The Mena weekly star., 1919-03-13

 barr he cursed eloqnentlv. "One might as well try to steal a cannon out of san severtno. I'm ready to do any thing within reason. but"
 Why, this will do nicely it IS jest what l want, i" O'Reiliy told him.
 "Hunph! I'm glad to hear if. for that rod was nearly the death of me. l broke my back wrenching at it and the villain who owned the house. may bad lightning split himl---he ran after me until nearly expired. If my new knife had been sharp I would have turned and sent him homo with 1t between his ribs. Tomorrow l shall put an edge on it. Relieve me l ran until my lungs burst"
 o'Reiliy spent most of that day profound stupor of exhaustion while Rosa watched anxiously oves him. Jacket. f. seemed. had rracof4lIs siumbered on picket duty. ra he eocen. pied himself by grinding away at his knife The last scraps of food dis. appeared that evening.
 When night fell and it caue time t., return 10 the top of La Cnmbre O'Reiliy asked himself if his strengil, would prove sufficient for the task in hand. He was spiritless. sore. weak he ached in every hone and muscle and 1t required ali his determination to propei himself up the hIll Ho won. dered if he were wise thus to sacrifice his waning energies on a hope so for lorn as this, but by now he had begun to more than half believe in the exist. ence Of the Varona treasure nnd he felt an almost irresistible curiosity to learn what secret, if any, was concealed be. hind those water-soaked timhers at the bottom or the we'll He realized of con at every hor lie remained he hat food and moaey wore go ad the chances oT escane : bul other hind, he reasoned. with eqaal force, that if he hna Indeed stumbled upon the missing hoard saI- vation for ali of them was assirred The stake, il seemed to him, wae -orth the hazard
 Given tempered tools Co wOrb with. II would have been no Ereat umacrtak ing to tear down that cemented vail of stones. but armed with nothing excant his lnre hands and that soft iron bnr, OReilly spent nearly the whole night at his task Long before Che last rock had yielded, however. he be. held that which caused him to turn 6 strained face upward to Rosa.
 
 There's little door, us sure as you live" he told her
 The girl was beside herself with ax.
 ent sYpsr Whnt etst ', nMI 4ioFe do you seeg"
 Nothing. It appears to be made of sohd timbers, and has two huge hand Hrnr~h' locks"
 Locks Then we have found It." Rosa closed her eyes; she swayed mo- mcnrarily. ''Esteban was right Locks, Indeed That means somethins to hide. Oh, if could only help youi"
 ~Heavensi If only had some. thing-anythine, to work withi r nut tered the American as he fell to with redoubled energy. He no longer tried to conserve his strength, for the treasure seekers lust heset him. Rosa looked on. wringine her hands and urg- ing him to greater haste.
 But the low. thick door was built of some hard. native wood: 1t was wet snd tough and slippery. o'ReilIy's blows made no impression upon it, nor upon the heavy hasps and staples with which 1t was secured in place. The latter were deeply rusted. to be sure. but they withstood his efforts, and he was finally forced to rest. bafiied. en- ragged, half hysterical from weakness and fatigue.
 Daylight was at hand once more but he refused to give up, and worked on stubbornly. furiously, until Rosa, in an agony. besought him to desIst,
 Johnnie again collapsed on the grass and lay panting while the other two replaced the blanks.
 cAnother hour and I'd have been into it." he declared. huskily.
 You will skill yourself" Jacket told him.
 Rosa bent over him with shining eyes and parted lips. Yes" said she. "Be patient. We will come back, 0'Reilly. and tonight we shall be rich"
 
 Colonel Cobo 1t a black cigarette. leaned back in his chair, and exhaled two fierce jets of smoke through his nostrils. For a full moment he scowied forbiddingIy at the sergeant who had asked to see him.
 "what's this you are telling mer he inquired finally.
 The sergeant, a mean-faced, low browed man, stirred uneasily.
 "It ia Gods truth. There are spirits on La Cumbre. and wish to see the priest about it."
 "splrits7 What kind of splrits7"
 The fellow shrugged. Evil spirits spirits from hell. The men are buyins charms"
 'sBahl I took you to be a sensible person"
 You don't believe mel We'll, tstasl'tt sstas'tt believe then then -=hes they told ms about 1t. But I saw with my own eyes"
 Cobo leaned forward, mildly aston, ished. Of all his villainous troop. this man was the last one he had credited with imagination of this sort. "What did you seer
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