"Oh no, no!" exclaimed Dona Inez and Dona Christina in the same breath; "you must not propose anything of that kind, Don Ricardo. We will not be separated from our husbands. If they are to face danger, we will face danger with them." Then Don Luis broke in. "I do not altogether like your suggestion that the ladies should attempt to make their way to the nearest town," he said. "For, you see, we have no means of knowing what is the state of the intervening country. An hour ago I might have deemed the suggestion an excellent one, but now, after the shameless desertion of half my own `boys,' I know not what to think." "I suppose there is no snug, secret place of concealment, such as a cave, or something of that sort, the existence of which is known only to yourselves?" I suggested. "The very thing!" exclaimed Don Luis enthusiastically. "There _is_ such a place, and its existence and locality are known to absolutely no one but Dona Inez and myself--" "It is useless to speak of it," interrupted Dona Inez in a tone of finality. "I will not go there, or anywhere else; I remain here with you, Luis. If Dona Christina, or Dona Eugenia would like to go, let them do so by all means." But Dona Christina and Dona Eugenia were quite as emphatic as their hostess in their determination not to be separated from their men-folk; so that question was very soon settled. After that there was nothing to be done but to call up our black auxiliaries, and put the house in as efficient a state of defence as the means at our disposal permitted; and this we at once proceeded to do. Don Luis seemed naturally to look to me to take the lead in our warlike preparations; and this I as naturally did, finding that he had only very hazy notions of how to set to work. In the first place, the house itself was excellently adapted for defence, the outside walls being built of stone, and about two feet thick, to keep out the heat, while the roof was tiled; there was consequently very little danger of the place being set on fire from the outside, and ourselves burnt out of it. Its chief weakness consisted in the exceptionally large size of the door and window openings; but I thought I could see a way to minimise that evil. While out walking with Don Luis and his wife, I had noticed a spot that I remarked at the time might be very easily converted into an excellent sand and gravel pit; while only a few days prior to the eventful morning when Don Esteban de Mendouca and his party had burst in upon us with the news of the negro outbreak, Don Luis had received a large consignment of new sacks destined to receive the crop of coffee, cocoa, and other products that were at that moment coming forward upon the estate.