Show C KS r rI rd I i i. i d IJ S END Voel i J Author of The Iron Trail The S i B Y REX L Spoilers Heart of the Sunset Suns t Etc r Copyright ht by Helper Henle and end Brothers Brother s N a i CHAPTER Continued Continued 17 17 Exactly And they saw nothing Tour Tour pardon my colonel They came back in a n cold sweat and they spent the night oh their knees The woman was there You have seen the salt sea sen at night V Well ell her ber face was aglow like that so they said They heard the clanking of chains too and und the sound of hammers coming from the very bowels of the earth It ItIs Itis Is 15 all plain enough when you know the story But It t Is 15 s terrifying This is indeed amazing Cobo acknowledged acknowledged acknowledged ac ac- ac- ac but of course there is IsMIne some Rome simple eq explanation Spirits if indeed there are such things are made of nothing they nothing they are like Uke thin air How then could they rattle chains You Yon probably saw some wretched pa- pa In search of food and Imagined I the rest Indeed I 1 Then what did I hear henr with these very e ears rs Whispers murmurs groans ro ns and the clink of old Sebastian's Sebastians chisel For his bis sins that old slave e Is chained in some cavern ern of the mountain Soundless 1 Im I'm Im I'm no baby I 1 I know when Im I'm asleep and I know when Im I'm awake That place Is accursed and I want no more of It it Cobo fell into frowning meditation mediation allowing his cigarette to smolder down until it burned his thick fingers He lIe was not a superstitious man and he put no faith in the supernatural nevertheless nevertheless nevertheless nev nev- he was convinced that his serge sergeant nt was not lying and reference to Pancho Cueta had set his mind to working along strange channels He had known Cueto well and the latter's stubborn belief In n the existence of that Varona treasure had more than once impressed him He wondered now if others shared that faith or if by chance they had discovered a clue to the whereabouts of the mone money and were conducting a secret search It was a fantastic idea nevertheless Cobo Coho told himself that if people were pr prying about those th se deserted premises it was with some object and their actions ac- ac actions actions ac ac- would warrant observation The presence of the woman woman woman-a a woman woman- kW t J t Good I Shall Visit the Place with the glow of phosphorus upon her face was puzzling but the whole affair was puzzling He determined to After a time he be murmured I should like to see Bee this spirit The sergeant shrugged It was plain from his hiR expression that he be could not account for such a desire Another night nl ht Is coming said he Good I 1 I shall visit the place and if It I see anything unusual I well I-well well I Ishall shall Khali believe what you yon have ha told me all Meanwhile go see your priest by means It will do you no harm hurm CHAPTER How Cobo Stood on His Head All AU that day or during most of I at least Rosa and sat hand in hand hams hn oblivious of hunger and fatigue Impatient for the coming of night keyed to the highest tension Now they would rejoice hysterically assuring each euch other of their good fortune again they would grow sick with the fear of disappointment Time after time they stepped out of the time hut but and stared apprehensively up- up up the slopes slope of La Ln Cumbre Cumbre Cum Cum- bre to assure themselves that this was fantastic illusion not riot all a part of some detail detail de de- de- de slon sion over and over ovel in la minutest tail taU Johnnie described what he had seen icen at the bottom of the well Ho He afternoon afternoon after after- tried more than once during the noon to sleep but ho he could not for the thel moment 1 he closed his eyes ees he found l r back bad there In that pit upon the therl's gc's rl's crest straining at those stubborn stub stub- horn born rocks and unel slippery timbers This inaction was maddening his fatigue rendered him feverish and Irritable Jacket too felt the strain and after several fruitless attempts to sleep he rose and went out into the sunshine where he be fell tell to whetting his knife He finished putting a n double edge upon the blade fitted a handle to It and then acord a acord cord corel with which to suspend it round his neck He showed It to OReilly and after receiving a n word of praise he be crept outdoors again and tried to forget forget forget for for- get how sick he was Black spots were dancing before Jackets Jacket's eyes he experienced experienced experienced ex ex- spells of dizziness and nausea nausea nausen nau nau- sea sen during which he dared not attempt to walk He knew this must be the result result re re- re- re sult suit of starvation and yet strangely enough the thought of food was distasteful distasteful dis dis- dis- dis tasteful to him He- He devoutly He-devoutly wished It were not necessary to climb that hill again for ho feared ho be would not have havethe havethe the strength to descend it Luckily for tor the sake of the secret spent most of the day searching for food tood while Asensio lay babbling upon his bed too ill to notice the peculiar actions of his companions It was with a n strange