"He does not live near it now?"
"As the Señor says. The old casa fell quite to pieces in the last hurricane, and now Gremo lives at the Romando cannuca."
"He must start early from the conuco?"
"As the Señor says. At half after five. It is a long way to carry a ladder—there and back. Gremo is afraid of the ghosts who infest the mompoja patch. If one but thrusts his head at you, you are lost. Marianna Romando says that Gremo is not much of a man, but far superior to Garcito Romando. The few pesos that he gets for lighting the lantern keep the game cock in food."
"And no one can tamper with the light, I suppose?"
"As the Señor says. The good God forbid! The cords by which it is lowered hang so high that no one can reach them—not even Natalio, who, as all know, is a giant."
"And you could not get that ladder, Andres?"
"As the Señor says, when Gremo carries it a mile away, and puts it inside the enclosure. He is a good shot, though so old. There is only one better in all the district. Besides, there are ghosts between the asta and the cannuca."
Don Gil stood for a moment lost in thought.
"I suppose El Rey needs you at home, Andres. I should not keep—"