Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-12-20


manfully to shake ID OF. hut somehow
failed, for the sight Of Isosa's arcll-
enemy ard the ~ MS overbeariEg per-
sonality had affected him Qnecrly.
Cobo'S mir II contHeace and authority
seemed to emphasize 0Ioilly's i;Apo-
tence aid bring II forcilly home 10
him. To think of his luStful per~ecu.
ton of Rosa Varona. moreover, terri
fed him. The next day he resumed his
hut-to-hut scare, b, but with a llstiess-
ness that came from firm conviction
that once again he MAS 900 late.
That afternoon found tire two friends
among he miserable hovCls which en-
clrcled the foot of La Cumbre. about
the only quarter tllcy had not explored.
Below lay San Severino, the execution
place; above was the site 81 tie Cd
Varona homo. More than once on his
way about he citF 0Reiny had lifted
his eyes in the direction of tie latter
feeling goat hunger 10 revisit the
scene of his last farewell 10 Rosa, but
through fear Ct the melancholy effect
1t would have upon lin he had tkus
far r. listed the Impulse. Today ho}f-
ever. he could no longer fight the NOR
bid desire and 50, IN spite OF Jackets
protest at the useless expenditure of
effort he set out to climb the hill. OF
course the bog would not let him go
alone.
Little was said during the ascent.
The La CUm6re road seemed very long
AND very steep. How different the last
time OReilly had swung UP it, The
climb had never before tired him rs It
did now, ana 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'Rciily saw that
the boys bare brown legs had grown
bony since ne had last noticed them
and he felt a sudden pang at having
brought the little fellow into such
plight. rs this.
"Wcll, hombre" he said when they
paused to rost, I'm afraid we came
too late. I'm ;fraid We're licked"
Jacket nodded listlessly; his opti-
misln, tco, was gone. "They must MI
be dead or We would have found them
before this" said he. When ORIGIN
made no answer he continued. at j.
time we thought Of getting away from
here, chg"
Johnnie was sitting with his face II
his hands. Without lifting his head ht
inquired: elbow are we going 10 gel
away? 1t is easy enough to get int
Matanzas, but" He shrugged hope
lcSsy.
Jacket brightencd at the thought o.
escape. "Ho. III bet we can find q
hole somewhere" said he. "We're not
like these others. They haven't the
spirit 10 try" There was a moment Of
silence. and then: "Carambal Yol
remember those jutias we ate? They
were strong, but I would enjoy the
smell Of one now. Eh? Another wec&
of tits ana we shall be living on g0rb
age like the rest Of these poor peo
pie"
Leaving Jacket to take his time
Johnnie completed the climb alone
meditatlng upon the boys words. "1ht
spirit 60 try" Where had his spirit
gone, be wondered. Perhaps it had
been crushed beneath the weight OF
misery ne had beheld; surely he had
seen enough. Hourly contact with sick
ness and misfortune on eUch q gigantic
scale WAS enough to chill anyone'S
hopes. and although his sensibiliticS
had been dulled. his apprehension>
had been u1iickencd hour by hour
Now that he looked the matter square
Nv in tho face, it seemed absurd TO be
licvc tAat tender girl like Rosa Va
roma could long have withs.ood thO
hardships Of this hi3eous place; strong
or people than she had succumhed by
the hundreds Even now the hospitals
were fall, the sick lay INTENDED II
their novels. No one. SO far as O'Reilly
knew. had undertaken TO estimate how
fast they we're dying or the number OF
dead which had already ridden out OF
Matanzas in those rumbIing wagons,
but thee We're many. What chance
was there that Rosa had net been
among the latter?
IS ne bEF&Nltu the t,NtHiNit tL La
Cuinbre, O'Reilly beheld at some G's
tance bent figure Of want ii was Q
negro woman. grubbing in the earth
with sharpened stick. After sus
piciops scrutiny of lin She resumed
her digging.
Nothing hut 4 heap Of stones and
plaster remained Of the Naroaa home
Tie grounds once beautiful even when
neglected IS in Donna Isahel's time
were now a scene Of total desolation. a
few orange trees. u be sure, remained
standing, and although they were cool
and green 10 lock at. they c3rr4ed M
fruit and the odor of their blooms was
q trial aud mockery 10 the hungry
visitor. The evidences Of Cueto's van
dalism affected OReiny deeply; they
brought him memories more painful
than he had anticipated. Although the
place WAS well-nish unrecognizable
nevertheless it cried aloud of Rosa.
and the unhappy lover could barely