Evening star., 1918-02-03

the Quinta de Esteban were visfnle-i
and there they settled down to live-S
They had hoped to lose themselvesA
among the other prisoners. and In this$
they were successful for none OF their5
miserable neighbors were in any condi-
tion to notice them and there waab
nothing sufficiently conspicuous abou04
two tattered blacks and their hunch 4
backed daughter to draw attention fronl3
the soldiers
Asensio foraged zealousiy. and atf
first he managed somehow to secura&
enough food for his little family. Hel
developed, a real talent for discoveringJ
begged, and he found food where there4
was none. One day the soldiers seizedl
him and put him to work on the forts.
fications along with gang OF other9
men who appeared strong enough tpl
stand hard labor. Asensio was not paidA
for this. but he was allowed one meaLa
a day. and he succeeded In bringinxj
home each night a share of his alloi-r
ment.
1t is surprising how little nourish u
ment will sustain life. Rosa and her(
two friends had long felt the pinch OF
hunger, but now they plumbed new.
depths of privation. for there were daysf
when Asensio and his fellow conscriptS.
received nothing at all. After a timer
Evangelina began making baskets andh
weaving palm-leaf hats, which she soldJ
at s cents each. She taught Rosa the.
craft and they worked from dawn until:
dark. striving With nimble. tirelesss
fingers to supplement Asensio's rationss
and postpone starvation. But IL was a.s
hopeless task. Other nimble fingers,
worked as tirelessly theirs. and the!
demand for hats was limited.
Their hut overlooked the road to Sam
Severino. that via dolorosa on which,,
condemned prisoners were marched oucf
to execution. and in time the women
learned to recognize the peculiar blar-
ing notes OF a certain cornet, which,
signified that another Cuban cock wash
about to crow" When in the damp OFT
dewy mornings they heard that buglef
they ceased their weaving long enought
to cross themselves and whisper a.
prayer for the souls of those who were'
on their way to die. But this was the
only respite they allowed themselves.
Rosa meditated much upon the con-
trast between her present and her
former condition. Matanzas was the.
city of her birth. and time was when&
she had trod its streets in arrogancek
and pride. when she had possessed,
friends by the score among its residents
But of all these there was not one too
whom she dared appeal in this her hourS
OF need. These were harsh times:
Spanish hatred of the revolutionists was
bitter. and of the Cuban sympathizers
none were left. Moreover, Es9eban-s
announcement traitor had estrang--
ed an who remained loyal to the crowns,
ana so far as Rosa herself was con-
cerned. she knew that il would not mat
ter to them that she had cleaved to him
merely from sisterly devotion: by that
49, sAaC iao fIlduc ueESel1 a common
enemy and they would scarcely sytnpa-
thfze with her plight. The girl had
learned only too well what spirit was
abroad But even had she felt assured
OF meeting sympathy, her pride was
pure Castilian. and it would never
down. She. a Varona. whose name was
one TO conjure with, whose lineage was
OF the highest! She to beg? The thinge
taken. would have choked her. Rosal
preferred to suffer proudly and await4
the hour when hunger or disease wouldS
al da .as. pot out her memories of happyi
oays ana end this nightmare misery
Then. too, she dreaded any risk OF.
discovery by old Mario de Castano. whoi
was hard. vindfctive man. His Parting
newer Unus tnaa;r naa shown her that he would
upon him; and she did not wish to pus
ms threats to the test. Once Rosa saw
n,11; Wnn,h on ne ner way to buy few eentavos'
huddled in his victoria. a huge bladder
OF nesh. and he rode the streets
Gear to the plants of starving chill
9 nren' blind to the misery Of beseech-
doorway and drew her tattered shawl
closer over her face for fear
Don Mario might recognize in this mis-
snapen body and in these pinched, tliscol-
ored features the beauteous blossom he
had craved. ~
Nor did she forget Col. Cobo. The
mans memory haunted her. asleep and
0eGDera
afraid: When for the first time she saw
nim riding at the head of his cutthroafs
she was Like to swoon in her tracks, and
ior a whole day thereafter she covered in
tne nut. trembling at every sound
In these dark hours she recalled the
stories OF the old Varona treasure and
Estenans interesting theory Of it's
whereabouts. but she could not bring
herself to put much faith in either At
the time OF her brothers recital she had
been swayed by his conviction but now
on cooler thought a dozen explanations OF
Dona lsabefs possession OF that doubloou
oHered themselves. no one of which
seemed less proba BILE than Esteban's OF
course 1t was barely possible that there
was indeed a treasure, and even that,
Esteban's surnise had been correct But,
1t ssyas little more than remote possi-
biHty. Distance lends rosy color of
reality to our most absurd magjnines
but. like the haze that tints a far-off
landscape. ii dissolves upon approach
Now that Rosa was here, in sight Of the
ruined quinta itself. her hopes and half
She wanted-oh. SO desperately,-to be-
lieve in it. but the grinding misery OF her.
situation made it hard to do So Won,
stories. she told herself. and certainly
she had no cause to consider herself q
favorite of fortune.
More than once she was tempted to,
confide In Evangelna and Asensio, but
she thought better Of it. Although shei
put implicit faith in Evangelina's dis;
cretion, Sne knew that Asensio was nOtt
the sort OF fellow to be trusted with AZ
secret Of great magnitude-he wasl
boastful, talkative. excitable: he was
just the sort to bring destruction upon
all of them. Rosa had sufficient intelli-
gence to realize that even if she found
her fathers riches they would only con-
stitute another and a greater menace to
the lives of all Of them. Nevertheless.
she wished to set her mind at rest once
and for all. Taking Evangelina with her.
she climbed La Cumbre one day in
search of roots and vegeta bles.
1t turned out to be a sad experience
for both women. The negress wept
noisily at the destruction wrought by
Pancho Cueto. and Rosa was overcome.
by painful memories Little that was ia
maliar remained evidence OF Cuetos all.
devouring greed spoke from the sprout-
ing burrows his men had dug. from thei
naked trees they had felled and piled in
orderly heaps, from the stones and NOR
tar Of the house itself. Tears blinded
Rosa. After a time she left the black
woman mourning among the ruins and
stole away to the sunken garden. Here
the marks of vandalism were less notice.
able. Nevertheless. few signs of beauty
remained. Neglected vines dropped spirit
lessly from the lodges: such fruit trees
as had been spared were sickly and un-
tended: time and the elements had all
but completed the disheartening work.
The well remained. although il had