Meade County news., 1918-08-15

lily in the face, 1t seemed absurd to be-
lleve that a tender girl like Rosa Va
roma could long have withstOOd the
hardships Of this hi locus place strong
er people than she had succumbed, by
the hundreds. Even now the hospitals
were full, the SICK lay INTENDED in
| their novels. No one, S. far as O'Iteilly
knew, had undertaken 80 estimate how
fast they were dying or the number of
dead which had already ridden out of
Matanzas in those rumbllng wagons,
but there were many. What chance
WIS there that Rosa had not been
among the latter?
AS he breasted the summit Of La
Cumbre, O'Reilly beheld at some dis
tance a bent figure of want. 1t was a
negro woman, grubbing In the earth
with sharpened stick. After sus-
picious scrutiny Of him she resumed
her digging.
Nothing but heap Of stones and
plaster remained of the Varona home.
The grounds, once beautiful. even when
neglected as in Donna Isabel's time,
were now q scene of total desolation. A
few orange trees, to be sure, remained
standing, and although they were cool
and green to look at, they carried no
fruit and the odor of their blooms was
a trial and mockery to the hungry
visitor. The evidences of Cueto's van
dalism affected O'Reilly deeply; they
brought him memories more painful
than he had anticipated. Although the
place was well-nigh unrecognizable,
nevertheless 1t cried aloud of Rosa,
and the unhappy lover could barely
control the emotions 1t awakened. 1t
was indeed a morbid impulse which
had brought him thither, but now that
he was here he could not leave. Un-
consciously his feet turned toward the
ancient quarry which had formed the
sunken. garden-his and Rosa's tryst-
ing place.
O'Reilly desired above all things to
be alone ut this moment, and so he was
annoyed to discover that another per-
son was before him-a woman, evident
ly some miserable paciflco like himself.
She, too, appeared to be looking for
roots, and he almost stumbled over her
as he brushed through the guava
bushes fringing the depression.
His sudden appearance alarmed the
creature and she struggled, panic
stricken, out of his path. Her rags
could not conceal the fact that she was
deformed, that her back was crooked,
so he muttered reassuring word to
her.
This place was more as he had left
it-there was the stone bench where
he had said good-by to Rosa; yonder
was the we'll i.
"Senor!" Johnnie heard himself ad-
dressed by the hunchbacked woman.
Her voice was thin, tremuiOus, eager,
but his thoughts were busy. and he
paid no heed. "Senor! Do you look
for something-some one"
"N-no. Yes" he answered, abstract
edly. "Yes, 1 am looking for some
thing-some one"
Something you have lost?"
Something have lost| The ques-
ton came to him family, but it was so
} in tune with his unhappy mood that 1t
affected him strangely. He found that
his eyes were blurring and that an
, aching lump had risen into his throat.
This was the breaking point.
O'Rellly's hearing, too, was going
wrong, for he imagined that some one
whispered his name. Cod This place
, was not dead-it was allve-terribly
alive with memories, voices, pres
ence unseen yet real. He laid hold OF
the nearest bush to steady himself, he
closed his eyes, only to hear his name
i, spoken louder.
"O'Rail-ye"
Johnnie brushed the tears from his
lashes. He turned, he listened, but
there was no one to be seen, no one
that is, except the dusky cripple, who
had Strengthened herself and was fac
: ing him, poised uncertainty. He looked
at her a second time, then the worlt
began to spin dizzlly and he groped hi
y way toward her. He peered again
closer, for everything before his eye
was swimming.
The woman was tMn-llttle NOR
than skeleton-and so frail that tn
= wind appeared to sway her, but he
i face, upllfted to the sun, was glorified
O'Rellly stood rooted, staring at he
until she opened her eyes, then h
voiced a great cry:
"Rosa! What more he said b
= He took the misshapen figure int
= his arms, he rained kisses upon tn
=, pinched, discolored- face. But Ros
" did not respond; her puny strengt
% had flown and she lay inert in his en-
I. brace, scarcely breathing.
b. Dazed, doubling, astounded, it wa
D. some time before Johnnie could cor
vince himself of the reality of this m'
e. ment, and even then words did ne
@. come to him, for his mind was in tul
,e moll. Joy, thanksgiving, compassion
it thousand emotions-mingled in sol
ID of delirium, too wild for coherer
Of thought or speech.
m Feor finally brought him to h