The state herald., 1919-01-03

was unmovsd.
Re quiet" h. told TIE boy. Il
won't let you 20 with me- and that
ends It. Il viii bs hard enough for one
man to slip through; two would be
sure to fail."
'Those spaniards Win skill you'll"
Jacket walled.
$50 much the more reason for you
10 stay here"
At this the boy uttered q louder
cry. He stamped his bare fest In =
frenzy Of disappointment. ~You das-
sent leave me-you dassentT
Listen, people are starving In Ma
tansas; they are sick; they arc dying
In the streets"
II don't eat much"
When Johnnie shook his head stub
bornly Jacket launched himself into .
torrent Of profanity the violence Of
which dried his teafs. his vocabu-
lary was surpriang. He rsviled the
spaniards. Orally. himself. everybody
and everything: he leveled anathsmas
at that woman who had come between
him and his beloved benefactoe. The
latter listened good-nataredly.
you're q tough lid" he laughed.
when Jackets Arst ngs had worn IT.
self out. 4 IKE you, and "a take you
II I could. But this Isn't IN enterprise
for q bog. and It won't ct you any
thing to kesp up this racket"
Jacket next tried the power of a.
gument He attempted 10 prove that
In q hasardous undertaking Of this
sort bis assistance would be invaln-
able. he was. % hs declared, ths one
psrson In al Cuba In every respect
qualified 10 share O'Rsilly's perils. 10
begin with, be was not afraid Of Span
iards. or anything else. for that mat
ter-hs dismissed the subject Of psr-
sonal courage with Q contemptuous
shrus. Al for cunning. sag1city, peu.
dence, resource. all-around worth. he
was. without Doubt unequalsd In any
country. Hs was . vesitable Spartan.
too, when II came 70 hardahip-peiva-
don and suffering were almost 10 his
liking. He was discreet-diserst1oa
was something he had inherited; he
was q diplomat diplomacy being oas
Of his most unique aecomplishmsnta.
A. for this talk about hunger. O'Rsilly
need not concern himssRf In the lsase
on that score, for Jacket was snaal1
eater and could grow fat on Q Diet oe
dried leaves. Diseasef Bahi II made
him laugh. HIS experience With aek-
ness was wider than most Asicos. and
hs was q better nurse than Mis- ~.
ans would ever be. Jacket did not Win
to appear In the least boastful On
the contrary, hs was actually too mod
est, a. his friends could attest. but
truth compelled him to admit that he
was Just tho man for O'Reilly. He
found II impossible to recommend HIM
self too highly: to save his soul be
could think Of no qualification In which
he wns lacking and could ses no rea.
son why his benefactor would not
greatly profit By the free uss of his
amazing talents. The enterprise was
diiicult: It would certainly fail with
out him.
Johnnie remained carefully attsn-
i've during this adjuration. He felt no
dears even to smile. for the boys ear
nestness was touching and II caused
the elder mans throat to tighten un-
comfortably. Johnnie had not realised
before how fond be had become Of this
quaint youngstef. And %. when The
little fellow paused hopefuily. Orally
pat an arm around him.
I'm sure you are everything you
say you are. Jacket. and more. too. but
you can't goi"
With that Jacket flung OF the en-
brace and. stalking away. seated him
self. He took . half.smoked cigar
from the pocket Of his shirt and III II,
scowiing tho while at his friend. More
than once during the evening O'Reilly
detected his sullsn, angry eyes upon
him.
General Bstancourt and several mem.
bers Of his stan were up early the fol-
lowing morning 10 bid their visitor
good.by. In spite Of their slIorts to
sssssg ssS R&AtAA8 - - W. R'es.
that they had but little hops of ever
again seeing this foolhardy American.
Johnnis's splrts were not IN the
least affected BY this ili-coocsaied pss-
simism, for. ~ he told himself. BE- bad
money n bis pockets and Aatansas
was not many miles away. But when
be came 10 part from Jacket he expert.
encsd q genuine isappointment. Ths
boy. strangely enough. was almost In
different to bis leaving: be merely ex-
tended . limp. dirty hand. and replied
to OReilly's parting words With q
careless "Adiosi"
In hurt surprise The former inquired.
Don't We part good friendsr'
"Surei" Jacket shrugged. then
turned away.
Jacket was likabis yoansstsf; his
devotion was thoroughly unssl6sh; Il
had not been easy 10 wound him. With
keensr regrets than hs cared TO &C.
knowiedge O'Rsltly ee< ont upon hia