Mexico Missouri message., 1918-08-15
CHAPTER xvrll-centlnusd.

NEHsNF GtA NNttt--Lonltnueds
~-f6---
81 hare been close To death so long
chat it means little to me-" she con-
fessed. Il have you, and-well, with
you at my side : can face the worst"
"oh, we WON'T give up until we have
Co." he assured her. Elf had money
Il would be a simple proposition to
bride some guard to pass us through
ehe lines but , have spent all that Gen.
eraI Betanc0urt gave me-" He
smoothed back ROsafs dark hair and
smiled reassuringIy ar her. swell, I'll
manage somehow so don't worry your
pretty head. III End the price, IL 1
have to EayIay old Don Mario and rob
him. Don't yon think 2 look like a
bandit? The very sight of me would
9sTrify that fat rascal"
'"TO me you are beautiful" breathed
che girl. Then she lowered her eyes.
~La, lai How spoil yoHl ! have
quite forgotten how 70 be Iadylike. Isa-
Gel was right when she called me n
bold and forward hussy. Now, then,
pleSse turn your face aside. for wish
60 think, and 60 long as you look at
me cannot--E make love to you bra
aenIy. Sect Now then. that Is much
better. I shall hold your hand, so.
WHEN y kiss It you may look at me
again, foB q nomeef." Drawing her.
self closer to 0TheiIiy. Rosa began
thoughtfuYIy 'Befcpe you came I more
than once WIS on the point of appeal
ting to some % my former friends, but
they arc an Spanlards and we are no
eenGer--sImpatico. you understand"
Rosa paused ReT his answer.
Perfectly: Tn in the sSnle fix. OF
all the people used 20 know there
Sen't one but would dcnounce me IL
made myself knowa- Now that I've
been fighting with the insurrectos, I
daren't even go 60 the American consul
for help-if there Is an American con-
Sul."
Rosa nodded. then continued, hesl-
1katingiy: IL had O vivid dream last
pight. Perhaps ii was portent. Who
3Enows7 II was about that stepmother
Af mine. You remember how she met
her death2 ! wrote you"
Yes, and EstehaD also told me-"
"It was he who recovered her body
(1om the we'll. One day, while we
were in hiding. away up yonder in the
Mumuri, he showed me an old coin"
81 know" 0'Reilsy said quickly. HE
told me the whole story. He thinks
chat doubIasn Is q clue to your fathers
fortune. butt CAN'T put much faith in
1t. In fact. dldnIt believe until this
tnoment that there Was a doubloOn at
all"
"Oh, indeed there wasI 1 saw it."
There was . nn8Rienb OF silence dur
ting which tlHe lovers were oblivious to
all but eHch other then Rosa muir
INJURED: "Ebow strangeI Sometimes
Sour eyes arebBue and sometimes gray.
Does that mean that your love, too,
can changer"
Certainly net. But come, what
about EstefIan ard that doubloon?"
With an effDra tie girl brought her
self back TO earth. 9fGelI, 1t occurred
10 me, in the Right az that dream last
night, that Esteban may have been
fight OF course nobody outside Of
|oaR family Credits the Old story, and
get my father was considered a very
fitch man at one time. pdI,uno Cueto
believed In the exEAHence- OF the treas
are. and he was I'm q position to know"
'Truei Perhaps. after all"
O'Reilly frowHed meaitatively.
Rosa lifted herseK upon her elbow.
her eyes sparkling. %W0uldn't 1t be
wonderful if It were tEueq Just think,
O'Reiily, cases og Spanish gold, silver
soins in casks, PACKAGES Of gems. oh,
Ave heard Isabel talk about 1t often
enough"
Don't forget thsse pearls from the
Caribbean, as large AS p4ams," Johnny
smiled. II couE6 never quite swallow
Hhat. A pearl tho aixe OF currant
would buy our fheed0n right now"
After mOmenk he went on, more seri-
ously: I've a nOtiaR to look into that
old wen this very afternoon. IL
dare say I'm foUEfsia. hut-someIlow
'&he story doesn't sound SO improbable
rs 1t did. Perhaps ID Is worth inves-
dgating-" He made I'D his mind
swiftly. T-Fm ofs tAiS very Instant"
Nheh OHn6Ahy euleHge0 Nrom the hut
ne found jacket Enthusiastically at work
over a fragment OF sEindstone which
pc had somewhere UReaEthed. The boy
looked Up at his fstsnSfs approach and
held out Tor Inspection long. thin file.
which he was slowly shaping into
&ntfe-blade.
"What do you think of that2" ne
querled proudly 'R may come in
handy when we are Eeaay to clear out
of this pesthole."
Where ala you get ltPT
"oh. I stole II. Ha6eai everything
can lay my hands on nowadays. One
can never ten Vi1eE he may have a
throat to cue. and a h8e has good steel
IN It."
~Since You are such an accom-
RtifEhed thief n, uanx fl,int- xfots oonId