The Raymer enterprise., 1919-04-10

utetuue81, INC Gx6lteQ 0et1Cument, OF
the eagle. and O'Reilly gained hint Of
the personality behind II. Maximo
Gomez wxs counted one Of the worlds
ablest guerrilla leaders: and indeed
It had required the quenehless enthu-
slasm Of real military genius to fuss
into q homogeneous lighting force the
ill-assorted rabble Of nondescripts
whom Comes led. to school them to
privation and to render them sufficient
" mobile to defy successfully ten
times their number of trained troops.
This. however. was precisely what the
old Porto Rican had done, and In doing
1t he had won the admiration Of mill.
tary students.
With bluntness not unkind be
asked O'Rellly what had brought him
to Cuba.
When O'Reilly explained the reason
for his presence the old fighter pad.
ded.
"Soi You wish to 60 west. ehl"
Eyes, sir. I want to find Colonel
Lopez"
"Lopezi Miguel Lopez7" the SEN
eral inquired quickly. "Well. you won't
have to look far for him" General
Gomez leathery countenance lightened
Into smile. "He happens to be right
here In Cubitas." Calling Judson to
him. he said: "Amigo. take Mr.. O'ReIlly
to Colonel Lopez; you will ind him
somewhere about I am sorry we are
not to have this young fellow for q
soldier: he looks like real man and
quite equal to I've Quintos, ehf"
II was the habit Of the Cubans to
refer to their enemies a. quintos-
the NTH part Of Z mani witt wave
Of his hand Comes returned to biz
reading.
Col. Miguel Lopez, a handsome, ami.
mated fellow. took O'Reilly's hand In
a hearty clasp when they were intro.
duced; but . moment later his smile
gave way to q frown and his brow
darkened
"Soi You are that OReilly from
Matanzas," said be. II know you now,
butt never sxpected We would meet" "
Esteban varona told you about me,
did be notr
The colonel inclined his head.
TIN here at last after the DEVILS
own time. I've been trying every way
to get through. The Spaniards stopped
me at Puerto Principe-they sent me
back home. you know. I've been per.
fectly crazy. l. You" ORellly
swallowed hard. "You know where
Esteban Isl Tell me-"
sHavs you heard nothingr
Nothing whatever. That ID, moth
Ing since Rosa, his sister You un-
derstand. she and I are-ensased-r
"Yes. yes; Nsteban told me al about
you"
Something In the 0uban's gravity Of
uanner gave 0'Reilly warning. A sud.
den fear assailed him. His voics shook
a. he ASKED:
what is III Not bad newsr
There was no need for the oficer
70 answer. In bis avertsd gass
oReilly read confirmation Of his sick.
est apprehension
TELL mel Which eosr be whis-
pered.
sBoth!"
OReilly recoiled; . spasm distorted
bis chalky face. He begAn 10 ahaks
weakly, and his fingers piucked aim
lessly at each other.
Lopez took him BY the arm. Try to
contro, yourself" said he. aSit here
while I try to tell you what little
know. Or would It not be better to
walt awhile. until you are calmerr
Al the young man made no answer, ex-
cept to stare at him In q white agony
Of suspense, he sighed:
T win tell You all know-whIch
isn't much. Esteban varona came to
me soon after he and his sister had
fed from their home; he wanted to
Join my forces, but We were harassed
on every side. and I didn't dare take
the girl-no woman could have en-.
dured the hardships we suffered. So
I convinced him that his arst duty was
to her. rather than to his country. and
he agreed. He was q nne boyl he
had spirit He bought some stolen
rifles and armed band Of his own
which wasn't a bad idea. I used to
hear about him. Nobody cared to
molest him. I can tell you. until finally
he killed some Of the regular troops.
Then Of course they went after him.
Meanwhile he managed to destroy bis
own plantations, which Cueto had
robbed him Of. You know Cuetor
YES"
swell, Esteban put an end to him
after a while; rode right up to La
Joya one night broke In the door, and
macheted the scoundrel In his bsd. But
there was q mistake Of come aost. It
seems that body Of Cobo's volun-
teers were somewhere close By. and
the two parties met. have never
learned all the details Of the affair, and
the stories Of that fight which came to
me are too preposterous for belief.
sun. Esteban and his men must have
fought like demons. for thsy killed
some incredible number. But they
were human-they could not defAat q