ten o'clock at night
`` Where is he gone to , your honour ? '' The Lieutenant , after pointing out the direction in which Don Rafael had ridden away , turned his back upon the two adventurers -- who , instead of being offended at this rudeness , were only too glad to terminate their interview with the dreaded Catalan . They lost no time , therefore , in making their exit from the courtyard ; and , as fast as their legs could carry them , they started off in the direction taken by him whom they had so long unsuccessfully followed . It is ten o'clock at night , and a starry heaven is extended over a large expanse of level country -- here clothed with virgin forests -- there with broad , almost treeless savannas , now and then partaking of the character of marshes and covered with tall reeds . In the midst of this landscape a large lake opens to the view . Its aspect is sombre and sad -- its dark , turbid waters scarce reflecting the stars that shine so brilliantly over it ; while the waves beating against its sedge-encircled shores , utter only the most lugubrious sounds . Near the centre of this lake rises a mountain of dark , greenish colour , resembling an immense cairn constructed by the hands of Titans .