The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-09-26


again, for he feared he would not have
the strength to descend it.
Luckily for the sake of the secret,
Evangelina spent most Of the day
searching for food, while Asensio lay
babbling upon his bed, too i'll to notice
the peculiar actions of his companions.
1t was with a strange, nightmare
feeling of unreality that the trio
dragged themselves upward TO the
ruined quinto when darkness finally
came. They no longer talked, for con-
verSation was a drain upon their pow
ers, and the reaction from the days ex-
element had set in. O'Reilly Iurched
as he walked, his limbs were heavy,
and his liveliest sensation was one of
dread at the hard work in store for
him. The forcing of that door assumed
the proportions of a Herculean task.
But once he was at the bottom of
the well and beheld the handiwork of
Sebastian, the slave, just as he had
left it, his sense of reality returned and
with it a certain measure of determine
ton. Inasmuch as he had made no
visible impression upon the bulkhead
| by his direct attack, he changed his
tactics now and undertook to loosen
| one of the jambs where 1t was wedged
into the rock at top and bottom. After
a desperate struggle he succeeded in
| loOsening the entire structure so that
| he could pry it out far enough to
squeeze his body through.
81 have 1t ~ he cried to Rosa. Selling
the candle, he thrust it into the open
| ing. He beheld what he had expected
to find, small cavern or grOttO which
had evidently been pierced during the
digging of the well. He could appreci-
ate now how simple had been the task
! of sealing it up so as to battle discov-
cry. Rosa, poised above him, scarcely
breathed until he Strengthened himself
and turned his face upward once more.
He tried to speak, but voiced moth
ing more than q hOarse croak; the
candle in his hand described cratic fig
ures.
''What do you see?'' the girl cried in
an agony of suspense.
Ct It's hereI B-boxes, chests,
casks-everything
God be praisedl- My fathers for
tune at lastI'
Rose forgot her surroundings; she
bent her hands together, calling upon
O'Reiny to make haste and determine
beyond all question that the missing
hoard was indeed theirs. She drew
perilously close to the well and knelt
over it like some priestess at her de-
Ioions; her eyes were trimming with
tears and there was a roaring in her
ears. 1t was not strange that she failed
to see or TO hear the approach of q
great blurred figure which material
lied out of the night and took station
scarcely an arms length behind her.
HE intended it for his children -
she sobbed, land providence saved it
from our wicked enemies. 1t was the
hand Of God that led US here, O'Reilly.
Tell me, what do you see now?"
Johnnie had wormed his way into
the damp chamber and a slim rectangle
of light was projected against the op-
posite side of the well. Rosa could
hear him talking and moving about.
Don Esteban Varonas subterranean
hiding-place was large enough to store
a treasure far greater than his; it was
P2rhaps ten feet in length, with roof
high enough to accommodate a tall
man. At the farther end were ranged
several small wooden chests bound
with iron and fitted with hasps and
staples, along one side was q row of
diminutive casks, the sort used to con-
tain choice wines or liquors; over all
was q thick covering of slime and
mold. The iron was deeply rusted and
the place itself smelled abominably
stale.
II
in daze. He set his candle down, foT
his fingers were numb and unsteady,
! Cautiously, as If fearful of breaking
: some spell, he stopped and tried to
move one of the casks, but found that
1t resisted him as If cemented to the
4 rock. He noted that its head was
l bulged upward, as If by the dampness
!. so he took his iron bar and aimed 8
i sharp blow at the chine. A hoop gave
way; another blow enabled him to pry
out the head OF the cask. He stood
blinking at the sight exposed, for the
little barrel was full of coins-yelloN
coins, large and small. O'Reilly seized
t a handful and held them close TO the
q candle flame; among the number ht
), noted a Spanish doubIoon, such a.
!, young Esteban had found.
y He tested the weight of the othel
g casks and found them equally heavy
n Knowing little about gold, he did no
f attempt to estimate the value of thei
y contents, but he judged they must rep
, resent a fortune. With throbbfn,
L pulses he next lifted the lid OF tn
s nearest chest. Within, he discovers
+ several compartments, each stored Wit
E neatly wrapped and labeled package
d of varying shapes and sizes. The writ
e ing upon the tags was almost i1Iegible
r but the first article which O'Reilly IN
e wrapped proved to be goblet OF mos
d beautiful workmanship. Time had lon
le since blackened it to the appearance o
b. pewter or some base metal, but he say
Is that it was OF solid silver. Evidentl
le he had uncovered a store of old Span
ism plate.
er In one corner of the chest he saw .
le metal box of the sort in which valuabl
e. papers are kept, and after some effor
lie he managed to break 1t open. Turnin
lie back the lid, he found first bundle O
a documents bearing imposing scroll