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Rosa turned to her elderly suitor and made a deep courtesy "I am unworthy of the honor," said she "You see, I--I do not love you, Don Mario"

"Love!" exploded the visitor "God bless you! What has love to do with the matter? Esteban will have to ride for his life in ten minutes and your property will be seized So you had better o with me" But Rosa shook her head

"Eh? What ails you? What do you expect to do?"

"I shall go with Esteban," said the girl

This calm announcement seemed to stupefy De Castano He sat down heavily in the nearest chair, and with his wet handkerchief poised in one pudgy hand he stared fixedly at the speaker His eyes were round and bulging, the sweat streamed unheeded from his temples He reseed froht

"You--You're asped "Esteban, tell her what it means"

But this Esteban could not do, for he himself had not the faintest notion of as in store for hi; he had been told that the hills were peopled with patriots He was very young, his heart was ablaze with hatred for the Spaniards and for Pancho Cueto He longed to risk his life for a free Cuba Therefore he said: "Rosa shall do as she pleases If we must be exiles we shall share each other's hardships It will not be for long"

"Idiot!" storave her to the sharks below San Severino There is no law, no safety for women outside of the cities The island is in anarchy These patriots you talk about are the blacks, the es in Cuba"

"Please! Don Mario!" the girl pleaded "I cannot marry you, for--I love another"

"Eh?"

"I love another I' back to marry me"

De Castano twisted himself laboriously out of his chair and waddled toward the door He was purple with rage and mortification On the threshold he paused to wheeze: "Very well, then Go! I'm done with both of you I would have lent you a hand with this rascal Cueto, but noill fall heir to your entire property Well, it is a ti speech sufficiently bitter to ed out into the sunlight,to himself

Within an hour the tere on their way up the Yuelina; for it was thither that they naturally turned It ell that they had made haste, for as they rode down into the valley, up the other side of the hill from Matanzas came a squad of the Guardia Civil, and at its head rode Pancho Cueto