The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-09-19

O'Re.lly's evident surprise and admi-
ration. "Then I'm not so altogether
chnngedr she asked.
"Why. you haven't changed at all.
except to grow more beautiful. Evan
gelina is right; you are too beautiful
to look at. But wait" He drew her
aside and whispered. 'Tve been down
In the WELL" Some tren,or in his
voice, some CLINT in his eyes, caused
the girl to seize him eagerly. fercely.
II may be wrong" he said hurriedly |;
"there may he nothing in it--and yet
l saw something"
"Whnt?"
"Wooden beams. timbers Of some
sort, behind the stone curbing." 1t
was plnin Rosa did not comprehend.
so he hurried on. AT first I noticed
nothing unusual. except that the bot
tom Of the well In nearly dry-fllled
up. you know, with debris and stun
that has fallen In from the curhing
above, then I saw that although the
well Is dug through rock. nevertheless
II is entirely curbed up with stones
laid in mortar. That struck me az
queer"
"Yesf"
'T noticed, too. In one place that
there was wood behind-as II timbers
hnd been placed there to cover the
entrance to a cave. You know this
Cuban rock is full Of caverns."
Rosa clasped her hands, she began
to tremble. "You have found II,
O'Reilly. You havew she whispered.
"No. ne. I've foupd nothing yet. But
I've sent jacket for a pick or a bar
and tonight I'm going to pull down
those stones and see what Is behind
| them"
"To nightf You must let me 60.
too. want to help"
"Very well. But meanwhile you
mustn't let your hopes rise too high.
for there is every chance that you will
be disappointed. And don't mention
It to Evangelina. Now, then. I've
few pennies left and I'm going to buy
some candles"
Rosa embraced her lover impulsive-
ly. Something tells me It is true
Something tells me you are going to
save NJ all"
Evangelina in the far corner Of the
hut muttered to her husband: "Such
love-birdsi They are like parrakeetA
forever kissing and cooingl" ~
Jacket returned at dusk, and with
him he brought rusty three-foot iron
bar. evidently part Of q window grnt-
ing. The boy was tired. disgusted, and
IN vile temper. "A pickaxi A crow
bar !" he cursed eloQuently. "One might
Ms well try to steal q cannon out Of
San Severino. I'm ready to do any
thing within reason, but"
"why. this will do nicely; It Is Just
what want" O'Reilly told him.
''Humphi Tn glad to hear II, for
that rod was nearly the death of me.
I broke my back wrenching at 1t and
the villain who owned the house
may a bad lightning split him The
ran after me until nearly expired.
II my new knife had been sharp I
would have turned and sent him home
with II between his ribs. Tomorrow !
shall put an edge on It. Believe me,
ran until my lungs burst"
Little food remained in the hut,
barely enough for Asensio and the
women, and inasmuch as O'Rellly had
spent his last centavo for candles he
and jacket were forced to 60 hungry
again. Late that evening. after the
wretched prison quarters had grown
quiet, the three treasure hunters stole
out of their hovel and wound up the
hill. In spite Of their excitement they
went slowly. for none Of them had the
strength to hurry. Fortunately there
were few providers within the lines.
hunger having robbed the reconcentra-
dos Of the spirit to venture forth. and
In consequence Spanish vigilance had
relaxed: II was now confined to the
far-fung girdle Of intrenchments which
encircled the city. The trio encoun-
tered no one.
Leaving Jacket ON guard at the crest
Of the hill, OTReilly stationed Rosa at
the mouth Of the well. then lowered
himself once more into t. Lighting
his candle, he made . careful exami-
nation Of the place. with the result
that Esteban's theory Of the missing
riches seemed even less improbable
than It had earlier in the day. The
masonry work. he discovered. had been
done with q painstaking thoroughness
which spoke Of the abundance Of slave
labor. and time had barely begun to
affect It. Here and there q piece Of
the mortar had loosened and come
away. but for the most part It stood
~ solid as the stones between which
It was laid. Shoulder-high to O'Reilly
there appeared to be q section Of the
curbing less smoothly fitted than the
rest. and through an interstice In this
he detected what seemed to be damp
wooden beam. At this point he
brought his Iron bar into play.
1t was, not long before he discovered
that his work was cut out for him.
The cement was like flint and his blunt