noon
As secretly as possible the lieutenant aroused Don Ramon 's wife and sought an interview with her . Speaking Spanish fluently , he explained his errand and her duty to put him in possession of all the facts in the case . Bewildered , as any gentlewoman would be under the circumstances , she reluctantly told the main facts . This officer treated Señora Mora with every courtesy , and was eventually rewarded when she requested him and his men to remain her guests until her son should return , which would be before noon . She explained that he would bring a large sum of money with him , which was to be the ransom price of her husband , and which was to be paid over at midnight within twenty miles of Agua Dulce . This information was food and raiment to the Ranger . The señora of Agua Dulce sent a servant to secrete the Ranger 's horses in a near-by pasture , and with saddles hidden inside the house , before the people of the ranch or the sun arose , five Rangers were sleeping under the roof of the _ Casa primero _ .