nightmare feeling of unreality that the trio dragged themselves upward to the ruined quinto when darkness finally came They no longer talked for conversation conversation conversation con con- was a drain upon their powers powers powers pow pow- ers and the reaction from the days day's excitement excitement excitement ex ex- had set in OReilly lurched as he walked his limbs were heavy beavy and his liveliest sensation was one of dread at the hard bard work in store for him The forcing of that door assumed the proportions of a Herculean task But once he was at the bottom of the well and beheld the handiwork of Sebastian the slave e just as he lie had I left it it his sense of reality returned and with frith it a certain measure of tion Inasmuch as he had made no visible Impression upon the bulkhead by y his direct attack he changed ed his tactics attics now and undertook to loosen one of the jambs where It t was wedged into the rock at top and bottom After a desperate struggle he succeeded In loosening the entire structure so that he could pry It out far enough to squeeze his body through I have It I 1 he cried to Rosa Seizing the candle he be thrust it Into the open open- ing He beheld what he had bad expected to find a small cavern or grotto which had evidently been pierced during the digging of the well He could appreciate ate now how simple had been the thc task to toof of sealing It up c co as QS to baffle bame ery Rosa TIosa poised above him scarcely breathed until he straightened himself and turned his face upward once more He tried to speak but voiced nothIng nothing nothing noth noth- ing more than a hoarse croak the candle In his hand described erratic fig fig- ures What do you see the girl cried Inan inan in inan an agony of of suspense I I UI Its It's here I boxes B-boxes chests casks everything casks everything I l God be praised I r My fathers father's fortune fortune fortune for for- tune at last 1 Rose forgot her ber surroundings she bent her hands together calling upon OReilly 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 nt her devotions devotions de de- devotions de- de 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 materialized materialIzed materialized material material- out of the night and took station scarcely an arms arm's length behind berHe her ber He Intended It for his children she sobbed and providence saved it from our wicked enemies It was the hand of God led us here OReilly Tell me what do you see now Johnnie had wormed his way Into the damp chamber and n a slim rectangle of light was projected against the opposite opposite op op- op side of the well Rosa could hear him talking and moving about Don Esteban Varona's subterranean place hiding was large e enough to store a treasure far greater than his it was perhaps ten feet in length with a roof high enough to accommodate a n tall 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 diminutive casks the sort used to contain contain contain con con- tain choice wines or liquors over all was a thick covering of slime sUme and mold The iron was deeply rusted and the place itself smelled abominably stale OReilly surveyed this Aladdin's cave In a daze duze He Dc set his candle down for his fingers were numb and unsteady Cautiously as if fearful of breaking some spell he stooped and tried to tomoe move mo one of the casks but found that it resisted him as ns if f cemented to the rock He lIe noted that its head was bulged upward as us If by the dampness I so he took his Iron bar and und aimed a sharp blow at the chine A hoop gave way another blow enabled him to pry out he the he head of ot the cask He lIe stood blinking at the sight exposed for fol the little barrel b was fuu iu of coins yellow coins yellow coins large and small OReilly seized a handful and held them them- close to the candle flame among the number he noted u a Spanish doubloon such as young oung Esteban had found He lle tested the weight w of the other casks and unel found them equally heavy Knowing little about abolt gold Kold he lie did not attempt to estimate the value of ot their theli contents but he judged they must represent rep represent represent rep rep- resent a fortune V With ith throbbing pulses he next lifted th the lid of the nearest chest Within he discovered I several compartments each ench stored with neatly wrapped and labeled packages of var varying shapes and sizes The writIng writIng writing writ writ- Ing upon the tags togs was almost Illegible but the first article which OReilly unwrapped unwrapped un un- wrapped proved to be a goblet g blet of most beautiful workmanship Time had long since blackened It to the appearance of pewter or some base metal but he saw saw that It was of solid soUd silver Evidently he had bad uncovered a store of old Spanish Spanish Span Span- SpanIsh ish plate In one corner of the chest nest he saw a metal box of the sort In which valuable papers are kept and after some effort he managed to break It open Turning back the lid Hd he found first a bundle of documents bearing Imposing scrolls and heavy seals Despite the dampness dampness dampness damp damp- ness they were In fairly good condition condition condition condi condi- tion