The Mena weekly star., 1919-03-20
cOpyrishs. by Hsrrsr and Brothers
Continued from last week.l

rose and went out into the sunshine, where he fell to whetting his knife. He finished putting double edge upon the blade, fitted a handle to 1t, and then a cord with which to suspend it round his neck He showed 1t to OReilly. and after receiving a word of praise he crept outdoors again and tried to for get how sick he was. Black spots were dancing before Jackets eyes; he ex. perienced spells of dizziness and nau. sea during which he dared not attempt to walk. He knew this must be the re suit of starvation, and yet, strangely enough, the thought of food was dis tasteful to him. He devoutly wished 1t were not necessary to climb that hill again, for he feared he would not have the strength to descend it.
 Luckily for the sake of the secret Evangelina spent most of the day searching for food, while Asensio lay babbling upon his bed, too ill to notice the peculiar actions of his companions.
 It was with strange, nightmare feeling of unreaIity that the trio
 
 dragged themselves upward to the ruined quinto when darkness finally came. They no longer talked, for con. versation was drain upon their pow CTS, and the reaction from the days ex- citement had set in. 0'Reilly lurched as he walked. his limbs were heavy, and his liveliest sensation was one of dread at the hard work In store for him. The forcing of that door assumed the proportions of Herculean task.
 But once he was at the bottom of the well and beheld the handiwork of Sebastian, the slave, Just as he had left 1t. his sense of reality returned and with 1t certain measure of determina. ton. Inasmuch as he had made nc visible impression upon the bulkhead hy his direct attack, he changed his tactics now and undertook to loosen one of the jambs where 1t was wedged into the rock at top and bottom. After a desperate struggle he succeeded in loosening the entire structure so thai he could pry it out far enough te squeeze his body through.
 q have it r he cried to Rosa. Seizins the candle, he thrust 1t into the open ing. He beheld what he had expected to find, small cavern or grotto which had evidently been pierced during tho digging of the we'll. He could appreci. ate now how simple had been the tasl of sealing it up so as to baffle discov cry. Rosa, poised above him. scarcely breathed until he strengthened himself and turned his face upward once more
 He tried to speak, but voiced noth- ing more than hoarse croak; the candle in his hand described cratic fig ures.
 What do you seer" the girl cried in an agony of suspense.
 IT. It's herei B-bexes, chests, casks-everythingl"
 "God be praisedi My fathers for tune at lastl"
 Rose forgot her surroundings; she bent her hands together, calling upon OReiliy to make haste and determine beyond all question that the missing hoard was indeed theirs. She drew perilously close to the well and knelt over it like some priestess at her de- votions; her eyes were brimming with tears and there was a roaring in her ears. It was not strange that she failed to see or to hear the approach of a great blurred figure which material ized out of the night and took station scarcely an arms length behind her.
 He intended it for his children" she sobbed, "and providence saved 1t from our wicked enemies. It was the hand of God that led us here, O'Reilly. Tell me, what do you see nowr
 Johnnie had wormed his way into the damp chamber and slim reetangle of light was projected against the op- posite side of the well. Rosa could hear him talking and moving about.
 Don Esteban Varona's subterranean hiding-place was large enough to store treasure far greater than his; it was perhaps ten feet in length, with roof high enough to accommodate tail man. At the farther end were ranged several small wooden chests bound with iron and fitted with hasps and staples. along one side was a row of diminuftve casirs, tise sort used to con sain choice wines or liquors; over all was a thick covering of slime and mold The iron was deeply rusted and the place it~ezf smeiied abominably s<Ale.
 O'Refny surveyed this Aladdln's cave In dare. He sak his cnndle down, for bis fingers were numb and unsteady. Cautiously. as k fearnnl of breaking some spell, he skoopcd and tried to move one of she cassH. but found thht # resisted him == f c.mentad to the rock He nctsd that fts head was bulsed upwerd. ss if by ths da1npness' 90 he took his iron bar and aimed q sharp blow ut the chine. A hoop gnve way; another bauw enabled him to pry out the head of f1,s onkk. Be stood thinking at the sisht exposed. fur the little barrel was fun of cotns-yaIiow coins. large and small. C-Beilfy sefned handful and held them dloss to the candle flame; among the number he noted Spanish doubloon, such af young Esteban had found
 He tested the weight of the othef casks and found them equally heavy Knowing little about gold. he did moi attempt to estimate the vafue of their