Harry had told Dias that they had better take two or three days at home before they came into Lima again, but to his surprise the muleteer came in at ten o'clock next morning.
"Well, Dias, I did not expect to see you again so soon. You have found everything right at home, I hope?"
"No, señor, I am sorry to say I did not. Three days after we left here our house was burnt down."
"Burnt down, Dias! I am sorry indeed to hear that. How did it happen? I thought you said that you had locked it up, and left no one there."
"That was so, señor. The people who took over the garden were to go into the house once a week to see that everything was in order; but as this fire broke out only three days after I left, they had not entered it. Everyone says that it must have been fired on purpose, for the flames seem to have burst out in all parts at once. No one in the town thought that I had an enemy in the world, and all have been wondering who could have had a grudge against me. Of course we need not go very far to guess who was at the bottom of it."
"I suppose not, Dias. It must have been those scoundrels we gave such a thrashing to."
"There is no doubt of that, señor. But this time they have got the best of me, for they know very well that I have no proof against them, and that it would be useless to lodge any complaint."
"I am afraid it would, Dias. Is it quite burnt down?"
"The walls are standing, señor. It takes a good deal to burn adobe."
"What do you suppose it would cost to put it in the same condition as before, with the furniture and everything?"