Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-08-17


course the boy would not let him go
Alone.
Little was said during the ascent.
The La Cumbre road seemed very long
and very steep. How different the last
time O'Reilly had swung up 1t! The
climb had never before tired him as 1t
did now. and he reasoned that hunger
must have weakened him even more
than no realised. Jacket felt the exer-
ton, too; he was short Of breath and
he rested frequently. O'Reilly saw that
the boys bare. brown, legs had grown
bony since no had last noticed them,
and he felt a sudden pang at having
brought the little fellow into such a
plight a this.
well, hombre." he said when they
paused to rest, I'm afraid we came
too late. TIM afraid we're licked"
Jacket nodded listlessly; his opti-
mism, too. was gone. sThey must all
be dead or we would have found them
before this" said he. When O'Reilly
made no answer he continued. 'It is
time We thought Of getting away from
here, eh7"
Johnnie was sitting with his face in
his hands. Without lifting his head he
inquired: Elbow are we going to get
away! It Is easy enough to get into
MatanzaA but" BE shrugged hope
lessly.
Jacket frightened at the thought of
escape, "Hol III bet we can find
hole somewhere" said he. "We're not
like these others. They haven't the
spirit to try" There was moment of
silence. and then: ''Carambal You
remember those jutias we atei They
were strong, but would enjoy the
smell Of one now. Ehf Another week
Of this and we shall DO living on gufb-
age Ike the rest Of these poor pso-
pie"
Leaving Jacket to take his time,
Johnnie completed the climb alone,
meditating upon the boys words. 'aThe
spirit to tryw Where had his spirit
gone. he' wondered. Perhaps 1t had
been crushed beneath the weight Of
misery he had beheld: surely he had
seen enough. Hourly contact with sick
ness and misfortune on such gigantic
scale was enough to chill anyone's
hopes. and although his sepsibilities
had been du1led, his apprehensions
had been Quickened hour by hour.
Now that he looked the matter square
" In the face, 1t seemed absurd to be-
lieve that tender girl like Rosa Va
roma could long have withstood the
hardships Of this hideous 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, 60 far a O'Rellly
knew, had undertaken to estimate how
fast they were dying or the number Of
dead which had already ridden out Of
Aatanxas in those rumbIing wagons,
but there were many. What chance
was there that Rosa had not been
among the latter1
As he breasted the summit Of La
Cumbre. O'Reilly beheld at some dis
lance a bent figure Of want. It was
negro woman. grubbing In the earth
with sharpened stick. After = sus-
picions scrutiny Of him she resumed
her digging.
Nothing but Z 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 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
q trial and, mockery to the hungry
visitor. The evidences Of Cueto's van
dalism affected O'Reilly deeply; they
bought him memories more painful
than he had anticipated. Although the
place was well-nigh unacceptable,
nevertheless it cried aloud Of Rosa,
and the unhappy lover could barely
control the emotions 1t awakened. It
was indeed morbid impulse which
had brought him thither, but now that
he was here he could not leave. IN
consciously his feet turned toward the
ancient quarry which had formed the
sunken garden-his and Rosa's tryst-
ing place.