The Raymer enterprise., 1919-05-22
CHAPTER xvlIl-contlnued

CHAPTER xvlII-contlnued.
H.
Z have been close to death 90 long
mat 1t means little to me-" she con-
iessed II have you. and-well. with
rou at my side I can face the worst. "
-Oh, we won't give up until we have
TO-" he assured her. IF had money
h would bs q simple proposition to
bribe some guard to pass u through
ths lines, but I have spent all that Gen.
sral Betancourt gave me-" He
snoothed back Rosa's dark hair and
smiled reassuringly at her. well, I'll
manage somehow: 90 don't worry your
pretty head I'll find the price, II I
havs to waylay old Don Mario and rob
him Don't you think look like q
banditi The very dght Of me would
tsRrify that fat rascal"
TO me you are beautiful" breathed
ne girl Then she lowered her eyes.
Ia, lai How I spoil you'll I have
quite forgotten how to be ladylike. Isa-
bal was right when she called mo q
bold and forward hussy. Now, then.
please turn your face aside, for I wish
b think. and 70 long as you look at
no I cannot-I make love to you bra
senly. Seel Now. then, that IT, much
better. I shall hold your hand. %.
When I kiss II you may look at me
agnin. for a moment" Drawing her
self closer to OReilly. Rosa began
thoughtfully: Before you came / more
than once was on the point Of appeal
Ing to some of my former friends. but
they are all Spaniards and we are no
longer--simpatico, you understandr
Rosa paused for his answer.
Perfectly: Tn In the same nx. OF
On the people ! used to know there
Int one but would denounce me II I
made myself known. Now that I've
been fighting with the insurrectos, /
daren't even 60 to the American consul
for help-if there is an American con-
sul."
Rosa nodded, then continued. heM-
tatingiy: II had q vivid dream last
night Perhaps II was Z portent. Who
mows1 It was about that stepmother
u mine. You remember how she met
her death7 I wrote you
Yes, and Esteban also told me-"
TT was he who recovered her body
hom the well One day. while We
wore In hiding. away up yonder In the
Yumuh. he showed me an old COIN
Il know" O'Reilly said quickly. He
told me the whole story. He thinks
that doubloon Il clue to your fathers
fortune butt can't put much faith In
h In fact, didn't believe until this
moment that there was a doubloon at
AL"
-Oh. indeed there wasi saw II"
There was q moment Of silence dur
ing which the lovers were obllvious to
an but each other. then Rosa mur-
INJURED: "How strangel Sometimes
your eyes are blue and sometimes gray.
Does that mean that your love. too.
can changer
Certainly not But come, what
about Esteban and that doubloon7"
With an effort the girl brought her
sslf back to earth. "Weli. II occurred
b me. In the light Of that dream last
might. that Esteban may have been
right OF course nobody outside Of
our family credits the old story, and
yst my father was considered q very
rich man at one tima Pancho Cueto
believed In the existence of the treas
ure. and he was In position to know"
Truei Perhaps, after all"
OReilly frowned meditntively.
Rosa lifted herself upon her elbow,
hsr eyes sparkling. wouldn't It be
wonderful II It were true1 Just think.
O'Reilly. cases Of Spanish gold. silver
coins In casks, packages Of gems. Oh.
Eve heard Isabel talk about II often
enough"
Don't forget those pearls from the
Caribbean. as large as plums" Johnny
smiled. II could never quite swallow
that A pearl the size Of a currant
would buy our freedom right now"
After 4 moment he went on. more seri-
ously: I've a notion to look into that
old well this very afternoon. IL
darn say I'm foolish, but-somehow
the story doesn't sound 90 improbable
a. It did. Perhaps It is worth inves-
dgating-" He made up his mind
swiftly. Tim OF this very instant" I"
When 0Rellly emerged from the hut
he found Jacket industriously at work
over a fragment of grindstone which
be had somewhere unearthed. The boy
looked up at his friends approach and
held out for inspection long. thin file.
which he was slowly shaping into q
knife-blade.
what do you think Of thatr' he
Quened proudly. "It may come In
handy when we are ready to clear out
Of this pesthole."
where did you get itr
SOh. stole Il I steal everything
can lay my hands on nowadays. One
can never tell when he may have q
throat to cut. and . f,le has good steel
tn Il"
Since y0u are such IN accom-
paished thief. do you think you could
steal something for mer O'Reilly In
Mulnad "A r,AaAa ~ nonaV