Beyond the village in front lay the narrow valley, and beyond that mountains, but the great range extended across the horizon more to the right, and rose high and formidable against the clear sky. The village, plainly, was situated among the foothills, right at the base of the towering range which they had yet to cross. “I wonder,” said Sidney, after they had looked for a few moments in silence, “if the houses continue up the mountain above this one. Do you suppose we are surrounded by houses and people as thick as they are below?” “I wish we could see to the sides and back,” said Raymond. “There is one thing sure, this terrace out here in front is the roof of a house.” The conversation of their neighbors just below continued at intervals, and the sound of the voices came up to them with great distinctness. The boys imagined the two men who were talking to be sitting in the sun in front of their own door. There were no sounds audible from the rear, but if there were people above them, any noise which they made would, of course, be heard more readily above than below. There were no windows in the room where they had passed the night, no opening except the door, and there seemed to be no way for them to obtain a view to one side or the other except by exposing themselves in front. “I’m going to see if I can’t look around the wall to one side without being seen,” said Raymond, edging forward on one side of the doorway as far as he could go without actually passing beyond the line of the front wall. “Gee! Sid,” he exclaimed, after taking a look, “the alley that we came up last night is a street with houses opening on it. But I don’t believe there are any more houses as high up as this one. You take a look.” And he made way for Sidney. “That’s right,” said Sidney, “and if you look sharp you can see the tops of ladders on the line of the alley that runs down the hill. That must be a favorite way of getting into the houses. They are regular cliff-dwellers. I should think we’d have blundered into some of those ladders last night; it’s lucky we didn’t.” “Some of the doors must open on a level,” said Raymond, “and there must be other alleys that run up through the houses; that’s the way those horses got out there.” “This is the last house up,” said Sidney, who had shifted to the other side of the doorway and was looking out beyond the house to the right; “there is nothing but mountain out there.” “This is the first house on a new street, Sid. I guess it was built to rent, and they hadn’t got a tenant yet.” “I hope the owner won’t come to look at it to-day. If we can stay here till night without being found, Ray, I’ll bet we can get away after dark.” “I wish we might step outside,” suggested Raymond, “and see how the mountain looks. Maybe we could locate the trail where it leaves the village.”