"Rich2 Well. not exactly, but COM
fortably we'll on" Cueto actually
smiled again. mo doubt my frankness
is q shock to you. You are angry at
my proposition. eh7 Never mind. You
will think better Of 1t in time. II you
0lC q 0CuSAOlC WOkx0us O0I uOWS 0Au@0
at last vi enjoy such confidential re-
lations, let rs have no more Of these
miserable suspicious Of each other.
Let rs entirely forget this unpleasant
misunderstanding and be the same
good friends as before"
Having said this, Pancho Cueto stood
silent . 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 madden!ng. and the realization
that she was helpless, nay, dependent
upon his charity for her living. fairly
cruci1ed 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 q Wild idea
came to Isabel. Knowing that the man
ager would spend the night beneath
her root. she planned to kill him. At
first It seemed . simple thing to do
merely q matter Of q dagger or q pis-
tol. while he slept-but further thought
revealed appalling risks and difficult
ties. and she decided to wait. Poison
was Tar safer.
Constant brooding over the treasure
had long since affected Donna 1sabel's
brain. and a. . consequence she often
dreamed about II. She DRAINED about
It 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. It was amazing. delightful.
Esteban and she were walking through
the grounds Of the quinta and he was
telling her about his casks Of Spanish
s~overeigns, about those boxes bopnd
with iron. about the gold and silver or I
naments Of heavenly beauty and the
pearls - large ~ plums. A. be talked
Isabel felt herself crow hot and cold
with anticipation; abe experienced
spasms Of delight
Then Of Z suddeo laabel's whole
dream-world dissolved. She awoke. or
thought she did. st hearing her name
shouted. But although she underwent
the mental and the physical shock Of !
being startled from slumber, although
she felt the nrst swift fright Of q per.
son aroused 70 strange surroundings,
abe knew on the instant that she must
stl1 b asieep; for everything about