The Red Cloud chief., 1918-08-15
NOVEL by REX BEACH
Author OF 1.-THE IRON TRAIL" "THE sP

Il truth. TtW DtOplt WtIc tIdNcituk tltSt
days, and they were. for the most part,
Spanish officers to whom the sight Of
starving country people was no nov
city. Now and then, however, there did
arrive visitors from whom the spec
tncle Of sc much wretchedness wrung
q contribution, hence there was al
ways IN expectant thrOng ut the depot.
On this occasion O'Reilly was sur
prised to hear the piteous whlnes for
charity in the name of God turn sud-
denly into a subdued but vicious NUT
ter of rage. Kisses were intermingled
with vituperations, then the crowd fell
strangely silent, parting to allow the
passage of a great, thick-set man I'm the
uniform Of a colonel Of volunteers. The
fellow was unusually swarthy and he
wore a black scowl upon his face, while
a long pickering scar the full length Of
one cheek lifted his mouth into a
crooked sneer and left exposed a
glimpse of wolfsh teeth.
O'Reilly was at a loss to fathom this
sudden alteration Of attitude, the whis-
tie Of indrawn breaths and the whis-
ItItu StS, ullii bc htuIu SOIue OUt
mutter the name, "Cobo." Then indeed
he started and stiffened In his tracks.
lie fixed a fascinated stare upon the
fellow.
Colonel Cobo seemed no little
pleased by the reception he created.
With his chest arched and his black
eyes cleaning m%alevolently he swag-
gered through the press, clicking his
heels noisily upon the stone flags. When
he had gone Jacket voiced a vicious
oath.
$50 that Is the butcher Of babies I"
exclaimed the boy. "Well, now, I
should enjoy cutting his heart out"
ORellly's emotions were not entire
ly unlike those Of his small companion.
His lips became dry and white as he
tried to speak.
what a brutei That face Ugh I"
he found himself shaking weakly,
n discovered that a new and wholly
unaccountaele feeling Of discourage
ment had settled upon him. He tried
manfully to shake 1t Off, but somehow
failed, for the sight of Rosa's arch
enemy and the mans overbearlng per-
sonality had affected him queerly.
Cobo's air OF confidence and authority
seemed to emphasize O'Reilly's impo-
tence and bring 1t forcibly home to
him. To think Of his lustful persecu.
ton or ROSA Varona, moreover, terri.
he'd him. The next day he resumed his
hut-to-hut search. but with q listless-
ness Tim coma from, N Nrr, oo,vtottou
that once again he was too late.
That afternoon found the two friends
among h miserable novels which en-
circled the foot Of La Cumbre, about
the only quarter they had not explored.
Below lay San Severlno, the execution
place; above was the site Of the old
Varona home. More than once on his
way about the city OrReilly had lifted
his eyes In the direction Of the latter,
FEELING u great hunger to revisit the
scene OF his last farewell to Rosa, but
through fear of the melancholy effect
1t would have upon him he had thus
far resisted the impulse. Today, how
ever, he could nc longer fight the NOR
bid desire and SO, in spite of Jackets
protest at the useless expenditure Of
effort, he set out to climb the hill. OF
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 OIteilly had swung up I'll The
climb had never before tired him as II
did now, and he reasoned that hunger
must have weakened him even more
than he realized. Jacket felt the exer
ton, too; he was short Of breach and
he rested frequently. O'Reilly saw that
the boys bare, brown legs had grown
bony since he had last noticed them
and he felt n sudden pang ut having
brought the little fellow into such q
plight as this.
well, hombre," he said when they
/ paused to rest, "Tm afraid we came
too late. I'm s.fraid we're licked"
: Jacket nodded llstlessly; his opti.
, mism, too, was gone. "They must all
be dead or we would have found them
before this" said he. When O'Reilly
made no answer he continued. ut is
{ time we thought Of getting away from
Q here, eh?"
Johnnie was sitting with his face In
r his hands. Without lifting his head he
t inquired: "How are we going to gel
away? It Is easy enough to get into
Matanzas, but" He shrugged hope
!, lessly.
: Jacket frightened at the thought OF
! escape. "Ho! I'll bet we can find Q
hole somewhere" said he. "We're no
$ like these others. They haven't tn,
spirit to try" There was a moment o.
e silence, and then: "Caranba! 70,
r remember those jutias we ate2 The.
c were strong, but l would enjoy tn,
smell of one now. Eli? Another weel
Of this and we shall be living on garb
age like the rest Of these poor PEG
o pie"
Leaving jacket to take his time