The Mena weekly star., 1919-03-06

night. Perhaps it was q portent. WhC knows? It was about that stepmother of mine. You remember how she mo. her death? I wrote you"
 ''Yes, and Esteban also told me"
 'Tt was he who recovered her bodr from the well. One day, while wi were in hiding, away up wonder in thi Yumuri, he showed me an old coin
 q know" O'Reilly said quickly "H4 told me the whole story. He think that doubloon is a clue to your father fortune. hut-I can't put much faith in 1t. In fact, didn't believe until this moment that there was doubloon at an."
 "Oh. indeed there wasl saw it."
 There was a moment of silence dur ing which the lovers were oblivlous to all but each other, then Rosa mur- mured: "IIow strange! Sometimes your eyes are blue and sometimes gray Does that mean that your love, too can changer"
 "Certainly not But come, what about Esteban and that doubloon?"
 With an effort the girl brought her. self back to earth "Well, it occurred to me. in the light of that dream last night that Esteban may have been right. or course nobody outside of our family credits the old story, and yet my fpther was considered d ,erJ rich man at one tHe. Rancho Cueto believed in the existence of the treas ure and he was in a position to know"
 ''Truel Perhaps. after all-" OReilly drowned meditatively.
 Rosn lifted herself upon her elbow, her eyes sparkling. Wouldn't It be wonderful if it were true? Just think, OReilly. cases of Spanish gold, silver coins in casks, packages of gems. Oh I've heard Isabel talk about it often enough"
 Don't forget those pearls from the Caribbean, as large as plums," Johnny smiled. q could never quite swallow that A pearl the size of a currant would buy our freedom right now" After moment he went on, more seri- ously: I've a notion to look into that old well this very afternoon. I-I dare say Pm foolish. but-somehow the story doesn't sound so improbable as it did. Perhaps 1t Is worth inves- tigating-" He made up his mind swiftly. 'I-I'm off this very instant"
 When O'Rellly emerged from the hut he found Jacket industriously at work over a fragment of grindstone which he had somewhere unearthed. The boy looked up at his friends approach and held out for inspection a long, thin file, which he was slowly shaping into a knife-blade.
 "What do you think of thatr he queried proudly. Tt may come in handy when we are ready to clear out of this pesthole."
 Where did you get itT'
 "Oh. stole 1t. I steal everything can lay my hands on nowadays. One can never tell when he may have a throat to cut, and file has good steel in 1t"
 "Since you are such an accom- plished thief, do you think you could steal something for mel" O'Reilly in- quired. "A piece of roper"
 'Rope" Jacket was puzzled. Rope Is only good for hanging Spaniards. My friend in the fish market has a vclandra, and-perhaps I can rob him of halyard." Laying aside his task, Jacket arose and made off in the direc- ton of the water front. He was back within an hour, and under his shirt he carried a coil of worn but service able ropei Without waiting to explain his need for this unusual article, O'Reilly linked arms with the boy and set out to climb La Cumbre. When at last they stood in the unused quarry and Johnnie made known his intention to explore the old well, Jacket re- garded him with undisguised amaze ment.
 "What do you expect to find down thereT the latter inquired.
 ITO tell you the truth, don't really expect to find anything" the man con fessed. "Now that I'm here, I'm be