Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-05-21

| leSlueHce ltSelI. he pulled 1t apart bit
by bit, brick by brick. He even dug up
its foundations, but without the reward
OF so much as single peseta. FL
nally. when the villa was but a heau
of rubbish and the grounds a scar
upon the slope of La Cumbre, he de.
sisted, baftied, incredulous, while all
Matanzas laughed at him. Having sac.
ri1ced his choicest residence, he re.
tlred In chagrin to the plantation OF
La Joya.
But Cueto was now man with a
grievance. He burned with rage, and
his contempt for the boy and girl he
had wronged soured into hatred. In
time he began to realize also that sc
long as they lived they would jeop.
ardize his tenure of their property
Public feeling, at present, was high
there was intense bitterness against all
rebels; but the war would end some
day. What then? Cueto asked him.
self. Sympathy was ever on the side
of the weak and oppressed. There
would come day of reckoning.
AS if to swell his discontinue and
| strengthen his fears, out from the hills
at the head of the Yumuri issued ru-
mors of little band of guerrilleros
under the leadership of a beardless
bOy-a band of blacks who were max
ing the upper valley unsafe for Span
ish scouting parties.
CurSing the name of Varona, Pancho
Cueto armed himself He did not ven.
ture far alone, and, like Donna Isabel
before him, he began to have bad
dreams at night.
One day a field Of Cueto's cane was
burned, and his labOrers reported see.
ing Esteban and some negroes riding
into the wood. The overseer took
horse within the hour and rode pell.
nell to MatanZaS. In the city at this
time was d certain Colonel Cobo, In
command of Spanish volunteers. those
execrable convict troops from the Isle
of Pines whose atrocities had already
marked them as wolves rather than
men, and to him Pancho went with
| his story.
Ill, yes Ahdl ulOud DOH. We
heard of him." Cobo remarked when
his caller had finished his account. "He
/ has reason to hate you, 1 dare say, for
you robbed him" The colonel smiled
disagreeably.
Cueto murmured something to the
effect that the law had placed him in
his position as trustee for the crown
and should therefore protect him; but
Colonel CobO's respect for the law, ii
seemed, was slight. In his view there
was but one law in the land, the law
of force.
"Why do you come to me?" he asked
| "That fellow is d desperado," Pan
cho declared. "He should be de-
strOyed."
Bah! The country is overrun with
desperadoes of his kind, and worse
Burning crops is nothing new. I'd
make an end of him soon enough, but
nearly all of my men are in Cardenas
We have work enough to do
'T'd make it worth while, if you could
put an end to him." Pancho said, hes.
itatingly. Then, recalling some OF
those stories about Colonel Cobo, he
added, "There are two of them, you
know, boy and a girl"
"Ah, yes l remember"
81 can direct you to the house OF
Asensio, where they live"
"Um-m!" Cobo was thoughtful. "a
girl. How old is she?"
Eighteen"
ugly as an alligator, I'll warrant
"Ha! The most ravishing creature
! in all Matanzas. All the men were
mad over her."
Colonel Cobo, the guerrilla, licked
his full, red lips and ran a strong,
square hand over his curly, short.
cropped hair. "You say you know
where she-where they are living"
"Ah, perfectly! It's less than q
nights ride. There's no one except
the boy to reckon with"
"How much is he worth to you?'
bluntly inquired the soldier, and Cueto
sat down to make the best terms pos.
sible.
do you think he received my let.
ter?" Rosa asked of her brother one
evening as they sat on the board bench
by AsenSio'S door. 1t was familiar
question to ESteban: he had answered
it many times.
"0h, yes!" he declared. Lopez mes.
senger got through to Key West"
''Then why doesn't he conner"
But, my dear, you must be patient.
Think of his difficulties"
This subject always distressed young
Varona; therefore he changed it
Gomez You haven't heard of my good
fortune. 1 captured another fine snake
! today, big, sleepy fellow. Believe me
he'll wake up when / set fire to his
| tail He'll go like the wind, and with
every foot he goes away will go more
of Pancho Cueto's profits"
You intend to burn more of his
fieldS?" absently inquired the girl. III
seems terrible to destroy our own
property"
Esteban broke out excitedly; he
could not discuss Pancho Cueto with.
out losing control of himself. would
you permit that traitor to fatten upon
the profits of our plantations? / shall
ruin him, as he ruined us"
Rosa shook her dark head sadly.
''And we are indeed ruined. Think OF
our beautiful house; all our beautiful
things. tool We used to consider our
selves poor, but-how little we knew
OF real poverty. There are so many
things want. Have we nothing left T.
Il thought it best TO buy those rifles,