The Raymer enterprise., 1919-05-15

ly In the face, 1t seemed absurd to be.
lieve that q tender girl like Rosa Va
roma could long have withstood the
hnrdships Of this hideous place; strong
er 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 undertaken to estimate how
fast they were dying or the number of
dead which had already ridden out of
Matanzas In those rumbllng wagons,
but there were many. What chance
was there that Rosa had not been
among the latter1
As he breasted the summit Of La
Cumbre, O'Reilly beheld at some dis
tance bent figure Of want. It was a
negro woman. grubblng In the earth
with sharpened stick. After a sus-
picious scrutiny Of him she resumed
her digging.
Nothing but q heap Of stones and
plaster remained Of the varona home.
The grounds, once beautiful even when
neglected as in Donna Isabel's time,
were now scene Of total desolatlon. 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
trial and q mockery to the hungry
visitor. The evidences Of Cueto's van
dalism affected O'Reilly deeply; they
brought him memories more painful
than he had anticipated. Although the
place was well-nigh unrecognizable,
nevertheless It cried aloud Of Rosa,
and the unhappy lover could barely
control the emotions It awakened. It
was indeed q morbid impulse which
had brought him thither. but now that
he was here he could not leave. On
consciously his feet turned toward the
ancient quarry which had formed the
sunken garden-his and Rosa's tryst-
Ing place.
Orally desired above all things to
be alone at this moment, and 90 he was
annoyed to discover that another per
son was before him-a woman, evident
ly some miserable pacinco like himself.
She, too. appeared to be looking for
roots, and be almost stumbled over her
as he brushed through the guava
bushes fringing the depression.
His sudden appearance alarmed the
creature and she struggled. panic
stricken. out Of his path. Her rags
could not conceal the fact that she was
deformed. that her back was crooked.
80 he muttered q reassuring word to
her.
This place was more as he had left
it-there was the stone bench where
he had said good-by to Rosa yonder
was the we'll
"Senorl" Johnnie heard himself ad-
dressed by the hunchbacked woman.
Her voice was thin, tremulous. eager,
but his thoughts were busy and he
paid no heed. "Senori Do you look
for somethlng-some one"
"N-no. Yes" he answered, abstract
edly. Eyes, I am looking for some
thing-some one."
Something You have lostl"
Something / have lostr The ques-
ton came to him family. but 1t was 30
In tune with his unhappy mood that 1t
affected him strangely. He found that
his eyes were blurring and that an
aching lump had risen into his throat.
This was the breaking point.
O'Reilly's hearing. too, was going
wrong, for he imagined that some one
whispered his name. Godl This place
was not dead-lt was alive-terribly
alive with memories, voices, q pres
ence unseen yet real. He laid hold Of
the nearest bush to steady himself, he
closed his eyes. only to hear his name
spoken louder.
"O'Rail-yeI"
Johnnie brushed the tears from his
lashes. He turned, he listened, but
there was no one to be seen, no one.
that Is. except the dusky cripple. who
had Strengthened herself and was fac
Ing him. poised uncertainty. He looked
at her second time. then the world
began to spin dlzzily and he groped his
way toward her. He peered again.
closer. for everything before his eyes
was swimming.
The woman was thin-little more
than q skeleton-and so frail that the
wind appeared to sway her, but her
face, uplifted to the sun, was glorined.
ORellly stood rooted, staring at her
until she opened her eyes. then he
voiced great cry:
"Rosa!" What more he said he
never knew.
he took the misshapen figure into
his arms, he rained kisses upon the
pinched, discolored face. But Rosa
did not respond; her puny strength
had flown and she lay inert in his en-
brace. scarcely breathing.
Dazed. doubling. astounded, II was
some time before Johnnie could con-
vince himself Of the reality Of this mo-
ment. and even then words did not |
come to him, for his mind was In tur-
moil. Joy, Thanksgiving, compassion
, thousand emotions mingled In q sort |
Of dellrium, too wild for coherent |