Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1918-08-30

sudden alteration of attitude, the whis-
| tie of indraWn breaths and the Wllis-
pered curses, until he heard some one
mutter the name, "Cobo." Then indeed
he started and stiffened in his tracks.
He fixed a 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 a vicious
oath.
$50 that is the butcher of babies i"
exclaimed the boy. "Well, now, I
should enjoy cutting his heart out"
O'Reilly's emotions were not entire
y 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 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 it 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 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
| 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
time O'Reilly had swung up it.! The
| climb had never before tired him as 1t
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, I'm afraid we came
too late. I'm afraid we're licked"
| jacket nodded listlessly; his opti-
lnism, 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, ut 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? It is easy enough to get into
Matanzas, but" He shrugged hope
lessly.
| Jacket frightened at the thought OF
escape. "Ho! Til bet we can find a
hole somewhere" said he. "We're not
like these others. They haven't the
spirit to try" There was a moment of
silence, and then: "Caramba You
remember those jutias we ate? They
were strong, but I would enjoy the
smell Of one now. Eth? Another week
j Of this and we shall be living on garb-
age like the rest Of these poor peo-
ple."
| Leaving Jacket to 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 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 low 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