Well, she had waited.
But was that Rosa Varona who had promised so freely and so
confidently this pitiful Rosa whose bones protruded through her
rags? It could not be. Happiness, contentment, hope--these were
fictions; only misery, despair, and pain were real. But it had
been a glorious dream, at any rate--a dream which Rosa vowed to
cherish always.
Evangelina found the girl sitting in the sun, her thin face
radiant, her great eyes wet but smiling.
"Come, little dove," said the negress, "there is nothing here to
eat; we must get back to our weaving."
XVIII
SPEAKING OF FOOD
It was part of the strategy practised by the Cuban leaders to
divide their forces into separate columns for the purpose of
raiding the smaller Spanish garrisons and harassing the troops
sent to their relief, reassembling these bands only when and where
some telling blow was to be struck. Not only had the military
value of this practice been amply demonstrated, but it had been
proved a necessity, owing to the fact that the Insurrectos were
compelled to live off the country.
When O'Reilly and Branch enlisted in the Army of the Orient they
were assigned to the command of Colonel Miguel Lopez, and it was
under his leadership that they made their first acquaintance with
the peculiar methods of Cuban warfare.
Active service for the two Americans began at once; scarcely a
week had passed before Leslie Branch gained his opportunity of
tasting the "salt of life" in its full flavor, for the young
Matanzas colonel was one of the few Cuban commanders who really
enjoyed a fight.
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