The Amorita Herald (Amorita, Okla.), Vol. 8, No. 35, Ed. 1 Friday, August 2, 1918 Page: 2 of 8
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CHAPTER XIV— Continued
' ' —12—
"We’ve been talking" about food'
Leslie Branch advised his commanding
ofllcer “Miss Evans Isn’t a burning
patriot like the rest of us and so of
course she can’t share our ravenous ap-
petite for beef cooked and eaten on the
hoof”
“Sol” Lopez’s handsome face cloud-
ed “You are hungry then 7”
Norlne confessed thut she was Tm
starving 1” said she “I haven’t had a
decent meal for tf week"
ke praised 1 1 know where there
two leagues away I” said
iv (t a goat" Norlne
rwant — well pickles
sardines and — candy
wder I Real - boarding-
ies rd Just like to rob a
general store” -
Lopez furrowed his brows and lost
himself In thought Later while the
others were talking be drew Ramos
aside and for a while they kept their
heads together then they Invited Jud-
son to Join their council
When O’Reilly Joined Judson for
supper the latter met him with a broad
grin on his face “Well” said he “You
can get ready to saddle up when the
moon rises" -
“What do you mean?"
“The colonel took Miss Evans at her
word We’re going to raid San Antonio
de Ios Banos — two hundred of us — to
get her some pickles and Jam and
candy ‘and tooth-powder”
Certain histories of the Cuban War
for Independence speak of “The Bat-
tlo of San Antonio de los Banos” It
Is quite a stirring story to read and It
has but one fault a fault by the way
not uncommon In histories — It Is main-
ly untrue
In the first placer the engagement
was In no sense a battle but merely a
raid The number of troops engaged
was perhaps one-fifth of the generous
total ascribed by the historians and
as a military maneuver it served no
purpose whatsoever Nevertheless
since the affair had a direct bearing
upon the ' fortunes of several people
connected with this Btory It 1b per-
haps worth relating
Lopez and his troop approached the
town In the -early morning As they
deployed for the attack the colonel is-
sued private Instructions to certain
members of his command
“O'Reilly you and Senor Branch will
enter one grocery store after another
You will purchase that Jam those sar-
dines and whatever else you think
Miss Evans would like Captain Jud-
son you and Major Ramos will go to
the apothecary shop— I understand
there is a very good one — and look for
tooth-powder and candy and the like I
shall see that the streets are cleared
then I shall endeavor to discover some
pickles but ns God is my Judge I
doubt If there is such a thing this side
of Habana”
Leslie Branch whose temper had not
Improved with the long night ride In-
quired cnustlcally : "Do you expect us
to buy the groceries? Well I’m broke
and so Is O'Reilly If you don't give us
some change colonel we’ll have to
open a charge account In your name”
"Caramba!” muttered Lopez “I In-
tended to borrow from you gentlemen
Well never mind — we’ll commandeer
what we wish In the name of the re-
public" Lopez’ attack proved a complete
surprise both to the citizens and to the
garrison of the town The rebel bugle
gave the first warning of what was
afoot and before the Castilian troops
who were loitering off duty could re-
gain their quarters before the citizens
could take cover or the shopkeepers
close and bar their heavy wooden shut-
ters two hundred ragged horsemen
were yelling down the streets
There followed a typical Cuban en-
gagement — ten shouts to one shot
There vas a mad charge on the heels
of the scurrying populace' a scattering
pop-pop of rifles cheers cries shrieks
of defiance and far-flung Insults direct-
ed at the fortlnas
O’Reilly with Branch and Jacket
close at his heels whirled his horse
Into the first bodega he came to The
store was stocked with general mer-
chandise but Its owner evidently a
Spaniard did not tarry to set a price
Upon any of It As the three horsemen
came clattering In at the front he went
flying out at the rear and although
