The Ordway new era., 1918-12-13

city. Now and then. however, there did
arrive visitors from whom the spec
tacle Of so much wretchedness wrung
contribution, hence there was al
ways IN expectant throng at the depot.
On this occasion O'Reilly WINS sur
prIsed to hear the piteous whines 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. thlck-set man in the
uniform Of colonel Of volunteers. The
fellow was unusually swarthy and he
wore black scowl upon his face. while
u long puckerlng scar the fnll length Of
one cheek lifted his mouth into q
crooked sneer and left exposed a
glimpse of wolfish teeth.
O'ReIlly was at a loss to fathom this
sudden alteration Of attitude, the whis-
tie Of indrawn breaths and the whis-
pered curses, until he heard some one
mutter the name, "Cobo." Then indeed
he started and stiffened in his tracks.
He fixed O 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 inadvertently he swag-
gered through the press, clicking his
heels noisily upon the stone flags. When
he had gone Jacket voiced vicious
oath.
$50 that is the butcher of babies ~
exclaimed the boy. swell, now, I
should enjoy cutting his heart out"
O'Reilly'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 brute! That face Ugh ~
He found himself shaking weakly,
and discovered that new and wholly
unaccountable 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 overbearing 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-
tion Of Rosa YarOna, moreover, terri
fed him. The next day he resumed his
hut-to-hut search. but with listless-
ness that came from a firm conviction
that once again he was too late.
That afternoon found the two friends
among the miserable novels which en-
circled the foot Of La Cumbre, about
the only quarter they had not explored.
Below lay San Severino, the execution
place; above was the site of the old
Varona home. More than once ON his
way about the city O'Reilly had lifted
his eyes in the direction of the latter,
feeling a 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 no 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 60
alone.
Little was said during the ascent.
The La Cumbre road seemed very long
and very steep. How different the last
time O'Reilly had swung up It'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 breath and
he rested frequently. O'Rellly saw that
the boys bare. brown legs had grown
bony since he had last noticed them
and he felt sudden pang at having
brought the little fellow into such Q
plight as this.
swell, hombre," he said when they
paused to rest, 'Tm afraid we came
too late. I'm ,fraid we're licked"
Jacket nodded listlessly; his Opt
mism, too. was gone. "They must al
be dead or we would have found then
before this" said he. When OReill!
made no answer he continued. "It 1!
time we thought Of getting away from
here, ehf"
Johnnie was sitting with his face II
his hands. Without lifting his head b,
inquired: "How are we going to ge
away? It is easy enough to get int,
Matanzas. but" He shrugged hope
lessly.
Jacket frightened at the thought o
escape. "Hol I'll bet We can find
hole somewhere" said he. "We're no
like these others. They haven't tn
spirit to try" There was a moment o
, silence, and then: "Carambai 70
remember those jutias we ate7 The
, were strong, but I would enjoy tn
smell Of one now. Eh7 Another wee
Of this and we shall be living on gart
age like the rest Of these poor pee
pie"
Leaving Jacket to take his tim,
Johnnie completed the climb alon'
meditating upon the boys words. 9Th
. spirit to tryi" Where had his spir
gone. he wondered. Perhaps 1t hn