The additional servant had gone, noiselessly, but Nicolas hovered about, silently.
At last the meal was finished. Tom had chewed his food thoroughly, what he had eaten of it, but Harry, in his hunger, had eaten hurriedly.
"Now we'll have to find Don Luis and apologize," hinted Tom.
"Hereafter I can see that we shall have to rise much earlier.
Confound it, it's a quarter of nine, already."
The two youngsters hastened out to the veranda. A man servant was lazily dusting and placing porch chairs.
"Has Don Luis gone to the mine?" asked Tom in Spanish.
"Don Luis?" repeated the servant, in evident astonishment. "Presently his excellency will be dressing."
"Thank you," nodded Tom, and paced the veranda, leisurely. "Harry, we didn't make such a bad break after all, then. Plainly Don Luis didn't plan an early start."
"Is Dr. Tisco around?" asked Harry, of the servant.
"The learned doctor must be dressing by this time, caballero," replied the servant respectfully.
"Hm!" mused Harry. "Can it be that the people in Bonista do their work at night?"