lO’Rellly called reassuringly after him (
his only answer was the slamming of a
back door followed by swiftly dimin-
ishing dries of fright
There was no time to waste John-
nie dismounted and walking to the
shelves where some Imported canned
goods were displayed he began to se-
lect those delicacies for which he bad
been sent The devoted Jacket was at
his side The little Cuban exercised no
restraint he seized whatever was most
handy meanwhile cursing ferociously
as befitted a bloodthirsty bandit Boys
are natural robbers and at this oppor-
tunity for loot Jacket’s soul flamed
savagely and he swept the shelves bare
as he went
“Hey Leslie 1 Get something to carry
this stuff in” O’Reilly directed over
his shoulder
Spurred by O’Reilly’s tone and by a
lively rattle of rifle-shots outside Les-
lle'disappeared Into the living-quarters
at the back of the store A moment
later he emerged with a huge armful
of bedclothes evidently snatched ht
random Trailing behind him like a
bridal veil was a mosquito-net which
lh his haste he had torn from Its fas-
tenings “I guess this Is poor I" he exulted
“Bedding 1 Pillows 1 Mosquito-net I I’ll
sleep comfortable after this" - -Dumping
his burden of sheets blank-
ets and brilliantly colored cotton quilts
upon the floor Branch selected two of
the stoutest and began to knot the cor-
ners together
He bad scarcely flntshed when Jud-
son reined In at the door and called to
O’Reilly : “We’ve cleaned out the drug
store Better get a move on you for
we may have to run any minute Pve
Just heard about some Cuban prisoners
In the calaboose Gimme a hand and
we’ll let ’em out" r -
Sharing In the general consterna-
tion at the attack the Jail guards had
disappeared leaving Lopez’ men free
to break Into the prison When O’Reil-
ly Joined them the work was well un-
der way Seizing whatever Implements
they could flndr Judson and O’Reilly
went from cell to cell battering pry-
ing smashing leaving their comrades
to rescue the Inmates While the
Americans smashed lock after lock
their comrades dragged the astonished
Inmates from their kennels hustled
them Into the street and took them up
behind their saddles ' ' "" '
The raid was over “retreat" was
sounding ' when Judson and O’Reilly
ran out of the prison remounted and
Joined their - comrades who- - were
streaming back toward the plaza
Colonel Lopez galloped up to Inquire
anxiously “Did you find those eatables
eh?" -
“Yes sir and a lot more”
"Good t But I failed Pickles?
Caramba I Nobody here ever heard of
one I”
“Did we lose any men?” ’ Judson
asked (
“Not one 7 But Ramos was badly
cut”
“So? Then he got to close quarters
with some Spaniard?”
“Oh no I” - The colonel grinned “He
was In too great a hurry and broke
open a show-case with his fist”
The retreating Cubans Btlll main-
tained their uproar discharging their
rifles Into the air shrieking defiance at
their Invisible foes and voicing insult-
ing Invitations to combat This ferocity
however served only to terrify further
the civil population and to close the
shutters of -San ‘ Antonio the tighter
Meanwhile the loyal troops remained
safely In their' blockhouses pouring a
steady fire Into the town And despite
this admirable display of courage the
visitors Bhowed a deep respect for their
enemies’ marksmanship taking advan-
tage of whatever shelter there was
The raiders had approached San An-
tonio de Ios Banos across the fields at
the rear but Colonel Lopez led their
retreat by way of the camlno real
which followed the river bank This
road for a short distance was exposed
to the fire from one port then It was
sheltered by a bit of rising ground - -O'Reilly
among the last to cross the
zone of fire was Just congratulrfting
himself upon the fortunate outcome of
the skirmish when he saw Colonel Lo-
pez ride to the crest of a knoll rise In
his stirrups and lifting his cupped
hands to his lips direct a loud shout
back toward the town topes was fol-
lowed by several of his men who like-
