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Johnnie re this adjuration He felt no desire even to s and it caused the elder hten uncomfortably Johnnie had not realized before how fond he had becoster And so, when the little fellow paused hopefully, O'Reilly put an ar you say you are, Jacket, andoff the e away, seated hiar fro the while at his friend More than once during the evening O'Reilly detected his sullen, angry eyes upon him

General Betancourt and severalto bid their visitor good-by In spite of their efforts tocheerful it was plain that they had little hope of ever again seeing this foolhardy American

Johnnie's spirits were not in the least affected by this ill- concealed pessimism, for, as he told himself, he had money in his pockets and Matanzas was not many miles away But when he caenuine disappointh, was al; he merely extended a li words with a careless "Adios!"

In hurt surprise the forood friends?"

"Sure!" Jacket shrugged, then turned away

Jacket was a likable youngster; his devotion was thoroughly unselfish; it had not been easy to wound hie O'Reilly set out upon his journey, following the guide who, sufficiently warm to promise a hot midday; the air wasthe rainy season, the trails were soft, and where the rich red Cuban soil was exposed the travelers sank into it as into wet putty

Crossing a rocky ridge, O'Reilly and his guide at last erown up to bottle- palms, those queer, distorted trees whose trunks are swollen into the likeness of earthen water-jars Scattered here and there over the meadoere the dead or fallen trunks of another variety, the cabbage-pal formed a staple article of diet for the Insurrectos Spanish axes had been at work here and not a single tree rereen floor of the valley farther doas dotted with the other, the royal kind, that etation which lends to the Cuban landscape its peculiar and distinctive beauty