"Well," said the latter, "this trip is rather amusing; it is only a pity that it is so dark." "All the better; on the contrary," the Jaguar replied, "we need not fear a dizziness." "By my faith, that is true," said the half-breed, who cared as little for a dizziness as he did for a grain of sand. They examined the spot where they were. It was a species of hollow, probably excavated by time in the sides of the rock. Unfortunately, over this hollow the rock formed a projection, rendering any further ascent impossible. While the Jaguar was seeking on either side the means to continue his climb, the half-breed, thinking it useless to fatigue himself, sat down quietly in the crevice to shelter himself from the wind. The end of the hollow was covered by a thick curtain of shrubs, against which Lanzi leaned with the confiding delight of a man who is glad to rest himself, if only for a moment, after his fatigue; but the shrubs gave way under his weight, and the half-breed fell down at his full length. "Hilloa!" he said, with that magnificent coolness which never deserted him, "What's this?" "Will you be quiet?" the Jaguar exclaimed, as he hurried up, "or we shall be found out. What has happened to you?" "I do not know. Look for yourself." The two men then advanced with outstretched arms, owing to the darkness. "Why, it is a grotto. Viva Dios!" the Jaguar exclaimed a moment later. "It looks to me very like one," said the half-breed, with his old coolness. In fact, this excavation, which at a distance appeared a narrow fissure, concealed the entrance to a natural grotto, completely masked by the shrubs which accident had planted there, and which an equally great accident had enabled the half-breed to discover. What was this passage through? Did it go up and down? And was it known to the garrison? Such were the questions which the adventurers asked themselves, and they naturally could not answer them. "What shall we do?" Lanzi asked. "Por Dios! That is not difficult to guess," the Jaguar replied; "we will explore this cave." "That is my opinion too; but I think there is a matter of inquiry to do before that." "What is it?" "Whatever this cave may be, and no matter where it ends, it is certain that it will, at any rate, offer us an excellent shelter. Supposing, at any rate, as is possible, that we cannot succeed in effecting the ascent of the rock this night, we will hide ourselves here during tomorrow, and be ready to finish on the following night what we shall not have time to effect during the present one." "That is an excellent idea," the Jaguar remarked, "and we will immediately carry it into effect."