The state herald., 1919-01-10

ly In the face. 1t seemed absurd to be-
lieve that . tender girl like Rosa Va
roma could long have withstood the
hardships 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 rumbling wagons,
but there were many. What chance
was there that Rosa had not been
among the latterf
As he breasted the summit of In
Cumbre. O'Reilly beheld at some dis.
tance bent figure of want. 1t was a
negro woman. grubblng in the earth
with a 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 a scene Of total desolation. 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 mockery to the hungry
visitor. The evidences of Cueto's van-
dallsm affected O'Reilly deeply; they
brought him memories more painful
than he had anticipated. Although the
place was well-nigh unacceptable,
nevertheless 1t cried aloud Of Rosa,
and the unhappy lover could barely
control the emotions It awakened. It
was indeed morbid impulse which
had brought him thithcr, but now that
he was here he could not leave. Un-
consciously his feet turned toward the
ancient quarry which had formed the
sunken garden-his and Rosa's tryst-
Ing place.
O'Reilly desired above all things to
be alone at this moment, and SO he was
annoyed to discover that another per.
son was before him-a woman, evident
ly some miserable paclfico like himself.
She. too, appeared to be looking for
roots. md he almost stumbled over her
as he brushed through the guava
bushes fringlng the depression.
His sudden appearance alarmed the
creature and shc struggled. panic.
stricken, out Of his path. Her rags
could not conceal the fnct that she was
deformed, that her back was crooked,
SO he muttered = reassuring word to
her.
This place was moro 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. "Scnor! Do you look
for something-somc one"
'N-no. Yes" he answered. abstract
edly. eyes, ! am looking for some
thing-some one"
Something you have iostf"
Something have lostr' The ques-
ton came to him family, but 1t was so
In tune with his unhappy mood that It
affected him strangely. He found that
his eyes were blurring and that IN
aching lump had risen into his throat.
This was the breaking eolnt.
OReilly's hearing. too. was going
wrong. for he imagined that some one
whispered his mama. Godi This place
was not dcad-it was nlive-terribly
alive with memories. voices. a 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'Rnii-ycr
Johnnie brushed the tears from his
lnshez. He turned, he listened, but
there wns no one TO be seen. no one.
thnt In. except tho dusky cripple, who
had Strengthened herself and was fac
Ing him. poised uncertainty. He looked
ut her n second time. then the world
began to spin dlxxily md he CROPPED his
wny townrd her. He pecred ngnin.
closer. for everything before his eyes
was swimming.
The woman was thln-little more
than q skcicton-and 80 frnil that the
wind appeared TO sway her. but her
fncc. upllfted TO tho sun. was glorlfled.
o'Ilcilly stood rooted. staring at her
until she opened her eyes. then he
voiced 4 grent cry:
'Tsosnl" What more he suid he
never know.
He took tho misshnpcn nguro Into
his arms. he rnincd kisses upon tho
pinchcd. discoiorcd fncc. But Rosa
did not respond: her puny strength
Ind flown md shc iay inert In his cm.
brace. scarcely breathing.
Dnxed. doubling. nstoundcd. Il wns
some timc before Johnnie could con.
vincc himself Of the reality Of this mo-
mcnt. and even then words did not
como 10 him. for his mind wns In tur-
moil, Joy, Thanksgiving, compassion