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During the next few days O'Reilly had reason to bless the happy chance which had brought Norine Evans to Cuba During the return journey from San Antonio de los Banos he had discovered how really ill Esteban Varona was, hoeak his hold upon life The youngillness and of cruel abuse; starvation, neglect, and disease had all but done for hian to fear that the poor fellow'spossibility, 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 aest O'Reilly had ever passed

But Norine Evans gave hie of the sick man upon his arrival in camp; then in her brisk, et some much-needed rest Esteban was ill, very ill, she admitted; there was no co were primitive indeed; nevertheless, she expressed confidence that she could cure him, and re up a resistance to environed to enjoy a night's sleep

Leslie Branch was later than the others in arriving, for the baby proved to be a trial and a handicap His comrades had refused him any assistance on the homeward journey They expressed a deep, hoarse condemnation of his conduct, and pretended to consider that he had sacrificed all claiard

Branch took this seriously, and he was in a state bordering upon desperation when he reached ca his unwelcome burden upon Norine Evans he hurried directly to her tent But Norine had heard the story; Lopez had warned her; therefore she waved him away

"Don't ask me to mother your stolen child," she said

"Oh, but you've GOT to," he declared in a panic "You've just GOT to"

"Well, I won't In the first place, I have a sick man in my tent"

"But look! Listen! This baby dislikesto leave it, anyhow"

But Norine re at MY door If you intend to steal babies you shouldto seize the hungry little mite, but she restrained the impulse "Go ahead and keep it amused until the cow arrives," she told him