wise began to yell and to wave their
arms excitedly
Johnnie turned la discover that Les-
lie Branch had lagged (or behind and
now -as If to cap his fantastic perform-
ances had dismounted and was de-
scending the river bank to - a place
where a large washing bad been spread
upon the stones to dry He was quite
exposed and a spiteful crackle from the
nearest blockhouse showed that the
Spaniards were determined to bring
him down Mauser bullets ricocheted
among the rocks— even from this dis-
tance their sharp explosions wereaudl-
ble — others broke the surface of the
stream Into little geysers os if a school
of fish were leaping
When Johnnie looked on In breath-
less apprehension Branch appropriated
several suits that promised to fit him
then he climbed up the bank remount-
ed his horse and ambled slowly out of
range
Now this was precisely the sort of
harebrained exploit which delights
Cuban audience When Leslie re-
joined hts comrades therefore he was
greeted with shouts and cheers
“Caramba l' He would risk his life
for a clean shirt There’s a fel-
low for you 1 He enjoys the hum- of
these Span sb bees I Bravo I
Tell us what the bullets said to you"
they cried crowding around him In an
admiring circle
O’Reilly unable to contain himself
burst forth In a rage : “Lopez ought to
court-martial you”
- Infuriated he rode over to where
Captain Judson was engaged In mak-
ing a litter upon which to carry the
sick prisoner they had rescued from
the Jail “This chap here Is all In'
said Judson ’Tm afraid we aren’t go-
ing to get him through”
Following Judson’s glance O’Reilly
beheld an emaciated figure lying In the
shade of a nearby guava bush The
man was clad In filthy rags his face
was dirty and overgrown with a
month’s beard a pair of restless eyes
stared unbllnklngly at the brazen sky
His Ups were moving from them Is-
sued a steady patter of words but oth-
erwise he showed no sign of life
“You said he was starving” Johnnie
dismounted and lent Judson a hand
with his task
“That’s what X thought at first' but
he’s sick I suppose It’s that Infernal
dungeon fever We can swing him be-
tween our horses and — ”
Judson looked up to discover that
Johnnie was poised rigidly his mouth
open his hands halted In midair The
slck man’s voice had risen and O’Reil-
ly with a peculiar - expression of
amazement upon his face was strain-
ing his ears to hear what he said
“Eh? What’s the matter?” Judson
Inquired- r-
For a moment O’Reilly remained
frozen In his attitude then without a
word he strode to the sufferer He bent
forward staring Into the vacant up-
turned face A’ cry burst from his
throat a cry that was like a sob and
kneeling he gathered the frail filthy
figure Into his arms -“Esteban
I” he cried "Esteban I This
is O’Reilly O’Rall-ye I Don’t you know
me? O’Reilly your friend your broth-
er I For ‘ God’s ' sake tell me what
they’ve done to you 1 Look at me Es-
teban I Look at me I Look at me I Ob
Esteban I”
Such eagerness" such thankfulness
such passionate pity were in his
friend’s hoarse voice that Judson drew
closer' He noticed that the faintest
flame of reason flickered for an Instant
In the sick man’s hollow eyes then
they began to rove again and the same
rustling whisper recommenced O’Reil-
ly held the boy-tenderly In his arms
tears rolled down his cheeks as he Im-
plored Esteban - to bear and to heed
him
"Try to hear me! Try!” There was
fierce agony In the cry ‘Where Is
Rosa? Rosa? - You’re
safe now you can tell me
You’re safe with O’Reilly I
came back ’ I came back for you
-and Rosa Where is she? -
Is she — dead?” -
Other men were assembling now
The column was ready to move but
Judson signaled to Colonel Lopez and
made known the Identity of the sick
stranger The colonel came forward
swiftly and laid a hand upon O’Reil-
ly’s Bhoulder Baying: -"So
I You were right after alt Es-
teban - Varona didn’t die God must
have sent us to Son Antonio to deliver
him” ' '
"He’s sick sick 1” O’Reilly' said
huskily "Those Spaniards I Look
