The Washington herald., 1919-12-22

anu IItdu
personality had affected him queerly.
Cobo's air Of confidence and authority
seemed to emphasize O.Reilly's i'm
potence and bring it forcibly home to
him. To think of his lustful perse-
cution Of Rosa Varona. moreover. ter
rihed him. The next day he resumed
his hut-to-hut search. but with a
listleness that came from a Arm con-
viction 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 ex-
plored. Below lay San Severino, the
execution place; above was the site
of the old Verona home. More than
once on his way about the city O'Reil-
ly 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 1t would have upon
him he had thus far resisted the i'm
pulse. Today. however. he could no
longer fight the morbid 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
1t! 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 exertion, 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
a sudden pang at having brought the
little fellow into such a plight as this.
We'll. 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 optim-
ism. 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, 1T 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 go
ing to get away? 1t is easy enough
to get into Matanzas. but" He
shrugged hopelessly.
From where the two sat they could
see on the opposite hillside a section
of the ditch and the high barbed wire
fence which sirdled the city and made
Of 1t a huge corral. Spaced at regular
intervals along the intrenchments
were slow moving. diminutive figures.
sentries on their well worn paths
Jacket frightened at the thought of
escape. 'Ho! I'll bet We can find
hole somewhere" said he. We're
not like these others. They haven't
the spirit to try" There was a mo-
ment of silence, and then: "Caramba.
You remember those jutias We ate?
They were strong. but 1 would enjoy
the smell OF one now. Eth? Another
week OF this and We shall be living
on garbage like the rest OF these poor
people"
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 1t had
been crushed beneath the weight of
misery he had beheld: surely he had
seen enough. Hourly contact with
sickness and misfortune on such a
gigantic scale was enough to chill any
ones hopes, and although his sensi-
bilities had been dulled. his apprehen-
sions had been quickened hour by
hour. Now that he looked the matter
squarely in the face. 1t seemed alb
surd to believe that a tender girl like
Rosa Varona could long have with
stood the hardships of this hideous
place: stronger people than she had
succumbed. by the hundreds Even
now the hospitals were full. the sick
lay INTENDED in their novels. No one.
so far as O'Reilly knew. had under
taken 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 was there
that Rosa had not been among the
latter? Better by far had she re-
manned among the empty fields and
the barren slopes Of the Pan de
Matanzas. for there at least the soil
held roots and the trees bore fruits
or berries. while here was nothing
but gaunt famine and grinning dis
ease.
AS he breasted the summit of La
Cumbre. O'Reilly beheld at some dis
lance a bent figure Of want 1t was
a negro woman. grubbing in the earth
with sharpened stick. After a sus-
picious scrutiny of him she resumed
her digging.
Nothing but a heap Of stones and
plaster remained of the Varona home.
The grounds. once beautiful even
when neglected as in Dona Isabel's
time, were now a scene of total DESC
lation- A few orange trees. to be sure.
remained standing. and although they
were cool and green to look at, they
carried no fruit and the odor of their
blooms was a trial and a mockery
to the hungry visitor. The evidences
OF Cueto's vandalism affected O'Reilly
deeply; they brought him memories
more painful than he had anticipated
Although the place was we'll nigh I'M
recognizable, nevertheless it cried
aloud of Rosa, and the unhappy lover
could barely control the emotions it
awakened. 1t was indeed a morbid
impulse which had brought him
thither. but now that he was here
he could not leave. Unconsciously
his feet turned toward the ancient
quarry which had formed the sunken
garden-his and Rosa's trysting place.
OReilly desired above all things to
be alone at this moment, and so he
was annoyed to discover that another
person was before him-a woman, owl
IDENTIFY some miserable pacitco like