Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-07-23
Copyright. by Harper and Brothers)

OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Observation-Disclosures
With his chest arched and his black
eyes cleaning malevolently he swag
gered through the press, clicking his
heels noisily upon the stone flags. When
he had gone Jacket voiced a vicious
oath.
$50 that is the butcher of babies ~
exclaimed the boy. "Well, now, /
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 brutel That face Ugh
He found himself shaking weakly,
and discovered that a new and wholly
unaccountable feeling of discourage
ment had settled upon him. He tried
manfully to shake it 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-
ton of Rosa Varona, 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 great hunger to revisit the
scene of his last farewell to Rosa, but
through fear Of the melancholy effect
it 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 go
alone
Little was said during the ascent.
The La Cumbre road seemed very long
and very steep. How different the last
stime O'Reilly had swung up it! The
climb had never before tired him as it
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'Reilly 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 a
plight as this.
well, hombre," he said when they
paused to rest, "Pm afraid we came
too late. I'm .~fraid we're licked"
Jacket nodded listlessly; his opti-
mism, too, was gone. "They must all
be dead or we would have found them
before this" said he. When O'Reilly
made no answer he continued, "It is
time we thought of getting away from
here, eh?"
Johnnie was sitting with his face in
his hands. Without lifting his head he
inquired: "How are we going to get
away? 1t Is easy enough to get into
Matanzas. but" He shrugged hope
lessly.
Jacket frightened at the thought of
escape. "Ho! I'll bet we can find a
hole somewhere" said he. Were not
lilya tboco otbarc Tbax, bouon,+ +ho
spirit to try" There was a moment of
silence, and then: "Caramba! You
remember those jutias we ate? They
were strong, but 1 would enjoy the
smell of one now. Eth? Another week
of this and we shall be living on garb-
age like the rest of these poor peo-
pie"
Leaving Jacket 10 take his time,
| Johnnie completed the climb alone,
meditating upon the boys words. ''The
spirit to try!" Where had his spirit
gone. he wondered. Perhaps it had
been crushed beneath the weight of
misery he had beheld; surely he had
seen enough. Hourly contact with sick
ness and misfortune on such a gigantic
scale was enough to chill anyone's
hopes, and although his sensibilities
| had been dulled, his apprehensions
had been Quickened hour by hour.
Now that he looked the matter square
| ly in the face, 1t seemed absurd TO be-
lieve that tender girl like Rosa Va
roma could long have withstood the
hardships of this hideous place; strong
er people than she had succumbed. by
the hundreds. Even now the hospitals
were full, the sick lay INTENDED in
| their novels. No one, so far as O'Reilly
knew, had undertaken to estimate how
| fast they were dying or the number of
dead which had already ridden out of
Matanzas In those rumbling wagons,
but there were many. What chance
was there that Rosa had not been
among the latter?
As he breasted the summit of La
Cumbre, O'Reilly beheld at some dis
lance a bent figure of want. 1t was a
negro woman. grubbing In the earth
with a sharpened stick. After a sus-
picious scrutiny of him she resumed
her digging.
Nothing but heap of stones and
plaster remained of the Varona home.
The grounds, once beautiful even when
neglected as in Donna Isabel's time.
were now scene of total desolation. A
few orange trees, TO be sure, remained
standing, and although they were cool
and green to look at, they carried no
fruit and the odor of their blooms was
trial and mockery to the hungry
visitor. The evidences of Cueto's van
dalism affected O'Reilly deeply; they
brought him memories more painful
than he had anticipated. Although the
place was well-nigh unacceptable,
nevertheless IL cried aloud of Rosa.
and the unhappy lover could barely
control the emotions it awakened. 1t
was indeed a morbid impulse which
had brought him thither, but now that
he was here he could not leave. IN
/ =; e,