The Raymer enterprise., 1919-05-08
-Coms hare eommandsd the. .Amel

..-..--...--.-
Ooms hare" commanded the. .Ameri-
caa.
Jacket shook his head. He made
. painful attempt to swallow, and
when his utterancs became more dis.
tinct he consigned his Idol to a warmer
place than Cuba.
TIN q tough kid." he declared.
Don't get gay on me"
The two parleyed briefly; then, when
sadsded that no violence was intended
him. the boy sat down to listen. But
- bsfore, neither argument nor appeal
had the slightest effect upon him. He
denied that he had followed his bene-
factof; be declared that he was free
agent and at liberty to 90 where he
wiled. II II % Glanced that his fancy
took him to the dty Of Matanxas at
ths same time OReilly happened to
b. travelling thithsr. the circumstance
might b put down to the long arm Of
coincidence. II his company were dis
tasteful to the elder man, O'Reilly was
fres to wait and follow later; It was q
natter Of complete indifference to
Jacket He had business In Matanzas
ana be proposed to attend to 1t. The
boy Ned gravely. unblushingly. New
sttheless, he kept q watchful eye upon
biz hearer.
VERY weil." O,Rsllly told him anal.
y. Il give in"
Jackets face instantly lit up. He
radiated good humor: he hitched his
body closer.
R-i Iget my own way. don't
II be laughed.
Indeed you dA. o'Reilly laid q
hand fondly upon his loyal follower.
And ! don't mind telling you that I'm
more than half glad Of 1t. IL was
getting lonesome. I didn't know how
much I could miss you. But now We
must make some plans, We must have
an understanding and decide who we
are. Let mo see-your real name ID
Narciso-"
sNarciso villar."
well, then, ! shall be Juan vlllar,
your brother. Henceforth we shall
speak nothing but Spanish. Tell me
now, what was our fathers name,
where was our home. and what are we
doing togetheri"
During the breathless interval be-
fore the shower the two sat with their
heads together, talking earnestly. As
the wind came and the cooling rain be.
gan to rattle on the leaves overhead
they took up their bundles and set
out. The big drops drenched them
quickly. Their thin garments clung
to them and water streamed down
their bodies: overhead the sky was
black and rent BY vivid streaks Of 6re.
but they ploddsd onward cheerfully.
Jacket was himself again; he bent
his weight against the tempest and
heightened his short strides to O'Reil-
ly's. he tried to whistle. but his teeth
Gathered and the wind interfered, 90
be hummed q song. to drive the chill
out Of his bones and to hearten his
benefactor. Now that he was at last
accepted as a full partner in this enter
prise. It became his duty not only to
share its perilA but to lessen its hard.
ships and to yield diversion.
The rain was cold, the briers beside
the overgrown path were sharp, and
they scratched the boys bare legs cru.
ely; his stomach clamored for a com.
panion to that solitary sweet potato,
too. but In his breast glowed ardor
and pride. Jacket considered himself
q fortunate person-a very fortunate
person, indeed. Had he not found q
brother. and did not that brother love
himf There was no doubt about the
latter, for O'Reilly's eyes. when he
looked down, were friendly and init
mate. Here was man to die for.
The downpour lasted but a short
time. when the sun came out and dried
the mems clothes: on the whole, It had
been refreshing. When evening came
tho Villar brothers sought refuge in
an old sugar mill. or rather In q part
Of Il still standing. They were on the
main calxada now. the paved road
which links the two main cities Of the
island, and BY the following noon thsir
destination was In sight.
0Reilly felt q sudden excitement
when Matanzas came Into view. From
this distance the city looked quite AZ
II did when he had left It, except that
the blue harbor was almost empty Of
shipping, while the familiar range Of
hills that hid the Yumuri-that valley
Of delight % closely linked In his
thoughts with Rosa varona-seemed
10 smile at him like an old friend. For
the thousandth time he asked himself
II he had come In time to ind her, or
II fate's maddening delays had proved
his own and the girls undoing.
OReilly knew that although Matan-
zas was prison and a pesthole, a girl
like Rosa would suffer In perils inf.
nitely worse than imprisonment or dis
ease. 1t was q thought he could not
bear to dwell upon.
Signs Of life began to appear now,
the travellers passed small garden
nafchAa and 0cNa einnal crltiuaAaA