Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1918-12-26
~Esrepan varona told you about me,

The colonel inclined his head.
I'm here at last, after the devils
own time. I've been trying every way
| to get through. The Spaniards stopped
me at Puerto Principe-they sent me
back home. you know. I've been per
fectly crazy. + You" O'Reilly
swallowed hard. "You know where
Esteban isf Tell me-"
"Have you heard nothing?"
Nothing whatever. That Is. moth
ing since Rosa. his sister You I'M
derstand, she and I are-engaged-"
Eyes, yes Esteban told me all about
you"
Something In the Cuban's gravity of
manner gave O'Rellly warning. A sud
den fear assailed him. His voice shook
us he asked:
"What Is 1t? Not bad newsT
There was no need for the officer
O'Reilly read confirmation Of his sick
est approximations.
"Tell mel Which one?" he whis-
pered.
"Bothl"
O'Reilly recoiled spasm distorted
his chalky face. He began to shake
weakly, and his fingers plucked aim
lessly at each other.
Lopez took him by the arm. ''Try to
control yourself" said he. "Sit here
while l try to tell you what little /
know. Or would 1t not be better to
wait awhile, until you are calmerT
AS the young man made no answer, ex-
cept to stare at him In a white agony
of suspense, he sighed
II will tell you all / know-which
isn't much. Esteban Varona came to
me soon after he and his sister had
fled from their home; he wanted to
Join my forces, but we were harassed
on every side. and l didn't dare take
the girl-no woman could have en-
dured the hardships we suffered. SO
[ convinced him that his first duty was
TO her, rather than to his country, and
he agreed. He was a fine boyi He
had spirit. He bought some stolen
rifles and armed band Of his own
which wasn't bad Idea. 1 used to
hSdA aDOQl lliu. 4NODOuy CuTtu W
modest him, l can tell you. until finally
he killed some Of the regular troops.
Then Of course they went after him.
Meanwhile he managed to destroy his
own plantations, which Cueto had
robbed him Of. You know Cuetor
yes"
well, Esteban put an end to him
after while; rode right up to La
Joya one night, broke In the door. and
macheted the scoundrel In his bed. But
there was a mistake of some sort. II
seems that body Of Cobo's volun-
teers were somewhere close by, and
the two. parties met. 1 have never
learned all the details Of the affair, and
the stories Of that fight which came to
me are too preposterous for belief.
Still, Esteban and his men must have
fought like demons. for they killed
some incredible number. But they
were human-they could not defeat a
regiment. 1t seems that only one or
two Of them escaped"
"Esteban? Did he"
Colonel Lopez nodded; then he said
gravely: "Cobo takes no prisoners. /
was In the Rubi hills at the time. fight
Ing hard. and 1t was six weeks before
l got back into Matanzas. Naturally.
when l heard what happened, tried
to find the girl, but Weyler was CON
centrating the paciHcos by the time.
and there was nobody left In the Yu-
muri; 1t was desert"
Then you don't know positively that
she that she"
wait. There is no doubt that the
boy was killed. but Of Rosa's fate I
can only form my own opinion. How
ever, one Of Estebans men Joined nv
troops later. and l not only learned
something about the girl, but also why
Esteban had been so relentlessly pur-
sued. 1t was all Cobo's doings. You
have heard Of the fellow? No? Well.
you WILL" The speakers tone was elo- |
quent Of hatred. HE is worse than
the worst of them-a monster He
had seen Miss varona. She was a
beautiful girl
Go on J" whispered the lover.
Il discovered that she didn't at first
obey Weyler's edlct. She and the two /
negroes-they were former slaves Of /
her father, / believe-took refuge in
the Pan de Matanzas. Later on. Co
Dos men made raid and-killed a
great many. Some few ESCAPED into
the high ravines, but Miss Varopa was
not one Of them. Out Of regard for
Esteban I made careful search, but
could ind no trace Of her."
And yet you don't know what han
penedT OReilly ventured. you're
not sure7"
NO but tell you again Cobo's men
take no prisoners. When heard about
that raid l gave up looking for her"
"This-Cobo,'-the Americans voice
shook In spite Of his effort to hold II
steady-"I shall hope to meet him
some time"
The sudden fury that filled Colonel
Lopez face was almost hidden by the
gloom. Yes. Oh. yesl" he cried.
quickly, and you are but one of hun.