Cuba -- History -- Revolution, 1895-1898 -- Fiction
Evangelina, vastly bewildered at the sight of the coin which was forced
into her palm, went for food and spent most of the day in cooking it.
The treasure-hunters alternately slept and ate. It was not until well
along toward evening that Rosa and O'Reilly felt any desire to take
stock of the contents of that jewel-box, but finally, with heads
together and with backs to the door of the bohio, they made a furtive
examination. It was a task that held them spellbound, for there were
loose gems of many varieties, some well, some badly cut; there were
pieces of antique Spanish jewelry, valuable mainly by virtue of their
antiquity, clumsy settings of silver and gold containing dead,
uninteresting stones; others of the finest and most delicate
workmanship. Some of the pieces were like glittering cobwebs enmeshing
sparks of fire and drops of blood. They found emeralds and sapphires
the value of which they did not attempt to estimate; and, besides
these, a miscellaneous assortment of semiprecious stones. There was a
fine collection of opals of every size and color, among which were a
number of huge flat black ones, indescribably gorgeous with their
ever-changing peacock hues. But finest of all the lot were the pearls.
Where old Don Esteban had secured these latter was a mystery, for he
had not been a widely traveled man. They were splendid, unrivaled in
size and luster. Some had the iridescence of soap-bubbles, others
ranged from pink to deepest chocolate in color. To touch them was like
sacrilege.
O'Reilly realized vaguely that he held in his lap a fortune greater
than his wildest dreams had ever compassed. These were the jewels of a
rajah. It seemed incredible that this ragged girl beside him was a
regal heiress, the possessor of a treasure such as kings might envy.
After a time he realized that the mere possession of these gems
constituted a new and overwhelming menace.
All that evening he and Rosa cowered in the darkness, whispering
furtively, their nerves on edge, their senses strained. It seemed to
them that new and unsuspected perils stalked abroad through the night.
Morning found all hands more nearly rational and feeling the first
gnawings of a healthy hunger. Even Asensio confessed to a quite
miraculous improvement. While Evangelina prepared breakfast the lovers
agreed upon a story to explain the origin of that mysterious gold
piece, and later Johnnie warned Jacket for a second time to keep his
tongue between his teeth.
"We will have to be doubly careful now," he told the boy. "An unguarded
word or an incautious move would be the end of us."
Jacket nodded his complete comprehension. "Sure! All Spaniards are
robbers and they'd kill us for a peso. Yes, and the pacificos are no
better. I tell you we need to get out of this place."
"I intend to arrange it at once, but--the sight of those jewels has
frightened me. If we are searched--if we are even suspected--"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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