Only the drink had been as yet brought upon the board; though the meats could be scented from the _cocina_; while several brown-skinned, leathern-clad, "muchachos" were moving to and fro, with a hurried _empressement_ that showed they were setting the supper. It was evident that the two windows were in different apartments; the one opposite us being the _sala de comida_, or dining-room. It was the _sala grande_, or drawing-room, I most desired to look into. Not to listen to the music, or become a spectator to the dancing. Both had ceased some time before; and in their place we could now hear only a single voice--that of a man, who seemed to be speaking in a tone measured and solemn! It required some strategy to get into position for looking through the second window. But it was worth the effort. From the grand preparations in the dining-room, there should be corresponding company in the drawing-room? Was its quality alike heterogeneous? As yet we could not tell. A ruined pile, that had once been a sort of portico, extended between the two windows--overshadowing the doorway. It hindered us from obtaining a view of the second. We had been kneeling among rhododendrons--a clump of which grew near the dining-room window. There were none in front of the drawing-room; but instead, an enormous aloe--the _maguey_ of Mexico. Once to rearward of it, and screened by its broad blades, we should be in an excellent place for observation. The question was how to get there, without being ourselves observed. The ground between the rhododendrons and the "pulque plant" was a smooth piece of turf, without shrub or tree. On this the two bands of light-- widening as they went out from the windows--became commingled. To have crossed from one side to the other would have been to expose ourselves under a light, clear almost as day. We did not so much fear being seen by those within the _sala grande_. Their preoccupation--sport, or whatever was going on--would hinder them from looking forth. But while crouching among the "rose trees" we had noticed that the great gate was open; and in the faint light that fell straggling across the _saguan_--a little brighter in the _patio_ behind--we could see the dark-skinned domestics flitting to and fro with the supper dishes--like spectres engaged in the preparation of some infernal feast! Some of these standing in the _saguan_, or loitering by the outside entrance, might observe us while crossing? We dared not risk it. The exposure would be too great. Should we attempt to cross there would be scarce a chance to escape detection. There was only one other course: to steal back down the lawn, cross over through the fainter light, and return along the edge of the other cliff. What a pity we had not taken this route at first!