what they’ve done to him” His voice
chnnged He cried fiercely: “Well
I’m late again I’m always just a little
bit too late He’ll die before he can
tell me — ”
“Walt 1 Take hold of yourself We’ll
do all that can be done to save him
Now come we must be going or all
San Antonio will be upon us"
O’Reilly roused - “Put him In my
arms” he ordered “I’ll carry him to
camp myself” "
But Lopez shook his bead ’saying
gently: “It’s a long march and the
litter would be better for him Thank
heaven we have an’ angel of mercy
awaiting us and she will know bow to
make him well”
When the troop resumed Its retreat
Esteban Varona lay suspended upon a
swinging bed between O’Reilly and
Judson’s horses Although they car-
ried him as carefully as they could
throughout that long hot Journey he
never ceased bis babbling and never
awoke to hie surroundings
- CHAPTER XV -
- ' '
Norlne Takes Charge
- During the next few days O’Reilly
had reason to bless the happy chance
which had brought Norlne Evans to
Cuba During the return Journey from
San Antonio de los Banos he had dis-
covered how really 111 Esteban Varona
was how weak his hold upon life
After llstenlhg to his ravings O’Reilly
began -to fear that the poor fellow’s
mind was permanently affected It was
an appalling possibility one to which
he could not reconcile himself To
'think that somewhere In that fevered
brain was perhaps locked the truth
about Rosa’s fate If not the secret of
her whereabouts and yet to be unable
to wring an Intelligent answer to a
single question was Intolerable The
hours of that ride were among the
longest O’Reilly had ever passed
'But Norlne Evans gave him new
heart She tuck complete charge of
the sick man upon his arrival In camp
then In her brisk matter-of-fact way
she directed O'Reilly to go and get
some much-needed rest Esteban was
ni very 111 she admitted there was no
competent doctor near and her own
facilities for nursing were primitive
Indeed beverthel-ws - she expressed
confidence that she could cure him
and reminded O’Reilly that nature has
a blessed way of building up a resist-
ance to environment As a result of
her good cheer O'Reilly managed to
enjoy a night’s sleep
He wns up at daylight to offer his
services In caring for Esteban Varona
but Norlne declined them
- “His fever Is down a little and -he
has taken some nourishment” she re-
ported “That food you boys risked
your silly Uvei for may come in handy
after all" -
“I dare say he won’t be able to talk
to me today?" O’Reilly ventured
“Not today nor for many days Tm
afraid” '- -
"If you don’t mind then I’ll hang
around and listen to what he says” he
told her wistfully ‘ “He might drop a
word about Rosa” - - - ? -
“To be sure So -far he’s scarcely
mentioned her I can’t understand
much that he says of course but Mrs
Ruiz tells me It’s all jumbled and quite
unintelligible” ' -
It was ' a balmy languid morning
about two weeks after O’Reilly’s re-
turn to the City Among the Leaves In
a hammock swung between two trees
Esteban Varona lay listening to the
admonitions of his nurse -Johnnie
O’Reilly had Just bade them
both a hearty good morning and now
Norlne was saying7: “One hour no
morg You had a temperature again
“Esteban I This Is O’Reilly I”
last night and It came from talking too
much Remember It takes me Just one
hour to make my rounds and If you
are not through with your tales of
blood and battle when I get back you'll
have to finish them tomorrow”- With
a nod and a smile she left
As Esteban ' looked after her his
white teeth gleamed and his hollow
face lit up -
‘She brings me new life” he told
O’Reilly “She Is so strong so healthy
so full of life herself She Is wohder-
ful I When I first saw her bending over
me I thought I was dreaming Some-
times even yet I think she cannot be
real But she Is' eh?” - -
“She Is quite substantial” Q’Rellly
smiled “AH the sick fellows talk as
you do”
Esteban looked up quickly bis face
darkened “She— er — nurses others
eh? I’m not the only one?"
