Martinsburg W Va evening journal. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1913-1920, 1918-07-18
SYNOPSIS.

CHAPTER l-Don Esteban Varona.
Cuban planter, possesses great treasure
hoard. This wealth has been hidden in
| a well on the estate by Sebastian. slave,
and only he and his master know the Sc
cret cache. Don Esteban's wife dies ct
the birth of twins, Esteban and Rosa.
| Don Esteban marries the avaricious Donna
Isabel, who knows there is hidden treas
ure and tries to wiring the secret from Sc
bastian. When the slave refuses she tries
| to hurt him by having Evangelina, his
daughter, whom he loves dearly and who
is the special servant of the twins. sold
CHAPTER Through Donna Isabel's
scheming Don Esteban risks Evangeiina
at cards and loses. Crazed by the loss of
| ais daughter. Sebastian Kills Don Este
,sn enc himself.
CHAPTER III-Many years Donna lisa
bel searched for the hidden wealth of the
| man she had married. A few years later
| Mario. but Rosa Is promised to O'Reilly,
the American. and awaits bis return from
New York; whence he has gone to break
daughter. Esteban is secretly aiding the
'nsur-ectos 8 :.
CHAPTER Iv-Donna Isabel is at the
loHs administrator, who knows the deeds
to the plantation are lost with the treas
ure. One night she walks in her sleep
and meets her death In the treasure we'll
CGeto denounces them as rebels.
erich? Well, not exactly. but COM
fortaby well Off" Cueto actually
smiled again. mo doubt my frankness
is shock to you. You are angry at
my proposition, Ell? Never mind. You
will think better Of it in time, If you
are sensible woman. But now. since
at last we enjoy such confidential re-
lations, let us have no more of these
miserable suspicious Of each other.
Let us entirely forget this unpleasant
Misunderstanding and be the same
good friends as before"
Having said this, Pancho Cueto stood
silent moment in polite expectancy;
then receiving no ineligible reply, he
bowed low and left the room.
, To the avaricious Donna Isabel Cue
to's frank acknowledgment of theft
was maddening, and the realization
that she was helpless, nay, dependent
, upon his charity for her living, fairly
crucified her proud spirit.
All day she brooded, and by the time
evening came she had worked herself
into such state of nerves that she
could eat no dinner. Some time during
the course of the evening wild idea
came to Isabel. Knowing that the man
ager would spend the night beneath
her roof, she planned to kill him. AT
first it seemed simple thing to do
merely matter Of a dagger or PTS
| toll, while he slept-but further thought
revealed appalling risks and difficult
| ties, and she decided to wait. Poison
was far safer.
Constant brooding over the treasure
had long since affected Donna Isabels
brain, and as a. consequence she often
| dreamed about 1t. She dreamed about
| it again tonight, and, strangely enough,
| her dreams were pleasant. Sebastian
appeared, but for once he neither
cursed nor threatened her; and Este
ban, when he came, was again the
| lover who had courted her in Ha-
bana. 1t was amazing, delightful
| Esteban and she were walking through
the grounds of the quinta and he was
| telling her about his casks of Spanish
sovereigns, about those boxes bound
| with iron, about the gold and silver or
naments Of heavenly beauty and the
pearls as large as plums. AS he talked
Isabel felt herself grow hot and cold
with anticipation; she experienced
spasms Of delight.
fssf Then of a. sudden Isabel's whole
dream-world dissolved. She awoke, OF
4 thought she did. at hearing her name
/ shouted. But although she underwent
4 the mental and the physical shock OF
j being startled from slumher although
| she felt the tirst swift fright of a per
| son aroused to strange surroundings
she knew on the instant rat she mus
| still be asleep; for everything about
her was dim and dark, the air was colo
and damp. wet grass rose to her knees
Before she could half realize her con
dition she felt herself plunged into
space. She heard herself scream
hoarsely, fearfully, and knew. too late
that she was indeed awake. Then
whirllng chaos A sudden, blindin.
crash Of lights and sounds. Nothing
morel -.
N Esteban Varona sat until late hour
that night oyer letter which required
the utmost care in its composition. /
was written upon the thinnest Of pa
per. and when it was finished tn,
writer Enclosed 1t in an envelope of tn
same material. Esteban put the lette
in his pocket without addressing II
Letting himself out into the night, h
took the path that led to the oil
sunken garden. He passed close b.
the well, and Its gaping mouth, onl.
half protected by the broken coping
reminded him that he had promise,
Rosa to cover 1t with planks. In It
present condition 1t was menace t
animals, II not to human beings VIII
were unaware Of its presence.
Seating himself on one Of the oil
stone benches, the young man lit
cigarette and composed himself (
wait. He sat there for a long time
Er1mhlins inwardly. for the night wa
damp and he was sleepy: hut at las
: a figure stole out OF the gloom an
Joined him. The newcomer was a raj