The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1919-12-26
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All that day. or during most Of it,
at least. Rosa and O'ReiIly sat hand
in hand, oblivious OF hunger and IA.
tigue, impatient for the coming OF
night. keyed TO the highest tension
Now they would rejoice Historically,
assuring each other Of their good for.
tune. again they would grow sick with
the fear OF disappointment. Time at
ter time they stepped out of the hut
and stared apprehensively up tbs
slopes of La Cumbre to assure them
selves that this was not all a part
of some fantastic delusion: over and
over. in minutest detail, Johnnie de.
scribed what he had seen n the bot
tom OF the well. He tried more
than once during the afternoon Il
sleep. but he could not, for the mo.
ment he closed his eyes he found him.
self back there in that pit upon tho
ridges crest, straining at those stub
born rocks and slippery tImbers. This
inactiOn was maddeninE. his fatigue
rendered him feveTish and irritable.
Jacket. too. felt the strain. and al.
ter several fruitless attempts TO sleeT
he rose and went out into the sun.
shine, where he fell to whetting his
knife. He finished putting a double
edge upon thr blade. fitted a handl,
10 it, and then 4 cord with which
to suspend il round his neck. "a,
showed it to O'Reilly. and after re-
ceiving a word Of praise he crept ou..
doors again and tried to forget how
sick he was. Black spots were dane.
ing before Jackets eyes; he expert.
enced spells of dizziness and nausea
during which he dared not attempt tC
walk. He knew this must be the re-
suit of starvation, and yet. strangely
enough. the thought of food was dis.
tasteful to him. He devoutly wished
il were not necessary to climb that
hill again, for he feared he would not
have the strength TO descend il.
Luckily for the sake OF the secret
Evangelina spent most of the day
searching for food. while Asensio lay
babbling upon his bed. too i'll to notice
the peculiar actions Of his compan-
ions.
1t was with a strange. nightmare
feeling of unreality that the trio
dragged themselves upward to the
ruined auinta. when darkness finally
came. They no longer talked. for
conversation was a drain upon their
powers, and the reaction from the
days excitement had set in. O'Reilly
lurched as he walked. his limbs were
heavy. and his liveliest sensation was
the one of dread at the hard work In
store for him. The forcing of that
door assumed the proportions Of a
Herculean task.
But once he was at the bottom OF
the well and beheld the handiwork
of Sebastian, the slave. just as he had
left II. his sense Of reality returned
and with it a certain measure Of de-
termination. Inasmuch as he had
made no visible impression upon the
bulkhead by his direct attack. he
changed his tactics now and under
took to loosen one OF the jambs where
1t was wedged into the rock at top
and bottom. After a desperate strug-
gle he succeeded in loosening the en-
tire structure so that he could pry
it out far enough to squeeze his body
through.
Il have It." he cried to Rosa. Seiz-
ing the candle. he thrust it into the
opening. He beheld what he had ex-
pected to find. a small cavern or
grotto which had evidently been
pierced during the digging Of the well
He could appreciate now how simple
had been the task of sealing Il up so
as to baffle discovery. Rosa, poised
above him, scarcely breathed until