"Paredes," she said, "have you procured the tools my brother ordered you to provide?"
"Niña," he answered, "I have placed six picks, six crowbars, and six spades in a clump of carob trees at the entrance of the large flower garden."
"Why such a number of tools?" she asked, laughingly.
"Because, señorita, some may break; the work we have to do must be performed quickly, and had I not taken this precaution, we might have met with delay."
"You are right. Follow me, señora."
"And the lanterns?" Don Ruiz observed.
"We will take them with us, but not light them till we reach the spot whither I am taking you. Although the night is dark, with your knowledge of localities we shall be able to guide ourselves without difficulty through the darkness. Our lights might be seen and arouse suspicions, and that is what we must avoid most of all."
"Excellently reasoned, daughter."
Doña Marianna rose, and the four men followed her in silence. They crossed the apartments instead of passing through the patios, which were thronged with sleepers, and entered the huerta by large double doors, from which the garden was reached by a flight of steps. On leaving the Blue Room Doña Marianna took the precaution to blow out the candles, so that the hacienda was plunged into complete darkness, and all appeared asleep. The night was very dark; the sky, in which not a single star twinkled, seemed an immense pall; the breeze whistled hoarsely through the trees, whose branches rustled with an ill-omened murmur. In the distance could be heard the snapping bark of the coyotes, and at times the melancholy hoot of the owl arose in the dark, and broke the mournful silence which brooded over nature. This night was excellently chosen for a mysterious expedition of such a nature as Doña Marianna was about to attempt.
After an instant—not of hesitation, for the maiden, although her heart was beating loudly, was firm and resolute—but of reflection, Doña Marianna rapidly descended the steps and entered the garden, closely followed by the four men, who also experienced an internal emotion for which they could not account. They had gone but a few yards when they halted; they had reached the thicket in which the tools were concealed. The majordomo and the tigrero took them on their shoulders, while the Marquis and his son carried the lanterns. In spite of the darkness, which was rendered even more intense by the dense shadow cast by the old trees in the huerta, the young lady rapidly advanced, scarce making the sand creak beneath her little feet, and following the winding walks with as much ease as if she were traversing them in the bright sunshine.