“Well hardly"
There was a brief pnuse then Este-
bnq shifted his position and his tone
changed “Tell me have you heard
any news?” -
“Not yet but we will hear some be-
fore long I’m sure” -“Your
faith does as much for me as
this lady’s core ' But when you yo
gway when Tm alone when I begin te ‘
think—”- -
“Don’t think too much don’t permit
yourself to doubt” O’Reilly said quick-
ly “Take my word for It Rosa Is alive
and we’ll find her somewhere some-'
bow General Gomez will soon have
word of her 7 That’s what I’ve been '
waiting for — that and what you might
have to tell-me”
“You know all that I know now and
everything that has happened to me”
' “I don’t know bow you came to be In
a cell In San Antonio de los Banos two
hundred miles from the place you weft -killed
That Is still a mystery"
' “It Is very simple amigo Let me
see: I had finished telling you about
the fight at La Joya I was telling you
how I fainted Some good people found
me a few hours after I lost conscious-
ness They supposed I bad been at-
tacked by guerrillas and left for dead
Finding that I still had life In me they
took me home with them They-were
old friends - from MatanZfis by the
name of Valdes — cultured people who
had fled the city and were hiding In the
manlgua like the rest of us”
' “Not Valdes the notary?” '
“The very same Alberto Valdes and
hla four ' daughters Heaven guided
them to me Alberto was an old man -he
had hard work to provide food for
his girls Nevertheless he refused to
abandon me Oh they were faithful
patient people! You see I had walked
east Instead of west and now I was
miles away from home and the coun- '
tty between was swarming with Span-
iards who were burning destroying
killing You wouldn’t know Matanzas
O’Reilly It Is a desert
“I 'finally became able to drag myself
around the hut But I had no means
of sending word to Rosa and the un-
certainty nearly made me crazy My '
clothes had rotted from me my bones
were just under the skin I must have
been a shocking sight Then one day -there
came a fellow traveling east with
messages for Gomez He was one of
Lopes’ tie a and he told me that Lo-
pez had gone to the Rubl Hills with
Maceo and that there were none c
our men left In the province He told
me other things too It was from him
that I' learned — ” Esteban Varona’s
thin hands clutched the edges of his
hammock and he rolled his head weak-
ly from side to side “It was he who
told me about Rosa He said that Cobo
had raVhged the Yumurl and that my
sister — was gone!”
“There there I We know better now"
O’Reilly said soothingly
“It was a hideous story a story of
rape murder I wonder that I didn’t
go mad It never occurred to- me to
doubt and as a matter of fact the fel-
low was honest enough be really be-
Ueved what ' be told me s After the
man had finished I felt the desire to '
get away from all I had known and-'
loved to leave Matanzas for new fields
and give what was left of me to the-
cause I was free to enlist slnoe 1 '
couldn’t reach Lopez and I came to
Join our forces In the Orient '
“That Is how you found me In this "
province Lopez’ man never delivered
thesedlspntcheS for we' were taken
crossing the trocha — at least I ' was -takenj
for Pablo was killed They’d
have made an end of me too I dare
say only I was so weak 'It seems a
century since that night My memory
doesn’t serve me very well from that
point for they Jailed me and I grew
worse ' I was out of my head a good
ge®1”
The two men fell silent fqr a while
Esteban lay with closed eyes exhaust-
ed O’Rellljvgave himself up to frown-
Ing thought H1A thoughts were not'
pleasant he-could not for the life 'of
him believe In Rosa’s safety so lm-'
plicltly as he had led Esteban to sup-
pose his efforts to cheer the other
had sapped his own supply of hope
leaving him a prey to black misgivings
He wns glad when Norlne Evans’ re--turn
put an end to his speculations
“Have you harrowed this poor man’s
feelings Sufficiently for once?” she In-
quired of O’Reilly
"I have Til agree to talk about
nothing unpleasant hereafter”
Esteban turned to his nurse "Thera
Is something I want to tell you both”
"Walt until tomorrojr” Norlne ad-
vised —
But he persisted : “No 1 1 must tell
It now First however did either of
you discover an old coin In any of my
pockets— Sn old Spanish doubloon?”
“Thnt doubloon again 1” Norlne lift-
ed her hands protestlngly and cast a
meaning look at O’Reilly "You talked
about nothing else for a whole week
Let me feel your pulse”
Esteban surrendered his band with
suspicious readiness
“You were flat broke when we got
you'1’ O’Reilly declared
“Probably I seem to remember that
somebody stole it”
"Doubloons I Pieces of eight I Gold-
en guineas I" exclaimed Norlne "Why
those are pirate coins I They remind
me of Treasure Island of Long Johq
Sliver- and his wooden leg of Ben
Gunn and all the rest”
Esteban smiled uncomprehendlngly
“Yes? Well this has to do with treas-
ure of the Varonas My father' burled
It He was very rich you know and
he was afraid of the Spaniards O’Reil-
ly knows the story"
Johnnie ' assented with a grunt
“Sure I I know all about It"
(TO BB CONTINUBDJ
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Millspaugh, Lawrence. The Amorita Herald (Amorita, Okla.), Vol. 8, No. 35, Ed. 1 Friday, August 2, 1918, newspaper, August 2, 1918; Amorita, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1862209/m1/2/: accessed July 11, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.