Evening star., 1918-01-06

IL be that he had misunderstood any- &
thing? He turned to the beginning au0--
attempted TO read, but his hands shook 4
so that he was obliged to lay the let :
ter fiat upon his desk.
Rosa's Spanish training had been
severely tried. The stiff. quaint formal
ity OF her opening paragraphs only
served to emphasize her final frightened
cry for help.
My Dearly Beloved-It is with di6l-a
dence and hesitation that take my PEN
me unduly forward in writing to you.y
without solicitation. Reiieve me. I ap-1s
preciate the reserve which young lady
of refinement should practise even in Z
who has honored her with his promiso
Of marriage. but my circumstances are q
such to Danish consideration Of the
social niceties. =.
Alas. What events have followed
your departure from Matanzas. What
mtsfortunes have oyertaken EstebAu
and me. That happiness could be So
swiftly succeeded by misery. that want
could follow plenty. that peril could s
tread SO closely upon the heels OF
safety! Where to begin, how to tell
you. ! scarcely know: my hand shaken. :
my eyes are blipded-nor dare ! trust
myself to believe that this letter will
ever reach you, for we are refugees, Z
Esteban and I-fugitives. outcasts.
living in the manigua with Asensi0
and Evangelina. former slaves OF
Undesirable circumstances! But
they were our only friends and they took
us In when We were homeless, so We love :
them.
/ see you stare at these words. hear
you say, That Rosa has gone mad. like
her wicked stepmother.' Indeed. some-
times ] think ! have. But, no. ] write
facts. 1t is relief TO put them down. &
even though you never read them. Good
Asensio win take this letter on his horse
to the fnsurrecto camp, many m les away. :
and there give II to Col Lope-. our only
friend. who promises that in some mys-f
ferious way II will escape the eyes OF our
enemies and reach your ccuntry- Yes.
we have enemies! We. whr have harmeds.
no one. Wait until tell gu.
But II this letter re- ehes you-and e
send II with a prayer--what then? dare
not think too long of that. for the hearts
OF men are not like the hearts Of women
what Will you say when You learn that
the Rosa Earona whom you favored With :
your admiration is not the Rosa OF tD-ss
day! l hear you nurraur. The girl fcr-ss
gets herself.' But. oh. the standards of :
gone. too. am a hunted creature"
O'Reilly felt great pain In his breast :
at the thought that Rosa had for an fn-ss
slant doubted him. But she did not real~
iy doubt; those misgivings were but mos
mentary; the abandon Of her Appeals
showed that in her heart Of hearts saao y
knew his love to be unshakable. t
She had compelled herself to start with
the death OF Dona Isabel and to give him
a succinct asccount Of all that had fol-
lowed. O'Reilly read the story. fasci-
with the rattle Of typewriters and the tine
kle Of telephone bells in his ears, II III
seemed wholly improbable. fancifuliy un-si
reai--iike the workings OF some turgid
THAT is how we came to live with
Asensio and his wife," The letter wenf
on. Imagine 1t. A bohio, hidden AWAY
far up the Yumuri. and SO Insignificant ~ /
1Szamu
people OF consequence or authority: oaFj
safety depends upon our inconspicuoun-4
ness. We hide as do the tlmid anima16. 4
though nature has not given us their s1E1lE3
dernesS: II frtghtenA me. At night Il6a0E3
things rustling through the thatch 4boH03
my head: In the morning my feet touch = !
bare earthen floor. We live on fruits AMI
vegetables from Evangelina's garden.
with now and then fowl or a bite 0k
meat when Asensio is fortunate. Egteh0U
does not seem to mind. but cannot ac-
eomnodate myself to these barbarouo
surroundings Sometimes bite my
tongue to keep from complaining, fops
that. know. would grieve him.
The whole country Is in chaos Therov
is no work-nothlng but suspicion. hatred !.
and violence. Oh. what desolation fhjsi
war has wrought. Esteban has already5
become n guerrillero He has stolen II
but there is only handful Of coffee lafks
and little hope Of more. Marauding bAuf0j
OF Spaniards, are everywhere. and the
country people tell atrocious tales about
them How will II end? How long b.
fore they will discover US and the wor1t<
will happen?
Soon after our arrival Esteban weuef
TO the camp OF Col. Lopez to arrange dr.
to join his army. but returned hezrf-{
broken. 1t was impossible, 1t seems. 0ll4 s
my account. Conditions with the patffofs1
are worse than with US here. and the co1-3
onel acknowleded frankly that he could /
not be burdened with woman In hist
command. So Esteban has given up 60rf
the present his dream Of fighting, and de-4
votes himself to protecting me- You eeo5
there is no sanctuary, no help but his Z
right arm. The towns are In Spanish j
hands. the manigua Is infested with laW-{
less men. and there is no place in which I
to hide me. So I feel myself a burdeu-f
Esteban has plans to arm a band Of hi63
own ! am numb with dread Of what fe4
may lead to. for his hatred is centoFoH3 4
upon Cueto. that false servant whooo1
Esteban is so young and reckless. II on1yt
you were here to counsel him.
II only you were here Oh, my dear
est Juan! II only you were hereto tAke3
me- in your arms and Danish this ever5
constant terror at my heart n only you7
were here to tell me that you love mo
still in spite OF my misfortune See. The
tears are falling as write. MY eyes af04
dim, my fingers trace uncertain letters On
the sheet, and ] can only steady them
when remember that You promised to res 4
turn You VIII return. VIII you note Il
could not write like this II / were su1o1
that you would read these lines. lfy3
nightly prayer But will not tell you off
my prayers. for fate may guide this letter. :
to you. after all, and the hearts Of fuessa
do change. In those dark hours vhen
my doubts arise try TO tell myself thaes !
you VIII surely come and search me OUT &
sometimes I play a game with Evnn-3
geiina-our only game. We gather Wild
flowers. We assort the few belonging. /
that / managed to bring with me and ar-s
ray myself for you. And then I smile .
and laugh for little while. and she tells
me l am beautiful enough to please you. !
But the flowers fade. and / know thaf
beauty. too. will fade in such surround-
ings. What then? I ask ynyself q,
when You return to Cuba-see my
laith is strong again--avoid Matanxas.
Tor your own sake and mine. Don Mario 4
wanted to marry me to save me this exile.
But L refused: told him I was pledged
TO you, and he was furious He 10 pow. Z
erfui; he would balk you, and there ins
always room for one more in San Seyer-i
mo- rancho Cueto. too, living in luxury
upon the fruits of his crime. would cer-5
tainiy consider YOU a menace to his se-i
curity- You see how cunning my love fort
you has made me-
''If I could come to YOU wo,,ld h,,t "A
am marked, So If you still desire me YOU !
must search me out You will? I min !
my faith to that as, to the Cross TOT
doubt would be to perish II we should l
have to find another hiding place. and.5
that is always likely. you can learn OF our
wherea bouts from Col. Lopez
"AlaSt II Won had oc1.ad WA <...ss