The Monticellonian., 1918-07-12
CHAPTER XII.
a Woman With a Mission.

A Woman With Mission.
Within Il few hours after 0Reillys
return to New York he telephoned to
Felipe Alvarado, explaining briefly the
disastrous failure of his Cuban trip.
81 feared as much" the doctor told
him. You We're lucky to escape with
your life
well, I'm going back Won't YOU in
tercede for me with the iunta? They're
constantly sending parties
'Um-m, not quite so often as that"
Alvarado was silent fer moment:
then he said "Dine with me tonight
and We'll talk 1t over. I'm eager for
news of my brothers and-there is
some one | wish you to meet. She is
interested in our cause"
She? A woman?"
Eyes. and an unusual woman. She
has contributed literally to our cause
l would like you to meet her
VERY we'll; but I've only one suit of
clothes. and it looks as if I'd slept in
it."
"Oh, bother the clothes - laughed
the ply Slc1dH. L We given lHOSI I'll lily
own to my destitute countrymen.
Don't expect too much to eat. either :;
every extra dollar, you know, goes
the same way as my extra trou-
sers. 1t will be a sort of patriotic
poverty party. Come at seven.
please"
That evening O'Reilly anticipated
his dinner engagement by few mo-
ments in order to have a word alone
with Alvarado.
This lady who is coming here to-
night has influence with Enrieuez." AL
varado told him. you remember
told you that she has contributed lib
orally. She might help YOU
OReilly had met women with ideals
with purposes, with avocations, and
his opinion of them was low. Women
who had Emissions" were always tire
some, he had discovered This one, 1t
appeared, was unusual only in that she
had adopted Il particularly exaeting
form of charitable work. Nursing.
even as rich woman's diversion
must be anything but agreeable
O'Reilly pictured this Evans person in
his mind-a large, plain, elderly crea-
ture, obSesSed with impractical ideas
of uplifting the masses She would
undoubtedly bore him stiff With stories
of her work; she would reproach him
with neglect of his duties to the suf-
fering. Johnnie was too poor to be
oh a ri ta hla Hnnnlu
at the moment with his own troubles
to care anything whatever about the
masses" And she was miss"
That meant that she wore thick glasses
and probably kept cats.
A ringing laugh from the cramped
hallway Interrupted these reflections +.
then a moment later Doctor Alvarado
was introducing O'Reilly To young
woman so completely out of the pic
ture, so utterly the opposite of his
preconceived notions, that he was mo-
mentarily at loss. Johnnie found
himself looking into Il pair of frank
gray eyes, and felt his hand seized by
a firm, almost masculine grasp. Miss
Evans, according to his first dazzling
impression. was about the most fetch
Ing creature he had ever seen and
about the last person by whom any
young man could be bored. The girl
and she was girl-had brought into
the room an electric vitality. breezi-
ness hard to describe. Altogether she
was such a vision of healthy. unaffect-
ed and smartly gotten-up young wom-
anhood that OReilly could only STAN
mer his acknowledgment of the intro
duction. inwardly berating himself for
his awkwardness.
Alvarado placed an affectionate
hand upon Miss Evans shoulder
"0Reilly. this girl has done more for
Cuba than any of us. She has spent
small fortune for medical supplies, ;"
said he.
Those poor men must live on qui-
nine" the girl exclaimed anyone
who can bear to take the stuff ought
to have all he wants. I've a perfect
passion for giving pills"
OReilly liked this girl He had liked
her the instant she favored him with
her friendly smile. and so. trusting
fatuOusly to his masculine powers of
observation. he tried TO anaIyze her
He could not guess her age. for an ex-
pensive ladies' tailor can battle the
most discriminating eye. Certainly
however. she was not old-he had an
idea that she would tell him her exact
age If he asked her. While he could
not call her beautiful she was some