"
Johnnie expressed his gratitude for this ready assistance. "One
thing more," said he. "Will you give my boy, Jacket, a new pair of
trousers and send him back to the Orient at the first
opportunity?"
"Of course. It is done." The general laid a friendly hand upon
O'Reilly's shoulder, saying, gravely: "It would relieve me
intensely to send you back with him, for I have fears for the
success of your venture. Matanzas is a hell; it has swallowed up
thousands of our good countrymen; thousands have died there. I'm
afraid you do not realize what risks you are taking."
O'Reilly did not allow this well-meant warning to influence him,
nor did he listen to the admonitions of those other Cubans who
tried to argue him out of his purpose, once it became generally
known. On the contrary, he proceeded with his preparations and
spent that afternoon in satisfying himself that Rosa had indeed
left the Pan de Matanzas before Cobo's raid.
Among Betancourt's troops was a man who had been living in the
hills at the time Asensio and his family had abandoned their
struggle for existence, and to him O'Reilly went. This fellow, it
seemed, had remained with his family in the mountains some time
after Asensio's departure. It was from him that O'Reilly heard his
first authentic report of the atrocities perpetrated by Cobo's
Volunteers.
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