and there was enough left of the writing to Identify them tl beyond all question as the missing deeds of patent to the Varona lands those lands those crown grants for which Donna Isabel had bad searched so 80 fruitlessly But this ibis was not all that the smaller box bOI contained Beneath the papers there were there numerous numerous numerous numer numer- ous leather bags These had rotted they came apart easily In la fingers angers displaying a miscellaneous miscellaneous assortment assortment assortment as as- of unset gems some gems some of them at nt first sight looked like drops of blood others like drops of purest water wlter They were the rubies and the diamonds which had brought Isabel t to her death OReilly waited to see no Q more Candle in to hand band he be crept out into the well welt to apprise Rosa of th the truth Weve Veve got it I Theres There's go gold d bythe barrel carrel and the deeds to your land Yes and the Jewels too too too-a a quart of f the them I guess uess I I II I cant can't believe my eyes eyes eyes' t He Be showed her a handful of coins Look at that Doubloons eagles There There There-ap- appear ap ap appear pear to be thousands of them Why youre you're the richest girl in Cuba Rubles Rabies diamonds yes diamonds yes and pearls too 1 dare daresay daresay say say say- He TIe choked and began to hugh 1 weakly by hysterically Ive heard about those a I cried shrilly Pearls from the bean as large as plums Isabel to babble about them In h her r sleep I 1 found those deeds the first t fling ng I IThe The n o r uV u 1 any question Rosa drew back from her precarious precarious' i position for she had grown limp from fron t M weakness and her head was whirling As AB she rose roso to her ber feet she brush something somebody some flesh and blood form which was standing almo almost over her Involuntarily In she recoiled toppling upon the very brink of the pit pl whereupon a heavy hand reached forth and seized her She found herself hersell staring upward Into a face she had grown to know In her nightmares a 8 face the mere memory of which was enough to freeze her ber blood It was n a thick lipped fen flat hideous visage black it was disfigured by i iscar ascar n a scar from lip Up to temple and out of 1 It gleam gleamed d a n pair of ot eyes distended and ringed with white like the eyes of a n aman aman man Insane For an nn Instant Rosa made no sound and no effort to escape The apparition apparition tion robbed her of breath it paralyzed paralyze her In both mind and body H Her Hr r first firs thought was that she had gone stark mad but she had felt Cobos Cobo's hands hand he her upon her once before and after first frozen moment of amazement sh she realized that she was in n her fullest senses A shriek sprang to her lips lIp she tried to fight the man mun off but he her weak struggle was the tho fluttering of a bird Cobo crushed her down strangling the uttered half cry Terror may be so eo Intense so appaH appa 1 ling as to be unendurable In Rosas Rosa's case a merciful oblivion overtook her ber She felt the world grow black fall away felt herself swing dl dizzily llY through space OReilly looked upward Inquiring He Be e sharply the matter beard heard a scuffling of feet above him but received no answer Rosa Rosal I What was a n frightened you I Rosal Rosa I There he then moment of sickening suspense put his shoulder to the timbers Umbers he had displaced and an with a violent shove succeeded in swinging them back into place Laying hold of the rope he began began began be be- gan to hoist boist himself upward He Re had bad gone but a n little way however when without warning hl his support gave way and he fell backward the rope came pouring down upon him Rosa he called again in n a n voice thick from fright Followed an Instant of silence the himself against then he flattened side of the well and the breath stuck in his throat Into the time dim circle of radiance above of oi a u head was thrust thrust thrust-a a head a n pair arms armors wide shoulders and then two The Tho figure bent closer and OReilly Reilly that recognized the swarthy features of railroad railroad railroad rail rail- at the Matanzas man he had seen road station There could be no doubt of it It-It It It was Cobo The men stared stured at each ench other silent silently be lie bethe liethe betho ly and of the two Cobo Collo appeared to a n After the tho more Intensely agitated the moment his gaze fixed Itself upon and ana chamber opening Into the time treasure remained there As if to make entirely overheard he no sure of ot what he had md stretched his body farther supporting it by his hL arms then moved mo his head hend from side to side for a a better better better bet bet- ter view H He seemed to rock over the mouth of the well like a n huge fat t t black spider He lIe was wa the first to speak Am m I dreaming Or have Or have you really discovered that treasure he queried upturn upturned d face was ghast ghast- ly He Be wet his lips He Re managed to whisper Rosas Rosa's name The riches of the r I What a n find nd I 1 Cobos Cobo's teeth shone white In the grin of avarice Yes I see now now now-a a cavern In lin the rock Well VeIl well And you are |